Parental Thread

[supafamous]

Thanks, now I'm wondering if our return trip should go through Kelowna instead of Kamloops instead. It's a nicer drive but an extra hour of driving but we're passing through Kamloops on the way up anyways (not stopping though) so it's "old" scenery for us.

Someone suggested I even go as far south as Penticton on the way back but we'd probably tack an extra day onto our trip if we go through Manning Park as it'd be too much driving for the kid in one day.

[badgerx3]

+1 for that Kangaroo farm. Last time I went was back in 2023? And I believed they either just moved or renovated? Regardless, its super interactive as like Traum mentioned, you can pet most animals.

I particularly enjoyed the wallabees as they are so heckin cute. My niece's really enjoyed the capybaras.

Another thing to do in Revelstoke is to check out the Pipe Mountain Coaster. Depending on the age of your kids and their comfort level, it is a really neat attraction. https://www.revelstokemountainresort...ntain-coaster/.

[EvoFire]

Kelowna has quite a few things to do, kangaroo farm is one, but it gets busy if you go later in the morning and parking is hectic.

There's the Kettle Valley train which is quite fun. When we went the ride ends in a mock train robbery which was entertaining.

You can also bike/walk the Myra Canyon trail, which itself used to be a railroad. You walk across a quite tall truss bridge and through some really cool tunnels and caves.

I don't know how old your kids are, but there's this
https://enchantedforestbc.com/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Fc92bWxfvbg38VX7
We stopped there in 2012 cause we just saw it on the side of the road. It seems to be close to Revelstoke which might be close to your first stop. We spent two hours there I think?

[underscore]

Kelowna and Penticton both have lots to do depending on what you and the kids are into. Are you just planning to spend a couple hours or more than that?

If you're coming through Kelowna and want better scenery on the way back take 97C to just before Merrit, then take 5A down to Princeton and then 3 through Manning Park to Hope. Officially it adds about 45mins to the drive but there's less traffic and the speed limit is lower so in reality it's always a lot closer than that.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by badgerx3

Another thing to do in Revelstoke is to check out the Pipe Mountain Coaster. Depending on the age of your kids and their comfort level, it is a really neat attraction. https://www.revelstokemountainresort...ntain-coaster/.

Going to do the Golden version of this as we're going to be spending the night there (and they also have a Skybridge - Canada's highest suspension bridge). If my kid likes it (and she probably will) we'll probably also stop in Revelstoke and do that one as well.

Originally Posted by EvoFire

Kelowna has quite a few things to do, kangaroo farm is one, but it gets busy if you go later in the morning and parking is hectic.

There's the Kettle Valley train which is quite fun. When we went the ride ends in a mock train robbery which was entertaining.

I don't know how old your kids are, but there's this
https://enchantedforestbc.com/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Fc92bWxfvbg38VX7
We stopped there in 2012 cause we just saw it on the side of the road. It seems to be close to Revelstoke which might be close to your first stop. We spent two hours there I think?

Will check out the train - that seems like something the kid will like. Wife nixed the Enchanted Forest, she thinks it's too creepy.

Originally Posted by underscore

Kelowna and Penticton both have lots to do depending on what you and the kids are into. Are you just planning to spend a couple hours or more than that?

If you're coming through Kelowna and want better scenery on the way back take 97C to just before Merrit, then take 5A down to Princeton and then 3 through Manning Park to Hope. Officially it adds about 45mins to the drive but there's less traffic and the speed limit is lower so in reality it's always a lot closer than that.

We're just passing through for the most part - we're doing Calgary to Golden, then Golden to Vernon, then Vernon to home. Basically 3-4 hours of driving per day and stops along the way. We could add a day to the trip if there's enough to see. It's intended to be pretty leisurely with some random "that look cool, let's check it out" stops along the way.

The detour through 5A sounds like a good option - the Coq is boring and I much prefer the Manning Park view. thanks for the tip.

[EvoFire]

We are planning to do the train next year since we haven't done Kelowna in a few years.

So we picked up a 2 bike hitch rack on sale last year for when we go on rides around town. We quickly realized that we are growing out of that rack as our older one is able to keep up with us now in his 16" bike when we go camping and the younger one is rearing to go with us on the shotgun seat.

Looking at 4 bike hitch racks and holy shit, it's all over $1000 for something that can fit kids bikes.

[underscore]

^ look for used ones being sold by someone with money who just wants it out of their way. I got a brand new 4 bike hitch rack for $50. For when we have the trailer I picked up 3 roof mounted racks + extra cross bars (so it all goes on/off as one piece) for a total of $100.

[EvoFire]

There's a few North Shore Racks 4 bike rack on FB marketplace, and a Yakima as well. The NSR is hit and miss for kids bikes and actually need to go try it out but I can't find anyone that carries it locally. I don't want to be that guy to meet up with a seller and not buy.

[6793026]

if you go thru kamloops - i went over to Hell's Gate Airtram.
Look, it's all the same whenyou drive thru unless there is a huge attraction you want to hit.

Depending on how old your kids are, taking them to winery with a nice patio goes a long way. If you don't care, pick a patio with a place that no body goes to so your kids can enjoy in peace.

[underscore]

Oh for anyone going to the Kettle Valley train out of Summerland, check out Zias Stonehouse restaurant. If you're in Penticton go to Theo's.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by supafamous

The bags are really thick and strong so they hold the smells in better. I've never used the Costco bags so I can't compared but I was really happy with the Ubbi bags - my memory is fuzzy but I recall they had a very light texture to them, almost like a carbon fibre weave which I, of course, liked.

Update: I switched to the OEM Ubbi bags a couple of weeks ago and holy shit what a difference. It's at least 80% better at smell containment. The Costco standard white garbage bags must be porous or something. These Ubbi bags also are a lot less stretchy, which is helpful because it pulls out easier and is less prone to catching on a sharp corner and ripping open.

10/10 A+ advice.

[supafamous]

Back from our trip and it went smoother than expected - turns out the kid travels in the car quite well (doesn't get car sick and is happy to watch the iPad for up to 2.5 hours before needing to get out of the car) while the wife found the trip to be more fun and entertaining than expected (she wanted to fly to Calgary and thought the drive would be boring).

Outside of the Kangaroo farm which was great we had a blast at the Golden Skybridge - the two suspension bridges are very high up with the first one almost as high (pic below) as I could tolerate (I get a bit of vertigo at high heights) while the coaster was very fast and twisty (my kid LOVED it). If your kids are over 10 they could take the zip line or the swing (the swing looked like great fun).

The Revelstoke Railroad Museum was also great - easy 1-2 hours to spend there with lots of great history (and real trains) to read about and look at. The Banff Museum was a surprise - if you're an animal lover then you'll get a lot out of it. And, as expected, the sight of the Rockies was really something - I hadn't seen them in 13 years and had forgotten how incredible they are, they are absolutely stunning.

We even made a visit to the Revelstoke ER - my kid got her leg twisted when going down the slide with mom in Hope and couldn't put weight on it so we got to visit a small town hospital which came with lovely small town hospitality. A few x-rays (Daughter to the x-ray tech: "Kids love new things!") and an exam and we were back on the road in 90 mins at a cost of $0 (Yay Canada!)

My wife enjoyed the trip enough that I think we'll do another road trip next year (I love driving) - something a bit longer that explores more small towns and is more leisurely. These towns sure are small (<10,000 people) but they do pack a lot of stuff into them.

[Eff-1]

Has anyone been through the experience of getting your kids tested for ADHD and/or being neurodivergent? We are on the wait list for Sunnyhill but it's like 3 years long apparently. I'm not convinced our son is ND but I am starting to see more and more ADHD behaviour. My wife is convinced he has both, and that's caused some conflict so i'm just staying quiet now until the appointments.

[EvoFire]

Every boy is going to demonstrate some form of ADHD. My wife is suspicious of our son being ADHD or autistic, but multiple doctors we've talked to said the gammut of tests aren't really accurate until they are older.

We've also talked to parents who's kids have been diagnosed, but the signs and symptoms that they describe is much more intense than what we see, so we've kind of let it go.

[Eff-1]

That's pretty much how I feel, but my wife is convinced otherwise.

[EvoFire]

Seems like we are in the same boat in terms of dealing with wife. The whole concern thing ebbs and flows throughout the year depending on what and who we meet. How old is your kid again? I find that as my son gets older, the concerns have more or less faded away as he's showing that he can hold and maintain friendships. My observation is he's just slow to warm up to new people and he's typically more interested being in the company of older rather than younger, which made the latter stages of daycare very challenging.

Have you guys looked into what constitutes to being autistic? I worked with a guy who was diagnosed in his 20's as he was having a hard time with dealing certain things that were deemed normal for a guy his age. We had an extensive chat about it one day after a meeting and he told me that there are 5 spectrums which you are rated on, despite all 5 as a whole being called autism.

You can have two people who are autistic but register on completely different spectrums and they would have completely different sensitivities.

[westopher]

I think it’s really easy to get scared about the whole autism thing being that it’s so much more prevalent these days due to knowing more. It may be much easier and quicker to take your kid to a child therapist to get an educated opinion. I have a friend in a similar situation who was extremely worried due to speech delays, but the therapist assessed and helped with some aspects and also put them in contact with a speech therapist.
I know that’s fairly specific but would also help with other reasons beyond speech delay and such.

[Eff-1]

So my situaton is a bit more complicated in that my wife recently concluded that she herself is on the spectrum. And honestly, she's probably right. It makes a lot of sense now in hindsight. And she's done a ton of research that seems to align with what she's thinking.

As far as our son goes (3 years old), she is convinced he has it too. And while there's a chance she's right, i'm not so sure. But like I said, I know this isn't a debate I'm going to win without some casualties, so gonna just go with the flow here.

She went to the pediatrician who agreed enough with her that they sent a referral for testing, so now we just wait.

I think our kid acts normal enough socially and verbally. He definitely doesn't present immediately like someone with special needs.

The signs she thinks are autistc are these very intense super-tantrums, a sensitivity to loud noises and people touching him, and he's been delayed at things like walking and potty training.

I don't bring it up, and when she brings it up, I just nod and wait for the conversation to change lol.

[EvoFire]

Your take is probably for the best. Autism is so much more than I don't want to interact with people. The Chinese name for autism really does not help.

3 is where I think is too young unless the signs are very strong. But I'd follow through with your approach of not arguing. Ultimately we are not the experts and since you guys have a referral, just let things run it's course.

We reviewed the signs after my very in-depth conversation with my ex-co-worker. We actually came to the conclusion that I DON'T have autism, but my dad might. He gave me a very good and simple test to perform:

Give the person you want to test a tube of M&M minis. Don't give them any instructions and see what they do. If they open it and just eat it, they are probably normal. If they open it start sorting it or counting it, there's a good chance they are on the spectrum for some of the types. If not scoring very high for ADHD.

My dad bought M&M minis to give my brother and me when they first came out. He opened them, sorted it and counted both tubes before giving it to us. I remember very clearly. When my coworker told me that I was like fuck really you are telling me my dad is highly likely to be autistic........ No I'm not going to tell my 70+ yr old dad to go get tested for autism, but it explains a lot.