Are you one of those parents that checks to see if your sleeping child is breathing?  Do you feel silly sometimes, but nevertheless can’t stop yourself from just checking one more time before you turn out your own light? 

That’s me, and it’s even worse when they’re sick.  My kids aren’t babies anymore; one turns 6 this week, and one turns 13 next week.  The middle child is 11, and at the moment has a terrible sore throat.  She couldn’t even stay awake during reading time, which is unusual for her.  My little night owl was asleep by 10, on a Friday night. 

So, I put her to bed and came back down to finish some articles.  I had to force myself to keep my rear end in the chair in front of the computer because I was getting anxious just sitting here.  I feel kind of stupid; I mean, it’s a sore throat.  They’ve had a million of these between the three of them.  But whether it’s a mom thing, or whether I’m just overly anxious, I worry about stuff like this.  I’ve read too many articles where some innocuous symptom (a headache, a sore throat, etc) led to a person’s death.  And I’m a hypochondriac-by-proxy–I always see major illnesses in places where there are only minor ones.  I know I over-react.  Not every headache is a brain tumor.  Not every sore throat is an out-of-control deadly bacterial infection.  Not every bruise is leukemia.  In fact, almost none of them are.  But it’s still true that two years ago, a stomach ache was actually a burst appendix, and my middle child spent a week in the PICU.  So, I don’t know that I’m willing to talk myself too far out of my worry.

I’m not normally a hovering, over-protective sort of mom.  I usually insist that my kids attempt to fix their own problems before they ask for help, and they are required to do everything they are able to do for themselves.  But when it comes to them being sick, I worry a lot… too much, maybe.  I try to hide it, of course, because my anxiety makes them more anxious.  So, just now when I went to check on my sickie, I didn’t wake her up to make sure she hadn’t slipped into a coma.  I just nudged her a little to make sure she was still breathing.

With kids as young as 4 years old playing with the iPad, there are actually some very useful and kid-friendly iPad cases you can use so that the gadget doesn’t get easily damaged. While the gadget may be so easy to understand by children, they may not, however, understand just how expensive this is. I’ve known of parents who have newly-bought iPads only to discover that their children have accidentally dropped this while using it.

One such protector is the Big Grips Frame which comes with the Big Grip Stand:

This item is constructed using lightweight foam that is quote durable as well. The grip frame actually works as a soft protective case. It’s designed to be easily grabbed and very comfortable to hold. The frame is mounted on a grip stand that can work in either a portrait or landscape orientation.

Using these Big Grips add on is ideal for web surfing while on the table or couch, or for watching movies and playing games. The parent will not have to worry about mishandling it. The grip frame and stand keeps the iPad secure.

These cost about $34.95 and $24.95 respectively, but you can get it a discounted price of $49.95, if you buy this as a set. This grip and stand come in bright, exciting colors the kids will love — Fresh Green, Electric Blue, Carnation Pink and Steel Grey.

You can buy the item and check the specs further on this site.

Image by OneInstant via Flickr

While many new parents have been there before, be it with their own children or a friends (or relative’s child) parenting classes really can still make a huge difference.

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