Scotts Weekly Review - Safe and Sound Car Seat

This weeks product review is on Safe & Sound Car Seat, Pyper has just about grown out of her capsule, I'm a bit sad about that as it meant we had to buy another car seat ... so more money down the drain. But once again it's all about safety so there's no excuse really.

We got the Safe&Sound Car Seat as a gift and initially I thought "it's a good looking car seat". Here's what I found:



Pros

• Certified up to a weight of 18kgs
  
• Sturdy with lots of cushions and padding
  
• Pretty dirt resistant from what I can tell

Cons

• Needs hooks in the car to lock the seat in place
  
• Only reclines in the back facing position
  
• Quite expensive
  
• It has a 3 point (6 straps) harness - quite complicated to put on and secure

A dad's guide to stain removal (... yes we are serious)

If you have a toddler or an active young person then changing their clothes 3-4 times per day might seem like the norm? Well apart from putting them in dirt proof clothes you're probably also doing a lot of washing and may wonder how to get some of those damn stains out ...

Well, fear not, as usual DIYFather boldly goes where no dad has gone before ... a recent investigation into why our clothes are getting ruined and how to get rid off all sorts of nasty stains has revealed this very valuable information below. This should actually be in ALL parenting books (and yes we will put it in the 2nd edition of Call Me Dad). The stain removal tips will hopefully help you save some of the clothes for round 2 or make for a presentable item on your next clothes swap event. OK - here it goes - make sure that you treat the stains ASAP and they actually come out (I tried!!!)

Adhesive Tape

The Money Game

As a parent and someone who is interested in creating wealth, helping my little lady become financially savvy when she grows up is very important. I come from a wealthy family that "gave their children fish, rather than actually teaching them to fish". So I thought it was timely now to teach my 4 year old girl Pyper about money and finances. We have started getting her used to money - she picks up bits of money that is either lying around in coins or someone might give her $5 here and there for a birthday. I firmly believe that parents who introduce the concept of "saving money" to their children early will be helping them in the long run. I recently came across an article that talked about practical steps parents could do to teach financial literacy to their children.

First Aid in the home checklist

Photography for 3-year-olds

We seem to have accumulated a few digital cameras in our household lately, and so my little girl Pyper keeps grabbing the compact camera to take some photos. She loves to taking photos of just about everything. Some are good and some not so good but she's only 3 and loves playing and learning ... so I thought what the heck. As long as she doesn't know how to delete photos and has the strap around her hand so she doesn't drop it - what can go wrong? (right?)

It's definitely a great activity you can do with your child and means you can also potentially get them into something they love ... and it might turn into a hobby who knows. You can buy cheap good digital cameras these days or just get an old second-hand one. I can definitely recommend it as a fun activity for young kids!

-Scott

Telling your child their pet has died

This week I received the phone call that all parents dread – the family cat had died and was down the road at a neighbour's place. My wife became very distraught when she heard the news as she had had the cat before we were together (i.e. for a long time!). My 3-year-old daughter was still asleep at the time and my initial thought was - what do we tell her? Do we pretend that the cat just left? Or do we try to explain the concept of death at such a young age?

When Pyper woke up, my wife sat her down and decided that she would tell her straight. Pyper took it really well and we are pretty sure she understood what had happened. We thought honesty is the best policy rather than making up elaborate stories. Worked for us.

Some tips to talking to your child about death:

1. Make sure that you and your child are comfortable with what is being said
2. Tell your child what you think they should know

Naming Ceremony vs Christening

My wife recently after a couple of wines told me that because I wasn’t particularly religious and that she was, we should have a naming ceremony, instead of a christening. Now to be honest I'm not fussed about the whole thing but what I was interested in was finding people equivalent to godparents (not really sure what they are called, guardians perhaps?).

Now I don't know many people who have had a "naming ceremony" in fact besides us, NONE! I have been to a christening before but that is it really. So we decided to have the naming ceremony done by a Justice of the Peace (as opposed to priest who would do a christening). So if you are not very religously inclined a naming ceremony might be a great way to mark the occassion, potentially "appoint" some guardians and have a good old party.

If you have had one or been to one let us know!

Thanks Scott

Top 10 Things not to say after your partner has had a baby

1. Are you sure it's mine it doesn't look like it?

2. She is so cute can we have another?

3. When is your tummy going to go down, is there still a bubby in there?

4. Your boobs are big can I touch them?

5. When can we have sex?

6. Can you feed her tonight I'll do her next one in the morning!

7. When can we go away just the two of us?

8. I'm going out with the boys for a drink on Friday – I won't be late!

9. What's for tea?

10. Things around the house are sliding aren't they?

-Scott

Letting go ... gradually

Every weekend we have been going to a large hardware department store having a little bite to eat and then Pyper would play in the playground. Now as a two and a half year old watching her in this play ground can be rather nerve wracking. So it's a fine line between being an over protective father and letting her be independent. It's tough - when I see my little lady climbing up a wall with little or no support, it can be tricky to stand back and let her do it. These days what I'm thinking is how quickly she has grown and how the need for me to do everything for her is slowly diminishing as she wants to do everything by herself. It's a great feeling but also means that parts of my role as her father become redundant and will be no doubt picked up later on in new areas.

So, long story short - cherish all moments you have with your little treasure as tomorrow comes very quickly!

-Scott

Application for permission to date my daughter

APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME_____________________ DATE OF BIRTH___________

HEIGHT___________ WEIGHT____________ IQ__________

INCOME TAX FILE NUMBER _________________ DRIVERS LICENSE ________________

BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES__________________________

HOME ADDRESS_______________________ CITY___________ POSTCODE______

Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No
Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No
If No, explain: ____________________________________

Number of years they have been married _____________

If less than your age, explain
____________________________________________________

ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a bakkie? __Yes __No