Kylee, the formative years..: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Grade One..

Thirteen days from now, Kylee will be 6 years old, and is now in Grade One school.

She was worried about a couple of things prior to moving up and out of Senior Kindergarten

With having school Monday through Friday in Grade One instead of every other day as per JK and SK, what would she do in the event that she became tired?
Would it mean that she would be too old to love her favourite stuffed bear, Rainbows?

Needless to say, she is coping admirably with the ‘stresses’ of 5 day per week school, as she will cope admirably with the extra weight of ‘homework’ beginning tomorrow. Don’t worry.. she will not be expected to write 10,000 word dissertations just yet. It will be all simple stuff.

‘Bravo’ badges are becoming the norm too, and if you knew her as we do, you would understand why we are not surprised, pleased for her of course that she gets recognition for being one in a million, but not surprised that she does.

On a slightly sadder note, we as grandparents don’t get to see her anything like as much as we did. We are down to picking her up from school on occasion and the odd baby sitting stint into early evening.

Yes, she is missed.

This October sees her start back at ‘Kidlets’, a theatrical group for aspiring actors and actresses, where she can really play out her skill for comedic timing and ‘drama’. If she doesn’t end up doing something on stage in later life, I will be shocked and may ‘turn over’ a few times in silent protest.

On the computer front, she now knows how to reset a wireless connection on a PC having watched me do it just once. Scary stuff, eh..

It is her birthday very soon, and so I will break from this blog temporarily while I consider what to buy her for a birthday present.

Pie crusts..

"Promises and pie-crust are made to be broken," wrote the British satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745).

From this, we get the phrase 'pie crusting', used in the UK to describe the action of making a promise to somebody while secretly having very little intention of keeping one's word.

Pie crusting is a dangerous game when played with one's kids. It leads to mistrust and eventually a lack of respect. If one can't trust one's parents or grandparents, who can ever be trusted?

Think about this next time you make a promise, and when you make it, also ensure that there is a 99.99% chance of keeping it.

Your child may be young and short on life experiences, but this is one experience which you do not want your child to learn.

You might also want to remember that a child is actually a small person, and is every bit as good as or better than an adult at spotting and remembering instances of pie crusting..

Car seat safety - Very Important

The expiry date..

All child car seats have an expiry date stamped onto the carcass. It may be on the back of the seat or one of the sides, but it is there somewhere.

Not all seats have the same lifespan, some manufacturers allowing six years, others allowing seven or eight years. the important point is that the seat should not be used beyond the date stamped onto the seat.

Here is why.

The type of plastic used in ALL child car seat manufacture is polypropelene which is tough and resists cracking. As good as it is, years of being fixed down inside a vehicle, where the internal temperature can fluctuate between +50°C to -50°C takes its toll on the plastic and the harness parts.

There is no way that the seat will suddenly fall apart after the expiry date. It will hold together long after, but the residual strength left in the seat is a buffer zone. It means that, for the life of the seat upto the expiry date, the seat will properly protect its occupant.

Harness adjustment..

Before fitting the child car seat, you should always get the child to sit in it, and adjust the harness such that it fits snugly. Where the harness goes over the shoulders, the point where the harness is fixed into the back of the seat should be level or slightly above the shoulder.

The plastic two piece clip should be placed midway up the chest of the child, not too close to the neck. The purpose of this clip is to hold the top of the harness together such that the harness will not roll off the shoulders of the child.

Roll off is a very real possibility when the weather is cold and the child is having to wear thick clothing. It is a good idea to re-assess the clothing that your child is wearing as the interior temperature of the car rises.

Also, bear in mind that as your child grows, you will have to re-adjust the harness to allow for the growth. Child car seats are not a 'fit once and then leave' item.

Fitting into the vehicle..

Whether using the latch straps or the vehicles own seat belts, you must put pressure into the seat, taking up any slack in the vehicle seat belt. Do this a couple of times just to ensure that it is securely fixed down.You will find it easier to do this with the child car seats arm rests in folded position.

The recline function on car seats should not be used such that the child can sleep more easily when on the move. The function exists such that the base and the back of the child car seat fit firmly against the vehicle seat surfaces.

The top tether strap should be the last strap to be hooked up, and you should take as much slack out of it as you can. After fitting, check for movement. The seat should have virtually no movement sideways, and hardly any in the forward/backward plane.

Sleeping in the child car seat..

This is a real no-no. The last thing you want is your child's head slumping forwrds and out of control. It is a dangerous condition which can lead to constriction of the childs airway. Some children have been known to die when in this state for a protracted time. It can be the vehicle equivalent of cot death.

Do not ever use the motion of travel to get your child to sleep. If the child does fall asleep while in the seat, either get the child home or to some location where the child can sleep in a more natural position. Do this at your earliest convenience.

On a long journey, allow fresh air into the vehicle, and try to engage the child, singing or talking or playing a spotting game.

You owe it to your child to ensure maximum safety at all times.