u/3amLift

My mom uses the fingerprint reader on our front-door lock, but lately it often doesn't recognize her fingerprint. I've tried adding her fingerprint again, and it's still happening. She doesn't like using a key.

She has tried using the keypad on the same lock, but she hasn't got comfortable with it. Would palm entry on a Lockin Veno Solar Palm be easier for her to get used to? She hasn't tried palm entry, so I'm wondering how much practice it takes to get the hand position right.

If an older parent in your family uses a palm reader, did they find it easier than entering a code? I'd like to hear which lock they use and how they got on with it. Other lock suggestions are welcome too.

My daughter is almost five, right in that critical window for fine motor skills. I tried beads, I tried sticker books, but she couldn't sit still for more than ten minutes. So I thought, forget the table, let's get her hands in the dirt. We planted radishes, from loosening the soil all the way to harvest, all with her own two hands.

I showed, she did. I demonstrated how to loosen the soil and she grabbed the little trowel and dug everything all uneven. I taught her how to scatter seeds and she grabbed a handful and flung them everywhere, total chaos. I didn't correct her. When it comes to hands-on stuff, the first step is being brave enough to try, not being perfect.

Once the radishes sprouted, the thick spots were all crowded together. I taught her about thinning,told her if they're too tight they won't grow, we need to pull some out. She squatted there holding a seedling, hesitated forever, finally pulled two and went, "They're alive too!" I didn't push it. Learning to care about things is a lesson too.

She checked on them every single day, kept asking, "Mommy, which ones are mine?" I mean, she scattered all the seeds, but she wanted ones that felt like hers. Eventually she dug out my niimbot label maker, printed a bunch of "EMMA'S RADISH" labels, and carefully stuck them in the dirt next to the little seedlings.

Having her own labels made her feel so accomplished, and she got more serious about it too. Now every few days she pulls out the label maker to redesign the labels, even when they haven't faded at all lol. I genuinely think labels are a great way to keep a kid invested.

Then a few radish leaves got eaten by bugs, and she crouched there sad about it for a while. I used it as a chance to teach her how to spot bug holes and tell pest damage apart from natural yellowing, explaining that growing vegetables isn't "plant and done," you have to observe every day and deal with problems as they come. She half-understood, but the next day, she was the one dragging me out to check the leaves.

Harvest day, she only went for the ones with her labels next to them.That night we ate her radishes. Honestly? Tasted exactly like the ones from the store. But she ate them like they were the best thing ever, told everyone, "I grew these myself."

The whole thing gave her such a sense of achievement. Btw, wanted to ask you guys,what are your methods for improving kids' focus and attention span?