Ben Cotten - Latest Comments in Tip of the Day

Re: Tip of the Day

Jan — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:55:39 -0000

When our oldest was two, he proudly announced that he had written an "H" and "W".... where? On our new car! He had a rock and a few minutes of privacy as Greg mowed the lawn. Those letter stayed there until we sold the car.

Re: Tip of the Day

Ben Cotten — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:42:03 -0000

I feel your pain! My 2 year old son keeps pretend typing on my laptop and raking the keys off the keyboard in the process. I have discovered that eBay is a great place to get replacement keys for laptop keyboards. You can actually buy individual keys.

I've gotten pretty good at putting the tiny little pieces back together. I think I'm reaping the seeds I sowed when I was 2 when I took apart my Dad's antique grandfather clock that he inherited. You would be amazed what a little boy can do with a screwdriver and a little privacy.

Re: Tip of the Day

Chip — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:33:01 -0000

My not yet two year old boy keeps messing up our keyboard so every time we hit a period sign it makes 4 periods. The other night he broke our cordless mouse by banging it on the computer desk over and over. Your post made me shudder. Thanks for the warning.

Re: Tip of the Day

Debby — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:24:20 -0000

Oh, Brother Ben, the fun has only just begun. Your boy hasn't EVEN turned two, and yet, he does leave his mark. Yes, rubbing alcohol is great on ink in shirts, too. And I have to agree with you about the origin of Sharpies. This is why our many colors of Sharpies are still kept in a special box on top of our fridge. I know my kids are now 21, 18, and 14 which means two of the three are legally adults. Even so, I can't bring myself to store the Sharpies...DOWN. There is still a great chance of irreparable damage. This us usually done by me, the mom. Case in point....Dropping a permanent marker on your kitchen floor while making a sign will leave a mark that will never, never come out. Every time I mop, I see the mark left from that day and just hope that the blessing given by the sign will outweigh the shiny black marks on what used to be a white floor.

Your story also reminded me of the day John (about 4 at the time) dumped black paint all over our carpet in the apartment we used to live in. In desperation, I called Mike Z of carpet cleaning fame, and asked what I should do to take it out. Bless his heart, he just came and removed the black mess himself. At no charge. Just a nice picture of redemption that I have never forgotten.

So, you see, these little experiences with kids live on long past the TERRIFIC TWO's. Especially if the kids survive.

Re: Tip of the Day

Lanette — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:39:42 -0000

When my six-year-old was two, she found a handful of coins on the desk and inserted them in the slot. The slot was the DVD drive on our laptop. We were in Krakow at the time, and according to apple the nearest place to have it fixed was Germany...

Re: Tip of the Day

ded — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:25:06 -0000

There is a permanent marker removal product, though I can't remember it's name right now. We keep it at school for removing permanent marker from white boards used by inattentive teachers.

Glad to know your boy and your monitor were saved.