Day care mishaps today

Today certainly didn't start out well for my day care.

We went out the front yard to pick some flowers and just as we were about to get back into the house, Miss 2 was bitten by a green ant. They are ferocious, these ones. The last time she got bitten, she has nose bleeding the whole night and a swollen finger that required antibiotics. Today she was bitten thrice in a span of a few seconds. All on the same big toe. She cried. Poor girl. Half an hour of crying. Applied ice, white vinegar, banana skin and panadol but they didn't work. Finally had aloe vera rubbed on her and that soothed her down greatly. Maybe it was from all of the above, but it didn't matter. So long as she's playing and not crying, I'm glad.

So, while all the crying was happening, the other 2 day care children were having their morning tea. After settling Miss 2, I cleaned up the morning tea crumbs and one of the day care girls told me that she had done a wee. On my couch cushion and the carpet.

Off I went then to clean her up and to my horror, Miss 2 decided that it was water play time, so she stomped on the wee on the carpet. Had to get her feet washed as well. Removed the cushion into the bath tub and covered the wetted carpet with salt to absorb the urine. I found that effective for me. Blocked off the area, but Miss 2 decided that she would like to have a taste of urine and salt and licked some off the carpet.

That sent her to the bathroom for some mouth rinsing and a good talking to.

That was all within an hour. I was exhausted by the end of it and my day was not even half gone. It is afternoon sleep now and I am off to my bed too. Sphere: Related Content

How safe are child-safe locks?

I run a day care and almost everything in the house is locked or child-proofed. We just added a new lock to the house - the linen cupboard. I was told to either put a lock in or remove all the plastic bags from the cupboard. Took the lock.

Anyway, Miss 2 discovered that she could 'unlock' the fridge door. Yup, fridges also have locks. They are the stick-ons with a clip. You know, those that have double sided-tapes on both ends with a clip-on lock in the middle? The double-sided taped ends are the ones that are to be stuck onto one side of the fridge and another to the door. They're so child-safe that I always struggle to unlock them. They're the most annoying locks I've ever come across.

Back to Miss 2, well, she discovered that if the lock cannot be unlocked, guess what!, she could jolly well peel off one end from the double-sided tape that was stuck to the fridge. So there! Just when I thought that my house is free from harm's way.

I find that child-safe locks are just a deterrent. They're not all-encompassing protective, but they give children a bit more effort and time in getting to what they want. Unfortunately, I reckon that people who designed child-safe locks hardly ever considered the locks from a child's point-of-view. Children have this knack of getting around rules and achieving what they want in a totally different way.

Hope your child-safe locks lasted longer than mine! Sphere: Related Content