Twitter: Follow TBOmom on Twitter

Need a sitter? Tampa’s in luck

Posted Aug 22, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Aug 22, 2011 at 01:53 PM

Looks like I should officially stop complaining that I can’t have date night because I don’t have a babysitter.

I’m living in the seventh-best spot for sitters in the nation, according to a recent study from Sittercity.com.

The web site – which matches parents with qualified, backgrounded sitters and nannies – looked at job postings, average hourly cost and number of sitters available to make its list. Tampa fell at No. 7 on the top cities to find a babysitter. Orlando was the only other Florida city to make the Top 10.

Tampa boasts more than 4,300 available sitters (registered on Sittercity, that is), who get paid an average hourly rate of $10.89. If you haven’t hired a babysitter since you were a sitter yourself and charged clients using the formula “a dollar an hour a kid” (this would be me), don’t pass out. That’s a competitive rate.

You can play around with Sittercity’s rate calculator if you don’t believe it.

Here’s the list and the average hourly rates:

1. Mesa, Ariz., $9.77
2. Cleveland, Ohio, $10.31
3. Ft. Worth, Texas, $10.56
4. Orlando, Fla., $10.60
5. St. Paul, Minn., $10.87
6. Pittsburgh, Pa., $10.87
7. Tampa, Fla., $10.89
8. Richmond, Va.,$10.92
9. St. Louis, Mo., $11.06
10. Naperville, Ill., $11.11

Even if you don’t use Sittercity, you can find a good list of interview questions on the site for potential caregivers. You’ll want to find out their rates, experience with children and safety training as well as their work/school schedule, transportation availability and even if they have allergies or fear of certain pets.

---

Tips for safe backpack carrying

Posted Aug 16, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Aug 16, 2011 at 03:27 PM

I broke all the backpack rules when I was in school.

Even with sturdy L.L. Beans, I stuffed so many heavy textbooks and junk into it that by the end of the year, the straps had almost separated from the pack’s body. And I didn’t want to look like some geek, so I wore it over one shoulder, like school was just an afterthought and I didn’t care about studying and straight-A’s (even though I totally did).

And my back hurt. A lot. So did my neck from craning it toward the opposite shoulder in a fruitless attempt to balance myself out. Now I carry an overloaded laptop bag and have some of the same problems.

Don’t let your kids do this.

Children are returning to school this month, and it’s easy to start stuffing all those brand-new school supplies and books into your backpack. But you really shouldn’t.

I talked to Dr. Charles Welborn, director of medical operations for After Hours Pediatrics Urgent Care, today about the problems big and unbalanced backpacks can cause for kids. He says he sees children come to him complaining about nonspecific aches and pains in their neck, back and shoulders during the school year.

Normally, it would be rare for a child to complain about that kind of pain, Welborn said. They’re more likely to have hand or forearm injuries from falls. But when they lug too much weight around or do the one-shoulder carry, they putting a strain on themselves.

Do that day after day after day, and you may wind up in the doctor’s office.

Welborn said the only cure for that type of repetitive injury is to stop doing whatever is causing the pain.

The first step is to make sure your child isn’t carrying around too much stuff. Generally, children should limit their packs to 10 to 15 percent of their body weight, so a child who is 60 pounds should carry no more than 6 to 8 pounds on his back.

With books, lunch, a water bottle and more, that can add up pretty quickly, Welborn said.

A smaller backpack can help, because it won’t have as much room to stuff it to the gills. Smaller backpacks are also lighter. A large backpack may weigh in at 5 pounds when empty, and that counts toward the weight limit of what the child should tote.

Rolling backpacks are another option, but check with your child’s school to make sure they are permitted.

For wearable backpacks, look for wide, padded shoulder straps that distribute the weight more evenly. And wear the backpack on both shoulders – hanging it off one shoulder puts a lot of stress on the body, Welborn said.

The fit should be snug, which will offer more stability, and the bottom of the backpack should hit about two inches above the waist. Fastening a waistband around your child would add further protection against injury, Welborn said, but that might not be practical for regular school use.

WFLA’s Rod Carter interviewed a pediatric orthopedic surgeon on the same issue.

And who knows? Maybe this problem will solve itself in a few years, as schools move more and more toward digital textbooks. By the time my son starts kindergarten, we might be talking about what kind of carrier best protects his e-reader. And he won’t be walking crooked like his mom.

 

 

---

Review: Slip-on diapers for squirmy babies

Posted Aug 10, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Aug 11, 2011 at 04:12 PM

Yes, it has come to this. I get excited about diapers. But when you have changed as many as I have the past two years, some small improvements are a big deal.

Huggies recently sent me a review pack of their newest diaper, Little Movers Slip-Ons, in stores this month. My son got to be the guinea pig.

You think, what can you really do to improve diapers? Disposables have come a long way from my babysitting days, when the tabs stuck tight to plastic and woe to the diaperer who didn’t get it on right the first try. You’d rip the plastic trying to take off the tabs and have to waste a second diaper for your do-over.

Now the tabs attach and detach easily. Diapers also have all sorts of bells and whistles for leak prevention, absorption and movement. All of which I appreciate, but the newest feature is so nice you wonder why no one came up with it until now.

Slip-ons slide on like underwear, similar to disposable swim diapers. They have tabs as well to make removal easier. The first weekend we used them, I liked them but not well enough to replace my regular ones. I use the changing method where I lay my son on his back, with a clean diaper open beneath him. I take off the dirty diaper, wipe and close up the new one. The clean diaper serves the purpose of catching any, uh, fallout.

This method is great when your little one is relaxed and content to chill on his or her back. And you can do it with the slip-ons, if you open up the tabs first.

But if your child has other things on his agenda than a diaper change, the slip-ons save the day. I discovered this the second weekend I tried them out and couldn’t talk my son into staying still. Ever had to do a stand-up diaper change? It’s hard to get the fit right normally, but with these, the child steps into them like he is putting on pants. My son actually seemed to like having that kind of control.

Stretch sides get the fit right. We had no leak problems and the removal is easy with the tabs. The sizing seems to be the same as the regular diapers.

I don’t know if I’ll stop using the stockpile of diapers we have, because the slip-ons seem to run slightly more expensive than traditional ones, but I’ll keep a small pack in my stash. They’re good for harried mornings and trips outside the house when my son refuses to lie on the changing table.

Because he’s a toddler, and sometimes he’s cooperative and sometimes momma needs to try a new tactic.

---

Justin Roberts’ kiddie rock comes to Skipper’s this weekend

Posted Jul 29, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Jul 29, 2011 at 03:47 PM

I have listened to Justin Roberts’ newest CD, “Jungle Gym,” more than my son has.

Not because he doesn’t like it – he does, especially the upbeat tunes, and he lit up when I told him one of the songs was about trucks.

But I’ve had the CD on a lot more than he has. First at work so I could make sure I knew what I was talking about when I wrote up this blog post. Then in the car to introduce it to my son after day care. Then again in the car, only my son wasn’t there. And then some more in the car because “We Go Duck” was on, and it puts me in a good mood. And then I went online to listen to some of his older stuff.

That’s right. I’m listening to kindie rock, and no one is making me.

You’ll want to do the same after hearing a little of Roberts’ clever rock and wistful ballads. And if you used to go to Skipper’s for shows before you had kids, the good news is, you can head back over there for a concert this weekend – and take them.

Roberts and The Not Ready for Naptime Players will play in Tampa at 2 p.m. Sunday at Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road.

Roberts has performed on Nick Jr. and The Today Show and has been compared to Paul Simon, Fountains of Wayne and Elvis Costello. he reminds me of They Might Be Giants or Barenaked Ladies, particularly in the way he has fun with his lyrics (“And a casserole’s a hot dish. Either way it’s still delish”).

He paints a nice picture of childhood, too. Grammy-nominated “Jungle Gym” has songs about first sleepovers, broken arms on the jungle gym and parachute day in gym class (also the best day ever in P.E. for me, no contest). I listen to him and think of people and places I haven’t thought of in years. I can see the multipurpose room in my elementary school in my head and remember where I sat when my teacher brought out the parachute and how it billowed up high when we all ran to the middle of the room.

Tickets for the show this weekend cost $8 for 2 and up.

Here’s a video of “Obsessed by Trucks,” one of my favorites, to give you a taste:

 

 

---

Storybooks on DVD keep road trips peaceful without the guilt

Posted Jul 27, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Jul 27, 2011 at 01:14 PM

A family road trip passes a lot more smoothly if you have a portable DVD player to occupy fidgety children.

But if you’re like me, you might feel a little bit of guilt about kids zoning out in front of the television and not doing something a little more stimulating for their brains.

Scholastic released two new DVD compilations this summer that offer a good middle ground between entertainment and education.

“I’m Dirty and I Stink: The Kate and Jim McMullan Collection”  and “Good Night Gorilla … and More Wacky Animal Adventures” are part of the Scholastic Storybook Treasures collection, which get children’s books moving with animation, music and celebrity readers.

Each DVD set features several stories, modern and old-fashioned. Some are silly, some are thoughtful and some are more than a little odd (not a bad thing, as far as most children are concerned). All stay true to the book’s original artwork, even when they are animated. They also have captioning that highlights each word as it is read, to allow children to practice their reading.

The headliner story on each DVD stands out, but there are nice surprises, plus some things young viewers will grow into. The McMullan set ($19.95) is aimed at children ages 4 to 6, and the “Good Night Gorilla” collection ($24.95) is for ages 2 to 4. But younger and older children – and probably their parents – will find something enjoyable on each one.

“Good Night Gorilla” keeps the sweet, sleepy tone of the original book, in which a gorilla sneaks out of the zoo and takes his friends with him to the zookeepers’ house. It’s one of 16 stories on a three-disc set that also had the enjoyable “Danny and the Dinosaur” and “The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash.”

In my house, the two McMullan books, “I Stink!” and “I’m Dirty,” earned the most repeat watches from my 2-year-old son. Andy Richter narrates the garbage truck tale “I Stink” with swagger, and Steve Buscemi voices a hard-working backhoe loader who gets good and messy.

The other 10 stories on that two-disc set also involve boats and vehicles, including the classic “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.” My son frequently requests “Trashy Town” and enjoys the talking mice and catchy refrain about taking out the garbage.

He also gets swept up in the wordless, live-action “Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle,” a trippy story of a scrappy bike that gets separated from its child and escapes from the dump, a traffic cop, a street sweeper and more.

Because the stories are short, you can watch a couple at a time or the entire DVD through at once. Or you can view “Trashy Town” multiple times in a row, like my son.

But don’t be surprised if all this television viewing actually brings you back to books. My family got so hooked on “I Stink!” that we searched for the original at the bookstore. As soon as my son spotted it, he climbed into my lap and asked me to read it to him.

 

---