My oldest ds was very sick last month. He was hospitalized for 3 days because he was becoming dehydrated from continuous vomiting and not showing any signs of improvement and running very high fevers. They said there was no "actual" H1N1 test, that they generally only run a rapid test for influenza-a, which came back negative. Seems it was all actually from a ruptured ear drum due to a massive ear infection that it took quite a few doctors before anyone figured out it was his ear. :confused: I still wonder if the ear infection was actually a secondary infection to something else, but it doesn't really matter since he's better now, thank goodness! And no, we didn't, and won't be getting the H1N1 or any other seasonal flu shot. I am totally comfortable with the decision to not vax for the latest "red herring". ;)

You can't go wrong with Legos for building sets. Lincoln logs and Tinkertoys are also a big hit. Gears are pretty neat. Those Pixos things look pretty neat, but after the aqua dots recall last year I'm a little wary, yk? My ds2 wants that Paperoni craft set they show on TV. Tuesday Morning stores, as well as places like TJ Maxx and Ross always have really cool craft and science kits that are really reasonably priced. If you have a Rainbow Resource phonebook, er, catalog;) they have lots of neat stuff in there, too.

My boys don't keep their sets together for long. My 5 year old tries to keep the sets together in their bags (I keep sets in ziploc bags with the instruction booklet they come with), but my 6 year old always goes through them to take parts he likes. I have pretty much given up trying to keep the sets together. Same with their Playmobil. They also take playmobil people and use them with Legos and Lincoln logs. It's all good. ;) I agree with a PP that you can find some really good deals on ebay for mixed lots. I have also had luck with craigslist and garage sales for large lots.

...And catch it from the vaccine itself quite often.

And legally, even if there were a requirement, there are always exemptions.

:iagree:

Sorry to go OT here, but what is the PTB? :confused:

That pretty much sums us up as well. :) My 6 year old ds loves watching Survivorman. I also got him hooked on the Tribal documentaries so we both love to watch the Mark and Olly series together. He chooses to watch more documentary and educational shows than anything else. His only cartoons he really likes at the moment are Garfield DVDs and Dexter's Lab. My 4.5 year old would rather play a computer game than watch TV. And my kids do have a TV with verizon in their room. I have parental blocks on it, however, so they are pretty limited. They rarely watch tv in their room though.

Wow! I really wish our birds would simply let us hold them. :o We have had them for over a year already, though, so I am guessing it is probably too late to train them to actually do something interesting, or at least not appear to be having a heart attack when we go near the cage. :001_huh:

Well that is different. That was plain rude. Thanks for the clarification. And FWIW, I didn't think you were a monster even before the clarification. ;)

That's what I do, too. If I am making a meal I know one of my kids won't or can't eat they are always offered other options that don't involve alot of preparation on my part. ;)

You have never met my son then. He has sensory issues, as I stated in another post. He really will gag, and has actually thrown up, from certain foods. He doesn't do it to be "bratty". He certainly doesn't enjoy uncontrollable gag that happens sometimes from certain foods or smells. To state that "almost anyone" can hold back a gag long enough to run from a room is somewhat ignorant, really. I'm also sorry you would consider my son a brat due to something he really has no control over.

My oldest has sensory issues with some things, food included. I can see my son doing that. He would not do it to offend anyone, however. To him, just the thought of the food touching his mouth or the smell of certain foods will make him gag like that. That kid may very well have had sensory issues. I would personally bring some of our own food for my ds if I knew there would be things he would have an issue with and let him eat something we brought without making an issue out of it. :)

LOL. We have 2 parakeets. They drive me batty sometimes, and they are generally useless, yet they remain. :tongue_smilie:

Thanks! I founds the HANDLE website and have it bookmarked to check out in more detail later. :)

My kids eat when they are hungry. We don't have scheduled meal or snacktimes.

I would not push a sport on a kid that does not want to do it. It can be fun, but it likely won't be very fun for someone who doesn't enjoy sports. For me it's like imagining my husband dragging me into a hardware store and expecting me to love it. The thought makes me cringe. :tongue_smilie: There are other ways to get a "team experience" if that is what you hope he will gain from it.

Am I missing something? I thought the OP said he is only showing negativity when he's asked to do something he doesn't want to do. Sounds normal to me. I know when I constantly have to do things I don't feel like doing at the moment I sometimes grumble under my breath or make a face and move on. I really think this is being read into more than it needs to be, but that's just me. ;)

I am wondering the same thing! :)

If dirty looks are the worst things I have to deal with when my kids are teens, I can deal with that. ;) Seriously, I really fail to see how letting a glare slide is going to turn this 10 yr old child into a raging teenager. :confused: In fact, I'm pretty sure most teens scowl and glare at their parents on a regular basis. I think it's good to teach our kids to vent. I don't take it personally when my kids tell me they don't like me or scream and cry and run to their rooms. I let them vent. Then we talk about it and move on. I don't see why a kid should be forced to mold their emotional reactions into whatever the parent deems respectable, as long as they are not hurting someone else or themselves. I just have a hard time demanding a child to plaster on a fake submissive smile for my benefit. It's not teaching them anything other than how to please other people. I really don't want to raise followers.

*Shrug*. I don't see how how spanking will help a child at any age, but that's just me. :tongue_smilie: I also don't see how hitting a child teaches them that hitting is not okay. Just sayin'...

I guess I don't see the big deal, honestly. It sounds like he is frowning, yet still doing what it is you are asking him to do, right? IMHO it's one of those things I would ignore. But we're pretty lax about expressing emotions here, unless those emotions are actually becoming physical or totally out of control. Otherwise I just shrug it off, yk?

Bonox? Bovril? Marmite? *Off to google*

Same here. My kids watch Spongebob. They laugh whenever their is some sort of posterior joke. Heck, I crack up sometimes watching it. :tongue_smilie: But that commercial just, ugh. It's bad. :glare:

I agree with the above posts. Nursing is not causing her cavities. I nursed my oldest until 15-16 months, and he has the worst teeth of my two. By age 3.5 he had to go under GA to have extensive work done on all of his back molars and a few front teeth as well. When I weaned his due to my preg. with ds2, I don't think he even had any molars yet. Ds2 nursed until right before his 4th birthday, and while he did have alot of issues with his front teeth, he just recently developed a cavity on one of his molars. I do think heredity has alot to do with it. Dental problems run in both sides of the family.