1. Chewable fever breaker with sore throat reliever and cough suppressant (may require multiple meds). Make sure they are all compatible with each other.
2. Children’s Pepto, for the overindulgence of sweets, upset/sour stomach that can happen when you least expect it, a real lifesaver! Need I say more?
3. Pre-moistened wipes for those unexpected blowouts, either below the belt or when extra catsup is added when you are not looking. It is also a good idea to wipe the shopping cart down; especially during the cold and flu season.
4. Juice Boxes stashed in your car.
5. A pocket full of loose change, you never know when one of those gumball type machines at their eye level is going to disrupt your plans when you are jammed for time and you need complete cooperation. Who said 25¢ can’t by peace!
5 Things to Never Be Caught Without For Your Toddler
Coppertone Spray- Lotions are a thing of the past (thanks Randy for the tip)
Target's Cold Core Sippy Cup- Not the actual name of this sippy cup, but the idea is that it has a core that you freeze to keep the drink colder for longer. It's not really an essential, but it's fun. It's found in the summer picnic section of Target.
Essentials by J.J. Cole Diaper Bag- It's the perfect diaper bag for a guy who doesn't want to look like he's carrying a big purse. It's a one strap streamlined metallic gray diaper bag with two smaller pockets to put snacks and toys and one bigger pocket to put diapers and stuff. There's also a thermal bottle holder attachment.
Great idea to post of 5-most needed list...but I'm gonna disagree with you on 4 of your five. Are you really giving your kid medication so often that you find you need it in your car?
Fever serves a very important function in the body (heating it up to help kill infection) and unless it is fairly extreme ("extreme" depends on age) it really doesn't need to be brought down...yeah it can make your kid irritable, but all you're doing is suppressing the body's response to an invader, not helping it kill the invader. Yes, some fevers (or, rather, the illness causing them) need *immediate* attention and medication, but popping your kid some tylenol just because they are a little hot and cranky is not necessarily doing them a favor.
(http://children.webmd.com/tc/Fever-Age-4-and-Older-Topic-Overview )
Kid's Pepto: uh, this doesn't really sound like true emergency use! Food poisoning, for sure, but I hope that isn't happening on a regular basis!...overeating, not so sure. Time to stop buying the Costco sized bags of M&M's, MileHI! Pepto, like tylenol, is basically just a mask...if you're using a lot of it, you're running the risk that you are masking what is really wrong and might need other, real treatment.
Juice Boxes: how about plain old water? Most of what is sold as "juice" has as little as zero percent real juice in it and is really just soda without the fizz (water, chemically produced cheap sugar, fake flavor)...some kid's juices (some flavors of Capri Sun, I believe) actually have more sugar per oz. than some sodas. Bodies are mostly made up of water...so feed them water!
Pocket full of change: I leave this one to Grandpa, who is always a sucker to let the kids ride the horse at the market. For me, gumball/candy machines and mechanical rides have been a total curse...let them ride it once, they then think it is their inalienable right to use it every single time they see it...so it immediately loses any value as a bribe (and radically slows down going to the market). Around here, they are 50 cents...and that 50 cents only buys me unending harrassement. That may well just be my kids, however...
Here is my list of essentials for the car:
1. Wipes. (I'm with you on that one...).
2. Water sippies...we never leave home without 'em...and I keep some spare small water bottles in the car.
3. Emergency snacks....the favorite changes periodically, but generally something like a Cliff Bar...major tummy filling calorie and protein hit in a compact, shelf stable format.
4. Very basic first aid kit...includes band-aids, alcohol wipes, topical antibiotic, and unlimited kisses.
5. a change of clothes...for everyone including me! I
A few things get added in the summer:
- sunscreen (I always seem to leave it on the shelf in the garage...)
- a towel...never know when you'll find a new sprayground or fountain to get soaked in on a roasting summer day (see: change of clothes above)
- sand toys...never know when you'll end up at a park that needs 'em.
- kite...that way we always have it when we happen to be at the park AND the wind happens to be good.
I never leave the house without my backpack that contains
-Cup full of some sort of 100% "crazy juice" or water
- Extra clothes/underwear/pull-ups
- Wipes (These are so handy the wife and I decided that we will continue buying them forever)
- Snacks (usually a small container of all the cheez-its, pretzels, and crackers from the bottom of the bags) HEY! My kid loves 'em!
- Camera (you never know when something cool is going to happen)
- Alcohol cleansing gel (I would get rid of this if my boy still wasn't a thumbsucker)
- Sunglasses
1) Overnight bag with sweat suits for all three kids, so if there is weather change (a Colorado certainty) I am always prepared, plus I always know I am ready for a weekend with the folks.
2) Car books/toys- the stuff that stays in the car and never comes out (and likewise our house toys stay in the house) all I can say is Yeah for Highlights (not Highlife, as I found out when I was getting our subscription, little bit different subject matter.)
3) The ever useful secret stash of diapers up under the seat, so even on those days when I am SURE there is one more kid wrapper in the bottom of the bag I am still covered.
4) Park toys- Soccer ball, baseball, mit, Frisbees, and the like.
5) Snacks (usually something I hate like goldfish, so they don't all disappear while we are stuck in traffic)
and of course a basic tool, first aid, and "emergency" kit with blankets and flares and such. The overnight bag is probably the one that has saved my patootie the most.
Joined: 2006-11-06
Dad Points: 1192