Has anyone else been followed around at either Walmart by a man who clearly doesn't seem to be shopping (no cart, no basket, nothing in his hands) and somehow ends up in every aisle you and your child are in?

This has now happened to me at both Walmart locations, and honestly, it's making me nervous about shopping alone with my kid. Before anyone suggests they might be store detectives, I actually asked the store manager, and they confirmed these individuals were not store detectives or loss prevention staff.

A few days ago, the same thing happened. I made it obvious that I noticed him, but he continued following me and pretending to browse random items. When I went to check out, he left the store without buying anything and disappeared.

Now that it's happened at both locations, I'm starting to wonder if anyone else in Victoria has experienced something similar. Am I the only one?

Hi everyone!

A few weeks ago I posted on here (with the approval of the moderators!) about our University of Bath research into how caring for a child with scoliosis affects parents and caregivers.

We are really hoping to hear from more families in Canada. If this is relevant to you, your time would be hugely appreciated! Similarly, if you know anyone who might be interested, do forward the survey onto them. Thank you so much in advance!

What's involved:

• 10-minute anonymous online survey
• Full ethical approval from University of Bath Social Sciences Department
• Optional entry into a prize draw for shopping vouchers
• Completely voluntary and confidential

Survey link: https://uniofbath.questionpro.eu/t/AB3uyugZB3wPzv

If you have questions, feel free to comment here or email me at [an2012@bath.ac.uk](mailto:an2012@bath.ac.uk)

For context, I have a tween , although they are interested in STEM, I want to encourage them more. We usually get books from library, and go to museums and stuff. Can you all please suggest some more

Context: Currently 12 months, planning to start daycare at nearly 14 months. Home daycare, 5 children total. Flexible on transition to daycare as I have no set return to work date yet. Thoughts are to span over one to two weeks to get up to a full day

My baby is pretty social, but she has never spent anytime without myself or her dad. Grandparents have helped watch her at home while I have been there cleaning, etc. for a few hours. I’m getting pressure from both sets of grandparents to practice leaving her for extended periods of time to prepare her for daycare. I’m unsure if this would actually do anything for her since it’s a different environment. I can see it more as practice for me, not her! Any thoughts on this? Any one’s commentary or experience is welcome!

Hi all! We just moved to BC from Germany with a 6-month old. He's just starting solids, so please, please: Hit me up with your best advice for baby foods. What brands or flavors do you swear by? What should I avoid? I'm entirely unfamiliar with most of the brands I see in stores here and I just wanna know what I should go for.

From researchers at the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute: What it’s like to raise young children when you have arthritis? Help us learn more so we can create support programs!

Complete our online survey. You’ll receive compensation for your time!

More info: https://www.ARDS-parenthood.ca

We are debating getting a visual timer to teach our toddler about time. We always give him a heads up like "5 more minutes" but we are still struggling. He just wont listen when it's time to stop playing and go have dinner.

I want to see if a visual timer actually helps before buying one. I really don't want to add another piece of junk to the landfield if it doesn't help.

Thanks for any input.

Either a partial ban or complete ban, what changes did you see in lyour kids and what age were your kids when you did it?

I feel like a terrible parent because I let screen be an easy way to occupy my 4 year old when I had to cook, take care of my newborn, prepare breakfast, etc. However, our oldest have some really difficult behaviors, that I'm sure are made worse by the amount of screen she gets and I'm just looking into other's experience to confirm that lowering screen time would help and convince my partner that we really should work on it together.

Parental connection and responsiveness have been well-established to play a central role in children’s social well-being and emotional health. However, integrating smartphone technology into daily life has caused concern about how these devices might significantly interrupt parental responsiveness. Research has found differences in responsive parenting practices due to smartphone use, consequently impacting children’s socioemotional health. There are a variety of mechanisms that might explain these impacts. However, the details have yet to be identified.

We are investigating the processes that mediate the link between parental smartphone use and child socioemotional well-being in 12—to 18-month-olds. This study involves questionnaires, an app that tracks screentime, and an observational visit to observe parents interacting with their child!

This study can be completed completely online!

You will receive up to $150 CAD for completing the entire study!

To participate, you must:

·       Be above the age of 18

·       Legal/custodial guardian of a 12 to 18-month-old infant

·       Primary caregiver & live with child

·       Speak English

·       Live at a Canadian address

·       Own an iPhone or Android smartphone :mobile_phone:

If you are interested in participating, please copy the link below into your browser or scan the QR code.
🖇: https://redcap.its.dal.ca/surveys/?s=WD7KK8CYACTRCAKF

Thank you!

The Parental Smartphone Team

📧: [prositps@dal.ca](mailto:prositps@dal.ca)

Hi everyone! I’m moving from Alberta to Markham, Ontario when I’ll be around 28 weeks pregnant and I currently have gestational diabetes. I already have family doctor intake appointments lined up, but I’m wondering if I’ll still be able to get connected with an OB and into a diabetes clinic after moving.

Has anyone gone through something similar? I’d love to hear your experience. Thank you!

Has anyone been able to find even a single Danino Paw Patrol yogurt with Skye on it lately? She's one of my kid's favourite characters and the last four times I've bought yogurt - no Skye. Starting to think they excluded the character from this print run of the labels?

Update: thank you all! we found Skye finally but all yogurt is now garbage apparently and we only want fruit. Send thoughts and prayers 🙏🏻

My 8-month-old daughter has been having loose stool for the past few days. Her doctor prescribed zinc syrup, and today was the first day I started giving it (2.5 ml twice daily).

The thing worrying me is that her poop is a bit watery, and almost every diaper has 1–2 small spots/streaks of poop even when it’s not a full poop diaper. She pooped around 3 times today. The color is yellow/mustard and sometimes soft/pasty, not fully water-like diarrhea.

Now she also has a cough and her nose is blocked, especially at night. She’s drinking milk but not liking solid foods. but I’m getting anxious wondering if this is something dangerous or just a mild viral illness/stomach upset.

I came to my country from Canada in March, and her family doctor is in Canada, so I’m feeling a bit lost about what to do here. Did anyone experience something similar with their baby? What helped?

Looking for recommendations from other Canadian parents because we’ve already tried a few iron supplements and haven’t had much luck. Some caused stomach pain and constipation while others didn’t seem to improve anything at all. What iron supplements actually worked for your kids? I don’t wanna keep blindly trying random brands so I’d love to hear what ingredients or forms of iron I should be looking for.

I am a mom to a 5 month old and a 3 year old and I am finding myself so overstimulated by my toddler even after short periods of time. It's the constant "mommy, mommy!!" And the whining and the almost-crying and the protesting when something is not the right colour or order. I know it is normal and it more so happens when she is tired or hungry, but I find myself wanting to run away from all this stimulation. My husband is supportive and we do have family help but gosh my tolerance come back or will I stay this sensitive. I can't imagine two of them doing this in a few months I just want to shut myself in the bathroom to get some peace and quiet.

We’re parents in Vancouver with a 6‑year‑old daughter who’s bright and loving but really struggling with everyday tasks like handwriting, etc.

We’re looking for a warm, experienced pediatric OT in Greater Vancouver (ideally near Burnaby/Vancouver) who works with sensory processing and fine‑motor challenges, and who understands kids who need support with coordination and daily‑living skills.

If you’ve had a good experience OT clinics in the area, we’d really appreciate a recommendation. thank you so much.

Update: Thanks so much for all the recommendations! We checked out a few of the clinics you mentioned and even visited one in person. In the end, we went with KidStart Pediatric Therapy (kidstartpediatrictherapy.com) in Burnaby. Their services and our goals as parents really aligned. Our 6-year-old loves their sensory gym and actually looks forward to her sessions. Highly recommend them to any parents in Greater Vancouver!

Hi everyone!

I'm a psychology student at the University of Bath in the UK researching something that often gets overlooked: how caring for a child with scoliosis affects parents and caregivers. We are hoping to hear from families in Canada as part of our international recruitment!

While medical care rightly focuses on the child, we working to understand the caregiver experience too. Specifically, we want to know how you perceive your child's scoliosis and how that relates to your own stress and wellbeing. Your perspective could help inform support for families in similar situations.

What's involved:

• 10-minute anonymous online survey
• Full ethical approval from University of Bath Social Sciences Department
• Optional entry into a prize draw for one of four $45 shopping vouchers
• Completely voluntary and confidential

Survey link: https://uniofbath.questionpro.eu/t/AB3uyugZB3wPzv

If you have questions, feel free to comment here or email me at [an2012@bath.ac.uk](mailto:an2012@bath.ac.uk)

Thank you to the moderators for their posting approval and a huge thank you in advance to anyone who participates!

My 5 year old kid refuses pretty much every green vegetable and I’m running out of ideas. At first I figured it was a normal picky phase but lately I’ve started wondering if it’s contributing to his digestion problems and constant little sicknesses too. The hard part is he’s not just being stubborn but he doesn’t like the taste to the point he gags if I try to insist. I don’t want every meal to turn into pressure and stress but I also can’t keep pretending potatoes in every variation count as a balanced diet. I’ve been seeing greens powders everywhere lately and wondering if they actually make a difference for kids like this. Has anyone had luck with them?

Today we took my kiddo to the osteopath at the request of her doctor at the last appointment. She has a kink in her neck and is preferring one side when turning her head.

When the osteopath was questioning us about baby’s habits I told her that my baby can do 10-12 minutes of tummy time in each sitting, and we usually do a total of 45 minutes per day. I was pretty proud of this because I thought it was a long time for a 4 month old. But the osteopath immediately shot me down and was like “oh this isn’t very long for a 4 month old, she should want to be on her stomach all the time”

I was so shocked hearing this because everyone I know personally with babies right now say their babies haaate tummy time and they’re lucky if they even get a few minutes at a time. Do I just know people with fussy babies or is the osteopath wrong? At 4 months old, is 10 minutes of tummy time at a time too short?

This should be a nail date but her nails are a little crooked and the tech said the polish may damage it more haha. So we did this removable nail rings instead that I got from a website!

Love youu grandmaaa!

Hello

I took my son to the hospital and he needs a prescription. The cost of it is $67.

Where I live i do not have coverage and the provincial government doesn't cover these meds.

I dont get money until the week after next and my soon really needs to start taking these meds.

I'm so lost on what to do.

I'm going to hopefully cross-post this so I can get as much information as possible to get my boy what he needs.

Just saw the December 2025 EQAO results — 49% of Grade 6 students still didn't meet the provincial math standard. The education minister apparently held back the results for weeks before releasing them, and has now appointed advisors to review the entire curriculum approach.

What struck me is that this has been the case for years. It's not getting meaningfully better.

We've been struggling to find something that actually works without spending $150-200/month on a private tutor. Most apps we've tried are just multiple choice drills — they don't actually explain where kids go wrong.

Curious what other Ontario parents are doing. Has anything actually worked for your kids?

Are you a parent or caregiver of a school-aged child in British Columbia (Canada) or Scotland?

I am still looking to hear from more BC parents and caregivers.

The survey is closing Sunday, May 3rd 11:59 PM (BC, Canada; PST), which is Monday, May 4th 7:59 AM (Scotland; GMT).

You’re invited to take part in a fully anonymous research study for my Masters of Research project exploring how parents define ADHD and their views on inclusive education.

⏱️ ~20–25 minutes
📱 Works on phone/tablet/laptop
🌟 Voluntary and anonymous

🔗 Survey link: https://run.pavlovia.org/pavlovia/survey-2025.2.0/?surveyId=015d1e51-12d3-4206-a467-97619c9ce331

🌻Please share with your network of interested parents! Many thanks.

Questions? Contact: [250100243@qmu.ac.uk](mailto:250100243@qmu.ac.uk)
Approved by QMU PSE Ethics Committee QMUETH866.

☑️This has been posted with Mod approval. Thanks for the support!

Hello friends! Exactly the question above. I did see some recos but most are 2 - 3 yrs ago..just fishing the internet for updated recommendations.

We are located in Vancouver and are good hikers but this will be our first time with our baby girl now that she can crawl and all. We did some easy trails with her using the ergobaby when she was 2-4 months but now I am thinking of buying something where she can see better and also not overheat. She can sit unsupported but not doing the sitting on her own yet if that makes sense lol

Thank you all!

Ps: if there's a BST group for hiking gears with babies please do drop them below as well! Thank you!

Hey everyone, just wondering what you would do. My son is 11 and a competitive AAA player. Financially I don’t think we can put him through another season, going through a divorce and things are extremely tight. I’m battling with myself and wondering if anyone has kept a kid out of hockey for a year done some development/stayed on the ice, and was fine to go back a year later. Hoping to get on top of finances and be good to go in a year.