Episode 10 — The plaster's soggy, the sun cream's from last summer: a water kit with a child

The lake. Two in the afternoon, July.

Basher runs down off the jetty and scrapes her foot on a board.

A second later she's got sand in her eye, and over by the blanket a wasp lands right on her sandwich.

Three little crises in five minutes.

I reach into the bag. There's sun cream, there's a towel, there's water, and a plaster?

One. And it's gone soggy.

And that's exactly the moment.

What moment?

The one where it turns out a kit for the water is a completely different kit from the one at home.

Hello, I'm Tomasz Schuster. I built the Moyabteczka app, and what Isa's just described was her Saturday a fortnight ago.

As real as they come. With Basher. And with a plaster that didn't survive the first swim.

So today, about that. What to pack for the water when a child's coming with you?

Just the organising side. Without getting into treatment, because that stays with the doctor and the lifeguard.

Then let's start with what irritates me most.

Why is a kit for the water any different? A plaster's a plaster.

Because by the water, everything works against you at once. Water and wet sand.

An ordinary plaster peels off after the first swim.

The sun, it bounces off the surface and off the sand, so it's hitting the child from two directions.

And the child, who's harder to keep an eye on by the water than at home.

So I pack waterproof plasters, not the ones from the drawer at home?

Yes, and that's the part most people manage. Now I'll tell you what people pack, but don't check.

Go on then.

The sun cream from last summer.

Oh no, I've got one of those. It's been in the beach bag since September.

Quite. Sun cream has an expiry date and a separate period once it's opened.

Opened a year ago, it belongs on the list of things to check before you go.

Saline ampoules have a date too. So does the bite and sting stuff.

And this is where the app comes in, I'll bet.

It does, but steady on. Not the way you think.

The app doesn't magically scan your bag. You enter what you've got.

And here's the thing people don't expect.

You can enter more than just medicines.

You can add the sun cream, put in its date, and it drops onto the same list.

Hang on. You mean the sun cream sits next to Basher's regular medicine on one list?

Exactly. The app has a Soon tab.

Just the things whose date is coming up.

And it makes no difference whether it's a medicine from the catalogue

or a cream you typed in by hand.

As long as it's got a date, it lands on the list just the same.

So instead of finding out by the lake that the cream's a year old...

You see it at home, when you're packing.

That's the whole difference.

Going through the kit twice a year, before summer and in autumn,

does more here than the best plaster.

And medicines that are simply running low.

Because that's my other classic.

We set off, and it turns out Basher's got two doses left

of something she takes regularly.

That one the app keeps an eye on a bit differently.

As you tick off the doses you've given,

and the stock drops below the threshold you set,

a low stock notification comes through.

And that medicine lands on the to top up list.

So it's not that the app scans the whole cabinet overnight and says,

Bye.

No.

It counts when you tick off.

But the upshot is that a week before you go,

just using it normally,

you see on the list that the stocks dropped below the threshold you set.

Not by the water.

At home.

Alright.

That does sound honest.

You said when you tick off,

not magic.

Because it's not magic.

It's plain counting.

By the way,

those things that came up about the app,

entering something with an expiry date,

the soon tab,

low stock,

a shared list offline,

those really are features in the Moya Pteczka app.

The rest is just packing a bag.

That's not an advert,

just context, to be clear.

To be clear.

Go on,

because I can see you've got a bigger question.

I have.

And it's the thing that really puts me on edge by the water.

Basher takes something regularly.

We go to the lake as a whole family.

Us,

the grandparents,

my dad,

Kristoff.

At some point,

I go for a swim.

And then what?

Granddad's left with Basher,

and he hasn't got Basher's current medicine list to hand.

And signal by the lake,

none.

And that's the most important item on the whole list.

More important than the plasters,

than the cream,

than anything.

Why?

Because a plaster's for a little graze.

What you're describing is a situation where two people

are looking after a child,

and one doesn't know what the other does.

By the water,

that happens every couple of minutes.

Who's watching Basher now?

Diffused responsibility.

With four adults about,

nobody's minding the child.

Exactly.

And here the app does two things.

First,

you can have a separate child profile.

Basher's medicine list is Basher's list,

not mixed in with yours or mine.

Right.

Second,

second and more important for your scene at the lake,

a shared family list.

Christoph,

as a carer,

sees the same list of Basher's medicines on his phone as you do.

You don't have to dictate anything to him

before you get in the water.

But hang on,

you said no signal by the lake,

so how's he going to see anything without the internet?

And here's the honest part you need to hear.

It works offline,

but on one condition.

Christoph's phone has to sync once,

while it's got signal.

Even just in the morning,

at home,

or in the car park by the lake.

So it downloads once,

then works without a network?

Yes.

After that first sync,

Basher's medicine list is on his phone,

locally.

You're already at the water,

he loses signal,

and he still opens the app

and sees what Basher takes.

I'm not pretending it all just appears out of thin air.

It works because it downloaded once,

earlier.

Right.

Now that does sound honest.

Most apps pretend everything's there always and everywhere.

You say it plainly.

It has to catch signal once.

Because I'd rather you knew when it works

and when it doesn't.

If Christoph installs the app

only once you're at the water,

with no signal,

he'll see nothing.

We pack this like the sun cream,

sorted out beforehand,

at home.

And that's the whole philosophy of a water kit,

isn't it?

You do everything beforehand.

You do everything beforehand.

By the water,

you want to be watching the child,

not fishing about on your phone.

Now, let's say the thing

no app will do,

because I'd like this to land.

Go on.

By the water,

the most important thing

isn't the plaster

and it isn't the app.

The most important thing

is someone watching the child.

Constant supervision.

A lifeguarded beach.

A lifeguard within sight.

A hundred percent.

The kit is there

so you've got the basics to hand

for the small stuff.

It doesn't replace the lifeguard

and it doesn't replace

your eye on the child.

They're different leagues altogether.

And one more thing,

because all the sensible people say it

and I'll say it again.

If, after a sting,

something serious comes on,

trouble breathing,

a swollen face,

weakness,

you don't go looking in the bag then.

You ring 999.

Straight away.

A water kit is for organising the basics

for the small stuff.

With a near drowning,

a loss of consciousness,

trouble breathing,

a swollen face

or a severe reaction.

It's 999 and the lifeguard.

The app, the plasters,

everything else steps aside then.

Right.

So now as briefly as you can,

what do I actually pack

for the water with Basher?

Into the bag.

Sun cream checked before you go,

a hat,

a t-shirt,

waterproof plasters,

a sterile dressing,

antiseptic,

tweezers,

saline ampoules

and something for bites and stings.

And the most important thing,

the child's regular medicines,

the supply plus a reserve.

The supply plus a reserve.

Plus a list the other carer can see too.

Offline after that first sink.

And over the lot of it,

an eye on the child.

Over the lot of it,

an eye on the child.

If you'd like to sort this out before you go,

that's the Moya Pteczka app.

The app is free

and after that first sink,

it works offline too.

You'll find the link in the episode description.

And if the episode's been useful,

pass it on to someone packing a bag for the water with a child this summer.

One more thing before we go.

This podcast is made with the help of artificial intelligence.

I wrote the dialogue myself,

but the voices you're hearing aren't ours.

They're AI-generated synthetic voices.

We're telling you this straight out

because we think it should be the standard for any podcast made this way.

Full details are in the show notes

and in every episode description.

Until next time.

And keep an eye on those little ones by the water.

Until next time.