"The Electrical Engineer's guide to potty training" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 07:58:56 pm
content: "Or how to use electrical shock therapy efficiently - or how to never ask an EE about baby training tips..."I've got a two year old that is refusing the logical "next step". So lately I've been looking at blinky led kits and thinking "hum, I could do a light/sound show reward system for doing the right thing in the right place".But I'd probably just end up terrorizing the poor thing and having to pay therapy into her 30's...

author: jancumps
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 08:15:59 pm
content: You'll need patience and empathy. Two skills most engineers don't have

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 08:35:34 pm
content: Ever received a very complicated machine, fragile, "too precious to do testing on" piece of kit.Then a got a user manual (amongst a 1000 for the very same model).And the two don't match AT ALL, but everybody keep insisting they do leaving to test reams of code for years to little effect?That's a baby - a truly analogue device.(At least she lets me listen to the AmpHour in the car without complaining. Good kid)

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 08:41:26 pm
content: Take her to the country and show her a paddock covered on cattle poo.Explain the cattle are dumb and don't know how to use a potty...... and work from there.

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 08:52:58 pm
content: Quote from: tautech on July 17, 2014, 08:41:26 pmHeh! Pretty good idea, I'll try it next weekend, the in laws live next to a cow poo farm.Only one kid so I won't be able to do A/B testing.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 17, 2014, 09:18:24 pm
content: My son completely refused for months. Then one day he asked to wear big boy pants and has been perfect for last 6 weeks. I think he was working things out and didn't want to try until he was sure he'd nail it. Give them encouragement and let them take their time.

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2014, 06:35:57 am
content: She hit the potty on her own this morning. Probably sorting her 1 and 0... I have to see for a couple of days if this is signal or a random event.BTW, you EE have kids? Managed to troubleshoot the relationship coding and women/man polarity issues?Probably through hole components soldering gave you a leg up on your typical nerd...The next generation with SMDC is going to have a hard time.

author: babysitter
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2014, 09:35:42 am
content: Having a two year old girl that just started potty test sessions on the pot but made some test equipment on my desk welcoming me turned on for several months now when I came home, and also a 1/2 year old boy that likes to hit the keyboard, I am in a similar situation.(Might that be related to the fact mom is also a electronics technician ?)O'Reilly has a acceptable book for parenting nerds but I suppose it is only in german:http://www.oreilly.de/catalog/parentingkgger/Just one instance of success on the pot with the big girl, the best thing is that she herself wants to try.(OTOH, she demanded her own test equipment - I made her a battery-powered box with a KVD+Potentiometer-controlled voltage output and a +/- 2 V LED Panelmeter.)

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2014, 09:50:34 am
content: I've been thinking about a nice little tool box... For now with:- Assorted cleaning rags (when I clean she cleans).- Small rubber mallet (got to start them young on percussive maintenance).- Brushes (pretend to paint walls).- Other stuff I'll find in the DIY store adapted to her age.I've been mulling doing the same thing as you, but making a couple of heat shrunk "probes" sensitive to light or sound...My idea is to slowly add stuff, keep her interested and avoid getting all my tools stolen.The objective is by the time she's 18, she wont need anybody to change a car tire, wire plugs or modify plug and play electronics.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2014, 10:06:53 am
content: QuoteYou'll be lucky.Fat chance. Daddy will have better tools and that is like candy to them.Mine are in their twenties now, and the rule was....ALWAYS PUT IT BACK.Get them yearning for their own tools,make them do jobs to earn them, teach them proper usage, and remove them when they are bad.You will be giving them the BEST lessons in life this way.

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2014, 08:09:35 am
content: QuoteYou're killing my dreams!My gramps taught me how to use a lathe, a mill etc by the age of 12, just so I would not rip an arm off... Result, still got all my arms and most off my sanity.He also taught me about the dangers of explosives, I later did A LOT of stupid things, but with nice big safety margins.I don't recommend letting 10/14 year olds build mortars, canons, bazookas, crater diggers (bombs), explosive swamp fishing, even dust explosions, all with home mixed black powder (my dad never got where all the barby wood coal and matches would go to), but if they are going to do it, might as well do it knowing the dangers...I bet a 10 year old could not walk into a gardening store and buy a 1kg bag of Nitrate, 500 gr of phosphor and a 5 kg bag of wood coal today.The hard part was crushing the nitrate pellets and the coal into dust.End result was not very good (the nitrates and the phosphor were not pure) but packed tightly it would still go "KRUMP!" (not "bang" sadly) and leave a nice black cloud.There's a good TED talk about this:http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_on_5_dangerous_things_for_kids

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2014, 08:59:56 am
content: QuoteGlad to hear this.....I was thinking you had a deprived childhood...... but it appears not.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2014, 09:09:11 am
content: Quote from: gildasd on July 20, 2014, 08:09:35 amProbably that would be sulphur (or sulfur)?

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2014, 09:43:00 am
content: Quote from: IanB on July 20, 2014, 09:09:11 amYep, lost in translation (i'm French).Sulfur for the mix and phosphor for the booster (glorified giant match)

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2014, 09:44:42 am
content: Quote from: tautech on July 20, 2014, 08:59:56 amWell, each has his own way of spending their pocket money, sweets was not mineI could make about 1 kilo of black powder with one trip to the gardening store (I could not haul everything in one go on my bicycle). But I usually only mixed the equivalent of 50gr at a time because it was very tedious.I only had a wooden kitchen grinder (rounded stick and a bowl thing) that I would have to clean it a let it dry between components.(I did have some grapes growing as a decoy)