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green27
I've heard so many people lately say that too much cleaning is bad for your home and children's immune systems. But then, you get warnings to clean countertops daily because of food/meat germs. What is a safe level (a good balance) of cleaning your home without going overboard?
I vacuum regularly (house every 2-4 weeks, every week in kitchen) I only wash my hardwoods maybe once a month or two months, or longer. But I wash/vacuum the kitchen floor more often (son eats things off floor if I slip up). I wash countertops almost daily with METHOD cleaner (easy on lungs and environment). Sink every 2 weeks or so w/Ajax with Bleach. The only thing I use Clorox wipes on is the diaper pail maybe once a month because my son teethes the handle. I use Palmolive original soap for dishes. These are estimates.
Am I overdoing anything? How do you find a balance?
Answer
I don't know who the people you've been talking to about cleaning too much, but that is a lot of bad advice. When children are involved, you can never be too clean. You most definitely want to keep counters and bathrooms clean as possible. It doesn't take much to disinfect those things. A little, and I mean a little bleach in water will disinfect bathrooms, sinks, counter tops and even kids toys. You don't have to disinfect floors, that's impossible to do. But counter tops should be a several times a day, especially if you prepare meats a lot. Even a very little bleach in dishwater does the trick also. The vacuuming routine you have and floor washing seems to be good enough. Why buy wipes, if you keep bleach in your house, that is plenty good enough. I did with my kids growing up and kept illnesses down to a bare minimum. But when they get to school age, they seem to bring it home with them. And there is nothing you can do about that, other than what you already do at home.
No one could call you a fanatic and if they do, I would ignore them. Just do what you are doing.
I don't know who the people you've been talking to about cleaning too much, but that is a lot of bad advice. When children are involved, you can never be too clean. You most definitely want to keep counters and bathrooms clean as possible. It doesn't take much to disinfect those things. A little, and I mean a little bleach in water will disinfect bathrooms, sinks, counter tops and even kids toys. You don't have to disinfect floors, that's impossible to do. But counter tops should be a several times a day, especially if you prepare meats a lot. Even a very little bleach in dishwater does the trick also. The vacuuming routine you have and floor washing seems to be good enough. Why buy wipes, if you keep bleach in your house, that is plenty good enough. I did with my kids growing up and kept illnesses down to a bare minimum. But when they get to school age, they seem to bring it home with them. And there is nothing you can do about that, other than what you already do at home.
No one could call you a fanatic and if they do, I would ignore them. Just do what you are doing.
How long did you/ do you plan to rear-face your child's carseat?
love
I know it is recommended to do 2 years minimum, and then as long as possible after that, but how long do you think is a reasonable goal? 2.5 years? 3 years? 4 years? Just planning ahead so I can purchase the right car seat. I have a small car and a small budget, so that makes ERF harder. I also have a tiny kiddo, growing around the 20th percentile for height and weight. I hit 40 pounds in first grade, so I bet she will be similar.
Answer
My rule is that any child who fits rear facing will ride rear facing. This means that a really, really big and tall 40 lb 2 year old who does not fit rear facing will have to ride forward facing. On the same token, smaller kids who fit until age 4 or even 5 will ride rear facing. In my mind, a reasonable goal is using the car seat to the limits- until the child has genuinely outgrown it or has reached 4 years old and you can pass the child seat down to a younger sibling.
Having a smaller vehicle and a budget in mind does not mean you have to sacrifice safety. You can still extend rear face your child without having the passenger seat crammed up to the dashboard.
The Safety 1st Guide 65 is very affordable- about $80 and takes very little front to back space at the upper recline angle. It has two lines for level to ground (one for older kids and one for younger kids).
It is outgrown rear facing when the child's head is parallel to the adjustable headrest, 40 inches tall, or 40 lbs, whichever comes first. Most kids could ride rear facing to at least 3 and could get kids to 5 to 7 for forward facing. It has about 17 inch top slots and a 65 lb forward facing weight limit.
Also, Albee Baby usually has cheaper car seats than compared to Target/Walmart/ or even Toys R Us: http://www.albeebaby.com/cocarse1.html
Other convertible car seats for ERF that I usually recommend (these might not be great for compact cars):
-Evenflo SureRide ($100)
-Safety 1st Complete Air 65 ($120)
-Graco My Ride 65 ($130)
-Graco Size 4 Me 70 (also known as the My Size 70 and the HeadWise 70) ($180)
-Diono Radian R100 ($180-$210 depending on where you buy)
-Chicco NextFit ($280)
Personally, I think your best bet is to try the Safety 1st Guide 65 in your car (or buy it and keep the receipt). More expensive seats that are good for ERF may take up too much front to back space anyways.
A trick to get the car seat in tight is to expose the belt path by taking the cover off slightly. Then thread the tail of the latch strap back into the belt path and tighten. You can do this with the seat belt too. This gives you more leverage and makes a very profound difference in getting a tight install.
Edit: Yeah FlynnFamilyofFive recommended the First Years TrueFit- it goes up to 35 lbs rear facing and a really tall shell (about 26 inches). Most kids (99.999% of them) could ride rear facing to the full 35 lbs and not outgrow the rear facing seat by height. I'm just concerned that this seat will take up too much room, even at the upright angle of 35 degrees. I would still consider this seat- try before you buy (or save that receipt)!
CarseatBlog wrote an article about different convertible car seats and how much front-to-back space they took up compared to each other. They did not check every car seat, but you can check on the ones they did: http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ultimate-rear-facing-convertible-space-comparison-review-size-matters/
My rule is that any child who fits rear facing will ride rear facing. This means that a really, really big and tall 40 lb 2 year old who does not fit rear facing will have to ride forward facing. On the same token, smaller kids who fit until age 4 or even 5 will ride rear facing. In my mind, a reasonable goal is using the car seat to the limits- until the child has genuinely outgrown it or has reached 4 years old and you can pass the child seat down to a younger sibling.
Having a smaller vehicle and a budget in mind does not mean you have to sacrifice safety. You can still extend rear face your child without having the passenger seat crammed up to the dashboard.
The Safety 1st Guide 65 is very affordable- about $80 and takes very little front to back space at the upper recline angle. It has two lines for level to ground (one for older kids and one for younger kids).
It is outgrown rear facing when the child's head is parallel to the adjustable headrest, 40 inches tall, or 40 lbs, whichever comes first. Most kids could ride rear facing to at least 3 and could get kids to 5 to 7 for forward facing. It has about 17 inch top slots and a 65 lb forward facing weight limit.
Also, Albee Baby usually has cheaper car seats than compared to Target/Walmart/ or even Toys R Us: http://www.albeebaby.com/cocarse1.html
Other convertible car seats for ERF that I usually recommend (these might not be great for compact cars):
-Evenflo SureRide ($100)
-Safety 1st Complete Air 65 ($120)
-Graco My Ride 65 ($130)
-Graco Size 4 Me 70 (also known as the My Size 70 and the HeadWise 70) ($180)
-Diono Radian R100 ($180-$210 depending on where you buy)
-Chicco NextFit ($280)
Personally, I think your best bet is to try the Safety 1st Guide 65 in your car (or buy it and keep the receipt). More expensive seats that are good for ERF may take up too much front to back space anyways.
A trick to get the car seat in tight is to expose the belt path by taking the cover off slightly. Then thread the tail of the latch strap back into the belt path and tighten. You can do this with the seat belt too. This gives you more leverage and makes a very profound difference in getting a tight install.
Edit: Yeah FlynnFamilyofFive recommended the First Years TrueFit- it goes up to 35 lbs rear facing and a really tall shell (about 26 inches). Most kids (99.999% of them) could ride rear facing to the full 35 lbs and not outgrow the rear facing seat by height. I'm just concerned that this seat will take up too much room, even at the upright angle of 35 degrees. I would still consider this seat- try before you buy (or save that receipt)!
CarseatBlog wrote an article about different convertible car seats and how much front-to-back space they took up compared to each other. They did not check every car seat, but you can check on the ones they did: http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ultimate-rear-facing-convertible-space-comparison-review-size-matters/
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