Product Review - Balanc Bike

The Gremlin received a Skuut Balance Bike from his aunt and uncle for his birthday. We saw these in Chicago and thought they were hysterical, but weren't incredibly sure of the practical uses (other than a bike he can't use after he's 6).

That notion was put to rest almost immediately after we got it. After putting it together, the Gremlin was ecstatic about trying it. The seat is adjustable, and was set too low initially (125th!), so the Gremlin would half-walk, half scoot around for the first few days.

Once the seat was adjusted, he began to play around with it - riding it in the back yard and up and down the hill we live on. Finally, his mother took him to Green Lake to walk around the park, and over the 3 mile track it really took hold - the Gremlin would out-scoot his mother. So much so that she would have to yell at him to slow down.

The Gremlin responded to this by looking at a nearby jogger and saying,

"Jeeze, it's like she thinks I'm going to leave or something. Where would I go? Huh? Into the water?!"

This from the child who can't sit in the stroller without 1) three books 2) a blanket 3) a map of where we are going (frequently, a Thai Siam pamphlet with a map of Ballard on the back) and 4) regular stops. We can finally take him on walks without hearing him complain and constantly want to be picked up - which alone would probably be worth the initially steep price tag even if we didn't know one last note.

A balance bike was purchased for the Arch-Gremlin several years ago, and she is now fully capable of biking up and down the hills of Seattle - at age 4.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

So we're having an issue with the Gremlin that keeps coming up.

When he was a newborn, he had colic (medical definition: fussy-maker) and reflux (medical definition: fussier maker), making him the most miserable newborn this side of the Mason-Dixon (that's right, Civil War-era reference). He would not sleep, he would not eat (not without doing his best Linda Blair imitation), and was driving his parents to the ends of their ropes - especially his mother.

We were given books and consolations from well-wishers, but the Gremlin was just that - a Gremlin.

Lately, we've been having issues with both hitting and whining. No matter what happens - even if it's good, the Gremlin will whine about it, and possibly try to hit you.

Through these issues, the Mother of the Gremlin and I developed an approach to dealing with issues with the Gremlin.

1) Identify the cause (or possible causes).
It would have been easy to say "he throws up everything" but then we would have missed that it happened after approximately 6 oz of formula. So we cut down on how much we fed him (but increased the frequency), and it helped with the reflux.

2) Identify the possible fixes
Before we realized it was the amount of formula, we also tried switching from regular baby formula to lactose free formula. We switched from Enfamil to Similac. We tried burping regularly, we tried inactivity before/after. We didn't come immediately to the realization that it was the amount, and we tried various things.

3) Make the fix routine
When we began getting the Gremlin ready for bed half an hour before his bedtime (7 in Chicago, now 8pm in Seattle), he would get upset and angry. As we continued to do it, though, he began actually going to bed. We enforced the schedule, and he stopped screaming for half an hour at a time after we put him down.

4) Try something else
If your routine doesn't help, it's time to try something else. We realized the Gremlin became whiny when we got upset. When we realized we were getting upset because he wasn't following directions, we started looking into why he wasn't following directions. We realized the Gremlin is a kinesthetic learner. I would show him what I wanted done, have him do it under my supervision, and then give it a name that I could ask him to do ("Please go 'clear your dishes!'" would still apply if there were cups on his space on the floor or at his mini-table). But through that process we were trying different things - we were taking toys for whining, we were doing the 'Let's do a Calm Down!,' we were telling him we couldn't hear him when he whined, but we kept looking for other things that might help more.


Hopefully this gives help or hope to anyone having a difficult time - but it's a technique we continue to use so hopefully it can be useful to someone else.

Toys and Sorting

To assist the Gremlin with cleanup and the general state of his room, we recently purchased this toy sorting bin organizer. We came to find that this simplified life for several reasons.

Assembly
Construction was a bit of a pain with all the loose bars - I always worry when bars or boards hang without support, so I set one end on the ground, put one bar in each of the four corners, and then put the end I was going to attach on top of that. I held it very carefully as I screwed those in so they were snug, and then was able to pick that up and fit the rest of the bars in to tighten again to be snug.

Then I flipped it over and took the end that was previously on the ground and fit it on top, making sure each of the bars was in places in the notches. Once that was in, they were easy to tighten, and then I re-tightened the other side.

Use
Once it was finally set up, the bins were fantastic. The preview shows the bins tilted, but that's not a very convenient setup - with the lip of the bin resting on the front bar and the base of the bin resting on the back bar so that the bins are tilted forwards. We currently use it so that the base is resting on both bars. While his Thomas the Tank Engine set quickly outgrew the two large bins it was in, the bins currently house the rest of his toy collection.

This then allows for easy sorting and access, as well as cleanup. The individual bins can be removed and transported throughout the house so that each individual piece doesn't need to be carried into the room. This means that 'cleanup time' can be reduced without the constant trekking with only two items. Toys go in the bin, and then the bin is carried into the room.

Dislikes
It's very easy to drop bins. There are two small tracks that the bins fit into over the bars, and if you're not used to it, or in a hurry, bins fall (and thus whatever is in them falls and makes a mess.

It's also easy to overload bins - if you pile up toys in a bin, and then try to put a bin on the next row up, it's easy to knock toys out of bins, or dislodge the bin itself from the bars below (depending on the toy).

The space between the bars and the top of the bin below could be increased, but putting the 'larger' toys or overflowing bins on top alleviates some of the space issues.

Likes
The ability to organize and see all the toys. The space between bars and the tops of the bins could be a little higher, but it does allow hands to fit in and adjust or remove an individual item (as long as it's not too big).

Also, the bars on bottom are raised an inch or two, and allow easy cleaning/reach for fallen toys underneath. A dustbuster won't fit under it (unless it's this one), but a small vacuum or attachment will.

Diversity of bin types allows for better sorting. Our Thomas trains went in one of the large buckets, and the tracks in another. Fire trucks and emergency vehicles go in another large bucket, and assorted firemen go in a smaller, as well as dinosaurs in another, and other small miscellaneous toys in yet another.

Durability seems high as well, we purchased this on one side of the country when the Gremlin was 2, and moved to the other side of the country when he was 3, and it's still stable when he's a month from being 4.

Buy This If...
You are good at organizing and need something to facilitate both small and medium sized toys. There are eight bins that are 8"x11" and about 4 1/2" deep and then four bins that are 11"x15 1/2" and again 4 1/2" deep.

Don't Buy This If...
You're looking for large storage containers. We now have milk crate type organizers for the Thomas tracks and Rescue Heroes and vehicles collection. These also have good visibility with the holes in the side, but stack in his closet versus out in his room. If you're not a fan of the milk crates (like the Mother of the Gremlin - they are a temporary solution for us), consider:  Circo 9 Cube Organizer (blue) (pink) (black)

New Sub-Blog

While writing stories concerning the Gremlin, I've occasionally wanted to perform a review or comment on a technique that either worked brilliantly or failed miserably.

So I created a blog to do so. This will provide an easily linked to platform where I will be able to review toys, accessories, sales, etc... or talk about a parenting technique that worked very well and how we did it, or something that failed, and the challenges we encountered attempting to put them in practice.

So welcome to Lessons From a Gremlin, I hope you find it entertaining and useful.

-The Father of the Gremlin

PS - if you like this, or are curious about the stories behind some of these products, check out the Chronicles of the Gremlin