Buy the deuter kid comfort. Super comfy for you and them.
Three notes:
1. I hope you like having the back of your head messed with.
2. 60% chance will not experience nature as they'll be passed the fuck out
3. Prepare for demanding of their human driven chariot
I have the cheaper Clevr one, and it works OK. We don't go on hard-core all-day hikes, though. Just a casual like 2-mile morning thing every other week or so.
Yep, most of ours were just a few hours. I love deuter packs though - having a comfy pack makes the whole experience so much better, and it's really perfectly setup for them to enjoy themselves (seriously, it's setup to work a little as a suspension device so they get the cadillac ride). Also incredibly easy to pop on and off with the kickstand and has a spot for hydration bladders if you really hate yourself and want to carry even more weight.
Two months ago, my daughter could barely hold the Joycons and use the analog stick/buttons in combination. Yesterday, she was running Mario around Peach's castle without looking at her hands. Two more months and I expect she'll be doing the complicated hat throw techniques.
Of course, that's assuming she gets tired of changing Mario's outfit and not going to the boombox to dance to the English and Japanese version of "Jump Up! Superstar!" She's been singing that song all week. Naturally it's just the "Odyssey" chorus part for maximum annoyance.
I'm just happy she's having a blast playing Mario.
Middle Guy: (busting into a room like the Kool-Aid guy) There's a *[Middle Guy]* Werewolf! He is a copy of me, but a *bad guy*! (Conspiratorial, Invasion of the Body Snatchers look-around, whisper) *Something* is wrong with him, though...
Partner: (whisper) Well, if he's a copy of you, how can we tell you two apart?
MG: (earnestly, secretively) Well...*he* (looks around nervously)...is nicer than me*...
*
This is part of a recent pattern I'm not quite sure how to address yet...all of Middle Guy's imaginary friends are...assholes? +90% of the time, he is mad at/annoyed with his imaginary friend, and is trying to ditch him, *or* (something far weirder to me), vice-versa, where his imaginary friend has ditched him and doesn't want to hang out with him, and he will genuinely start crying because his pretend,hfriend has been mean and exclusionary to him and decided to go play with the cool kids, and I... sometimes I just don't know, you guys
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MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited July 2020
If he starts flipping a two -headed coin to make decisions, then it's time to worry...
No, I think it's just a way for them to process different feelings and emotions; is not me feeling/doing this, it's the imaginary friend.
Just try to ask him if someone like that happened recently and try to talk about how the makes them feel, etc.
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lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
Ellie had a nightmare the other night that we were cutting her hair.
full on whimpering, sniffling, crying in her sleep nightmare. but not enough to wake up from.
So, that takes care of me getting her a haircut any time soon (she's never had a haircut and is almost 4.5)
Buy the deuter kid comfort. Super comfy for you and them.
Three notes:
1. I hope you like having the back of your head messed with.
2. 60% chance will not experience nature as they'll be passed the fuck out
3. Prepare for demanding of their human driven chariot
I managed to track down a used one in good condition for $100, so now we're in business
Just gotta clean it up a bit, then it's off to the forest
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lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
So there is a book that my father night for Ellie called "The Pout Pout Fish"
It's ok, but it's part of a bigger series and there's even a touch and feel alphabet book.
Ellie has been enjoying this book for the last few nights. It's pretty standard format throughout "letter is for animal" for every letter.
So tonight was my night reading books with her, so after summer prompting, I got her reading the book.
She was able to sight word "is for" and "fish". It was probably more copying herself, but she did repeat the sight reading for "fish" a few times. And she correctly identified her letters.
Struggled with S (pronounced it C) and W (identified as M). But I'm not worried about those.
I introduced my niece to Pokemon a few days back. Let her pick out her own look, and gave her the basics of what to do and how to catch and battle. She picked out a Sobble (water starter) and just went to town.
Fast-forward two days, and she's already finished two gyms and is on her way to the third one. She asks when she needs help with something (the switch puzzle in the water gym, for example), but the battling and catching has all been her- and somehow she managed to eke out victories over the grass and water gyms while using nothing but water moves, somehow. What can I say, she's freaking stubborn. I wish I could swap over some items from my game, because I'd send stacks of pokeballs over and let her go run wild and catch as many as she could possibly get.
She's also making noise about wanting a unicorn (Galarian Ponyta/Rapidash), so I'm working on breeding one up for her and getting it to a decent level so it won't outpace her progress so much.
Thankfully, the next bit looks like it should be easier on her- the last gym in this bunch is the Fire gym, and I expect her to run freaking roughshod all over the Motostoke Gym.
...I might be using some saved money to buy her a copy of one of the Let's Go games for her birthday, but I don't know if she has the coordination to throw the in-game balls yet without chucking a Joy-Con at the TV...
I think the fact that there isn't infinite money for infinite pokeballs is part of the lessons it can teach a kid, so don't help them out with that. There are more than enough balls in the game, but it is worth it for them to get the message that hey you don't have enough money for more of these. It also makes getting balls as rewards for exploring/doing some daily activities feel more earned.
We've been thinking about getting Yoshi's Crafted World for my daughter as a birthday or Christmas gift. She used to watch me play the one-level demo over and over, but now she does it herself.
Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
I introduced my niece to Pokemon a few days back. Let her pick out her own look, and gave her the basics of what to do and how to catch and battle. She picked out a Sobble (water starter) and just went to town.
Fast-forward two days, and she's already finished two gyms and is on her way to the third one. She asks when she needs help with something (the switch puzzle in the water gym, for example), but the battling and catching has all been her- and somehow she managed to eke out victories over the grass and water gyms while using nothing but water moves, somehow. What can I say, she's freaking stubborn. I wish I could swap over some items from my game, because I'd send stacks of pokeballs over and let her go run wild and catch as many as she could possibly get.
She's also making noise about wanting a unicorn (Galarian Ponyta/Rapidash), so I'm working on breeding one up for her and getting it to a decent level so it won't outpace her progress so much.
Thankfully, the next bit looks like it should be easier on her- the last gym in this bunch is the Fire gym, and I expect her to run freaking roughshod all over the Motostoke Gym.
...I might be using some saved money to buy her a copy of one of the Let's Go games for her birthday, but I don't know if she has the coordination to throw the in-game balls yet without chucking a Joy-Con at the TV...
This is why you attach the thingy that has the tie on the end to the Joycon and show her how to safely loop it around her wrist so that if it does slip out of her hands, it doesn't impact into the TV.
Also as a fun note, once you reach Fuchsia City, you can link a Pokemon GO app and the Switch, and transfer over Pokemon caught in GO into Let's Go. I believe you still have to catch them, but if she wants to "catch them all", at least in the Let's Go games this is one avenue to do that.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
We've been thinking about getting Yoshi's Crafted World for my daughter as a birthday or Christmas gift. She used to watch me play the one-level demo over and over, but now she does it herself.
You should, it's delightful!
The one about the fucking space hairdresser and the cowboy. He's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin
I think the fact that there isn't infinite money for infinite pokeballs is part of the lessons it can teach a kid, so don't help them out with that. There are more than enough balls in the game, but it is worth it for them to get the message that hey you don't have enough money for more of these. It also makes getting balls as rewards for exploring/doing some daily activities feel more earned.
I haven't played since Pearl/Diamond and Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but I'm pretty sure at least by that point you could repeat fights for money, though I don't recall how convenient it was. Did they do away with that in more recent ones?
I think the fact that there isn't infinite money for infinite pokeballs is part of the lessons it can teach a kid, so don't help them out with that. There are more than enough balls in the game, but it is worth it for them to get the message that hey you don't have enough money for more of these. It also makes getting balls as rewards for exploring/doing some daily activities feel more earned.
I haven't played since Pearl/Diamond and Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but I'm pretty sure at least by that point you could repeat fights for money, though I don't recall how convenient it was. Did they do away with that in more recent ones?
So she'd have to do something to get more money to buy more pokeballs, which is my point.
Ok Poke folks. What should I get Kate to introduce her to the whole thing? I’m always afraid of buying a full price game and her not wanting to play it. Same thing is with a bunch of games that I think she’d like. Like uhm, Stardew Valley? Whichever one where you shake tree’s and visit friends and collect stuff? I’ve played it years ago and was charming and slightly addictive for me. I THINK she’d enjoy it but I’m not full price sure.
Anyway, I know I come and ask a lot of game suggestions, but I think it’s time to maybe introduce her to Pokémon as that may keep her busy. Right now she’s finally loving Minecraft. Me? I’m not a huge fan of it and I’ve played several hours with her but I lack the ideas of what to do. I built her a big house, and of course she’s ruined most of it by “accidentally” doing things.
Edit: Sorry she has a PS4 and Switch easily accessible to her. Also she has a 360 as well to use. An xbox one is accessible but not as easy(MINE)
Edit Edit: Why couldn’t I remember Animal Crossing! That’s what I meant instead of Stardew Valley.
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
Ok Poke folks. What should I get Kate to introduce her to the whole thing? I’m always afraid of buying a full price game and her not wanting to play it. Same thing is with a bunch of games that I think she’d like. Like uhm, Stardew Valley? Whichever one where you shake tree’s and visit friends and collect stuff? I’ve played it years ago and was charming and slightly addictive for me. I THINK she’d enjoy it but I’m not full price sure.
Anyway, I know I come and ask a lot of game suggestions, but I think it’s time to maybe introduce her to Pokémon as that may keep her busy. Right now she’s finally loving Minecraft. Me? I’m not a huge fan of it and I’ve played several hours with her but I lack the ideas of what to do. I built her a big house, and of course she’s ruined most of it by “accidentally” doing things.
First it's important to know what you already have that might run a Pokemon game. Like, currently the two most "usual" i.e. like the original series games are the Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee games and the Pokemon Sword/Shield games. The former is an almost exact retread of the very original games, but catching lots and lots of pokemon is the grinding mechanic that levels up your critters because the catching mechanic in Let's Go is essentially exact to Pokemon GO, i.e. you're just tossing pokeballs of varying types to catch the critters over and over again. The trainer battles, shops, and most other areas of the original games including the plot essentially align with the very first Pokemon games excluding where the new mechanics override the original. There are some additions to these games that are quality of life enhancements: All pokemon caught go to a "box" in your backpack instead of into a "PC" that you have to go to a center to access so you can change your team at any time, the Machines that give moves are reusable, there's a bunch of items to boost the stats of your Pokemon. Oh, and you can transfer any "Kanto" (i.e. Generation 1) Pokemon from Pokemon GO into Let's Go games once you get about 3/4ths of the through the game, so that's cool too.
Pokemon Sword/Shield, on the other hand, has not only a good chunk of the advances that have come along from the original series up until now (including advancements from the Let's Go games), but other new elements as well. Depending on the kid's age, all of this might be a lot to take in or not. This one has similar battle features as the original (i.e. you need to wear down the health of Pokemon to catch them), but like Let's Go you can finally see (most) of the Pokemon on screen, so you can choose what you catch or attack. There's a "Wild" area that's more or less a big open world area full of various Pokemon, the Camp function where you can play with your Pokemon and make and feed them curry, "Raid" battles in the wild area, Online trade/battle/card swap/raid battle functions. Basically, there's loads to get into in Sword/Shield.
The other consideration between those two is that currently Let's Go is onsale for 10 bucks off. Which means that right at the moment they're 10 bucks cheaper than Sword/Shield.
Kalnaur on
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
Roughly as text dependent as the original games. The originals had a note on the back that said "basic reading skills are required to fully enjoy the story" or something to that effect. I remember this because of a work story I tell about it from time to time. Anyways, yeah, there's enough text in any Pokemon game that not being able to read will make it hard to play the game solo. Creature names, types, attacks, etc are all communicated via text, as well as the rather famous "It's not very effective . . ./It's super effective!" text boxes that let you know when your type match is effective. It is totally an RPG series. An RPG that's made with kiddos in mind but still an RPG series, so reading's going to be a mostly important element.
Then again there's the kiddos who play with a party full of unevolved fish or something and just brute force their way through the game so . . . that's a thing too.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
Roughly as text dependent as the original games. The originals had a note on the back that said "basic reading skills are required to fully enjoy the story" or something to that effect. I remember this because of a work story I tell about it from time to time. Anyways, yeah, there's enough text in any Pokemon game that not being able to read will make it hard to play the game solo. Creature names, types, attacks, etc are all communicated via text, as well as the rather famous "It's not very effective . . ./It's super effective!" text boxes that let you know when your type match is effective. It is totally an RPG series. An RPG that's made with kiddos in mind but still an RPG series, so reading's going to be a mostly important element.
Then again there's the kiddos who play with a party full of unevolved fish or something and just brute force their way through the game so . . . that's a thing too.
My nearly 4 yo will memorize what buttons I click and that way he can play with a lot of games, but I'm going to stick to different kinds of games for now.
There's also issues with some games only available with English text, which is going to get his English language skills to the same level mine was when I was desperately trying to understand C&C Tiberian Sun and Warcraft 2. There was a time when I would exclaim "mission accomplished!" and no one would understand me.
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
Roughly as text dependent as the original games. The originals had a note on the back that said "basic reading skills are required to fully enjoy the story" or something to that effect. I remember this because of a work story I tell about it from time to time. Anyways, yeah, there's enough text in any Pokemon game that not being able to read will make it hard to play the game solo. Creature names, types, attacks, etc are all communicated via text, as well as the rather famous "It's not very effective . . ./It's super effective!" text boxes that let you know when your type match is effective. It is totally an RPG series. An RPG that's made with kiddos in mind but still an RPG series, so reading's going to be a mostly important element.
Then again there's the kiddos who play with a party full of unevolved fish or something and just brute force their way through the game so . . . that's a thing too.
My nearly 4 yo will memorize what buttons I click and that way he can play with a lot of games, but I'm going to stick to different kinds of games for now.
There's also issues with some games only available with English text, which is going to get his English language skills to the same level mine was when I was desperately trying to understand C&C Tiberian Sun and Warcraft 2. There was a time when I would exclaim "mission accomplished!" and no one would understand me.
Let's Go games at least has Japanese, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, and Chinese options, although you have to choose a language before you start and stick with it for the entire game save. No switching it up partway through.
Also, since this is the kid thread . . . my wife and I have been working on getting Toby to "high five", and she finally got him to do it, like, two days ago. Well, today he and she were playing, and he's laying on the ground laughing, and all of a sudden he puts his arm out, palm held flat, and says, "Ighfibe!" Well, since I've been around him a bit more I realized that last part is how he's recently said "five", so I said, "he wants a high five", and she gave him one, and he squealed and yells out, "IGHFIBE!" and so she gives him another one, and he was just super pleased, and I'm really hoping that this thing, this relating of communicating a need or want with being instantly answered catches on to more and more things. But for now, I'm celebrating high fives.
Kalnaur on
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
Luke started Pokemon games pretty much as soon as he was able to read. Ever since then, we've bought the two games every generation and compete to finish the storyline first. We only missed Ultra Sun/Moon, otherwise, we've done them all that way since I think Heart Gold/Soul Silver. I think either of the Switch series (Go or Sword/Shield) would be a decent starting point, they are quite different (Go's artstyle is absolutely wonderful though). You might want to gauge how into Pokemon she is - if she's been watching the current show, she might be bummed with Go only having the original 150. Does she have access to a 3DS or 2DS? Sun & Moon can be found used reasonably (<$20).
If you want a Pokemon alternative on the XBOne, there is always Viva Pinata in the Rare Collection. If you're ok with the mating rituals, that's got some Pokemon similarities and it's absolutely adorable.
Edit: Since this is the Kid thread, I should add that Teen Lohan's wisdom teeth removal went fine - 8 teeth out in total and the braces go on in 2 weeks. He's just now starting to feel ok with trying soft foods like mac & cheese last night. He handled it really well, way better than I anticipated.
Already getting a lot of Pod chatter. Just saw someone on a local listserve looking to hire a NYC teacher to come with them to their Berkshire vacation home to teach their kid, since the school is going remote-only. No public NYC school has decided to go full-remote only, so it's probably some private school student. Imagine paying $50k+/year, having an expensive vacation home to stay out of the city, and hiring somebody full-time to do the remote learning.... but I digress.
A parent of one of my daughter's friends reached out about possibly getting something set up. I honestly said it would be hard with my two kids. My youngest son is starting Pre-K, and I don't know anyone in his class. None of my daughter's school-mates have younger siblings his age. We currently have the option of in-school half-time, which I'm hoping for. They have been in summer camp for the past 4 weeks, and they have been having such an amazing time. So much better moods, better behaved, better everything. If schools go full-remote again, they will need something, so I'm hoping that I'm not going to get in trouble not getting something set up.
Educationally, I feel they'll be fine. But social/emotionally...
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Ugh. Maine has decided we're Green so now our school has sent out a survey basically saying "Full school or 100% remote" - we were really counting on a hybrid 2 days on, 2 days remote type of schedule. I was comfortable with him at school with half the student body for half the week, I'm not OK with pretending everything is good just because our state has had luck. My wife is (hopefully) going to teach in the fall too - if she can find a job - I'm extremely nervous about the whole thing and am super pissed that we're getting far too confident as a state in our rates.
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
My kids' school district just let us know recently that the start of the school year is being pushed back by at least 2 weeks so that they can adjust plans to meet the latest set of state guidelines that were just issued recently. Oh well.
Originally parents were given a choice between fully online learning or a hybrid model of school 2 days a week plus every other Monday and online learning the other days, and told a decision had to be made within 1 week and that you had to commit to at least 3 months of whichever option you chose. Then the deadline was extended by a week after they got a ton of negative feedback from parents. Now after the state guidelines came out we've been told that there is no longer a deadline for opting into online learning, but more information will follow next week about that.
We're opting for fully online regardless, so I suppose none of this matters too much right now. I'm sure it's been rather frustrating for other parents in our district though.
We just got the notification that our district will be online only at the start, at least, which I'm thankful for. At the beginning of summer they were talking about at least hybrid options and strongly considering potentially full time in person, but while we haven't gotten catastrophically out of hand my county has never actually gotten it under control either, and it worsened over the summer. People around here are pretty bad at following safety guidelines, so any in person gathering wasn't going to be okay with me. I'm happy I don't have to feel like I'm choosing to keep our kiddo at home, while her friends get to interact again, though.
I do hope they've improved the online setup like they claim, though. It was...underwhelming, when they were scrambling to get it when this started. It doesn't impact us as much, since we've always done/filled in extra schooling at home anyway, but not everyone gets to do that.
I appreciate that our district never tried to pressure parents into choosing early. We got a survey asking for non-binding preference/intent, when there were still going to be options, and I think there were updated covid status open digital conversations a couple times? We weren't going to have to make a decision until like 1-2 weeks before the year started, since they were planning to support hybrid and online anyway, with the remote possibility of full time in person if things got under control. I believe it was a 3 month commitment still.
Me and my wife have got a day off whilst he's in nursery for the whole day.
Will be the longest amount of time we've been together without him for fourteen months.
Gonna get up to all kinds of stuff like eating a meal without grasping hands stealing food or watching a film in one sitting!
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
Our district just emailed everyone with the news that previous plans have been scrapped and the school year will start with all students doing eLearning. The goal is now to slowly transition into the hybrid model when it is safe enough to do so. What a shitshow these last couple of weeks have been.
It is the right thing to do - our state went too far too quickly with re-opening, and our county is one with increasing cases lately because of all the people who think they don't need to wear masks and that it's totally ok to go to big gatherings and have parties again. It's a damn shame for a lot of the kids and parents affected though. I know my kids were suffering until we agreed to form a pod with a family down the block with 2 similarly aged kids. They've clearly been better off since being allowed to play together again.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
Ripley, 2.5, now just wakes up and screams until someone comes to get her.
She's not open if she had a nightmare or what.
Wait it out?
We had similar issues, waiting it out destroyed my mental health. We got a sleep trainer to be able to communicate appropriate times to wake up. It worked out well, although we still neef to reiterate the rules every few weeks.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
Ripley, 2.5, now just wakes up and screams until someone comes to get her.
She's not open if she had a nightmare or what.
Wait it out?
Is this the middle of the night, or in the morning?
In the morning. We both work at the hospital so need to be out of the house by 0630 so we all wake up at 0530 anyway pretty much every day.
But she wakes up and I swear to God the first thing she does after she opens her eyes is start screaming "Mommy!" And I mean screaming, not crying.
Have you tried sitting down in the room next to her crib, and explained to her that screaming like that is not acceptable, and that it makes you and her mom scared that she's hurt, and a polite holler (or probably more just not yelling) would also work to let you know she's awake?
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
I just heard my school's proposed* hybrid plan. If you want your kid to go in at all, there's two groups: m/t or r/f in school, three days off school. Wednesdays off for everybody. Your can also go full remote.
I mean, it makes sense, but very hard to plan work around. They ignored my questions about any off- day childcare/ after school information, but said they'd write down questions and send out an email with any answers they didn't get to in the meeting. So we'll see.
*Pending NYC doe agreeing. Pending NY State agreeing to NYC's plan. Pending, whatever, I don't even know. What were they doing all summer where it's all last- minute like this.
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
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Yep, most of ours were just a few hours. I love deuter packs though - having a comfy pack makes the whole experience so much better, and it's really perfectly setup for them to enjoy themselves (seriously, it's setup to work a little as a suspension device so they get the cadillac ride). Also incredibly easy to pop on and off with the kickstand and has a spot for hydration bladders if you really hate yourself and want to carry even more weight.
Then it’s time for one of my favorite games, “Sitting In the Most Comfortable Chair Ever.”
You know, sit on her. Make it a big production. It’s hilarious.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Of course, that's assuming she gets tired of changing Mario's outfit and not going to the boombox to dance to the English and Japanese version of "Jump Up! Superstar!" She's been singing that song all week. Naturally it's just the "Odyssey" chorus part for maximum annoyance.
I'm just happy she's having a blast playing Mario.
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Partner: (whisper) Well, if he's a copy of you, how can we tell you two apart?
MG: (earnestly, secretively) Well...*he* (looks around nervously)...is nicer than me*...
*
No, I think it's just a way for them to process different feelings and emotions; is not me feeling/doing this, it's the imaginary friend.
Just try to ask him if someone like that happened recently and try to talk about how the makes them feel, etc.
full on whimpering, sniffling, crying in her sleep nightmare. but not enough to wake up from.
So, that takes care of me getting her a haircut any time soon (she's never had a haircut and is almost 4.5)
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We did our first haircut just the other day! First haircut, and first at-home haircut, nice and fun :P
She was asking for it, the weird child (I hate haircuts).
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I managed to track down a used one in good condition for $100, so now we're in business
Just gotta clean it up a bit, then it's off to the forest
It's ok, but it's part of a bigger series and there's even a touch and feel alphabet book.
Ellie has been enjoying this book for the last few nights. It's pretty standard format throughout "letter is for animal" for every letter.
So tonight was my night reading books with her, so after summer prompting, I got her reading the book.
She was able to sight word "is for" and "fish". It was probably more copying herself, but she did repeat the sight reading for "fish" a few times. And she correctly identified her letters.
Struggled with S (pronounced it C) and W (identified as M). But I'm not worried about those.
Y'all. My kid is getting ready to read.
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I introduced my niece to Pokemon a few days back. Let her pick out her own look, and gave her the basics of what to do and how to catch and battle. She picked out a Sobble (water starter) and just went to town.
Fast-forward two days, and she's already finished two gyms and is on her way to the third one. She asks when she needs help with something (the switch puzzle in the water gym, for example), but the battling and catching has all been her- and somehow she managed to eke out victories over the grass and water gyms while using nothing but water moves, somehow. What can I say, she's freaking stubborn. I wish I could swap over some items from my game, because I'd send stacks of pokeballs over and let her go run wild and catch as many as she could possibly get.
She's also making noise about wanting a unicorn (Galarian Ponyta/Rapidash), so I'm working on breeding one up for her and getting it to a decent level so it won't outpace her progress so much.
Thankfully, the next bit looks like it should be easier on her- the last gym in this bunch is the Fire gym, and I expect her to run freaking roughshod all over the Motostoke Gym.
...I might be using some saved money to buy her a copy of one of the Let's Go games for her birthday, but I don't know if she has the coordination to throw the in-game balls yet without chucking a Joy-Con at the TV...
I can has cheezburger, yes?
I think the fact that there isn't infinite money for infinite pokeballs is part of the lessons it can teach a kid, so don't help them out with that. There are more than enough balls in the game, but it is worth it for them to get the message that hey you don't have enough money for more of these. It also makes getting balls as rewards for exploring/doing some daily activities feel more earned.
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This is why you attach the thingy that has the tie on the end to the Joycon and show her how to safely loop it around her wrist so that if it does slip out of her hands, it doesn't impact into the TV.
Also as a fun note, once you reach Fuchsia City, you can link a Pokemon GO app and the Switch, and transfer over Pokemon caught in GO into Let's Go. I believe you still have to catch them, but if she wants to "catch them all", at least in the Let's Go games this is one avenue to do that.
You should, it's delightful!
I haven't played since Pearl/Diamond and Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but I'm pretty sure at least by that point you could repeat fights for money, though I don't recall how convenient it was. Did they do away with that in more recent ones?
So she'd have to do something to get more money to buy more pokeballs, which is my point.
Anyway, I know I come and ask a lot of game suggestions, but I think it’s time to maybe introduce her to Pokémon as that may keep her busy. Right now she’s finally loving Minecraft. Me? I’m not a huge fan of it and I’ve played several hours with her but I lack the ideas of what to do. I built her a big house, and of course she’s ruined most of it by “accidentally” doing things.
Edit: Sorry she has a PS4 and Switch easily accessible to her. Also she has a 360 as well to use. An xbox one is accessible but not as easy(MINE)
Edit Edit: Why couldn’t I remember Animal Crossing! That’s what I meant instead of Stardew Valley.
First it's important to know what you already have that might run a Pokemon game. Like, currently the two most "usual" i.e. like the original series games are the Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee games and the Pokemon Sword/Shield games. The former is an almost exact retread of the very original games, but catching lots and lots of pokemon is the grinding mechanic that levels up your critters because the catching mechanic in Let's Go is essentially exact to Pokemon GO, i.e. you're just tossing pokeballs of varying types to catch the critters over and over again. The trainer battles, shops, and most other areas of the original games including the plot essentially align with the very first Pokemon games excluding where the new mechanics override the original. There are some additions to these games that are quality of life enhancements: All pokemon caught go to a "box" in your backpack instead of into a "PC" that you have to go to a center to access so you can change your team at any time, the Machines that give moves are reusable, there's a bunch of items to boost the stats of your Pokemon. Oh, and you can transfer any "Kanto" (i.e. Generation 1) Pokemon from Pokemon GO into Let's Go games once you get about 3/4ths of the through the game, so that's cool too.
Pokemon Sword/Shield, on the other hand, has not only a good chunk of the advances that have come along from the original series up until now (including advancements from the Let's Go games), but other new elements as well. Depending on the kid's age, all of this might be a lot to take in or not. This one has similar battle features as the original (i.e. you need to wear down the health of Pokemon to catch them), but like Let's Go you can finally see (most) of the Pokemon on screen, so you can choose what you catch or attack. There's a "Wild" area that's more or less a big open world area full of various Pokemon, the Camp function where you can play with your Pokemon and make and feed them curry, "Raid" battles in the wild area, Online trade/battle/card swap/raid battle functions. Basically, there's loads to get into in Sword/Shield.
The other consideration between those two is that currently Let's Go is on sale for 10 bucks off. Which means that right at the moment they're 10 bucks cheaper than Sword/Shield.
Roughly as text dependent as the original games. The originals had a note on the back that said "basic reading skills are required to fully enjoy the story" or something to that effect. I remember this because of a work story I tell about it from time to time. Anyways, yeah, there's enough text in any Pokemon game that not being able to read will make it hard to play the game solo. Creature names, types, attacks, etc are all communicated via text, as well as the rather famous "It's not very effective . . ./It's super effective!" text boxes that let you know when your type match is effective. It is totally an RPG series. An RPG that's made with kiddos in mind but still an RPG series, so reading's going to be a mostly important element.
Then again there's the kiddos who play with a party full of unevolved fish or something and just brute force their way through the game so . . . that's a thing too.
My nearly 4 yo will memorize what buttons I click and that way he can play with a lot of games, but I'm going to stick to different kinds of games for now.
There's also issues with some games only available with English text, which is going to get his English language skills to the same level mine was when I was desperately trying to understand C&C Tiberian Sun and Warcraft 2. There was a time when I would exclaim "mission accomplished!" and no one would understand me.
Let's Go games at least has Japanese, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, and Chinese options, although you have to choose a language before you start and stick with it for the entire game save. No switching it up partway through.
Also, since this is the kid thread . . . my wife and I have been working on getting Toby to "high five", and she finally got him to do it, like, two days ago. Well, today he and she were playing, and he's laying on the ground laughing, and all of a sudden he puts his arm out, palm held flat, and says, "Ighfibe!" Well, since I've been around him a bit more I realized that last part is how he's recently said "five", so I said, "he wants a high five", and she gave him one, and he squealed and yells out, "IGHFIBE!" and so she gives him another one, and he was just super pleased, and I'm really hoping that this thing, this relating of communicating a need or want with being instantly answered catches on to more and more things. But for now, I'm celebrating high fives.
If you want a Pokemon alternative on the XBOne, there is always Viva Pinata in the Rare Collection. If you're ok with the mating rituals, that's got some Pokemon similarities and it's absolutely adorable.
Edit: Since this is the Kid thread, I should add that Teen Lohan's wisdom teeth removal went fine - 8 teeth out in total and the braces go on in 2 weeks. He's just now starting to feel ok with trying soft foods like mac & cheese last night. He handled it really well, way better than I anticipated.
A parent of one of my daughter's friends reached out about possibly getting something set up. I honestly said it would be hard with my two kids. My youngest son is starting Pre-K, and I don't know anyone in his class. None of my daughter's school-mates have younger siblings his age. We currently have the option of in-school half-time, which I'm hoping for. They have been in summer camp for the past 4 weeks, and they have been having such an amazing time. So much better moods, better behaved, better everything. If schools go full-remote again, they will need something, so I'm hoping that I'm not going to get in trouble not getting something set up.
Educationally, I feel they'll be fine. But social/emotionally...
Originally parents were given a choice between fully online learning or a hybrid model of school 2 days a week plus every other Monday and online learning the other days, and told a decision had to be made within 1 week and that you had to commit to at least 3 months of whichever option you chose. Then the deadline was extended by a week after they got a ton of negative feedback from parents. Now after the state guidelines came out we've been told that there is no longer a deadline for opting into online learning, but more information will follow next week about that.
We're opting for fully online regardless, so I suppose none of this matters too much right now. I'm sure it's been rather frustrating for other parents in our district though.
I do hope they've improved the online setup like they claim, though. It was...underwhelming, when they were scrambling to get it when this started. It doesn't impact us as much, since we've always done/filled in extra schooling at home anyway, but not everyone gets to do that.
I appreciate that our district never tried to pressure parents into choosing early. We got a survey asking for non-binding preference/intent, when there were still going to be options, and I think there were updated covid status open digital conversations a couple times? We weren't going to have to make a decision until like 1-2 weeks before the year started, since they were planning to support hybrid and online anyway, with the remote possibility of full time in person if things got under control. I believe it was a 3 month commitment still.
Will be the longest amount of time we've been together without him for fourteen months.
Gonna get up to all kinds of stuff like eating a meal without grasping hands stealing food or watching a film in one sitting!
It is the right thing to do - our state went too far too quickly with re-opening, and our county is one with increasing cases lately because of all the people who think they don't need to wear masks and that it's totally ok to go to big gatherings and have parties again. It's a damn shame for a lot of the kids and parents affected though. I know my kids were suffering until we agreed to form a pod with a family down the block with 2 similarly aged kids. They've clearly been better off since being allowed to play together again.
6 hours later, Sharp and wife wake up to realize they have spent the whole time napping.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
She's not open if she had a nightmare or what.
Wait it out?
We had similar issues, waiting it out destroyed my mental health. We got a sleep trainer to be able to communicate appropriate times to wake up. It worked out well, although we still neef to reiterate the rules every few weeks.
Is this the middle of the night, or in the morning?
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Burpette is four and only recently has been able to articulate that she had a nightmare. Dreams are quite a strange concept.
In the morning. We both work at the hospital so need to be out of the house by 0630 so we all wake up at 0530 anyway pretty much every day.
But she wakes up and I swear to God the first thing she does after she opens her eyes is start screaming "Mommy!" And I mean screaming, not crying.
Have you tried sitting down in the room next to her crib, and explained to her that screaming like that is not acceptable, and that it makes you and her mom scared that she's hurt, and a polite holler (or probably more just not yelling) would also work to let you know she's awake?
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
don't we all
I mean, it makes sense, but very hard to plan work around. They ignored my questions about any off- day childcare/ after school information, but said they'd write down questions and send out an email with any answers they didn't get to in the meeting. So we'll see.
*Pending NYC doe agreeing. Pending NY State agreeing to NYC's plan. Pending, whatever, I don't even know. What were they doing all summer where it's all last- minute like this.