#How To Increase Your Toddler Height

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI’s productivity theater

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

When I took my kid to New Zealand with me on a book-tour, I was delighted to learn that grocery stores had special aisles where all the kids'-eye-level candy had been removed, to minimize nagging. What a great idea!

Related: countries around the world limit advertising to children, for two reasons:

1) Kids may not be stupid, but they are inexperienced, and that makes them gullible; and

2) Kids don't have money of their own, so their path to getting the stuff they see in ads is nagging their parents, which creates a natural constituency to support limits on kids' advertising (nagged parents).

There's something especially annoying about ads targeted at getting credulous people to coerce or torment other people on behalf of the advertiser. For example, AI companies spent millions targeting your boss in an effort to convince them that you can be replaced with a chatbot that absolutely, positively cannot do your job.

Your boss has no idea what your job entails, and is (not so) secretly convinced that you're a featherbedding parasite who only shows up for work because you fear the breadline, and not because your job is a) challenging, or b) rewarding:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

That makes them prime marks for chatbot-peddling AI pitchmen. Your boss would love to fire you and replace you with a chatbot. Chatbots don't unionize, they don't backtalk about stupid orders, and they don't experience any inconvenient moral injury when ordered to enshittify the product:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

Bosses are Bizarro-world Marxists. Like Marxists, your boss's worldview is organized around the principle that every dollar you take home in wages is a dollar that isn't available for executive bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. That's why you boss is insatiably horny for firing you and replacing you with software. Software is cheaper, and it doesn't advocate for higher wages.

That makes your boss such an easy mark for AI pitchmen, which explains the vast gap between the valuation of AI companies and the utility of AI to the customers that buy those companies' products. As an investor, buying shares in AI might represent a bet the usefulness of AI – but for many of those investors, backing an AI company is actually a bet on your boss's credulity and contempt for you and your job.

But bosses' resemblance to toddlers doesn't end with their credulity. A toddler's path to getting that eye-height candy-bar goes through their exhausted parents. Your boss's path to realizing the productivity gains promised by an AI salesman runs through you.

A new research report from the Upwork Research Institute offers a look into the bizarre situation unfolding in workplaces where bosses have been conned into buying AI and now face the challenge of getting it to work as advertised:

https://www.upwork.com/research/ai-enhanced-work-models

The headline findings tell the whole story:

96% of bosses expect that AI will make their workers more productive;

85% of companies are either requiring or strongly encouraging workers to use AI;

49% of workers have no idea how AI is supposed to increase their productivity;

77% of workers say using AI decreases their productivity.

Working at an AI-equipped workplaces is like being the parent of a furious toddler who has bought a million Sea Monkey farms off the back page of a comic book, and is now destroying your life with demands that you figure out how to get the brine shrimp he ordered from a notorious Holocaust denier to wear little crowns like they do in the ad:

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/hitler-and-sea-monkeys

Bosses spend a lot of time thinking about your productivity. The "productivity paradox" shows a rapid, persistent decline in American worker productivity, starting in the 1970s and continuing to this day:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox

The "paradox" refers to the growth of IT, which is sold as a productivity-increasing miracle. There are many theories to explain this paradox. One especially good theory came from the late David Graeber (rest in power), in his 2012 essay, "Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit":

https://thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

Graeber proposes that the growth of IT was part of a wider shift in research approaches. Research was once dominated by weirdos (e.g. Jack Parsons, Oppenheimer, etc) who operated with relatively little red tape. The rise of IT coincides with the rise of "managerialism," the McKinseyoid drive to monitor, quantify and – above all – discipline the workforce. IT made it easier to generate these records, which also made it normal to expect these records.

Before long, every employee – including the "creatives" whose ideas were credited with the productivity gains of the American century until the 70s – was spending a huge amount of time (sometimes the majority of their working days) filling in forms, documenting their work, and generally producing a legible account of their day's work. All this data gave rise to a ballooning class of managers, who colonized every kind of institution – not just corporations, but also universities and government agencies, which were structured to resemble corporations (down to referring to voters or students as "customers").

Even if you think all that record-keeping might be useful, there's no denying that the more time you spend documenting your work, the less time you have to do your work. The solution to this was inevitably more IT, sold as a way to make the record-keeping easier. But adding IT to a bureaucracy is like adding lanes to a highway: the easier it is to demand fine-grained record-keeping, the more record-keeping will be demanded of you.

But that's not all that IT did for the workplace. There are a couple areas in which IT absolutely increased the profitability of the companies that invested in it.

First, IT allowed corporations to outsource production to low-waged countries in the global south, usually places with worse labor protection, weaker environmental laws, and easily bribed regulators. It's really hard to produce things in factories thousands of miles away, or to oversee remote workers in another country. But IT makes it possible to annihilate distance, time zone gaps, and language barriers. Corporations that figured out how to use IT to fire workers at home and exploit workers and despoil the environment in distant lands thrived. Executives who oversaw these projects rose through the ranks. For example, Tim Cook became the CEO of Apple thanks to his successes in moving production out of the USA and into China.

https://archive.is/M17qq

Outsourcing provided a sugar high that compensated for declining productivity…for a while. But eventually, all the gains to be had from outsourcing were realized, and companies needed a new source of cheap gains. That's where "bossware" came in: the automation of workforce monitoring and discipline. Bossware made it possible to monitor workers at the finest-grained levels, measuring everything from keystrokes to eyeball movements.

What's more, the declining power of the American worker – a nice bonus of the project to fire huge numbers of workers and ship their jobs overseas, which made the remainder terrified of losing their jobs and thus willing to eat a rasher of shit and ask for seconds – meant that bossware could be used to tie wages to metrics. It's not just gig workers who don't score consistent five star ratings from app users whose pay gets docked – it's also creative workers whose Youtube and Tiktok wages are cut for violating rules that they aren't allowed to know, because that might help them break the rules without being detected and punished:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/13/solidarity-forever/#tech-unions

Bossware dominates workplaces from public schools to hospitals, restaurants to call centers, and extends to your home and car, if you're working from home (AKA "living at work") or driving for Uber or Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/02/chickenized-by-arise/#arise

In providing a pretense for stealing wages, IT can increase profits, even as it reduces productivity:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

One way to think about how this works is through the automation-theory metaphor of a "centaur" and a "reverse centaur." In automation circles, a "centaur" is someone who is assisted by an automation tool – for example, when your boss uses AI to monitor your eyeballs in order to find excuses to steal your wages, they are a centaur, a human head atop a machine body that does all the hard work, far in excess of any human's capacity.

A "reverse centaur" is a worker who acts as an assistant to an automation system. The worker who is ridden by an AI that monitors their eyeballs, bathroom breaks, and keystrokes is a reverse centaur, being used (and eventually, used up) by a machine to perform the tasks that the machine can't perform unassisted:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But there's only so much work you can squeeze out of a human in this fashion before they are ruined for the job. Amazon's internal research reveals that the company has calculated that it ruins workers so quickly that it is in danger of using up every able-bodied worker in America:

https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-warehouses-hiring-shortage

Which explains the other major findings from the Upwork study:

81% of bosses have increased the demands they make on their workers over the past year; and

71% of workers are "burned out."

Bosses' answer to "AI making workers feel burned out" is the same as "IT-driven form-filling makes workers unproductive" – do more of the same, but go harder. Cisco has a new product that tries to detect when workers are about to snap after absorbing abuse from furious customers and then gives them a "Zen" moment in which they are showed a "soothing" photo of their family:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-bringing-zen-first-horizons-192010166.html

This is just the latest in a series of increasingly sweaty and cruel "workplace wellness" technologies that spy on workers and try to help them "manage their stress," all of which have the (totally predictable) effect of increasing workplace stress:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/15/wellness-taylorism/#sick-of-spying

The only person who wouldn't predict that being closely monitored by an AI that snitches on you to your boss would increase your stress levels is your boss. Unfortunately for you, AI pitchmen know this, too, and they're more than happy to sell your boss the reverse-centaur automation tool that makes you want to die, and then sell your boss another automation tool that is supposed to restore your will to live.

The "productivity paradox" is being resolved before our eyes. American per-worker productivity fell because it was more profitable to ship American jobs to regulatory free-fire zones and exploit the resulting precarity to abuse the workers left onshore. Workers who resented this arrangement were condemned for having a shitty "work ethic" – even as the number of hours worked by the average US worker rose by 13% between 1976 and 2016:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

AI is just a successor gimmick at the terminal end of 40 years of increasing profits by taking them out of workers' hides rather than improving efficiency. That arrangement didn't come out of nowhere: it was a direct result of a Reagan-era theory of corporate power called "consumer welfare." Under the "consumer welfare" approach to antitrust, monopolies were encouraged, provided that they used their market power to lower wages and screw suppliers, while lowering costs to consumers.

"Consumer welfare" supposed that we could somehow separate our identities as "workers" from our identities as "shoppers" – that our stagnating wages and worsening conditions ceased mattering to us when we clocked out at 5PM (or, you know, 9PM) and bought a $0.99 Meal Deal at McDonald's whose low, low price was only possible because it was cooked by someone sleeping in their car and collecting food-stamps.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/20/disneyland-workers-anaheim-california-authorize-strike

But we're reaching the end of the road for consumer welfare. Sure, your toddler-boss can be tricked into buying AI and firing half of your co-workers and demanding that the remainder use AI to do their jobs. But if AI can't do their jobs (it can't), no amount of demanding that you figure out how to make the Sea Monkeys act like they did in the comic-book ad is doing to make that work.

As screwing workers and suppliers produces fewer and fewer gains, companies are increasingly turning on their customers. It's not just that you're getting worse service from chatbots or the humans who are reverse-centaured into their workflow. You're also paying more for that, as algorithmic surveillance pricing uses automation to gouge you on prices in realtime:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/24/gouging-the-all-seeing-eye/#i-spy

This is – in the memorable phrase of David Dayen and Lindsay Owens, the "age of recoupment," in which companies end their practice of splitting the gains from suppressing labor with their customers:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-06-03-age-of-recoupment/

It's a bet that the tolerance for monopolies made these companies too big to fail, and that means they're too big to jail, so they can cheat their customers as well as their workers.

AI may be a bet that your boss can be suckered into buying a chatbot that can't do your job, but investors are souring on that bet. Goldman Sachs, who once trumpeted AI as a multi-trillion dollar sector with unlimited growth, is now publishing reports describing how companies who buy AI can't figure out what to do with it:

https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/gen-ai-too-much-spend-too-little-benefit/report.pdf

Fine, investment banks are supposed to be a little conservative. But VCs? They're the ones with all the appetite for risk, right? Well, maybe so, but Sequoia Capital, a top-tier Silicon Valley VC, is also publicly questioning whether anyone will make AI investments pay off:

https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ais-600b-question/

I can't tell you how great it was to take my kid down a grocery checkout aisle from which all the eye-level candy had been removed. Alas, I can't figure out how we keep the nation's executive toddlers from being dazzled by shiny AI pitches that leave us stuck with the consequences of their impulse purchases.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/25/accountability-sinks/#work-harder-not-smarter

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[ts4-poses]

NEWS IMPORTANT I'm back from my vacation! But there is a huge backlog waiting for me! So please be gentle with me, I will be adding everything in the queue, you only have to be a little patient! <3 Are you tired of understanding T.O.O.L. mod for your poses and don't want to use the move/rotate function on WW poseplayer? There is an easier way to move/rotate your posed sims! Try the mod 'Pose Alignment Interactions' here

Tip from me: There is a huge increase of boosty-links these days, but since you have to make an account to download and this website still has some trust issues, I would advice you to NOT make an account with your main e-mail you use for everything. Make a sims-cc-e-mail for example, since you have to make an account almost everywhere these days! Be safe on the internet lovelies! I don't share early access poses until the early period is over! (don't paywall your holiday poses until after the holiday!!)

KNOWN POSEBUGS Eyelids Eyelids are still not fixed by EA after the Lovestruck patch, so it could be that eyes are not entirely closed in many poses due to this EA bug.

PLEASE UPVOTE THIS TOPIC Thank you for the immense response! Child/toddler/infant height presets Child/toddler/infant height presets for poses are sadly, after the Business and Hobbies update, broken. Topic to upvote HERE (@/electricwhims found a workaround for their newborn infant preset, so this works for poses again! Make sure to download the updated preset again!)

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Links that are helpful!

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Deco sims tag!

[umlewis]

Lewis Hamilton Is Changing Lanes

He's got one last season with Mercedes, and then F1's winningest driver will join Ferrari. But he's looking far beyond that, toward the moves he'll make when his racing career ends.

Preparation for the Afterlife

Often in the in-between moments of his eighteen seasons in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has found himself in rooms with legends, some from other exotic industries: movies, music, fashion; all worlds Hamilton has felt increasing affinity for while becoming the winning-est F1 driver in history, and many from other major sports. What he'd noticed was that eventually, particularly with these aging athletes just on the other side of retirement, the conversation would loop around to the subject of preparation for the afterlife. Not death, exactly, but life after sport. "I'd spoken to so many amazing athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams, even Michael Jordan," Hamilton, now 39, says. "Talking to greats that I've met along the way, who are retired, or some that are still in competition, and the fear of what's next, the lack of preparation for what's next. A lot of them said, 'I stopped too early' or 'Stayed too long.' 'When it ended, I didn't have anything planned.' 'My whole world came crashing down because my whole life has been about that sport.' Some of them were like, 'I didn't plan and it was a bit of a mess up because I was really lost afterwards. There was such a hole, such a void, and I had no idea how I was going to fill it and I was in such a rush, initially, to try and fill it that you fill it with the wrong thing and you make a few mistakes, and then eventually you find your way.' Some people took longer. Some people took shorter. But it just got my mind thinking about, okay, when I stop, how do I avoid that? And so I got serious about finding other things that I was passionate about." Hamilton, whose parents split when he was a toddler and who started racing at eight, spent the first half of his life impelled by one thing: "Being the only black kid on the circuit, struggling at school, really always my big drive was acceptance. If I win the race, I will receive that acceptance in this world."

That single-minded intent, for a working class kid who grew up on a council estate north of London, led him to inconceivable heights within motorsport. His seven individual world championships in F1 tie him for most ever with Michael Schumacher. His eight team titles with Mercedes and his 103 frand prix victories put him in a class of one. But it wasn’t until later that Hamilton finally felt comfortable directing the part of himself that he'd suppressed while pursuing racing full-time toward other creative arenas; pursuits that, rather than detract from his racing career, might actually enhance his performance on the track, set him more purposefully toward the second half of his life, and ultimately enliven his soul. "When I first got into Formula 1," he says, "it was wake up, train, racing-racing-racing. Racing, nothing else. There's no space for anything else. But what I realized is that just working all the time doesn't bring you happiness, and you need to find a balance in life. And I found out that I was actually quite unhappy." The fixation was flattening. "There was so much missing, there was so much more to me, and it was crazy because I was like, 'I'm in Formula 1, I reached my dream and I'm where I always wanted to be, I'm on top, I'm fighting for the championship.' But I was just not... It was not enjoyable." During that period, he started dating someone in Los Angeles and was exposed for the first time to creative people in creative industries. "It’s almost like being in a snow globe. That’s the racing world," he says, "and there's so much more outside of it that you just don't have time to explore. I think if you go to an office every day and do the same process every single day, eventually you just zone out. You have to find something else that can soothe you, can keep your mind going." Those trips to LA planted the seeds for what else might be possible and ushered in a new wave of self-expression and creative experimentation, through, first, his hair, tattoos, and jewelry, then through music, fashion, and filmmaking. For the next decade, Hamilton steadily pushed against preconceptions of how a racing driver might present himself, and what else a racing driver might do while winging around the world for a global racing series. "My mind is always moving," he says, sitting across from me in London. "I have really, really vivid dreams; I have to wake up and write them down. I'll have visions of something I'm designing, or sometimes it’s music. Sometimes I have a song playing in my head. I'll get up and go downstairs, play it on the piano, record it, and it becomes a part of something that I’m doing." Hamilton lives for the songwriting camps he sets up at least a couple times a year during his summer and winter breaks, when he gathers a team of producers and songwriters to help him pull together the many samples, threads, and lyrics he collects and noodles on throughout the season. He's just returned from one when we meet up in February, and it's left him on a high. "Music keeps me alive," he says. In the years since those seminal trips to LA, Hamilton has become the most prominent member of his sport, possibly even the most prominent athlete in any sport, to mess around this much and this seriously with so many sidelines in creative industries. The idea of Hamilton indulging his interests hasn't always been welcomed.

"As I explored my creativity and also how to express myself," he says, "I experienced a lot of pushback in the media." Commentators who questioned Hamilton's "distractions" off the track. "People just judging me: 'This is not how a racing driver behaves.' 'This is not what a racing driver does.'" Hamilton's rise coincided with a moment when the sport was maturing globally and corporate money was flooding into F1. As a result, the rougher edges of the sport were sanded away and the hard-partying, death-defying racers of previous eras were replaced by a cadre of safe characters who evinced limited personality off the track. "I actually feel for some of the drivers just before us, in the early 2000s," Hamilton says. "There was clearly more to them, but they weren't able to show that. But if you look at our world now, there's drivers expressing themselves differently. Bit by bit, I've had to work overtime to outperform,' he says, in order to shift people's mindsets. The motivation for Hamilton to keep pushing his sport forward on this front is twofold: Yes, to continue to break F1's often conservative, conventional expectations, but also to set himself up for the second half of his own career. "I went through this phase of understanding that I can't race forever," he says, prompting him to cultivate those other passions. "Because when I stop, I'm gonna drop the mic and be happy. The difficult thing is, I want to do everything," he says, laughing. "I'm very ambitious, but I understand that you can't do... Actually, I take that back, because I don't believe in the word can't. To be a master at something, there's the 10,000 hours it takes. Obviously I've done that in racing. There's not enough time to master all of these different things." So what's the one that's gonna take the place of racing. I ask. "Well," he says, "I think it's gonna be film and fashion."

Film Lewis

Among the most prominent of Hamilton's current side projects is the major Hollywood film he's producing, alongside Brad Pitt and the team that made Top Gun: Maverick, including director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. It promises to be at minimum the most anticipated racing movie in history; at best, the most authentic, adrenaline-inducing racing movie ever. Hamilton says he was, like many, a movie fiend growing up, and much of his time in Formula 1 has been marked by surreal opportunities to meet the people affiliated with them. This Hollywood story, he says, begins, as many of the best Hollywood stories do, with Tom Cruise. Cruise, a racing fan since even before Days of Thunder, reached out unexpectedly to Hamilton about a decade ago to invite him to the set of his 2014 film, Edge of Tomorrow. "My assistant called me. 'Tom Cruise has invited you to the set.' I was just like, 'Shoot, yeah?! Cancel anything I have!'" After that day on set in England, Hamilton and Cruise built a friendship that consisted, in part, of encouraging messages from Cruise before and after races. "'Me and the team want to wish you good luck with the race', that sort of thing," Hamilton says. One evening, at dinner, Hamilton showed Cruise his watch that had a Top Gun logo on the back. "I said, 'Dude, if you ever do Top Gun 2,'" which had not been spoken of; there was no story yet, "'I will even be a janitor. Just let me be in it.’'" When the reality of Top Gun: Maverick came around, Cruise put Hamilton in touch with Kosinski, who offered Hamilton a role as one of the film's pilots, but he was in the middle of the 2018 title race, waging a dogfight of his own with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Filming would have required a couple of weeks on set during the final months of the season. Despite having made admirable progress for drivers to fitfully explore their passions off-track, even Hamilton has his limits. "Firstly, I hadn't even had, like, an acting lesson," he says, "and I don't want to be the one that lets this movie down. And then secondly, I just really didn't have the time to dedicate to it. I remember having to tell Joe and Tom, and it broke my heart. And then I regretted it, naturally, when they show me the movie and it's... It could've been me!" He groans and laughs. "Oh, God, I'm still…."

And so a couple years later, despite the missed opportunity, Hamilton found himself on a Zoom, staring at a screen with Kosinski and Bruckheimer, who were asking him to get involved with a real-deal, big budget Formula 1 film. Hamilton glimpsed the potential pitfalls instantly. "My point was, guys, this movie needs to be so authentic. There's two different fan groups that we have; like, the old originals, who from the day they're born hearing the frand prix music every weekend and watching with their families, to the new generation that just learned about it today through Netflix." Hamilton signed on with an imperative to make the movie work for both. "I felt my job really has been to try to call BS. 'This would never happen.' 'This is how it would be.' 'This is how it could happen.' Just giving them advice about what racing is really about and what, as a racing fan, would appeal and what would not." Cameras were rolling on the production at last season's British Grand Prix, where the filmmakers shot live racing before a crowd of 150,000-plus at the famed Silverstone Circuit. One of the coolest experiences thus far, Hamilton says, was "being at Silverstone and just finding out that Brad is actually a racer at heart. He's genuinely got the abilities, the skills." Where does it come from? "I think he's always loved bikes, and so he's watched a lot of motor racing. When I was younger, I worked at a driving school to help pay my bills, just getting around to these races and stuff. Companies would come with seventy people and they're on the wrong side of the road. They're on the inside line, driving toward an apex of a turn. Just no knowledge. Brad knew what part of the track to be on." This understanding of Formula 1 racecraft, then, put actors like Pitt and Cruise in a rare class of American. Hamilton had seen the ignorance up close for years. He spent the first half of his career coming to the United States and Canada, shocked by having to just "continuously educate people." Here was this continent of massive sports fans who were somehow immune to whatever had made Hamilton mad for F1 all his life: "How has no one got the bug like me? How are they missing it?" I spoke to Hamilton once before, in late 2011, and asked him what has really been an open question since: What would it take to infect the American sports fan? He knew. It was gonna be a movie that did it. "I'd love to hear any ideas," he told me then, issuing an open call to screenwriters. Netflix's Drive to Survive proved that there was something to Hamilton's theory, that if only you could package up the speed and drama in a slick story, audiences might get hooked on the real thing. The still-untitled Pitt-Kosinski film-they could do worse than Top Gun: Formula 1-should be the ultimate test case. At one point, Hamilton and I discuss the slate of racing feature films that have come before. Grand Prix (1966), Le Mans (1971), Ford v Ferrari (2019), Rush (2013), and on and on. I ask him if he keeps up with new entries; which work, and which are way off the map. "I do watch all of them," he says, in part because he’s a fan, in part because he and his new production company, Dawn Apollo Films, need to keep an eye out. "But one thing I think you'll learn about me is I don't like to... We live in such a judgmental world, and having seen how, for everything, building something from scratch and creating takes so much time and commitment from so many people... So I never like to be someone to dog anything."

Still. Ferrari? "I loved it," he says. Encouraging news for Ferrari fans, who have been salivating since Hamilton's shock announcement that he'd be moving to their team at the start of the 2025 season. "One, because Ferrari is Ferrari, and envisioning when they arrive at the factory, seeing some of the history... The racing was nuts back then. The cars were so dangerous. Could I look at it and say this could be done better? Of course. Capturing racing is really, really difficult, and I don't think anyone's been able to really capture it in a way that brings the adrenaline you have as a racing driver. But I think it's one of the best they’ve done. If you look at the old movies, with McQueen, the big camera on the helmet and the guy lying on the front of the car to capture the shot?" He laughs. "You should see some of the cameras that Joe is able to use. He's a visionary." Are you to the point of thinking, we've got to blow these other racing films out of the water? "I don’t feel competitive with these movies," he says, "but I guess we probably will be."

Fashion Lewis

Before movies, there were clothes. In 2007, Hamilton attended his first fashion show. "I come from a racing world where me and my dad were really the only people of color," he says, "and then when I went to the fashion world, it was so mixed, so diverse. I loved it." Hamilton had already spent his years coming up in the sport having to answer for superficial differences from other drivers; his braids, his tattoos, his jewelry, then his clothes. Every additional layer of differentiation brought outsize attention and required immense effort and energy getting people to believe that these things were not affecting his performance or causing harm to the sport. The scrutiny found yet a new target when he started working with Tommy Hilfiger. Hilfiger, who had been involved with Formula 1 for decades, invited Hamilton to design five collections for Hilfiger's namesake brand between 2018 and 2020. "I got almost like an internship experience, getting to work with these designers, in the background," Hamilton says. "I got to just be really hands-on, massively engaged, and then I would go to races and I was just really free." To celebrate his first collection, in 2018, Hamilton flew to a party in New York before a grand prix in Singapore. "That's not really great preparation for a race weekend," Hamilton concedes, "so you have to be really cautious about that. The narrative was, 'Oh, he’s not focused.' But I wasn't out partying late or drinking like that. I got to Singapore and I delivered one of the best laps that I've ever delivered. And after that, everyone was like, oh, he can do that. Even Niki would say to Toto, 'You can't let Lewis do this! This is not what a racing driver does!’'" In Lauda's era, I suggest jokingly, racing drivers would just drink and smoke all night before showing up to the track in the morning. Hamilton laughs. "Yeah, exactly. But eventually I got him to see it. 'Oh, maybe he can do those things, too.'"

In recent years Hamilton's interest in fashion has evolved. He doesn't just want to wear clothes or design them, he tells me, but to influence the industry in more ambitious ways. Hamilton has pushed diversity initiatives within Formula 1, Mercedes and beyond, efforts aimed at busting up the homogeneity in the spaces he inhabits. Now he's thinking about ways to marshal that sort of influence-and, yes, financing-to help independent fashion brands that he admires. "I think it's about really working on the idea of... We've really got to send the lift down," he says. "There are so many incredible young up and coming brands that at some stage would just get eaten up by the big organizations, and they'll lose a large percentage of the company that they've started, and that’s often the way it goes. I think it's about getting a seat at the table. It's not easy. Getting in the room with Arnault and having the discussion." Have you tried, I ask.

"Uh, I'm not yet in the room, but I believe I can." Just to pick one I've seen you support, I say, I look at a brand like Wales Bonner (from acclaimed 33 year old designer Grace Wales Bonner) that has about as clear a vision as any fashion label for what it's about-fresh takes on black style and contemporary Britishness-and yet remains humbly independent. Do you think about getting involved financially with businesses of that scale? "I have been to Grace's studio," he says, "and it's fascinating speaking to her about just how hard it is for her. She's putting on these great shows, she's super creative, she's very intentional with the work that she's doing. But there are opportunities that have just not been presented to her, and I know that there are so many of these young brands that somehow need more finance, somehow need more support, help with the infrastructure, which the big brands obviously have crazy infrastructure. Which when you do get, you know, they are at risk of just having to sell a chunk of it to somebody in order to stay alive. So I'm trying to just figure out how we fit into that picture." Honestly, one of my dreams is I have thought about creating my own diverse LVMH," he says. "Like, I don't know if we live in a time where that's really possible, but that's something that I'm conceptualizing." Act I: Beat Schumacher Act II: Beat Arnault Just one of those ideas that gets jotted down in the middle of the night and worked on, I suggest. "Yeah," he says. "We've got an opportunity to really lift people up and let them get in the jet stream. I think about LVMH and, of course, I love Pharrell. He's been, since I was a kid, just musically and creatively, someone that I really aspire to be like. And I was really split, having now been in the space, on the decision that LVMH took." That is, to make him men's creative director of Louis Vuitton. "'Cause, wow, he did the work with Chanel, Billionaire Boys Club, he deserves it 100 percent. Then I'm thinking about someone like Grace, or Martine Rose would've been cool. Put a woman in power in that position, because a lot of women aren't getting those opportunities within the industry. I think that would've been a baller move. But I'm loving what Pharrell is doing."

F1 Lewis

The start of 2024, Hamilton says, is "probably the most exciting time in my life", in large part because it's the first time he's been able to think about the next two years in tandem. "I've never started a year excited for the year to follow," he says. His life has been measured in seasons; one team, one car, one series, one summer break to cram in all the travel and songwriting camps and other interests. "People ask me all the time, where do you see yourself in five years? And I've never been able to look that far ahead. But now I'm in a place where I can map out a little further ahead. There's some really cool things that will be happening in the next two years." He means, "Some really fun projects with fashion that will come to light at the end of the year, obviously the movie, and hopefully a documentary to follow." He pauses, and I smile. Yeah? Anything else? Hamilton shocked the racing world a couple weeks before our conversation by announcing that he would be leaving his long-term team, Mercedes, for its most famous rival, Ferrari, at the start of the 2025 season. He would, then, be racing all of 2024 with the team to which he'd been effectively married and won everything there was to win for over a decade, all while having the next relationship primed and ready to go for the day after the divorce, which forces him to hold both this year and next year in his head concurrently; a rare state of play for a driver. "My focus is, how do I deliver the best year that this team has ever had, after all the great years we've had?" he says. "It's how you engage with the people around you ho have taken the news, some of them really well, some of them less so. How do you take them on this journey and leave on a high together?" Before moving on, he says, he has to figure out how to make sure the work he's done at Mercedes on diversity initiatives continues to live on without him pushing it. It's a consideration that could apply to many of the shifts Hamilton has helped facilitate in the sport. What happens when Lewis is no longer at the front of the pack challenging the status quo? At one point, I ask him, what's the thing you're most surprised hasn't evolved further during your time in F1? "We still need more women in the sport, and to fight to make sure that there are more and more women to put out at the front, in view, for young women and girls to be able to see that this is a place for women." In 2024, he says, "I'm training harder than I've ever trained. I feel the most physically prepared I've ever been, so I'm really excited about the present, knowing that nothing is promised beyond that," he says. "But then it's also conceptualizing. I have all these ideas of things I want to do beyond, in the next phase. Honestly," he continues, "I've manifested everything I've ever wanted to do. I do it every year. Working with Tommy, winning a world championship, breaking records. And so I've had some other plans for the future." Did you manifest the Ferrari move, I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "I think perhaps more unconscious manifesting from the early period of my life, but it's always been up there for me. For now, though, I'm gonna lift Mercedes as high as I can this year. The way that I exist..." he continues, "I don't look at it as on the way out. My commitment to the team is exactly the same as previous years. I want to kill every other team. We want to beat them. My approach remains the same, right 'til the end, and I can't let too much of my mind be distracted by what's afterwards. You can't really tap into that until next year." This final season at Mercedes comes during an unprecedented stretch for Hamilton, who has not won a race the past two seasons. Mercedes constructed a car in two consecutive seasons that has struggled. Red Bull and Max Verstappen have dominated. Hamilton wouldn't be doing it still if he didn't think he could compete for a world championship, he says, but we discuss whether the end of the 2021 season felt like a turning point for him in his career. The title that year was decided in the last race of the season, the last lap of the season, the literal last minutes of the season. After a surreal, improvisational ruling by the race director, Hamilton and Verstappen were cut loose to settle the title in one final sprint. But with Verstappen's car in a clearly advantageous state (he had fresh tires), Hamilton's fate was sealed before Go. Were you robbed, I ask him. "Was I robbed? Obviously. I mean, you know the story. But I think what was really beautiful in that moment, which I take away from it, was my dad was with me. And we'd gone through this huge roller coaster of life together, ups and downs, nd the day that it hurt the most, he was there, and the way he raised me was to always stand up, keep your head high. And I obviously went to congratulate Max, and not realizing the impact that that would have, but also I was really conscious of, like, there's a mini-me watching. This is the defining moment of my life. And I think it really was. I felt it. I didn't know how it was going to be perceived. I hadn't, like, visualized it, but I was definitely conscious of, these next fifty meters that I walk is where I fall to the ground and die, or I rise up." I ask him if he fixates on that race. "If I see a clip of it, I still feel it," he says, "but I'm at peace with it." And the winninglessness that's followed? "My fans were really ride or die. I couldn't understand it at first. 'Guys, but I'm not winning anything!' But I've realized it's not easy to relate to someone that's always finishing first. It's inspiring. But there's no..." There's never been a comeback story until now. It's a good lesson from his sideline in movies. People love a comeback story.

[ampheenix]

Go for it, Rui!!

SUMMARY:

“Wow wow Rui-kun, you always rile Tsukasa-kun up so easily!” Emu giggled, and Tsukasa bristled.

“I- I am not ‘riled up!’ And, even if I was, ahem, ‘riled up,” Tsukasa coughed into his sleeve uncomfortably, eyes darting around, “It would never be because of Rui!”

Or, the chaotic events of Rui trying (and failing) to confess to Tsukasa, with Emu and Nene cheering them both on from the sidelines.

“Oh no! For now the prince found himself staring down a vicious dragon; how on earth would he be able to fight off such a ruthless beast without his sword?!” Rui narrated, looking shocked and concerned.

“Oh nooo!” Tsukasa cried, stiffening up, throwing a desperate glance to where his sword now sat to the side of the stage, being tossed aside by the ‘dragon.’ “Whatever am I going to do? I can’t possibly defend the princess without my weapon!!” The audience was captivated, eyes swivelling from Rui to the performers on-stage.

The dragon roared ferociously, and the prince cowered, holding up his hands in some attempt at defence as the beast readied a huge ball of fire. The audience gasped, Nene looking terrified as she glanced at the prince, cowering in her gown as the boy prepared himself for defeat-

“STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU NASTY DRAGON!!” A pink-haired warrior slid in front of the prince, holding up a massive shield just in time to stop the dangerous fireball. The audience sighed in relief, as the newcomer stood up straight, her face lit up with a determined smile.

“Oh? What’s this?” Rui recounted, looking surprised at this new turn of events. “It seems a newcomer has come to the prince’s aid!”

“Quick, prince, grab your sword!” The mysterious warrior said, and the prince stumbled into action, looking dumbfounded. He quickly sprinted over to his fallen sword, wheeling around with his weapon at the ready as the dragon drew itself up to its full height.

“And so, the prince found himself staring down the terrifying beast once more, but with an enigmatic ally at his side! Will they be able to defeat the terrible dragon who is wreaking havoc on their kingdom? Will they be able to save the princess and be victorious?” Rui smiled as he gestured grandly. “Find out at our next show!”

Tsukasa, Emu and Nene walked to the front of the stage and bowed in unison, and the audience applauded enthusiastically, cheering erupting from the small crowd. Rui soon followed, with a dramatic flourish of the hand. “Thank you, thank you! Come again!”

After about ten minutes, the crowd had mostly thinned out, with a few stragglers left behind in their seats. Namely, one or two hysterical toddlers and a few more exasperated parents.

Emu sent them a beaming smile with a big wave, and their faces lit up immediately, the parents looking relieved as the toddlers allowed themselves to be dragged away.

Emu then turned to the others, smiling happily. “Wow wow wow, Rui-kun!! Your narrating was AMAZING!!” She then turned to Tsukasa. “And Tsukasa-kun, your acting was so… so…” Emu struggled to find the words, before lighting up with an enthusiastic grin. “WONDERHOYY!!”

“Oh, oh! And Nene!” Emu spun around, Nene’s awkward gaze immediately dropping to the concrete. “You acted so, so well! I was nearly scared just looking at you!!” She exclaimed with a shudder, and Nene shifted, momentarily glancing up at the other.

“Well uh, thanks I guess…” She said with a small smile, and Emu gave her a big thumbs up and a big grin.

“Why thank you, Emu, your criticism after performances is always appreciated.” Rui smiled, and Tsukasa nodded aggressively. “Indeed!! I mean, not that I’m agreeing with Rui-”

Tsukasa glanced at the man in question suspiciously, only to be met with an innocent smirk, further increasing the suspicion on his face- “But as a future star it always excellent to have feedback!!”

Emu beamed, and Tsukasa laughed loudly, and Nene winced slightly- it was like staring straight into the sun.

“Indeed, I must agree with Emu-kun. Tsukasa-kun, your performance was incredible, as always~” Rui drawled, eyes meeting the other’s with a small grin. Tsukasa stiffened, and Nene wondered at the points of red that had appeared in his cheeks.

“W- well, that is only expected of an actor as s-skilled as me!!” Tsukasa blustered, spinning away from Rui as the latter smirked with some satisfaction.

“Wow wow Rui-kun, you always rile Tsukasa-kun up so easily!” Emu giggled, and Tsukasa bristled.

“I- I am not ‘riled up!’ And, even if I was, ahem, ‘riled up,” Tsukasa coughed into his sleeve uncomfortably, eyes darting around, “It would never be because of Rui!”

“…Mmm hmm. Sure.” Nene said, unconvinced, and Emu grinned mischievously, grabbing the other’s hand. “C’mon, c’mon, Nene-kun!! I want to show you that AMAZING arcade I was talking about earlier!!”

Nene stared at her for a moment, confused. Emu widened her eyes, blinking dramatically as she threw a heavy glance at the two boys beside them and back, before Nene’s eyes lit up in realisation.

Her eyes darted between Rui and Tsukasa, before a small smile appeared on her face as she turned back to the other. “O-okay, let’s head off then! Bye guys.”

“Wahaha, have fun you two!!” Emu laughed triumphantly with a smirk as she dragged Nene down the sidewalk by her hand, and Tsukasa looked after them bemusedly.

He turned back to Rui, who had an embarrassed smile on his face as he turned back to Tsukasa. Hmm, how out-of-character for him! Normally Rui was all smug and “Tsukasa-kun~,” all the time.

“Um, well then, Tsukasa-kun…” Ah, there it was. Tsukasa huffed, what was it this time?!

“I was wondering if, you would accompany me to my house this fine evening?” Rui asked with an innocent smile, and Tsukasa furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion.

“…Why?”

“Well, er, Tsukasa-kun…” Rui continued, as Tsukasa eyed him up with doubt. “I was wondering if you’d like to see a new invention of mine, is all…”

“Oh!” Tsukasa exclaimed, a bit surprised. That actually sounded not-suspicious at all!

“Well- wait, hold on.” Tsukasa wrinkled his nose. “You’re not going to experiment on me again, are you?!” Rui’s fists clenched for a moment, so quickly that Tsukasa thought he’d imagined it for a moment, before he heard the other let out a quiet sigh. Huh?

“Er- no, I was just… never mind.” Rui murmured, smile dimming somewhat. “See you at school.” And with that, he turned and started walking back down the sidewalk, Tsukasa staring in shock after him. But the- what was with the dramatic change in expression?! Had he… had he said something to upset Rui?

“H-hey, hold on!!” Tsukasa called after him, something uncomfortable churning in his stomach, but Rui acted as if he hadn’t heard and continued walking.

Tsukasa faltered. Argh, what was he to do?! He didn’t want to get experimented on, of course, but it appeared Rui was trying to ask him over to his house in a brief moment of vulnerability! And he, Tsukasa, had inadvertently hurt his feelings!

He thought deeply. Going to each other’s houses… wasn’t that something friends do? Well, Tsukasa had no shortage of friends, being a future star after all- but he supposed… just this once…

“Er… Rui! Hey, Rui!” Tsukasa ran after him to catch up, clapping a hand on the other’s shoulder after a few moments which had Rui turning around, genuine surprise in his eyes as they flickered to Tsukasa’s hand. “Huh? What is it?”

“Er!” Tsukasa drew himself up to his full height, gesturing grandly. “Seeing as you have cordially extended me an invitation to your house, it would be incredibly rude of me to refuse!!” Rui brightened up slightly, the smirk reappearing as if it had never left. Tsukasa sighed inwardly; it was nice while it lasted.

“Well then… shall we, Tsukasa kun…?” Rui smiled far too innocently, and Tsukasa warily followed after him as they set off down the path.

“So… ahem. Why is that you are inviting me over to your house this evening, exactly?” Tsukasa asked, trying and failing to keep out the suspicion in his tone as they walked.

Rui laughed lightly, eyes dancing up and down Tsukasa’s form before slowly meeting his eyes. “Oh… just…”

Rui paused, before leaning in all of a sudden, far too close to be socially acceptable, gazing deep into his eyes. Tsukasa stilled, frozen for a reason he couldn’t explain as he stared, breathless, at the other. For a split second, his eyes darted down to Rui’s lips, which were far too close for comfort before he quickly willed his eyes back up and instantly regretted it.

Rui looked at him far too knowingly, as if he was seeing into Tsukasa’s very soul, reading his thoughts and figuring out exactly what made him tick. Much like those machines he was always tinkering with.

After a few- well, not exactly uncomfortable, but Tsukasa could feel heat stirring behind his cheeks which he was not okay with- Tsukasa was just about to cough awkwardly and continue down the path when Rui beat him to it.

Rui pulled away as if nothing had even happened, disinterested as he checked his phone and continued walking down the path. Tsukasa stared at his back, agape and flushed. He- he just- and was completely unbothered- what on earth?!  

Tsukasa quickly came to his senses, shaking himself as he quickly sped-walked to catch up, because what was that about?! He desperately willed away the heat dusting his cheeks. This- this was not normal behaviour for Rui!!

And…

Well…

Why on earth had he not minded that in the least?!

[josh-thoughtlost]

This is great and I'm going to elaborate* on two points, buckle up.

Re #4: Guess what folks, every kid who's been unable to "get" how to blow their nose was probably at some point doing it exactly right. Why didn't it work, you ask? Let me tell you about a little something called the Square Cube Law, and how it explains far too much of the world around us.

So you know how three squared is 3*3 = 9, but three cubed is 3*3*3=27, right? It's not hard to see how this means that when you cube a number, it's gonna grow faster than if you were squaring it.

4*4 = 16. 4*4*4=64

5*5=25; 5*5*5=125

And so on.

Well guess what? We live in a three dimensional world, which means if you scale something twice as tall, you've actually increased its volume by 2*2*2 = EIGHT goddamn times bigger.

But sometimes the limiting factor in a 3D mechanical system is actually just how wide or thick that component is - a thicker beam is stronger, a wider tube carries more fluid, no matter how long they are, more or less.

So your dripping toddler who's about, I dunno, one third your height maybe? Their lung capacity is going to be like 1/3 cubed, or 1/27 of your adult air bellows. Their nasal passages, on the other hand, would be only 1/9th as wide IF their head was scaled proportional to their height, which you should know is a lie because kid heads are large for their bodies compared to ours.

Imagine taking, oh, say one tenth of a full breath of air and trying to blow your nose with that. That's about how it feels to blow your nose as a toddler. So cut them some slack.

13. Hey, reminder to everyone: kids should be taught consent, which means no, great aunt whoever can suck it up if the kid says no to a hug. No one is entitled to a hug from a kid, that should be their choice as soon as they can communicate.

* swear to God the swipe keyboard tried to replace 'elaborate' with 'Russia' and what the hell google, Putin got you too or something?

A friend has once again brought it to my attention that it is unusual to have an intact chronological memory of life prior to age 12 and you know what’s weird to ME is that the rest of yall forgot how to sing the clean-up song

[hellobloger0000]

Understanding the Child Growth Calculator: A Complete Guide for Parents

Monitoring your child’s physical growth is a crucial aspect of parenting. With advancements in digital tools, using a child growth calculator has become a popular and reliable method to assess your child’s height, weight, and BMI against standardized growth charts. This tool helps parents and caregivers ensure that their child is growing healthily and within the expected developmental ranges.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits, usage, and importance of a child growth calculator, along with insights into how you can use this tool for better parenting decisions.

What Is a Child Growth Calculator?

A child growth calculator is an online tool that uses age, gender, height, and weight to determine whether a child is growing appropriately. These tools are generally based on the World Health Organization (WHO) or CDC growth charts, providing percentile rankings that help interpret a child’s physical development in comparison to peers.

It’s especially useful in the early years when regular growth monitoring can flag potential issues like stunted growth, obesity, or malnutrition.

How Does the Child Growth Calculator Work?

The calculator requires the following information:

Child’s age (usually in months or years)

Gender

Height (in cm or inches)

Weight (in kg or pounds)

Once you input the data, the child growth calculator processes it against reference data to deliver:

Percentile rankings (e.g., 50th percentile means average for age)

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Growth trajectory insights

This helps you know whether your child is underweight, healthy, or overweight for their age and gender.

Why Should You Use a Child Growth Calculator?

Parents often rely on doctor visits for growth tracking, but having access to a child growth calculator empowers them with real-time, at-home insights.

Key Benefits:

Early Detection of Growth Issues: Regular use can identify early signs of developmental delays or imbalances.

Track Over Time: Helps parents maintain a record of physical development milestones.

Support Doctor Consultations: Provides useful data to pediatricians for diagnosis and planning.

Educational: Increases awareness of growth standards and healthy parenting practices.

High-Volume Related Keywords to Know

To make the most of your search and understanding, here are some related keywords with high search volume:

Child growth chart

Baby height and weight tracker

Pediatric growth percentile

Growth percentile calculator

Baby BMI calculator

Toddler weight calculator

Growth milestone chart

Baby health tracker

Child development chart

Height percentile calculator

Incorporating these keywords helps parents find the most relevant tools and resources to track their child’s growth journey.

How to Use a Child Growth Calculator Correctly

Using a child growth calculator effectively requires accuracy in measurement and understanding of the results.

Tips for Accurate Input:

Use a proper weighing scale for consistent weight tracking.

Measure height using a flat surface and stadiometer or tape measure.

Track monthly or as advised by your pediatrician.

Record data to compare trends over time.

Understanding how your child ranks compared to global standards can be empowering rather than alarming. Keep in mind that every child grows at their own pace, and fluctuations are normal.

A Unique Fact You May Not Know

New research from the Indian Academy of Pediatrics reveals that growth calculators adapted to regional population data are more accurate than international averages. This means that using a region-specific child growth calculator offers better relevance and reliability for Indian children compared to global calculators alone.

Common FAQs About Child Growth Calculators

Q1: How often should I use a child growth calculator? A: Monthly or every 3 months during early childhood is ideal.

Q2: Are online growth calculators accurate? A: They are based on standardized data and are generally reliable when used correctly with accurate inputs.

Q3: What percentile should my child be in? A: Anywhere between the 5th and 95th percentile is typically considered normal, depending on overall health.

Q4: Can this replace pediatric visits? A: No. A child growth calculator is a supportive tool, not a substitute for medical advice.

Q5: What if my child is below the 5th percentile? A: It may indicate growth issues and you should consult your pediatrician for further assessment.

Navigating Growth Beyond Numbers

While numbers are a strong indicator, growth is also about overall wellness. Here’s how you can ensure healthy development:

Nutrition: A balanced diet rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals is essential.

Sleep: Quality sleep supports physical and brain development.

Physical Activity: Encourage age-appropriate exercise and play.

Routine Checkups: Always consult a pediatrician for comprehensive evaluations.

The child growth calculator helps you stay proactive in supporting your child’s growth, but a holistic approach ensures they thrive emotionally, socially, and intellectually too.

Conclusion

The child growth calculator is more than a tool; it’s a parenting companion that adds clarity to your child’s developmental journey. It provides immediate, data-backed insights into growth patterns and potential red flags. By integrating its use into your routine and combining it with nutritious habits and expert guidance, you can ensure your child grows healthy and strong.

[classicrollershuttersau]

Struggling With Heat and Glare? Try Blockout Curtains in Adelaide

Australia’s harsh sun can be both a blessing and a challenge—especially in places like Adelaide, where scorching summers and prolonged sun exposure can make your home uncomfortably hot and full of glare. If you’ve been battling heatwaves, relentless sunlight, or sleepless nights, there’s one simple yet highly effective solution: blockout curtains.

Blockout curtains, sometimes called blackout curtains, are designed to do exactly what their name suggests—block out light. But their benefits go far beyond darkening a room. In fact, many Adelaide homeowners are discovering how blockout curtains can dramatically improve comfort, energy efficiency, and privacy in their homes.

In this blog, we’ll explore the many reasons why blockout curtains are becoming a must-have in Adelaide, especially for those struggling with heat and glare. We’ll also share tips on how to choose the right blockout curtains for your home.

Why Heat and Glare Are Big Issues in Adelaide

Adelaide experiences long, dry summers with average temperatures often reaching 30°C and above. While natural sunlight is great for your health and well-being, too much of it can:

Heat up your living space, increasing your reliance on air conditioning

Fade your furniture, flooring, and artworks due to UV exposure

Create annoying glare on TV and computer screens

Interrupt your sleep by lighting up your room too early in the morning

And with energy costs continuing to rise, it’s no surprise that Adelaide residents are seeking ways to keep cool without breaking the bank.

What Are Blockout Curtains?

Blockout curtains are thick, multi-layered fabric curtains designed to block out sunlight completely. They typically consist of one or more layers of tightly woven fabric—often with a special backing that prevents light from passing through.

Unlike regular curtains or sheer drapes, blockout curtains are purpose-built to:

Prevent sunlight penetration

Reduce heat transfer through windows

Provide sound insulation

Offer complete privacy

They’re ideal for bedrooms, media rooms, nurseries, and any living space where you want greater control over light and temperature.

1. Combat the Summer Heat with Thermal Insulation

One of the biggest perks of blockout curtains in Adelaide is their ability to act as a thermal barrier. Windows are one of the largest sources of heat gain in a home, and traditional curtains or blinds often offer little resistance.

Blockout curtains can:

Reflect sunlight before it enters your home

Trap air between the curtain and the window, forming an insulating layer

Help maintain cooler indoor temperatures

This thermal insulation can lead to significant energy savings by reducing your need for air conditioning, particularly during Adelaide’s peak summer months.

Tip: For maximum insulation, install your curtains as close to the window frame as possible and extend them well beyond the frame width and height.

2. Say Goodbye to Glare on Screens and Devices

If you work from home or enjoy movie nights, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of glare on your screen. Blockout curtains eliminate this problem by providing complete light control.

They’re ideal for:

Home offices where you need consistent lighting

Living rooms with large windows

TV and media rooms for that cinema-like experience

Whether it’s morning sunlight or afternoon rays, blockout curtains let you create a comfortable, glare-free environment in seconds.

3. Better Sleep, Anytime You Need It

Quality sleep is essential, but it’s hard to achieve when sunlight pours into your bedroom at 6 AM—or when your room never gets dark enough to wind down at night.

Blockout curtains can create total darkness, making them perfect for:

Shift workers who sleep during the day

Babies and toddlers who need daytime naps

Light-sensitive sleepers who wake up with the sunrise

By blocking out even the smallest rays of light, blockout curtains help regulate your circadian rhythm, leading to deeper, more restful sleep.

4. Protection from UV Damage

UV rays don’t just heat your home—they can also fade and damage your interiors. Prolonged sun exposure can bleach hardwood floors, carpets, upholstery, and artwork.

Blockout curtains provide an effective UV barrier, helping you:

Preserve the look of your furniture and decor

Extend the life of expensive interior finishes

Maintain a more comfortable indoor climate

For homeowners who have invested in stylish interiors, blockout curtains are a smart move to protect your space from sun damage.

5. Energy Savings That Add Up

With power prices on the rise in South Australia, anything that reduces energy use is a bonus. Blockout curtains can cut your energy bills by reducing how often and how hard your cooling systems need to work.

How?

They prevent heat gain in summer

They reduce heat loss in winter (acting as a form of insulation)

They make your indoor climate more stable

According to some estimates, thermal blockout curtains can reduce cooling and heating costs by up to 25% when used properly.

6. Greater Privacy for Adelaide Living

Adelaide’s housing density is increasing, particularly in suburbs like Glenelg, Norwood, and Prospect. With homes being built closer together, privacy is more important than ever.

Blockout curtains give you complete privacy without the need for double layers of window coverings.

They prevent outsiders from seeing in—day or night

Ideal for bedrooms, bathrooms, and street-facing rooms

Great for multi-storey townhouses or apartments

You can enjoy peace of mind without compromising on style.

7. Noise Reduction for Urban Homes

While not soundproof, blockout curtains do offer some acoustic insulation thanks to their thickness and density.

This can help:

Reduce outdoor noise from traffic, neighbours, or construction

Create a quieter sleeping environment

Improve acoustics in home theatres or offices

In busy parts of Adelaide or near major roads, this added benefit can make a big difference in your daily comfort.

8. Stylish and Versatile Designs

Gone are the days when blockout curtains only came in dull, heavy fabrics. Today, they’re available in a range of contemporary styles, colours, and textures to suit every interior.

You can choose from:

Classic pleated curtains

Modern eyelet or S-fold styles

Bold colours or neutral tones

Layered with sheer curtains for a soft, stylish look

Whether your home is coastal chic, minimalist, or traditional, there’s a blockout curtain style to match.

9. Perfect for Every Room

Blockout curtains aren’t just for bedrooms—they can be used throughout the house:

Living rooms to control light and protect furniture

Nurseries to support better baby sleep

Home theatres for total blackout viewing

Kitchens or dining rooms to reduce harsh sunlight during meals

They’re also suitable for commercial spaces like offices, salons, and medical clinics in Adelaide that need privacy and temperature control.

10. An Affordable Upgrade with Long-Term Benefits

Compared to other home improvement options, blockout curtains are relatively affordable and quick to install. Yet, they offer long-term returns in the form of:

Lower energy costs

Improved comfort

Increased property appeal

Long-lasting materials

They’re one of the most cost-effective ways to upgrade your home, particularly when custom-fitted and professionally installed.

Choosing the Right Blockout Curtains in Adelaide

When shopping for blockout curtains, keep the following in mind:

✔ Fabric Quality

Look for triple weave or foam-backed materials for the best performance.

✔ Curtain Style

Decide whether you want S-fold, pleated, or eyelet designs based on your décor.

✔ Mounting

Consider ceiling-mounted curtains for full window coverage and better insulation.

✔ Colour

Choose colours that complement your interior but still provide effective light blocking (darker colours tend to perform better).

✔ Professional Installation

For best results, opt for custom-made curtains from a trusted Adelaide supplier like Classic Roller Shutters, who can measure, manufacture, and install to perfection.

Final Thoughts

If you’re struggling with heat, glare, or poor sleep in your Adelaide home, blockout curtains are the smart solution. They’re affordable, stylish, and packed with benefits—from thermal insulation and privacy to better sleep and UV protection.

With modern designs and high-performance fabrics, blockout curtains offer both form and function, making them a valuable investment in any Adelaide property.

[jlegal]

Estate Planning for Young Families: Why It’s Never Too Early

Introduction: Secure Your Family's Future Today

When most people hear "estate planning," they think of wealthy retirees or aging grandparents. But the truth is, young families have the most to lose by putting it off.

At The Law Offices of James L. Arrasmith, we work closely with young couples, new parents, and growing families across Sacramento and all of California to create affordable, comprehensive estate plans. These plans protect your children, your assets, and your peace of mind.

In 2025, search terms like “estate planning for young parents Sacramento” and “do I need a will if I have kids” are rising fast—proof that proactive families are ready to take control of their futures.

What Estate Planning Means for Young Families

Estate planning is more than just money. It’s about answering questions like:

Who will raise your children if something happens to you?

How will your assets be managed while your kids are minors?

Who makes decisions for you if you’re incapacitated?

How do you ensure your spouse and children are financially secure?

A complete plan includes tools like:

Wills

Revocable living trusts

Guardianship designations

Healthcare directives

Powers of attorney

Even if your family is just getting started, these documents are essential.

Protecting Your Children: Guardianship Planning

The most critical component for young parents is choosing a guardian. Without a will or proper documents:

The court chooses who will raise your children

Family members may disagree or fight

Your children may be placed with someone you wouldn’t have chosen

Naming a guardian in your will ensures your child is raised by someone who shares your values, parenting style, and emotional bond.

We walk our clients through a detailed guardian nomination worksheet to select the best option—and include backup guardians in case the first choice is unavailable.

Why a Trust Is Essential (Even If You're Not Wealthy)

You might be thinking, “I don’t have a mansion or millions. Why would I need a trust?”

The answer is simple: a revocable living trust keeps your family out of probate.

Why Probate is a Problem for Young Families

Without a trust:

Your estate will go through probate court, even if your kids are minors

The court will appoint a financial guardian for your children’s inheritance

Your children will inherit everything at age 18, with no financial safeguards

A living trust allows you to choose a trustee to manage your children’s inheritance and control when and how assets are distributed (e.g., 25% at age 25, the rest at age 30).

Most Sacramento homes are worth over $500,000. That alone is enough to trigger California probate, unless your assets are in a trust.

What Documents Every Young Family Needs

Document: Revocable Living Trust Why It Matters: Avoids probate, allows asset control for minor children Document: Will with Guardianship Nominations Why It Matters: Names who raises your children and directs remaining assets Document: Durable Power of Attorney Why It Matters: Names who manages your finances if you’re incapacitated Document: Advance Healthcare Directive Why It Matters: Gives someone authority to make medical decisions for you Document: HIPAA Authorization Why It Matters: Allows access to your health records during emergencies

Our estate planning packages for young families in Sacramento include all these documents—customized to your values and needs.

Affordability & Flexibility

We understand young families are busy and budget-conscious. That’s why we offer:

Flat fees (no hourly surprises)

Virtual appointments

Weekend consultations

Payment plans

We’re also seeing increased demand in:

Elk Grove

Citrus Heights

Folsom

Fair Oaks

West Sacramento

Roseville and Rocklin

Let us help, wherever you’re raising your family in California.

Real-Life Case Study: From Confusion to Confidence

Client: Brian & Melissa, parents of two toddlers in Citrus Heights

They owned a modest home, one vehicle, and savings of about $60,000. When their second child was born, they realized they had no guardians named and no plan if one or both of them passed away.

We helped them create a trust-based estate plan, including:

Guardianship designations

A living trust with staggered distributions

Durable POAs and healthcare directives

Result:

They now have full peace of mind

Their children are protected

They avoided the future cost of probate ($20k+ in estimated fees)

Melissa said: “We sleep better now. Knowing our kids would be safe—and our assets protected—was worth every penny.”

💬 FAQs – Young Families & Estate Planning

When should I start estate planning?

As soon as you own property or have children. Waiting can leave your family exposed to delays and legal costs.

Is estate planning expensive?

Not with us. Our plans start under $2,000 and include everything a family needs—wills, trusts, POAs, and more.

What happens to my kids if I don’t name a guardian?

The court will decide. This often leads to family disputes, delays, or temporary placement in foster care until guardianship is resolved.

Client Testimonial

“After our son was born, we wanted to do the right thing, but the legal side overwhelmed us. Jlegal made it so simple—explained everything and built a plan that fits our life. We now have full control over our family’s future.” — Carla M., Roseville

Serving Families Across California

In addition to Sacramento, we assist young parents in:

Fresno

Oakland

San Jose

Stockton

Modesto

Santa Rosa

Redding

Whether you're local or across the state, we make estate planning affordable, approachable, and secure.

Take the First Step Today

Planning your estate doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Let us help you protect what matters most—your children, your home, and your legacy.

📍 Sacramento Office 🌐 www.jlegal.org 📧 contact@jlegal.org

Also serving: Elk Grove | Folsom | Citrus Heights | San Jose | Modesto | Oakland | Fresno

Final Thoughts: It’s Never Too Early

Life is unpredictable. Estate planning for young families in Sacramento is not about fear—it’s about love, responsibility, and smart preparation.

At The Law Offices of James L. Arrasmith, we don’t just write documents—we build peace of mind. Let us help you protect your family today.

[premierfoolfencejacksonville]

Why a Safety Pool Fence Is the #1 Way to Prevent Drowning Accidents

Backyard pools offer endless fun, relaxation, and family memories. But without the right safety measures, they can also pose a serious risk—especially to children. Drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death in children aged 1 to 4 years, according to the CDC. That’s why installing a safety pool fence isn’t just a good idea—it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent tragic accidents.

In this article, we explore why a safety pool fence is considered the #1 preventative tool against drowning, how it works, and what features make it most effective for homes and commercial properties alike.

Drowning Statistics You Shouldn’t Ignore

Drowning is fast, silent, and shockingly common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 4,000 people die from unintentional drowning in the U.S. each year, and more than 8,000 are hospitalized due to non-fatal drownings.

Here are some eye-opening facts:

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for toddlers aged 1–4.

69% of child drownings happen during non-swim times when supervision is not expected.

Most drowning incidents occur in residential pools.

These sobering statistics highlight why passive safety measures—like fences—are critical, even if you are confident in your ability to supervise.

What Is a Safety Pool Fence?

A safety pool fence is a barrier installed around the perimeter of a pool to restrict unsupervised access. These fences are typically at least 4 feet tall and come equipped with self-closing, self-latching gates that open outward and lock automatically.

Materials used include mesh, aluminum, glass panels, or vinyl—each with its own aesthetic and functional appeal. Mesh fences are particularly popular for their affordability, visibility, and ease of removal when not needed.

Why Pool Fences Outperform Other Safety Measures

There are various methods to secure a pool—alarms, covers, and supervision. While each plays an important role, the safety pool fence remains the gold standard for a few compelling reasons:

1. 24/7 Passive Protection

Unlike alarms or supervision, a pool fence provides continuous protection—day or night. Even if you’re distracted, on a phone call, or inside the house, the fence acts as a physical barrier.

2. Reduces Access to High-Risk Zones

A properly installed fence blocks unsupervised entry to the pool area. This is critical because 77% of children who drown were last seen inside the home just moments before the incident.

3. Prevents Impulse Access

Young children are curious. A safety fence reduces the risk of a child wandering outside and slipping into the pool without realizing the danger. It serves as a behavioral deterrent and physical block.

What Makes a Safety Pool Fence Effective?

To get the full benefits of a safety pool fence, installation and design must follow recommended guidelines. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) outlines the following for a compliant fence:

Minimum height: 48 inches (4 feet)

No gaps greater than 4 inches under the fence

Vertical bars no more than 4 inches apart

Self-closing, self-latching gates

Latch positioned at least 54 inches above ground level

In some states, these guidelines are law, and failure to comply can result in fines or legal consequences in the event of an accident.

Additional Benefits of Installing a Safety Pool Fence

While preventing drowning is the primary goal, a pool fence also offers several additional benefits:

1. Peace of Mind

Parents and caregivers often experience anxiety around water safety. A fence allows for more relaxed, enjoyable outdoor time knowing there’s an extra layer of protection in place.

2. Pet Safety

Children aren’t the only ones at risk. Pets, especially small dogs, can fall into pools and struggle to escape. A fence keeps furry family members safe too.

3. Increased Property Value

In many regions, a safety pool fence is not just a recommended upgrade—it’s a real estate selling point. Families with young children actively look for homes with pre-installed fencing.

4. Legal Compliance

Some states, like Florida and California, have laws that require safety barriers around residential pools. Installing a fence ensures you’re meeting local regulations and reducing legal liability.

Can’t I Just Supervise My Kids Instead?

While active supervision is absolutely essential, even the most vigilant parent can’t watch a child 100% of the time. Drowning can happen in less than 30 seconds, and often occurs during unexpected times like gatherings, chores, or quick trips indoors.

Think of a safety pool fence not as a replacement for supervision but as a critical backup plan. The more layers of protection you have, the safer your environment will be.

Final Thoughts: It’s an Investment in Life Safety

When it comes to pool safety, every second counts, and every layer of protection matters. A safety pool fence is the most consistent and effective way to prevent unintentional drownings, especially among toddlers and young children.

Whether you’re a new pool owner or upgrading your existing backyard, adding a quality, code-compliant pool fence is one of the best decisions you can make. It’s not just about following the rules—it’s about protecting lives.

[cleverhottubmiracle]

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission. From day one, sleep can be a battleground, starting with desperately trying to get a newborn to sleep, then coaxing a toddler into bed, which feels like nothing compared to negotiating with a grade schooler about bedtime or doing battle with a teenager about staying up late for work and play. Each age has its developmental and situational reasons, but the adolescent years seem to embody a particularly gnarly tangle of sleep issues: access to social media, increased socializing (online and in person), heavier academic pressures, and changing circadian rhythms. Not to mention, adults lose their power to simply tell kids to go to bed when those kids are now often the ones tucking in the adults. Related story 11 Best Athleisure Brands for Teens to Shop for Seriously Cute & Comfortable Clothing We don’t need any more data to prove the importance of sleep — there’s no study out there saying that sleep is unimportant and should be reclassified as low priority — so the question becomes: How do we communicate the importance of sleep in a way kids can hear? How can we convince them to go to sleep when every bone in their bodies is conditioned to push against our rules and advice? Address one thing they really care about: growing. Most adolescents become intensely focused on how tall they’re going to be. Not to gender the issue, but it’s a particular focus among boys. Some of that stems from the very real societal value placed on a man’s height, with the absolute goal varying from place to place and family to family. You can’t promise a kid that sleeping a certain number of hours each night will guarantee a precise stature, particularly if his parents hover several inches below the dream altitude. But you can tell kids — and this is the truth, not parenting BS — that getting enough sleep will help them grow as tall as their genetics will allow. This doesn’t have to be a long lecture, and in fact it’s better if it’s not. Just keep things short (sorry) and sweet, saying in a quiet moment when it crosses your mind (but not in the middle of an argument about getting into bed), I read this wild thing — apparently kids grow when they sleep — so if you want to grow as much as you can, you should probably start getting into bed earlier. Target the late-night cramming sessions. We hear from families all the time that the battle over reasonable bedtime goes hand-in-hand with intense academic pressure. The burden kids feel to get good grades weighs so heavily that they are staying up into the wee hours of the morning working on homework, studying for tests, churning out projects. The stress itself is bad for kids for so many reasons, emotional and physical, and now, on top of that, these stressed- out kids cannot clock the hours of z’s that they need. The big four benefits of sleep — mood reset, memory filing, metabolic rebalance, and growth — become unattainable if they’re regularly burning the midnight oil. We need to give them permission to go to sleep. Convince them with science (because your opinion certainly won’t sway them): You literally store memories while you sleep, so at a certain point you’re actually better off going to sleep and storing what you just learned rather than continuing to cram. Fight the device battle (and win!). The push and pull of devices is real. On the one hand, adolescents socialize on their devices, with social media, video chat, and texting as important to them as the corded telephone was to some of us. Their devices connect them in ways we don’t understand, even if we think we do. And emerging from a pandemic that so deeply affected their ability to socialize and connect with other kids, many of us have become particularly sensitive about demonizing devices because we’ve seen how helpful they can be! On the other hand, the data tells us that kids should be off screens an hour (if not two) before they go to bed, giving their brains a break from stimulation and blue light, encouraging their melatonin to rise. What’s more, every one of these devices — not just phones but computers and iPads and gaming devices, too — should charge outside the bedroom because every person sleeps better without the dings and buzzes of notifications. (Fun fact: this advice is not just for kids.) But good luck to everyone involved. These rules need constant monitoring and reinforcement because they will be broken more than they will be kept. It’s tough to finish grueling homework and forgo the fun part of the night in order to get more rest. And when something thrilling is going down, when a text volley picks up speed and turns intoxicating, putting that device down proves nearly impossible. While it’s a drag, it’s really worthwhile to repeat yourself on a weekly (or daily) basis, because kids need to be reminded (over and over) why you want them off devices: I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s my job to keep you healthy and make sure you get enough sleep, so time to get off your device and get ready for bed. And then, model the advice you give and do the same thing. Demonstrate the impact on their mood. Adults know how crappy they feel when they don’t get enough sleep — irritable, short-tempered, unproductive — so when we notice those behaviors in kids, consider that they’re not getting enough sleep. Rather than call them out for acting like jerks, get curious as to what’s actually happening after you say goodnight. Some sneak onto screens, others grab a book, and many lie in bed unable to doze off, their minds spinning as they process their day. It might seem like a no-brainer to you (of course they’re moody, they’re sleep deprived!), but they may not have connected those dots. So help them: get granular, pointing out how lack of sleep affects moods. It works much better when you throw yourself under the bus and say something like Remember last week when I was so crabby and snappy with you? I stayed up late the night before binge-watching a new show on Netflix. I was in the worst mood the next day because I didn’t get enough sleep! Sometimes I can tell when you’re not getting enough sleep. Can you? The sleep challenge never ends for some. But understanding the why of it all — why sleep is important, why it makes you feel better, why it changes your energy level and school or work performance — goes a long way toward self-awareness. Eventually this turns into a better nighttime routine for many kids and adults alike. Until then, brace yourself for a nightly mocking as you repeat yourself endlessly: It’s time for bed. It’s time for bed, honey. Hey, dude, time for bed. TIME FOR BED! Excerpted from THIS IS SO AWKWARD copyright © 2023 by Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Cara Natterson, MD. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.  This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained $21.61 $28.00 23% Off on Amazon.com Curious about bedtime routines celebrities follow for their kids? Read all about them here. Source link

[norajworld]

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission. From day one, sleep can be a battleground, starting with desperately trying to get a newborn to sleep, then coaxing a toddler into bed, which feels like nothing compared to negotiating with a grade schooler about bedtime or doing battle with a teenager about staying up late for work and play. Each age has its developmental and situational reasons, but the adolescent years seem to embody a particularly gnarly tangle of sleep issues: access to social media, increased socializing (online and in person), heavier academic pressures, and changing circadian rhythms. Not to mention, adults lose their power to simply tell kids to go to bed when those kids are now often the ones tucking in the adults. Related story 11 Best Athleisure Brands for Teens to Shop for Seriously Cute & Comfortable Clothing We don’t need any more data to prove the importance of sleep — there’s no study out there saying that sleep is unimportant and should be reclassified as low priority — so the question becomes: How do we communicate the importance of sleep in a way kids can hear? How can we convince them to go to sleep when every bone in their bodies is conditioned to push against our rules and advice? Address one thing they really care about: growing. Most adolescents become intensely focused on how tall they’re going to be. Not to gender the issue, but it’s a particular focus among boys. Some of that stems from the very real societal value placed on a man’s height, with the absolute goal varying from place to place and family to family. You can’t promise a kid that sleeping a certain number of hours each night will guarantee a precise stature, particularly if his parents hover several inches below the dream altitude. But you can tell kids — and this is the truth, not parenting BS — that getting enough sleep will help them grow as tall as their genetics will allow. This doesn’t have to be a long lecture, and in fact it’s better if it’s not. Just keep things short (sorry) and sweet, saying in a quiet moment when it crosses your mind (but not in the middle of an argument about getting into bed), I read this wild thing — apparently kids grow when they sleep — so if you want to grow as much as you can, you should probably start getting into bed earlier. Target the late-night cramming sessions. We hear from families all the time that the battle over reasonable bedtime goes hand-in-hand with intense academic pressure. The burden kids feel to get good grades weighs so heavily that they are staying up into the wee hours of the morning working on homework, studying for tests, churning out projects. The stress itself is bad for kids for so many reasons, emotional and physical, and now, on top of that, these stressed- out kids cannot clock the hours of z’s that they need. The big four benefits of sleep — mood reset, memory filing, metabolic rebalance, and growth — become unattainable if they’re regularly burning the midnight oil. We need to give them permission to go to sleep. Convince them with science (because your opinion certainly won’t sway them): You literally store memories while you sleep, so at a certain point you’re actually better off going to sleep and storing what you just learned rather than continuing to cram. Fight the device battle (and win!). The push and pull of devices is real. On the one hand, adolescents socialize on their devices, with social media, video chat, and texting as important to them as the corded telephone was to some of us. Their devices connect them in ways we don’t understand, even if we think we do. And emerging from a pandemic that so deeply affected their ability to socialize and connect with other kids, many of us have become particularly sensitive about demonizing devices because we’ve seen how helpful they can be! On the other hand, the data tells us that kids should be off screens an hour (if not two) before they go to bed, giving their brains a break from stimulation and blue light, encouraging their melatonin to rise. What’s more, every one of these devices — not just phones but computers and iPads and gaming devices, too — should charge outside the bedroom because every person sleeps better without the dings and buzzes of notifications. (Fun fact: this advice is not just for kids.) But good luck to everyone involved. These rules need constant monitoring and reinforcement because they will be broken more than they will be kept. It’s tough to finish grueling homework and forgo the fun part of the night in order to get more rest. And when something thrilling is going down, when a text volley picks up speed and turns intoxicating, putting that device down proves nearly impossible. While it’s a drag, it’s really worthwhile to repeat yourself on a weekly (or daily) basis, because kids need to be reminded (over and over) why you want them off devices: I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s my job to keep you healthy and make sure you get enough sleep, so time to get off your device and get ready for bed. And then, model the advice you give and do the same thing. Demonstrate the impact on their mood. Adults know how crappy they feel when they don’t get enough sleep — irritable, short-tempered, unproductive — so when we notice those behaviors in kids, consider that they’re not getting enough sleep. Rather than call them out for acting like jerks, get curious as to what’s actually happening after you say goodnight. Some sneak onto screens, others grab a book, and many lie in bed unable to doze off, their minds spinning as they process their day. It might seem like a no-brainer to you (of course they’re moody, they’re sleep deprived!), but they may not have connected those dots. So help them: get granular, pointing out how lack of sleep affects moods. It works much better when you throw yourself under the bus and say something like Remember last week when I was so crabby and snappy with you? I stayed up late the night before binge-watching a new show on Netflix. I was in the worst mood the next day because I didn’t get enough sleep! Sometimes I can tell when you’re not getting enough sleep. Can you? The sleep challenge never ends for some. But understanding the why of it all — why sleep is important, why it makes you feel better, why it changes your energy level and school or work performance — goes a long way toward self-awareness. Eventually this turns into a better nighttime routine for many kids and adults alike. Until then, brace yourself for a nightly mocking as you repeat yourself endlessly: It’s time for bed. It’s time for bed, honey. Hey, dude, time for bed. TIME FOR BED! Excerpted from THIS IS SO AWKWARD copyright © 2023 by Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Cara Natterson, MD. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.  This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained $21.61 $28.00 23% Off on Amazon.com Curious about bedtime routines celebrities follow for their kids? Read all about them here. Source link

[chilimili212]

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission. From day one, sleep can be a battleground, starting with desperately trying to get a newborn to sleep, then coaxing a toddler into bed, which feels like nothing compared to negotiating with a grade schooler about bedtime or doing battle with a teenager about staying up late for work and play. Each age has its developmental and situational reasons, but the adolescent years seem to embody a particularly gnarly tangle of sleep issues: access to social media, increased socializing (online and in person), heavier academic pressures, and changing circadian rhythms. Not to mention, adults lose their power to simply tell kids to go to bed when those kids are now often the ones tucking in the adults. Related story 11 Best Athleisure Brands for Teens to Shop for Seriously Cute & Comfortable Clothing We don’t need any more data to prove the importance of sleep — there’s no study out there saying that sleep is unimportant and should be reclassified as low priority — so the question becomes: How do we communicate the importance of sleep in a way kids can hear? How can we convince them to go to sleep when every bone in their bodies is conditioned to push against our rules and advice? Address one thing they really care about: growing. Most adolescents become intensely focused on how tall they’re going to be. Not to gender the issue, but it’s a particular focus among boys. Some of that stems from the very real societal value placed on a man’s height, with the absolute goal varying from place to place and family to family. You can’t promise a kid that sleeping a certain number of hours each night will guarantee a precise stature, particularly if his parents hover several inches below the dream altitude. But you can tell kids — and this is the truth, not parenting BS — that getting enough sleep will help them grow as tall as their genetics will allow. This doesn’t have to be a long lecture, and in fact it’s better if it’s not. Just keep things short (sorry) and sweet, saying in a quiet moment when it crosses your mind (but not in the middle of an argument about getting into bed), I read this wild thing — apparently kids grow when they sleep — so if you want to grow as much as you can, you should probably start getting into bed earlier. Target the late-night cramming sessions. We hear from families all the time that the battle over reasonable bedtime goes hand-in-hand with intense academic pressure. The burden kids feel to get good grades weighs so heavily that they are staying up into the wee hours of the morning working on homework, studying for tests, churning out projects. The stress itself is bad for kids for so many reasons, emotional and physical, and now, on top of that, these stressed- out kids cannot clock the hours of z’s that they need. The big four benefits of sleep — mood reset, memory filing, metabolic rebalance, and growth — become unattainable if they’re regularly burning the midnight oil. We need to give them permission to go to sleep. Convince them with science (because your opinion certainly won’t sway them): You literally store memories while you sleep, so at a certain point you’re actually better off going to sleep and storing what you just learned rather than continuing to cram. Fight the device battle (and win!). The push and pull of devices is real. On the one hand, adolescents socialize on their devices, with social media, video chat, and texting as important to them as the corded telephone was to some of us. Their devices connect them in ways we don’t understand, even if we think we do. And emerging from a pandemic that so deeply affected their ability to socialize and connect with other kids, many of us have become particularly sensitive about demonizing devices because we’ve seen how helpful they can be! On the other hand, the data tells us that kids should be off screens an hour (if not two) before they go to bed, giving their brains a break from stimulation and blue light, encouraging their melatonin to rise. What’s more, every one of these devices — not just phones but computers and iPads and gaming devices, too — should charge outside the bedroom because every person sleeps better without the dings and buzzes of notifications. (Fun fact: this advice is not just for kids.) But good luck to everyone involved. These rules need constant monitoring and reinforcement because they will be broken more than they will be kept. It’s tough to finish grueling homework and forgo the fun part of the night in order to get more rest. And when something thrilling is going down, when a text volley picks up speed and turns intoxicating, putting that device down proves nearly impossible. While it’s a drag, it’s really worthwhile to repeat yourself on a weekly (or daily) basis, because kids need to be reminded (over and over) why you want them off devices: I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s my job to keep you healthy and make sure you get enough sleep, so time to get off your device and get ready for bed. And then, model the advice you give and do the same thing. Demonstrate the impact on their mood. Adults know how crappy they feel when they don’t get enough sleep — irritable, short-tempered, unproductive — so when we notice those behaviors in kids, consider that they’re not getting enough sleep. Rather than call them out for acting like jerks, get curious as to what’s actually happening after you say goodnight. Some sneak onto screens, others grab a book, and many lie in bed unable to doze off, their minds spinning as they process their day. It might seem like a no-brainer to you (of course they’re moody, they’re sleep deprived!), but they may not have connected those dots. So help them: get granular, pointing out how lack of sleep affects moods. It works much better when you throw yourself under the bus and say something like Remember last week when I was so crabby and snappy with you? I stayed up late the night before binge-watching a new show on Netflix. I was in the worst mood the next day because I didn’t get enough sleep! Sometimes I can tell when you’re not getting enough sleep. Can you? The sleep challenge never ends for some. But understanding the why of it all — why sleep is important, why it makes you feel better, why it changes your energy level and school or work performance — goes a long way toward self-awareness. Eventually this turns into a better nighttime routine for many kids and adults alike. Until then, brace yourself for a nightly mocking as you repeat yourself endlessly: It’s time for bed. It’s time for bed, honey. Hey, dude, time for bed. TIME FOR BED! Excerpted from THIS IS SO AWKWARD copyright © 2023 by Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Cara Natterson, MD. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.  This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained $21.61 $28.00 23% Off on Amazon.com Curious about bedtime routines celebrities follow for their kids? Read all about them here. Source link

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Are Bunk Beds Safe, and How Can I Ensure They Are Secure?

Yes, bunk beds can be safe if they meet proper safety standards and are used correctly. However, since they involve elevated sleeping areas, there are certain risks, such as falls and structural instability, that need to be addressed. Here’s how you can ensure bunk beds are safe and secure for your children:

1. Choose a Bunk Bed That Meets Safety Standards

When buying a bunk bed, ensure it complies with safety regulations set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and ASTM International. These standards cover guardrail height, spacing between slats, and overall structural integrity.

💡 Tip: Look for bunk beds certified by reputable safety organizations to guarantee they meet essential safety requirements.

2. Install Strong and Sturdy Guardrails

Guardrails are essential for preventing falls, especially on the top bunk.

Guardrail Safety Tips:

✅ Must be on all sides of the top bunk ✅ Should be at least 5 inches higher than the mattress ✅ No gaps larger than 3.5 inches (to prevent children from slipping through)

💡 Tip: Avoid bunk beds with removable or flimsy guardrails, as they can become loose over time.

3. Ensure the Ladder Is Secure and Easy to Use

A sturdy, well-attached ladder reduces the risk of slipping while climbing up or down.

Ladder Safety Tips:

✔ Choose a fixed ladder rather than a detachable one ✔ Ensure steps are wide and non-slip ✔ Consider bunk beds with angled or stair-style ladders for better stability

💡 Tip: Teach your child to always use the ladder instead of jumping off the top bunk.

4. Use the Right Mattress Size and Thickness

A mattress that’s too thick can reduce the effectiveness of the guardrails, increasing the risk of falls.

Mattress Safety Guidelines:

🔹 Use a mattress recommended by the manufacturer 🔹 The top bunk mattress should be no thicker than 6-8 inches 🔹 Ensure the mattress fits snugly within the frame

💡 Tip: Avoid extra-thick or pillow-top mattresses for the top bunk, as they may reduce guardrail protection.

5. Follow Age Recommendations

Not all children are ready for a bunk bed, especially the top bunk.

Age Guidelines:

🟢 Bottom Bunk: Safe for all ages, including toddlers 🔴 Top Bunk: Only for children 6 years and older (as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics)

💡 Tip: If your child is restless or prone to rolling while sleeping, keep them on the bottom bunk for extra safety.

6. Regularly Check for Loose Screws and Worn-Out Parts

Over time, bunk beds can loosen, making them unstable.

Maintenance Checklist:

🔍 Tighten screws and bolts every few months 🔍 Check for wobbly frames or loose ladders 🔍 Inspect for splinters (wood) or rust (metal)

💡 Tip: If the bed starts creaking or shifting when weight is applied, tighten the connections immediately.

7. Keep the Area Around the Bed Safe

To prevent serious injuries, make sure the bunk bed is placed in a safe location.

Placement Safety Tips:

📍 Keep it away from ceiling fans or light fixtures 📍 Place on a flat, level surface to prevent wobbling 📍 Use carpet or rugs beneath the bed to cushion potential falls

💡 Tip: Never place the bunk bed against a window—kids might lean on it or accidentally fall out.

8. Establish Safety Rules for Your Child

Teaching your child how to use the bunk bed responsibly can help prevent accidents.

Rules to Follow:

🚫 No roughhousing or jumping on/off the bed 🚫 No more than one person on the top bunk at a time ✅ Always climb up and down using the ladder ✅ Keep the area free of clutter to avoid tripping hazards

💡 Tip: Regularly remind younger children about bunk bed safety rules to reinforce good habits.

Conclusion

Bunk beds are a safe and practical choice for kids when they are properly designed, maintained, and used responsibly. By choosing a sturdy model with strong guardrails, a secure ladder, and an appropriate mattress, you can create a safe sleeping environment. Regular safety checks and clear usage rules will further reduce risks, ensuring that bunk beds remain a fun and functional addition to your child's room.

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How a Child Growth Calculator Supports Healthy Development

Tracking a child's physical development is crucial for ensuring their health and well-being. A child growth calculator helps parents and caregivers monitor height, weight, and other important growth parameters across different age groups. As technology evolves, these calculators have become more advanced and accessible, empowering families to make data-informed decisions from the comfort of home.

What Is a Child Growth Calculator?

A child growth calculator is a digital tool designed to assess a child’s physical development compared to standard growth percentiles. It uses input such as the child’s age, gender, weight, and height to calculate where they stand on a growth curve. These calculators are typically based on standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

By using this tool regularly, parents can identify abnormal patterns, such as slowed growth, sudden weight gain, or drops in height percentile, which may need further medical evaluation.

Unique Fact: Children Grow More in Spring Than Any Other Season

Did you know that children tend to grow faster in the spring than in other seasons? Studies have shown that growth hormone activity increases in spring due to longer daylight hours and increased physical activity. A child growth calculator used during seasonal transitions can help identify growth spurts and evaluate whether a child is progressing within expected norms.

Why Parents Should Use a Child Growth Calculator

Monitoring child growth is more than just checking numbers. A child growth calculator provides insights into multiple areas of development:

Nutrition: Ensures your child is getting adequate nourishment

Health Status: Helps detect potential disorders

Physical Fitness: Monitors body mass index (BMI)

Puberty Progression: Tracks expected changes during adolescence

By consistently using this tool, you create a historical timeline of your child’s development that can be referenced by pediatricians and specialists when needed.

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These keywords target high-intent searches from parents, caregivers, and educators seeking growth-monitoring tools.

How to Use a Child Growth Calculator Correctly

To get accurate results, follow these steps when using a child growth calculator:

Enter the exact age in months or years.

Select the gender of your child.

Input the current weight and height (preferably in metric units).

Some calculators may ask for head circumference (especially for infants).

Click calculate to receive percentile rankings.

For example, if your child falls in the 60th percentile for weight, it means they weigh more than 60% of peers of the same age and gender.

Growth Percentiles: What Do They Mean?

Percentiles are critical indicators of where your child stands compared to others:

Below 5th percentile: May indicate undernutrition or growth issues

5th to 85th percentile: Considered healthy

Above 85th percentile: May be overweight

Above 95th percentile: Risk of obesity

These benchmarks, combined with regular pediatric check-ups, help guide your child’s wellness plan.

How Growth Tracking Changes with Age

Newborn to 1 Year

Frequent growth in head circumference

Weight doubles by 6 months and triples by 1 year

Use a baby growth chart alongside the calculator

Toddlers (1–3 years)

Slower but steady growth

Important to track height percentile

School-age (4–12 years)

Height and weight need annual tracking

Use the height percentile calculator to watch for early signs of puberty or stunting

Adolescents (13–18 years)

Rapid hormonal changes influence growth

Puberty can alter body composition significantly

Use BMI calculators for kids during this phase

Pros of Using a Child Growth Calculator

1. Informed Parenting

It provides a scientific basis for evaluating a child's health instead of relying on observation alone.

2. Early Detection of Disorders

Many underlying health issues can be diagnosed through irregular growth patterns, such as:

Hypothyroidism

Growth hormone deficiency

Malabsorption disorders

3. Convenience

Accessible through websites and mobile apps, these calculators are user-friendly and save time between doctor visits.

4. Long-Term Tracking

Digital tools often allow you to track changes across months or years, helping monitor your child’s long-term development.

5. Healthcare Collaboration

Data from the child growth calculator can be shared with your pediatrician during checkups for a comprehensive analysis.

Things to Watch Out for When Using Growth Calculators

Always use updated tools based on CDC or WHO standards

Don’t panic over one-time deviations

Consider parental height and ethnic differences when interpreting results

Avoid over-relying on calculators—use them as a guide, not a diagnostic tool

Technology Integration: Growth Calculators and Apps

Many modern parenting apps now include a child growth calculator as part of their features. These apps can:

Notify parents of missed growth milestones

Offer dietary advice based on percentile changes

Connect with wearable devices for automated data logging

These tech-enabled tools offer greater accuracy and convenience for modern families.

When to Consult a Pediatrician

Use the calculator as an early alert system. Seek professional help if:

Percentiles are consistently below 5th or above 95th

Your child experiences sudden changes in height or weight

Developmental milestones are delayed

Your doctor may recommend blood tests, hormone level assessments, or other evaluations based on the calculator's output.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. How accurate is a child growth calculator? It’s highly accurate when used correctly with validated medical standards. However, it’s best used in conjunction with regular pediatric evaluations.

Q2. Can a child growth calculator detect growth disorders? While not diagnostic, it can highlight unusual growth patterns that warrant medical attention.

Q3. What’s the difference between a growth chart and a growth calculator? A growth chart is a visual tool, while a child growth calculator performs real-time calculations and often provides percentile outputs.

Q4. How often should I check my child’s growth? For infants—every 1-2 months. For toddlers and older children—every 6 months to a year, or as advised by your pediatrician.

Q5. Are growth standards the same globally? No, they can vary slightly depending on ethnicity, geography, and national health guidelines. Most calculators use either CDC or WHO benchmarks.

Conclusion

A child growth calculator is a powerful tool for parents to track their child's growth journey with accuracy and confidence. It supports early identification of health issues, promotes proper nutrition, and contributes to holistic child development. Combined with regular doctor visits, this tool ensures you stay ahead of potential growth concerns and create a healthy future for your child.

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**Creating Family-Friendly Landscapes: Tips from Top Designers**

Introduction

Creating a family-friendly landscape is more than just planting a few trees and laying down some sod. It's about crafting an environment that nurtures relationships, promotes outdoor activities, and provides a safe space for children and pets to play. As https://phoenixprolandscaping.com/landscaping/estrella-az/ the world becomes increasingly fast-paced and technology-driven, having a backyard oasis is essential for families looking to reconnect with nature and each other. In this article, we'll delve deep into expert tips from top landscape designers who specialize in creating inviting and functional outdoor spaces. Whether you're considering professional landscaping services or taking on the project yourself, this guide will provide you with valuable insights into landscape design, maintenance, hardscaping, and lawn care.

Understanding Family-Friendly Landscaping What is Family-Friendly Landscaping?

Family-friendly landscaping refers to designing outdoor spaces that cater to the needs of families, including children and pets. This type of landscaping focuses on safety, accessibility, and functionality while also being aesthetically pleasing. The goal is to create an environment where family members can enjoy quality time together outdoors.

Benefits of Family-Friendly Landscapes Encourages Outdoor Activity: A well-designed landscape promotes physical activity such as playing sports or gardening. Enhances Social Interactions: Outdoor spaces serve as venues for gatherings with friends and family. Improves Mental Health: Nature has been shown to reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Increases Property Value: Beautifully landscaped homes typically have higher market values. Key Elements of Family-Friendly Landscape Design Safety First: Designing for Kids

When planning your family-friendly landscape, safety should be your top priority. Here are some elements to consider:

Soft Surfaces: Use materials like mulch or rubber mats under play equipment to cushion falls. Fencing: Securely fenced yards keep children safe from wandering off. Non-Toxic Plants: Choose non-toxic plants that won't harm curious little ones. Age-Appropriate Features

Every age group has different needs when it comes to outdoor spaces:

Toddlers: Create small play areas with easily supervised toys. School-Aged Kids: Incorporate sports equipment like basketball hoops or soccer nets. Teens: Designate areas for socializing, like fire pits or lounge chairs. Lawn Care Essentials for Families Choosing the Right Grass Type

The type of grass you select can make a significant difference in how much enjoyment your family derives from your yard:

Durable Grasses: Opt for grasses like Kentucky bluegrass or Bermuda grass that withstand heavy foot traffic. Low-Maintenance Options: Consider drought-resistant varieties if you're in arid regions like Arizona. Regular Lawn Maintenance Practices

Routine lawn care helps maintain a healthy yard:

Mowing: Keep grass at a height cond

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Baby Cot Buying Guide: How to Choose a Baby Cot with Key Factors

A peacefully sleeping baby is every parent’s dream; however, it is also the toughest challenge in the first few years of child-rearing. While some parents prefer co-sleeping with the baby, others want the best comfort and space for both, which calls for investing in a baby cot. One problem with co-sleeping is limited space and concerns of hurting the baby in sleep.

A baby cot is specially designed for newborns and toddlers, keeping their safety and comfort as a priority. The best approach is to place the cot in the parent’s room and keep an eye whenever the little one cries or calls for attention.

The best cots have super comfy bedding that lets the baby sleep longer, and also, the structure is such that there aren’t any chances of the baby tripping and hurting himself.

Indeed, the role of this excellent baby gear is essential, but are all available products equally good? Well, you need to figure this out by thoroughly comparing them.

There certainly are some features to consider, and in this blog post, we will specifically share some valuable tips on selecting a baby cot that will help you make the right decision.

Choosing the Best Baby Cot: Essential Safety Features

Whenever parents plan to buy safety is definitely one of the top factors to consider for a baby cot and here are the main points that would ensure the best security for the little one:

1. Sturdy construction and stability

A good quality baby cot is made of smooth yet sturdy material, which ensures that the structure always remains stable even when the baby is active and playing. Also, a sturdy construction efficiently supports the growing baby’s weight.

2. Appropriate bar spacing

Every baby cot has safety bars on the four sides to avoid falling off, but the real task is to choose one with the proper spacing so that the kiddo does not hurt or get his body parts stuck during play.

3. Non-toxic materials and finishes

A kid-safe material with smooth edges and finishes to ensure there aren’t any ill effects in the long term is another safety concern that needs to be taken care of.

4. Adjustable mattress heights

A cot with adjustable bedding height according to the child’s age and activities lets you keep him safe as his height increases over time, and he starts standing up with railing support. 

Diverse Types of Baby Cots

When you start searching for a perfect cot, you will come across various types that are designed to match the varied needs of the baby. Every cot type serves a different purpose, and hence, first, you need to analyze your requirements. Here are four kinds you will come across:

1. Standard cots

A simple yet spacious cot with a soft mattress and standard railing makes this type a popular choice for regular use. Most mommies prefer buying a standard yet sturdy product which can be adjusted according to the growing child.

2. Convertible cots

Mums that want to go a step ahead and make the best use of the product prefer buying convertible cots since these can be transformed into a daybed, rocker, play yard or toddler bed with some appealing features that are perfect for growing kiddo.

3. Travel cots

These are ideal for parents who want to give their child the comfort of home everywhere. Travel cots are foldable, compact, and easy to install, which means you can carry them in your car during travel.

4. Mini cots

Some mums want to use cots until the child turns a toddler, and therefore, the mini cots are the perfect choice in such a situation. These are also an affordable option compared to big cots.

Size Considerations While Making the Choice

One crucial baby cot feature to look for is the size of the product since a perfect product will fit seamlessly into the available space and ensure the best experience. Ponder upon the below points before you start searching.

1. Room dimensions

The best approach to finding a perfect baby cot is to measure the available space in the room where you plan to install the gear. If you have limited space, you may consider a foldable cot that you can store in a corner when it is not in use.

2. Growth allowance for the baby

Expect your baby to grow quickly so you may need to adjust the available product according to the present age and height of the child. There should be some room for adjusting the base, rails, and mattress.

3. Storage needs

Brands have gone a step ahead and designed unique products with cabinets beneath the cot, which gives a complete storage solution, and mommies can keep baby essentials accessible. Therefore, if you are an organization freak, go for these cots.

Take Care of Comfort and Convenience While Making the Choice

A comfortable sleep makes them happy throughout the day, so comfort is undoubtedly an essential factor in the baby cot buying guide. To achieve this goal, you need to invest in good quality products offered by a trusted brand since they are cautious about such things while conceptualizing the design.

1. Mattress quality and fit

The bedding needs to be super-soft and skin-friendly so that the little one can feel cosy, leading to longer sleep hours. You should check the product details when buying and prefer buying mattresses made of natural or organic materials.

2. Ease of access for parents

You need to reach out to the kid whenever he needs you, so the design of the cot has to be ergonomic, which includes the size, design and height. The product should be convenient for both parents and baby’s use.

3. Teething rails

One innovative feature that you may find in a few baby cots is the teething rails, which prevent the child from chewing the corners and keep him safe from ingesting unwanted things during the teething phase.

Comprehending Style and Design While Making the Choice

The baby cot that matches the room’s aesthetics is a bonus point since your baby will be using it for a long time; hence, consider the style and design aspects while selecting.

1. Matching nursery décor

If you have chosen a theme for your child’s room, then make sure the cot matches the vibes since this will elevate the overall look of the space and make it more interesting. As your child grows, he will love the appeal and have happy times.

2. Colour options

You can find and precisely identify a variety of colour options online. Hence, you can select the best one complementing the décor of the room. We recommend that you go for bright colours as they make the living space lively.

3. Classic vs. modern designs

If you are someone who loves simple and classy things, the classic baby cots are for you, while if you love going by the latest trends, choose a modern design that offers a combination of functionality, comfort, and visual appeal.

Additional Features to Consider While Making the Choice

Every brand has a different selling proposition, and they try to offer unique features that lead to better user experience and comfort. Below are some additional features that may appeal to you when buying and make a difference in the long run:

1. Wheels for mobility

If you always want to keep an eye on your kiddo, choose a product that comes with sturdy wheels so that you can effortlessly move the cot around the house and complete your daily tasks while interacting with him.

2. Drop-side functionality

A baby cot with drop drop-side feature is a good buy since, as your baby grows, he can move in and out while playing during the day, and you can install the railing back when he is asleep.

3. Integrated storage

You should prefer models that give you that extra advantage of storing small items that your baby needs frequently.

Budget Considerations While Making the Choice

With a variety of baby cots available online, you need to decide on a budget before starting with the research. Undoubtedly, a fully loaded baby cot will be costlier than a standard cot, so you should be sure that you are ready to shell out the money.

Most parents who want a value for money product go for convertible cots as the child is able to use it for years as it can be transitioned into a toddler bed of decent size.

Cross-checking Certifications and Standards While Making the Choice

Now that we have discussed all the vital tips on how to choose a baby cot, let us also discuss one factor that most parents tend to neglect, even though it should be on their list to make the right decision. Yes, we are talking about the certifications.

Reliable brands strictly follow local and international safety standards when designing baby products, which means they make safe and functional items. A certified product indicates that you can unthinkingly rely on it, and this ought to be durable, ensuring safety at all times.

Key Takeaways

We know as parents, you want the best for your little kiddo, and hence, putting in some effort to compare the models is the best approach. Once you have chosen the perfect baby cot, expect a perfect blend of functionality and safety, leading to a cheerful and active child who will bring smiles to everyone’s face in the family.

We recommend that you read the buyer’s reviews and thoroughly compare every feature before placing an order to avoid any disappointment. If you are planning to buy a durable, functional, and classy baby cot at a reasonable price, check out the models listed on the R for Rabbit website.

The brand offers a variety of baby products and essentials, so finding a perfect baby cot to match your baby's needs and desires is not a challenge anymore. Go ahead and unlock the best experience with unbelievable deals.

This content is originally published on R For Rabbit' s Website: Baby Cot Buying Guide: How to Choose a Baby Cot with Key Factors