Infants and little kids can get sick…a lot.
This especially holds true once they start childcare or school and are bombarded by a seemingly never-ending cycle of infections. Add to this the high prevalence of allergies, and more than one child, and it’s little wonder parents find it hard to keep track.
The busy nature of parenting makes it difficult to remember details of when a new illness started, what factors might have triggered a particular symptom or when the last medication was prescribed. This is often exacerbated by having to see different healthcare professionals, who expect parents to have all this information on-hand.
The solution is simple – record it all in a purpose-designed journal.
Conceived and designed by Monique Smart (mother and owner of messpots), I’ve Got an Ow! is a highly practical aide-mémoire for parents to record their child’s health conditions, symptoms, illnesses, treatments, current medications, significant health events and more.
This journal gives parents peace-of-mind by enabling them to have relevant information at their fingertips to help maximise medical appointments and assist in monitoring their child’s health. No more of those “ummm ...” moments at the doctors.
It includes tables to note general health details, contact pages for healthcare providers, useful first aid and children’s health resources (for Australia and NZ), pockets for business cards, scripts and leaflets, plus over 70 pages for tracking incidents, symptoms, conditions and treatments.
The illness/ow record tables in I’ve Got an Ow! are deliberately designed to be relatively non-prescriptive, so parents can write what they want to remember. It is also an attractive and useful keepsake to pass on to children when they reach adulthood, so they too can have an understanding of their early medical and health history.
“As a new mum, with a not unusually unwell child (just the common things), I was surprised there wasn’t already a product on the market where I could keep notes of all of his symptoms, coughs and fevers etc. So I started writing notes in school diaries but figured there had to be a better system, and so ‘I’ve Got an Ow!’ was born … it really is the latest ‘must-have’ parenting tool.”
Monique has been a mother for four and a half years and previously worked as a senior lawyer for 17 years in Melbourne. messpots was launched in November 2011 with a view to making life easier for parents with an inspired range of products revolving around creative activities for children, minimising kid mess, getting clean and dealing with ows.
I’ve Got an Ow! is priced at $24.95 and is available from messpots, as well as bricks & mortar retailers including The Sydney Children’s Hospital Bookshop (Sydney) and Fullers Bookshop (Hobart).
