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For restaurants that are nice enough to be child-friendly, my son’s cup of water or juice comes in a plastic or styrofoam cup with a plastic lid and straw. The plastic ones don’t usually last one trip through the dishwasher, and I definitely am not making the effort to hand wash a free cup from the diner. Kat passed along this idea for bringing a collapsible cup with its own straw for when your kids are out of the sippy cup stage but an open cup still isn’t the greatest idea in a restaurant. I am always looking for ways to reduce single-use plastics, and I think this is a great idea. The cup is $12.99–$19.99 depending on the color and is eligible for Prime. Silicone Collapsible CupThis post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
I have this cup (the version without the straw) and love it. It collapses down to just a couple inches and I keep it in my purse so I never have to get a throwaway cup for coffee when I’m out and about. It was a great stocking stuffer.
Anonymous
Sep 6, 2019 8:51 am
Friday vent: My boss just e-mailed me to inform me that I am out of the office too much–because of business travel. This is all work that is essential to my job. WTF?
anon
Sep 6, 2019 9:13 am
my mom has been sick for a while, but i thought had years left and just learned last night it is probably 3-6 months. i have one year old twins, live flying distance from my family and dh travels a ton for work. i feel like crawling into a cave and eating pints of ice cream, but not really because i just finished losing the baby weight. my mom hasn’t been herself for a while and i already miss her so much even though she is still here. DH is about to go away for work for 2.5 weeks. i barely slept last night and of course have a really busy day at work. idk what im looking for, but just needed a place to vent
AwayEmily
Sep 6, 2019 9:46 am
Favorite kids water bottles? We have Contigo ones and like them fine, but their new daycare requires water bottles for school so they live there now, and I need some “home” ones. Not too big (12-14 oz) and I’d prefer plastic (they could care less if the water is cold, and those stainless steel ones get heavy). The Camelbaks seem to have really mixed reviews online…
Travel Car Seat
Sep 6, 2019 9:47 am
Which is better: Cosco Convertible or Cosco Scenera? This is for a toddler (16 mo), and we’d like to use it in an airplane seat and car seat at the destination. Preference for the one that she’d fit in the longest. Does anyone own either than can steer me in the right direction?
Anon
Sep 6, 2019 10:06 am
I’m going to be road-tripping next week solo with my 19 month old. She really hates her carseat. It would be a 4 hour drive if we didn’t stop, so I’m guessing it will take us 5 or 6. Any tips? I’m planning to leave around naptime and hoping she’ll sleep a bit. I’ll bring lots of books and toys but I’m worried she’ll just immediately throw them all on the floor out of reach and then cry. I thought about keeping stuff up front with me and trying to dole it out gradually throughout the trip but I don’t know safe it is for me to be handing stuff to her in the backseat while driving. Unfortunately I think screen time is out because we don’t have a tablet and I can’t give her my phone (need it for nav and she has figured out how to dial 911 from a locked phone before, so she can’t play with a phone without supervision).
Day Care Solutions
Sep 6, 2019 10:16 am
Hi All! I’m on a committee in my community to improve our day care situation. I live in the Midwest in a town of about 23,000 people. Issues are: (1) need to increase licensed openings and (2) affordability. Our town has a lot of manufacturing, which means we have an okay professional population, but a very large blue collar/hourly/manufacturing factory job population. The latter is who we’re really looking to provide solutions for, as that is where the need really is. We’re working to brainstorm solutions that fall short of businesses opening their own day care centers, because we know we do not have support for that. Also, I’m learning that the barriers to the population we’re targeting aren’t the same as what I’m used to (i.e. must work on-site and can’t make up hours after bed time, etc.). Does anyone have any examples of solutions aimed at child care for this population that have worked well? One example is that a business in town has a Family Van where parent employees can sign up to have their children transported from school to activities, etc. Thanks in advance!
Redux
Sep 6, 2019 10:25 am
For those of you with formal nicknames or kids with nicknames, how have you navigated the real name vs. nickname thing at school? My daughter has a nickname that is related but not a part of her first name. Like Edward-> Ted, Jonathan-> Jack, Elizabeth -> Betty. It’s a family name and we have always called her by the nickname. She knows her “real name” but isn’t great at recognizing it or responding to it yet. She’s only in K so I know she’ll get better at recognizing and responding (and redirecting people to her nickname if she prefers), but I’ve had a couple of missteps with writing her real name where the nickname would have been better (like, apparently for the bus, when they call roll and just need the kid to respond) or the nickname when the real name would have been better (like for the lunch line, where the real name is connected to her account). Has this presented any problems for you/ how should I handle this? I feel like asking adults who were formally kids with this problem is a good way of avoiding pitfalls! TY!
Anon
Sep 6, 2019 10:38 am
Does anyone have suggestions for brands with one piece toddler PJs that have more generously cut arm and leg holes? My toddler daughter is big for her age but not giant (~80th percentile height and weight), but we can’t find pajamas that are easy to get on – it is always a struggle to get her arms through the sleeves even if we size up until the PJs are comically long and baggy. Old Navy is especially bad, which is a shame because I buy a lot of her clothes there and they’re cheap and decent quality. Carter’s is probably the best fit we’ve found but I’m not super enthusiastic about supporting the brand because they have a lot of clothes that really play into gender stereotypes, so I’d love other suggestions.
A
Sep 6, 2019 10:51 am
I have no doubt many iterations of this question have been asked over the years, but suggestions to help streamline the morning routine with a slightly uncooperative kindergartener?
She goes to bed at about 7:30 and we wake her up around 6:30, with the (apparently very ambitious) goal of leaving by 7:15. Eleven hours of sleep seems adequate at this age, but she is often “so tired” in the morning. She is still in a pull-up and the process of taking that off and getting dressed eats up an absurd amount of time. She is occasionally extremely efficient, but there is often crying/flailing/yelling and it is a really rough way to start the day. Previous sticker charts for other things have been generally unsuccessful (or turn into a second layer of power struggle). Please tell me how you all make this work.
Curious
Sep 6, 2019 12:15 pm
I have used the search feature but couldn’t find this answer. I’m setting up day care tours for the first time. Should I expect the tours to last an hour? Is it too close to set one up for 1 pm and another one down the street for 2 pm?
Sad today
Sep 6, 2019 1:04 pm
Feeling very sad today – our daycare/preschool does an annual Halloween parade. I have a preschooler and baby and their parades will be at different times of the day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon). I requested to leave and come back from the morning one and then leave again in the afternoon. Was told that wasn’t possible as it was too much blocking and unblocking of my schedule (I’m a Nurse Practitioner and see my own patients), basically it is too much of a hassle for the administration. I was told to pick one – so basically I get to pick if I want to miss the baby’s first parade or my older one’s last parade in preschool. I know logically it isn’t a big deal (and the baby won’t even remember it), but it still drives home why being a working parent is so hard!
Anonymous
Sep 6, 2019 2:18 pm
Brief regional survey — on this board and other media I keep hearing kindergarten referred to as “kinder” or “kindy.” I am I. The PNW and have never ever heard these terms used in this region. Where do you live and what do you call kindergarten?
I have this cup (the version without the straw) and love it. It collapses down to just a couple inches and I keep it in my purse so I never have to get a throwaway cup for coffee when I’m out and about. It was a great stocking stuffer.
Friday vent: My boss just e-mailed me to inform me that I am out of the office too much–because of business travel. This is all work that is essential to my job. WTF?
my mom has been sick for a while, but i thought had years left and just learned last night it is probably 3-6 months. i have one year old twins, live flying distance from my family and dh travels a ton for work. i feel like crawling into a cave and eating pints of ice cream, but not really because i just finished losing the baby weight. my mom hasn’t been herself for a while and i already miss her so much even though she is still here. DH is about to go away for work for 2.5 weeks. i barely slept last night and of course have a really busy day at work. idk what im looking for, but just needed a place to vent
Favorite kids water bottles? We have Contigo ones and like them fine, but their new daycare requires water bottles for school so they live there now, and I need some “home” ones. Not too big (12-14 oz) and I’d prefer plastic (they could care less if the water is cold, and those stainless steel ones get heavy). The Camelbaks seem to have really mixed reviews online…
Which is better: Cosco Convertible or Cosco Scenera? This is for a toddler (16 mo), and we’d like to use it in an airplane seat and car seat at the destination. Preference for the one that she’d fit in the longest. Does anyone own either than can steer me in the right direction?
I’m going to be road-tripping next week solo with my 19 month old. She really hates her carseat. It would be a 4 hour drive if we didn’t stop, so I’m guessing it will take us 5 or 6. Any tips? I’m planning to leave around naptime and hoping she’ll sleep a bit. I’ll bring lots of books and toys but I’m worried she’ll just immediately throw them all on the floor out of reach and then cry. I thought about keeping stuff up front with me and trying to dole it out gradually throughout the trip but I don’t know safe it is for me to be handing stuff to her in the backseat while driving. Unfortunately I think screen time is out because we don’t have a tablet and I can’t give her my phone (need it for nav and she has figured out how to dial 911 from a locked phone before, so she can’t play with a phone without supervision).
Hi All! I’m on a committee in my community to improve our day care situation. I live in the Midwest in a town of about 23,000 people. Issues are: (1) need to increase licensed openings and (2) affordability. Our town has a lot of manufacturing, which means we have an okay professional population, but a very large blue collar/hourly/manufacturing factory job population. The latter is who we’re really looking to provide solutions for, as that is where the need really is. We’re working to brainstorm solutions that fall short of businesses opening their own day care centers, because we know we do not have support for that. Also, I’m learning that the barriers to the population we’re targeting aren’t the same as what I’m used to (i.e. must work on-site and can’t make up hours after bed time, etc.). Does anyone have any examples of solutions aimed at child care for this population that have worked well? One example is that a business in town has a Family Van where parent employees can sign up to have their children transported from school to activities, etc. Thanks in advance!
For those of you with formal nicknames or kids with nicknames, how have you navigated the real name vs. nickname thing at school? My daughter has a nickname that is related but not a part of her first name. Like Edward-> Ted, Jonathan-> Jack, Elizabeth -> Betty. It’s a family name and we have always called her by the nickname. She knows her “real name” but isn’t great at recognizing it or responding to it yet. She’s only in K so I know she’ll get better at recognizing and responding (and redirecting people to her nickname if she prefers), but I’ve had a couple of missteps with writing her real name where the nickname would have been better (like, apparently for the bus, when they call roll and just need the kid to respond) or the nickname when the real name would have been better (like for the lunch line, where the real name is connected to her account). Has this presented any problems for you/ how should I handle this? I feel like asking adults who were formally kids with this problem is a good way of avoiding pitfalls! TY!
Does anyone have suggestions for brands with one piece toddler PJs that have more generously cut arm and leg holes? My toddler daughter is big for her age but not giant (~80th percentile height and weight), but we can’t find pajamas that are easy to get on – it is always a struggle to get her arms through the sleeves even if we size up until the PJs are comically long and baggy. Old Navy is especially bad, which is a shame because I buy a lot of her clothes there and they’re cheap and decent quality. Carter’s is probably the best fit we’ve found but I’m not super enthusiastic about supporting the brand because they have a lot of clothes that really play into gender stereotypes, so I’d love other suggestions.
I have no doubt many iterations of this question have been asked over the years, but suggestions to help streamline the morning routine with a slightly uncooperative kindergartener?
She goes to bed at about 7:30 and we wake her up around 6:30, with the (apparently very ambitious) goal of leaving by 7:15. Eleven hours of sleep seems adequate at this age, but she is often “so tired” in the morning. She is still in a pull-up and the process of taking that off and getting dressed eats up an absurd amount of time. She is occasionally extremely efficient, but there is often crying/flailing/yelling and it is a really rough way to start the day. Previous sticker charts for other things have been generally unsuccessful (or turn into a second layer of power struggle). Please tell me how you all make this work.
I have used the search feature but couldn’t find this answer. I’m setting up day care tours for the first time. Should I expect the tours to last an hour? Is it too close to set one up for 1 pm and another one down the street for 2 pm?
Feeling very sad today – our daycare/preschool does an annual Halloween parade. I have a preschooler and baby and their parades will be at different times of the day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon). I requested to leave and come back from the morning one and then leave again in the afternoon. Was told that wasn’t possible as it was too much blocking and unblocking of my schedule (I’m a Nurse Practitioner and see my own patients), basically it is too much of a hassle for the administration. I was told to pick one – so basically I get to pick if I want to miss the baby’s first parade or my older one’s last parade in preschool. I know logically it isn’t a big deal (and the baby won’t even remember it), but it still drives home why being a working parent is so hard!
Brief regional survey — on this board and other media I keep hearing kindergarten referred to as “kinder” or “kindy.” I am I. The PNW and have never ever heard these terms used in this region. Where do you live and what do you call kindergarten?