15 thoughts on “December 27, 2015: Sleep Schedules”

  1. Hey, hockey people: do you put helmets on your kids when they're learning to skate? I took the jalapeño (5) and the peperoncino (2) skating a week ago with no helmets, but I noticed that some other little kids had helmets on. We're planning to go again tomorrow morning. (The only helmets the boys have are bike helmets, if that matters.)

    1. When my kids started out as 5-6 years old in a controlled "learn to skate" environment, they wore stocking caps and no pads. It was run by figure skating coach. On the city ice, we let them skate without helmets if they were just skating around with little traffic. If they stepped into a rink to mess around with other kids, they had to wear helmets.

      Of course, that was 10 years ago, and things have changed. Helmets are never a bad thing in my mind.

      I will say, whether you are thinking of possible hockey down the road, or figure skating, I would recommend starting with a low key "learn to skate" class with a good figure skating coach. Usually low priced and it is good to get them off on the right foot when it comes to skating. I guess even if you are not interested in any of these sports, a learn to skate class would help the kids feel confident on the ice when they do go down to the local pond or rink to have some fun.

      1. On another note, my wife was skating with the kids on the city pond 8 years ago and was just wearing a heavy stocking cap. She was playing tag with them and her skate caught in a crack in the ice and she fell backward and hit her head on the ice. She ended up having some bleeding in her brain that resulted in a night in the hospital and many tests. She was laid up from work for over a week. When she finally felt good enough to go to work, she woke up with Bell's Palsy. Half her facial muscles did not work and it took a few months to recover about 90% of their functionality. Doctors told her it probably wasn't related to the fall, but I don't know if I agree with that.

        So, I am a big fan of helmets now.

    2. Thanks to both of you for the input! I love to skate, so I want my boys to be comfortable on the ice.

    3. No, but bike helmets are fine. My second youngest never needed to wear a helmet on the ice. But let me know if you need a hockey helmet. I'm of the mind of getting rid of equipment in our basement....

      1. The jalapeño was fascinated watching the open hockey after we skated this morning, so it might not be a bad thing to have a hockey helmet.

        (Aside: it's a lot of work to carry a 2-year-old around the ice. He decided it was more fun for me to do all the work today.)

  2. Greetings from Vegas. Our expected 3-hour journey ended up taking more than twice that thanks to stopped traffic. My wife put her new smartphone to good use by navigating around some of the traffic to save us nearly an hour, which we then lost at a gas station restroom break.

    1. Hey, we just got to Vegas today, too. Also hit terrible traffic; and also cut around a bunch of it. Did you get a scenic view of Barstow and Dagget? It was lovely this time of year...

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