Put a plug in your child's clam shell paddle pool

As Owen got older our bathroom became very inaccessible to him. We had a tiny shower, that one person could barely fit in and a bath that was very difficult to lift him and and out of. So we converted our bathroom and now have a wheelchair accessible shower but no bath. I was OK with that but Owen did love his bath, so every so often we would take his plastic clam shell in and fill it with the shower head, let him play in the water and empty it down the shower drain. 

I soon got frustrated with trying to tip the water down the drain. It would come out too fast and was extremely heavy to lift.  I decided I needed a plug in the base, somewhere, but I did not know how.  The organisation who helped us with the carseat swing, helped with this too.  Their handy man (BTW he is awesome)  put on his thinking cap and worked out how to put a plug in (and did it too). The plug could not go in the bottom, but it went in the side.  

 What you Need

• Clam shell style of paddle pool.
• Plastic Drain Plug (these are sourced from camping and boating stores).
• Water proof silicone.
• Drill and large drill bit.
• Hacksaw.

The How-to:

• Drill a hole so that the plug just fits, you want it to be tight.
• Push the drain through, if it has a screw attachment, screw that on.
• Cut any excess off the back of the plug.
• Silicone around the back of the plug on the outside of the pool.
• Leave for 24 hours to dry.

Now the pool won't empty completely when you pull the plug. When it gets near the bottom you will need to tilt the pool, I just place a container under it.

Owen uses his paddle pool on our veranda too!

Make your Laminator your friend

There can be a lot of people involved in the care of a special needs child. Owen is non verbal  and needs help feeding, so anyone looking after him needs to know what to feed him and when.  I vary what  and when I feed him. Activities he might enjoy can change on a daily basis (depending on his mood). Most service providers do have a booklet or something with instructions for their staff,  but I find it uses set times rather than fluid times, so I use this in conjunction with their requirements.  

I don't want to write or print a new list each time, so I print and laminate various lists, just cleaning them with a baby wipe and when dry, use a thin whiteboard marker to circle that day's selections.  Here is an example of how I set it up but you do what works for you.  You can leave lines to write messages.

Other lists you can do:

• School lunch:  You can create a school lunch box list, with a spot for school to mark how much your child has eaten.   If you do it small enough you can pop it in their lunch box. I used to tell them what order to serve the food and  temperature to have it.
• Labels for your cupboards ie where people can find bibs, towels, washers, which drawers have which item of the child's clothing (handy if someone offers to help with your washing).
• Shower/bath instructions such as wash hair, dress in summer/winter pjs, brush teeth etc.
• Chore lists for more able children.

Happy laminating :-)