^ I'll see what my wife says, we also want to avoid the brunt of the winter flu season, though she's still getting sick plenty from the older one who brings the bug home.

What are you guys using for kids tablets these days? My oldest has a Contixo V8 but it seems like they don't exist anymore? I want to stick to Android and I'd prefer to avoid Amazon but it seems like the Fire is the only thing sold for kids these days? I guess anything that I can put an Otterbox or some other "kid proof" case on would be the same thing but it looks like these days an Otterbox costs more than what we paid for the entire tablet a few years ago.

We picked up a Fire for Christmas. I'm on the same boat as to avoiding Amazon but meh it's not like I'm doing anything on it. By the time it matters for him the tablet would be long gone anyways

Quick reminder to kids using tablets -- do as much as you can to make sure they take breaks, and make them look at stuff in the distance during those breaks. My kid used to be slightly far sighted last year, which is pretty common because kids' eyeballs may not be long enough to give 20/20 vision, and they end up with a bit of far sightedness. Fast forward to this year where he really started using messaging apps with his friends at school, playing some games, watching more YouTube and such, and BAM! He is slightly near-sighted now, and the optometrist has no hesitations in suggesting how tablet use is the likely culprit making myopia a major problem in kids today. FailFish

Currently their use is extremely limited but it's good to keep in mind.

iirc (but it might be out of date now) too much "easy" reading (good lighting, clear screen, etc) is actually bad for your eyes. which explains why my eyes were garbage before I had them fixed.

Are you guys getting booster seats with LATCH buckles or without? I'm looking at the Graco Turbobooster because it's convertible to backless and their Extend2Fit has been a breeze to use but it just uses the seatbelt to secure it. That'll make swapping it around easier and I tend to trust Gracos judgement but I can't help but feel like the extra anchors would make it safer.

Some one mentioned there's a TOTAL weight limit for latches, and at a certain age/size you can't really use the latch system anymore. !Aznboi would know better since he's certified. I believe he might be the one that brought that up anyways.

A small add to this - took our 4 year old to get her eyes checked as she's been complaining about some discomfort with one of her eyes. Everything checked out fine but related to the above - her vision was better than 20/20 and the optometrist said this is quite normal for young kids but that eventually it'll get worse but that one of the keys is that we get her outdoors 90 mins a day so that she has to regularly look far away.

Yup, my car seat has latch + seat belt option and manual said only use one. Also that can't use latch after a certain point.

I did find this, which states that for car seats made after Feb 2014 the max combined weight of the seat + child using LATCH is 69lbs forward facing and 65lbs rear facing. Booster seats have no weight limit because the seatbelt is what takes the load, which makes sense. So it sounds like LATCH on a booster is really just for convenience when the booster stays in one vehicle.

https://thecarseatlady.com/latch-weight-limits/

Latch use for Boosters is just to keep the thing from launching out of the seat when there's no kid buckled up. My Diono booster has it in the manual to buckle the seat in when unoccupied if you don't use Latch so it doesn't go flying if there's a sudden deceleration.

The older one (4yo) is DYING to see snow because we've had snowy winters for as long as he's remembered, but it's unlikely we'll get much if any this year. At what age is it safe to go tubing? I did a quick look and the mountains don't see to have a age limit, Whistler says 3+.

^ Snow problem solved.

And on a very bright note, both my kids daycare are now $10/d. Our fees went from 500 + 375 to 200 + 200. Then it'll be 200 only when the older one goes to Kindergarten.

I'd like $10 a day. Did you have to change facilities to do that?

No, the facilities they were at applied for it when it first became available and they just got approved. Seems like the whole organization was approved for it.

Does anybody have recommendations for a 4 y/o girl birthday party? It's late march so outdoors is too risky.

No bright ideas but if you're simply looking a 4 year old is still of age to enjoy those indoor play places. I for one refused to do these in a public setting and would only book private. There are plenty of smaller ones in Richmond for example. That being said, boy or girl? interests? There are options like indoor soccer. Anyway you've got options just depends on what he/she likes, how many people, City preferred etc

I just went to a kids birthday party at Jelloland (https://www.jelloland.ca) and it was a pretty good setup for about 10-20 kids. The place is small enough that you can keep an eye on your kid easily and can book out the whole place.

For my daughter's 4th (last April) we just invited her closest 5 friends and their parents to come over and we hired an Elsa to perform for them. We are likely to do the same this year as it's what she says she wants and we also don't want to do the work of inviting 10-20 kids to a party. For her 3rd we got a bouncy castle in our backyard but it got cold and dark pretty quick (though the kids were worn out after 2 hours anyways).

I'm attending some kind of sports ball thing for a 5th birthday party this weekend as well - I think it's around Granville Island, will report back on how it goes.

Funday 365 for large parties like 30 kids, which means 60-90 with parents. They have private buyouts but it’s very pricey at $1600. It also includes the laser tag side. The room rental birthday parties are okay but it gets very crowded because people share with 3-4 other parties + public walk-ins.

Any community center, like Trout Lake, Mount Pleasant, or Thunderbird, for bouncy castles and children gym equipment. Also fit 20-30 kids easily.

Granville Island arcade. 10-15 kids.

Oh my land club in PoCo is nice too. They have various size bday party rooms.

I attended a community centre party with an indoor bouncy castle and it's nice but very loud. I was getting noise level alerts on my Watch throughout the party (over 90db) and I had to step outside several times cause my ears just couldn't take it anymore. Your experience will vary based on the size of the room and design of the room though but it's likely to be loud one way or another due to the bouncy castle's fan (and all the screaming kids).

Also the thing with anything Community Centre whether it be a room rental for a birthday, or signing up for a class is extremely hard in most cases. YMMV of course but it's always the cheapest and easiest option for people so the competition to get them is harder too.

We did a cc birthday party last year, you have to book a few months in advance. The schedule is also not available until something like 3 months out for some centers so you have to call around and set alerts.

Reporting back on this part - it was at False Creek Community Center on Granville Island and they provide a "coach" that plays with the kids with some hoops and balls. I think it's most suitable for kids that are at least 7-8 years old as the 5 year olds at the party didn't really pay attention to the coach and just did their own thing. Big space though so if you've got 12+ kids then it'll work well.

We are trying to find a place for my kid's 5th birthday in early April as well - I'm looking at Maplewood Farms (https://maplewoodfarm.bc.ca/things-t...thday-parties/) which would be a change of pace compared to all the parties I just attended but early April weather might be a bit wet.

Anyone else have this issue?
My 13 month refuses to sleep unless you're holding him upright.
Then even when he's fallen asleep, as soon as you tilt him 45º in preparation of lying him down in bed, he starts flailing and crying in his sleep until you hold him upright again...

We had a similar issue for a few weeks when he was quite young -- no more than 6 months old for sure, probably younger. For his evening sleeps, he would insist on having someone carry him while walking. We can't put him into his crib, and we can't stop walking. If we try, he'd somehow know it right away even though I am 100% certain he has already fallen asleep. It drove me nuts because I'd be the one walking back and forth our apartment while carrying him in my arms for a few hours at a time.

And then there was another phase when he insists on having someone hold/carry him. He is older at that point, though probably still younger than 1 year old. But because he is bigger and heavier than before at that point, carrying him in my arms for 3+ hrs was killing my both my shoulder and arm. But at least at that point, I can just sit down.

In both cases, it was a phase he went through over a few weeks. So in your case, it might just be a phase. How long have you noticed this happening?

Another potential cause might be that his stomach is only comfortable when he is being held in an upright position. As soon as you tilt him down, perhaps the gases and/or fluids in his stomach is making him uncomfortable, so he'd start crying.

Does this tend to happen some time after meals? Potentially, you might want to try giving him a bit less to eat so that he won't feel so bloated.