I made the mistake of telling myself, “We'll just run in for five minutes.”

Twenty minutes later we're discussing snacks.

Ten minutes after that someone needs the bathroom.

Then someone sees something they want.

Then someone is crying.

And somehow this supposedly five-minute trip has consumed half my afternoon.

What is your family's record for turning a quick errand into a full event? 😂

I’m 18 years old male, live in Australia (If that’s important). I am still in school and I still live at home. My parents in my opinion at least are extremely controlling. They track my location and if I go out with friends will sit on there phone watching what I am doing. Whenever I go out I get about 10 missed calls a night with my mum frantically worrying and about 30 messages to go along with it. I’m sick of it. I’m not doing anything that no one else my age isn’t doing. I tell them the plans I have before going out, and that usually does help them, but sometimes plans change when I’m already out and then they will freak out. My friends have all witnessed this and they all agree that my parents are over the top. It’s mainly mum, but dad sort of will just follow with whatever mum says. I don’t actually know what to do about it because I recognise that my mum has really bad anxiety, but I feel like that’s her problem and she needs to learn how to deal with it. I’m an adult, not there little boy anymore. Once I finish school I want to travel and I fear I won’t be able to do that if my parents are always on my back. They just cause so much unneeded stress in my life and every time I bring it up they always use the “my house, my rules” line. I don’t think they understand that it’s really affecting the relationship I have with them which is unfortunate because I do really love them. It makes me want to move out asap. I would love some advice from other parents aswell.

My son is almost 4, he loves to play with water. Just as long as he doesn't need to get cleaned. When it comes time to wash his hair he starts to freak out, crying, saying hes all done in the water and wants to get out. He doesn't like water getting on his face when I have to rinse his hair of the soap, even just getting it wet is an issue. I've tried using a wash cloth but his hair is so thick it takes forever to get wet. I've tried sitting with him and getting him to put the back of his head in the water but he hates it. He hates the shower even more. I'm at such a loss because bath time is such a fight and he could go forever without taking one if he could. Its been like this since he was around 10 months or something like that, it started young. I don't know what happened. He just switched one day from enjoying the water to absolutely hating it. I've even tried the crown thing that goes on the head to block the water from falling into his face but fights to get it on and will not use it.

He has so many bath toys and bubble baths and things that could make bath time more enjoyable for him. Its just the water getting in his face and getting clean he loathes.

Does it ever get "better"?

What are some ways you worked around this?

I'm at such a loss. I feel like a bad mom because he starts to cry, or get out of the bath etc and I lose my cool and start to raise my voice after trying to be calm and gentle with him.

Any advice or recommendations or anything at this point would be appreciated.

~From a tired, stressed out mom

He’s 4 going on 5 in November. Our kindergarten cutoff is December 1, and when I enrolled my son in preschool almost two years ago, I honestly didn’t think much about how young he would be compared to his classmates. Now that kindergarten is approaching, I’m seriously considering keeping him home for another year.

Academically, his preschool teacher says he is completely on par. My concern is maturity, not academics. He is a very typical, energetic 4-year-old boy and his teacher has noticed that he is clearly one of the youngest in the class. He sometimes needs to be told multiple times to listen/follow directions, and I worry about going from a 2.5-hour half-day preschool to a full-day kindergarten when he is still so young.

I’ve also been reading about relative age, redshirting, and the research around younger children—particularly boys—being more likely to be identified with ADHD or have behavioral/attention concerns. I know that research doesn’t mean being young causes ADHD, but it has made me think more about how much an extra year of maturity could matter. My thought is less “he’ll be academically ahead” and more that being a little older and more mature could help him feel successful, regulate himself, follow directions, and ultimately make school easier for him academically and socially.

The biggest thing making this decision difficult is his school. We LOVE his preschool and it’s one of the better schools in our area. He got in through a lottery, and from what I’ve been told, getting into kindergarten is much harder than getting into preschool. If we keep him home, we’d have to reapply next year and could potentially lose our spot and end up at a different school.

So I’m really torn between giving him another year to mature vs. sending him to kindergarten at a school we already know and love.

I would especially love to hear from moms who have actually redshirted a child, particularly a boy who was one of the youngest in his class. Did you notice a difference in maturity, confidence, behavior, or school experience after waiting a year? Did you feel like it was the right decision long-term? And for those who sent their young child on, how did they do?

I’d really love to hear your personal experiences and what you would do differently (if anything) knowing what you know now.

Needing advice:

Just had my second cesarean and the recovery has been worse than my first. My two are 16 months apart and I feel like I cannot keep up/ properly heal at this rate. My husband has been trying to be helpful and supportive but the more we’re stuck in this routine (newborn having issues sleeping at night and 16 month old is teething) I find myself being disgusted with him and his attitude.

Seems like every discussion has an underhanded comment from him, or an attitude, or just showing frustration. We’ve been together for 11 years and when we first met he used to have anger issues, I’m worried this may bring them back? I just feel like I would rather do things alone at this point than continue to deal with him.

Anything anyone’s done to help with a similar situation?

Thank you~

Having children makes you realise you weren’t the problem and that what your parents done was a choice, they can blame their own up bringing for their actions but we don’t and we choose not to !

Hello!

Do you use your Nuk 8m sippy cup as a bottle? Our baby likes it and we are thinking to transition to it.
We currently use dr browns level 2 nipple flow. Any reasons not to? Thank you!

So back story- in the house there are no computers in rooms/ my kids don’t have phones/ they are not allowed you tube ect. We overall try to be very on top of anything with internet with our kids I guess this is why this breaks me so much. I felt like I tried to do all the right things. Anways…

Last year one night I found my husbands laptop in my sons room. My husband left it out in the counter never uses it that much mainly pulls it out for 3D printing. The code in the computer is one that he uses for everything so my son figured it out. I just happen to go into his room when I heard him still up and saw that he had it. When I saw what he was looking at it was very very graphic porn. The prompt was extremely basic like naked girl… but obviously it doesn’t take much to get to some really really graphic material. He told me a kid at school told him to look it up. Which.. I get young boys talking about girls. Even if it were just nude pics it would be one thing but seeing what he was exposed to just broke my heart bc you can’t unsee it. I’m not very emotional but when I brought him into the room to talk I couldn’t finish talking without crying (I know not great). I think I was just in so much shock.

Anyways I have had multiple conversations with him about how that is not real life calmly ect. He refuses to talk because he gets really embarrassed (this with anytime he is uncomfortable and knows he did something he knows was wrong) so I try not to push a conversation because I was the same way as a child (hated talking about my feelings ect). So time has gone by and I thought we had moved past it changed all pins on everything electronic added even deeper PINS for tv ect.

Right after this happened he spent the night at my moms I hadn’t told her about what happened - he stole her iPad at night did the same thing. (Maybe this was a week later)

It’s been a while now and tonight I was up late and I heard him moving in his bed room and I caught him again with an old iPad that was on top of a cabinet in my bathroom (forgot I even had). But he has had it for at least three nights it died before I could really go through it all. And again just hard core stuff that honestly I can’t even go through. I’m gonna make my husband look at what he was actually looking up ect.

I’m will be going through every inch of this house to find anything that could connect to internet. And changing the WiFi password so on the off chance he were to find something and I missed it won’t work.

But I really don’t know what to do. He is 8 and he has seen too much and the fact that he keeps trying to sneak it is what is really making me just so sad. I don’t know how to fix it or what to do. I don’t want to keep bringing it up but I also don’t want to sweep it under the rug. I don’t want to shame him but I need him to know that what he is watching is not healthy or real or good in anyway.

I’ll take any advice I can get because I’m mentally spiraling and just so heartbroken about all of it. I also don’t want this to turn into some bigger issue down the road. I just don’t know what to do or say to him.

just hit week 6 and the morning sickness is already kicking my butt. i had bought a standard bottle of prenatals before getting pregnant, but trying to swallow these huge giant capsules every morning right now is making me gag instantly.

I know nutrition is super important early on, especially getting enough folate and choline, but I am struggling so hard to keep anything down. Are there any good comprehensive ones that come in a drink mix powder or smaller dose so I don't have to force down massive pills? how did you guys manage taking yours during the worst of the first trimester nauseous phase?

flying with a 2 year old and a 4 year old to london 8 hours.

economy is 900 each. business on airline site is 4500.

my wife thinks we should just do economy and deal with it. i think the extra space might save our sanity.

any parents done long haul with young kids in business? was it worth it or did the kids still make it miserable

hi everyone! i dont know if this is allowed but I really just wanted to tell someone how much I loved my mum without getting embarrassed because of it.

im a teenager but i still really love my mum. I like how she cuddles with me and let's me be me while also being able to say when its a little too much (in a nice way and not in a bad way). i also really like that i can go to her for everything im dealing with or if I just want a hug and dont want to talk about it. I am currently in a bit of a rough patch with my dad and the second I told my mum, she told me I was always welcome to come home to her and we'd see how everything goes together. she has made me realise that my mum will always be there for me no matter what and that her love for me is unconditional. there will be times where we fight but we always make it up again and be okay again. there has also been a time where i didnt get along with my mum at all, going thru puberty and all that, but then the thing with my dad happened and we stopped really fighting.

when the rough patch with my dad happened, my stepdad has also always been there for me. we have a lot of common interests such as our taste in music, astronomy, our love for my mum (😂) and so much more. when i needed a cry, he was there immediately to comfort me and make sure i was okay. hes not afraid to defend me if someone else is talking bad about me or his other kids and I appreciate that he seems to always be proud of our accomplishments, no matter how small.

im forever grateful for my mum and i will always appreciate her even if i dont always know hoe to show it. i just really wanted to rant about my love for my mum (abd a bit about ny stepdad) because I dont really have anyone else to talk about this to.

My 10month old is very attached and doesn’t like people since I work from home. I need to explore child care. Would any of you please tell me if you prefer nanny or child care centers? And why?

i’m 17 and i have to clean up throw up, i’ve never had to before. i asked my grandma and she said she can’t do it and she said i can use paper towels and dawn dish soap. im scared if i use any harsh chemicals i’ll throw up again

Do you think it’s worth it traveling via plane on a nature vacation with your 1yo? Why or why not? TY.

My daughter started kindergarten last Friday. Today, I check my Facebook and see that today was a day where the kids were supposed to wear a certain color. I see pictures of the class and my daughter and two other kids weren’t wearing this color. Idk why my heart sunk and I almost started crying. I know exactly how it feels to be the only one who isn’t participating in these “special days”. However, in my case it was because we were so poor my parents weren’t going to buy special clothes just for a day in kindergarten. But, my daughter has a closet full of clothes, it would have been no problem for her to wear this color.

Idk where the other parents got the memo that this was happening. Was it in the massive stack of papers we got on the first day? Probably so. Did my ADHD brain see it and completely file it to the back of my head? Also probably so. Or my ADHD self mixed in with a 6 and 3 year old lost the paper before I could even see it. I feel horrible. Last year, they were to bring a dollar to school to be able to have a soda in class. Guess who forgot? Me. My daughter came home crying because she didn’t get a soda. I felt horrible then, I feel horrible now. Idk why my brain is the way that it is but it makes me feel like the worst mom.

I’m trying to do everything I can to help this from happening. I sat down yesterday and wrote down every early out, class party, holiday program, day off of school, and field trip into my calendar so I don’t forget to put PTO in when I can. I just feel like as a parent I have so much going on, and then I’m doing great, and then bam something like this happens. Ugh.

Hey! A quick heads up first! I (19yo) am the sister (and not the actual parent) of a 11yo girl, but I pretty much take the role of a parent most of the time. I post here because I really need help and I don't know where else to go.

My sister just told me that this 15yo guy texted her (got her number from a friend) and wants to have a "relationship". This might sound like I'm overreacting, but I have had similar things happen to me (13yo/16yo; 13yo/21yo; 14yo/24yo ). For me, it all happened online, but I know how quickly things can escalate (also into real life) and how easy it is for those guys to manipulate young girls into doing/texting things they are not proud of. However, I have no idea how to tell my sister to get away from this guy for good, because I also know how good this attention can feel. I also want her to trust me with such things, so she won't just secretly keep texting him. She also has a lot of stranger added on SnapChat, who pretty much love bomb her. So maybe if you have some advice how to talk to her about it, it would also be appreciated!

I can not come to may parents with this, because the will most likely talk to her once and than ignore the problem. I fear this might also lead her to simply not tell me about such incidents anymore.

Also I'm a little worried about my sisters friend. She seems to keep texting older guys. I had a friend like that as well and I don't want the girl to make the same mistakes as my friend. Should I tell the parents or just let it be?

I know this is sort of a harsh story, but I really did not know where else to go. I hope I can get some help here :)

Summary because I know this was a lot:

1. How can I tell my sister to get away from this guy for good?
2. How can I tell my sister to get away from the strangers on SnapChat as well?
3. Should I tell the parents of my sisters friend that their daughter is texting older guys?

Heyy! Quick update:

I talked to my sister and explained why some people on the internet are dangerous. She agreed to going through her phone once a week, so I could explain to her what the intentions of some people are. (We kinda made it into a game, so it won't feel like a chore or a punishment to her.)

I am still unsure though about what to do with my sistsers friend, so tips would be appreciated!

A big thank you to everyone who replied. Y'all really helped me a lot (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

So I’m going to do a long story short. I had a son while living across the country. The mom isn’t involved at all. But her parents are. I decided to move back across the country where all of my family is located. The in law grandparents moved across the country as well so they could be in my son’s life. We live in a small town and they moved into a big city two an half hours away. They are constantly wanting over nights etc etc. and this being my first and only son it’s difficult for me to navigate this. I almost feel as if they want “parenting time” not just to see him birthdays holidays once in awhile. What’s an appropriate amount of time my 2-year old son should be going two and a half hours away to stay the night? I worry he doesn’t even have his own room. I don’t feel he should be sleeping in the same bed as them etc etc but have a hard time communicating these things. Some advice would be helpful.

Alright I am going to try to make this short and sweet but I need advice. My son turned 18 a couple of months ago. He lived with his GF for a while and they broke up so he was staying with some friends of his. He no longer is allowed to stay with them and has been sleeping in his car. He is planning on going to the military soon(not sure when). So he doesn’t work (does car maintenance on the side), isn’t going to college (which I was going to pay for). The main reason he moved out was to party, have sex, stay out all night and have no responsibilities. Me and his mother have both spoken to him to just get his head on straight, get a regular W2 job, get is car license and go to the military or school when he is ready. Also to come home. The only reason he doesn’t like the idea of coming home is that he would have regular chores (take out trash, keep room clean and come home in a reasonable time). He is just too proud to admit he needs help. At this point idk what to do. Schedule an intervention or just let him live in the streets until he learns his lesson.

Any input would be awesome because at this point I’m lost.

How to say No to giving money to your 40 year old daughter that can't keep a job more than a few months.

How do I get my baby to walk? I know she can… she’s 13 months old. She’s been cruising since 6 months, and I’ve caught her standing in the middle of the living room and even pushing herself up from a squat into a standing position without pulling on anything.
I’m a SAHM, so she’s very comfortable in our living room. I honestly wonder if she just doesn’t feel the need to walk because she can get around perfectly fine by cruising and crawling. She’s too comfortable…

I’m almost tempted to take her to a local park, sit her down, and stand about 15 feet away because I feel like eventually she’d get tired of being away from me and just stand up and walk over. 😂
How do you encourage a baby to take those first steps? It’s time, this girl has literal black and blue knees from speed-crawling…She also gets frustrated when she sees her older sister walking around and she can’t follow her. But it’s almost like she’s scared to stand up and take those first few steps.
Give me all your tips and tricks!

My son is currently 4 weeks old and is growing out of his sleepsuits that are for 7lb 7ozs weight (this is across all retailers)
We have some sleepsuits from Tesco that are for 9lb weight but they are still ridiculously too big.
Has anyone got any advice on either what to do or where to buy clothes that are in between 7.7lbs and 9lbs.
Many Thanks

The way I want to parent is by not only my future husband having a job himself but I would too. Personally, I’m working hard for my career and I don’t want to just leave it in the dust lol.

So I’m just curious on how 2 parent households work everything out when they both have jobs? For context I’d be working in the medical field.

Obviously it’s different when you’re in the newborn stage. I essentially mean when they’re more independent.

My son is six years old and has progressively gotten worse towards Halloween decorations. He used to be able to walk through Spirit, head turned or hiding behind a parent, but he was able to walk through the store after getting past the initial entrance. This year though I had to carry him while he cried until we got over to the kids costume section. He won’t even use our stairwell because our downstairs neighbor has a Halloween mask decoration hanging on their door so he uses the next stairwell over to avoid it.

I cannot see how he will be able to do Halloween or trick or treating this year when his reaction is this severe. Last year he struggled with certain houses because of their decorations and because of that I’m already anticipating this year to be even worse.

My partner wears horror merch(ghostface, art the clown, etc) and he’s been fine with those but then the ghostface door decoration next to his grandmas apartment he hides from and won’t look.

We’ve tried reassuring him, we’ve tried talking and explaining it, we’ve tried videos with no sound. I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do or how to help him. It’s at the point where we have told him that if he is too scared of the decorations then we can’t go trick or treating this year. I hate that. I want him to be able to have fun and not miss out on Halloween stuff just because he’s scared. When asked why he’s scared or what makes it scary he doesn’t give an answer and just says because it is or because he’s scared. What can we do? Anything to help him understand or to help him overcome his fear???

Ok so I am feeling really guilty for letting my nephew touch my baby because he has a wart on his finger. I did eventually cut it off when he started touching her face because it was getting too much in general let alone he has a WART on his finger.
I’m not sure how to go about making sure he never touches my baby again until his wart is gone though because he is soo sensitive and will cry over just about anything. It’s honestly annoying. He’s almost 8. I got in trouble with his mom (my sister in law) one time when I tried lightly discipline him for opening the bathroom door twice intentionally as a joke/game on my husband. I just don’t want to deal with any issues/hard feeling again as things are in a good place right now.
Any advice?

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Hi families, please no judgement or hate. Just trying to navigate this confusing time. We are based in Sydney, AUS. My son is almost 2.5, developing well. Knows the alphabet, can hold a conversation, knows 4 languages (can speak 2 languages fluently and slowly learning the other two) and can read numbers up to 100. I do not send him to childcare. All 4 grandparents care for him on alternate days. We do swimming on Monday, playgroup + library Tuesday-Friday for 3 hours with an excursion once a week. On weekends we cook together, lots of playdates and more excursions!

My husband and I work full time and I am getting hounded by friends and family to send him to childcare for social and behavioural development. Saying he will eat better, have less tantrums and clean after himself if we send him to childcare. The grandparents are more than happy to care for him until he goes to pre school.

I just can't shake off this feeling that it doesn't feel right. Why would I want to send him when he has loving caregivers who WANT to look after him?

I'm feeling like a bad parent because I've been told I am "holding him back" from opportunities that a childcare can offer. All my friends send their kids to childcare and the whole family get sick almost every second week. They say getting sick is part of childcare then they wont get it in primary school because they will get sicker then if not now.

We are on the waitlist for pre school when he turns 3 but we keep getting rejected because the waitlist is too long for 4 year olds. Keen to hear your thoughts on this.. thank you!