Any tips on how to help 5 year old leave somewhere fun peacefully? Whether it’s summer camps, the park, fun outings, etc. it is always a fight to put shoes on and go, sometimes ending in tantrums. I have tried giving minute countdowns, using sticker charts, practicing at home. I am at my wits end!

This is so hard and I too am not a fan of imaginary play! I’m planning to take my girls to our families ranch/hill country house this summer for a week and came up with a list of activities, some that can be done inside since it’s so hot where we live. Some I’m sure I’ll have to order kits and look up how to do but hopefully can’t be too hard :
Nature scavenger hunt, Make candles or soap, Tie dye (sheets, bandannas, clothing), “Camping” in beach pop up tent in living room, Baking, make Pine cone bird feeders, Paint bird houses (cheap from Michael’s), Make dog treats, Make ice cream, “paint” with water and chalk outside, make Christmas ornaments, Spa day- bubble bath followed by cucumbers on eyes, facial, mani pedi. Good luck out there!

Fun question!! We have girls ages 2 and 5. Our 5 year old loves any Franklin the turtle book and our 2 year old actually listens to them some too, they love any curious George book although some are a bit long for the 2. 5 also loves Madeline books.
2 loves all the Hello World books, we have camping, ocean, and snow.
If your kids happen to both be girls we also love the book Sisters First.

Does anyone have any tips for poison ivy? Other than hydrocortisone and Benadryl (oral and gel) as none of this is helping much!

I think just explicitly telling your husband that foreplay starts at the beginning of the day and explaining that could be helpful! Men get in the mood so easily I think they forget this and need concrete examples.

I’m an OT and I think all therapists- OT, PT, and SLP would say it’s best to get it checked out rather than “wait and see” which seems to be recommended by doctors. You know your child best so if your gut says it should be investigated further, go for it!

We add flax seed meal to oatmeal and they never notice! I’ve added it to cookies too.

We love white lotus!

@AhMummy we got my four year old’s out this summer. I think our biggest regret was not giving her enough of a heads up to ask questions, read books, etc. so she had a tough time afterwards. I wish we had told her at least a week, maybe two in advance- but this depends on your child and what might work best for them. One thing that did help was taking her to pick out a ton of ice cream the day before!

She loved the Franklin Goes to the Hospital book, although I don’t know if that’s a little young for a 6 year old or not.

I know some people feel like (to an extent) the younger the better, but I actually think being 6 instead of 4 may give your kiddo a better chance at understanding what’s going on and being able to express when they’re in pain afterwards, which would’ve helped.

Stay on top of pain meds, even if it means waking them up. Don’t wait for them to ask for it. At least for us it was really hard for her to express the pain and I think it was surprising to her.

Good luck, feel free to ask me other specific questions if you have any and if I can answer I will!

Any moms have a good therapist they like who takes insurance? In austin tx but virtual is ok too!