I've always felt that it is important to be consistent when working with children. It is not fair to them if you are frequently changing the rules, or acting one way one day,and differently the next. We have tried to keep to the boys' regular routine in Manchester
Cuddles.and stories in the morning and at bedtime, teeth-cleaning, please&thankyous, etc etc. And they have responded well and been a delight to look after.Now we are in London with Rosie and Jess, and doing our best there.
But I wish to have a rant about child safety equipment. Why do they apparently make no attempt whatsoever to be consistent?
Why do the manufacturers of buggies, carseats, and stair gates choose such a diverse range of mechanisms?
I just get used to unfolding the double buggy, when I have to operate the single one in Manchester, which is quite different from the one in London....
Then there are the car seats, front facing,rear facing, isofix, not isofix...
And stair gates that must be clicked or squeezed or lifted [possibly one handed as you are carrying a baby]
And we persevere, because we take our role as grandparents very seriously.
We are gradually getting to grips with it all, as we stay in our daughters' homes - including learning to use a piece of kitchen equipment which many busy young Mums find indispensible nowadays...
It's challenging, abd tiring looking after children [more so as we get older] but it is truly a privilege to spend time with them.
Steph and Gaz are home safely now, after a brilliant 40th birthday celebration holiday.
You are having a busy week looking after your grandchildren! At the same time, I know you are enjoying it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's going well
DeleteI'm mystified by airfriers. That's a good pun.
ReplyDeleteWell done for being diligent grandparents. I agree with you re consistency in devices/vehicles for children- they are confusing.
I guess it's probably something to do with patents or USP but it is vexing!
Glad Steph and Gary had a lovely time. My 40th was in lockdown so I'm always a bit wistful when people talk about theirs! Kx
The air friar picture was on one of Bob's birthday cards. I do feel sorry for people who missed out on "special" anniversaries & birthdays because of lockdown.
DeleteSo glad that everyone enjoyed themselves. I agree with you about children and routines, it is what they need.
ReplyDeleteAs fir pushchairs well my friend and I could not open her grandsons buggy. We were in John Lewis car park so we carried it in and asked an assistant who with a simple click opened it, leaving us two grandmas amazed and puzzled.
Now that was an intelligent thing to do. The child seat in our car came from John Lewis, they were very helpful
DeleteThere’s an old Shedman in this house who loves his air fryer and I’m sure it’s because it’s a gadget. He is also in charge of the dishwasher because apparently I don’t load it correctly! Catriona
ReplyDeleteLoading the dishwasher is a very personal thing. But if he's got The Right Way then he should do it every time!!
DeleteTotally agree... in fact someone said this should be discussed in marriage preparation meetings. Mine loads, I occasionally unload (without raising my eyebrows at his method!)
DeleteWe both take turns
DeleteLooking after a 4yr old overnight on my own at his house is becoming very tiring! It was for a good cause though since it was his Mummy's birthday and my son had arranged a night away as a special treat so I didn't want to say no and it was lovely spending time with him. Taken me two days to get back to any level of energy and btw, he likes his pain au chocolat served warm and cut into 4 precisely!!
ReplyDeleteGeorge had to explain to us that in his house they call Pain Au Chocolat "chocolate sandwiches"
DeleteI always find it peculiar that gadgets don't work in similar ways. Many of them no longer come with instructions. You have to go online to find out how to work things then print them off!
ReplyDeleteWe recently replaced our microwave and thought "how hard can it be?" when trying to work out how to use some of the functions. I've never had a "soften butter" function before! Turns out it was not as straightforward as we thought and, lo and behold, we now have to keep a set of printed instructions next to the machine!!
Liz's microwave has unbelievably arcane instructions. Fortunately Bob can operate it. We did get the hang of Steph's air fryer (just about) but the London one is different
DeleteHow lovely to spend time with all 4 grandchildren, bet they all have different personalities. We are just off on our weekly school run. She takes Grandad into the Co-Op for her weekly treat of sweets and she is allowed to pick what tea we are having, tonight is pizza and salad. Snow here but rapidly melting. Xx
ReplyDeleteAll Very Different, but delightful and loving. But now George, like Rosie and Jess , believes Grandma and Grandad can make anything. I am my own worst enemy sometimes...
DeleteI have a small air fryer and it is very handy for frozen French fries in particular. DS sent me a link to an excellent video which describes exactly what an air fryer is:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h9JhW-m35o
I think they are useful if you want a small portion cooking and you don't want to turn on the big oven
DeleteWe cook salmon fillets, fish fillets, chicken fillets, oven chips, sausages, frozen croissants, fish fingers and many other things in our tiny two person version. It's excellent and you don't have to think of it as complicated or for recipes. It's marginally quicker than using the oven but obviously uses a lot less electricity.
DeleteI can see it uses less electricity than an oven if you cook 2 croissants - but surely people cooking a whole meal (eg sausages then chips ) may end up using more power and possibly takes longer?
DeleteIf we're cooking two things that need the oven we would use the oven, eg sausage and chips. If we're cooking sausage and mash we would use the air fryer for the sausages. Similarly, if we're doing salmon fillets with veg we would use the air fryer for the fish and the hob for the veg, in fact using one ring and the steamer basket.
DeleteHorses for courses!
This sounds like well thought out strategies. I applaud your wise planning and resultant cost savings!
Delete