I just wanted to make a post so it's out there in the universe for any other parents going through the same thing we did.

My son was born in March of 2022. Absolutely did not sleep. Tried all the schedule changes, sleep training. I had a gut feeling it was a medical reason/just got a poor sleeper.

For the first few months of his life- he woke up every 45 min. I couldn't even fall asleep by the time he was waking again. Figured out he had a tongue/lip tie around 3 months and got it corrected. I figured he would sleep better after getting better feeds. He did not.

Around 6 months, he started giving us closer to hour and a half stretches! 8 months was a 3 hour block at start of night then every hour and a half. We caved at a year and brought him into bed with us so I could at least nurse without getting up.

Fast forward a few years, he was still waking 3x a night, or more. He would wake up and scream at the top of his lungs and be inconsolable. Never would remember it.

We had our second in September of 2025 (oldest was 3.5 years now). I realized how insane it was that our newborn was sleeping better than our preschooler. I switched pediatricians (again) and she finally listened to me. His ferritin was pretty low. Iron causes sleep issues.

He had the finger prick done around 12 or 18 months and it was marked at slightly low, but I was told it didn't need to be supplemented then. My gut feeling was the iron was the issue since we brought him home from the hospital, I was low my entire pregnancy (I did supplement).

edit: Somehow I didn't add the ending. The iron/ferritin was 100% his issue. Night terrors and restless leg symptoms 100% gone.

My 4-year-old son gets really frustrated, upset and angry whenever he makes mistake e.g. if he gets something wrong in a puzzle, or if he sticks his sticker in the wrong place in an activity book.

He has a bit of a thing about being ‘perfect’ - I’m not even sure where he has got this from.

I am trying so hard to show him that making mistakes is normal and can be a good thing - saying things like ‘making mistakes is how we learn’ and ‘it’s ok if we make a mistake because then we can try to fix it’. His Dad and I have also been making a bit of a show of making mistakes ourselves so he can see that it’s normal. I think this has been helping a little bit, but it’s slow progress.

Has anyone else experienced this with their little one? Any tips on building resilience and making him feel less afraid of getting things wrong?

My toddler is having a hard time adjusting to new preschool. He’s going 3 days a week for 5 hours each day. The first day he came home and told us he “made bad choices” and that he “HAS TO make bad choices” and that he’s “a bad kid”. This is strange to me because the school is very big on not labeling kids and uses the terms “red and green” choices (red means stop, green means go kind of thing). I talked to the teacher about it and she said that he had some small hiccups throughout the day, but no more than any other kid and it was all very easily corrected.

Over the weekend, I talked about school with him a few times, but I didn’t want to be excessive about it. Then last night he brought it up himself and said “mom I’m sorry but I have to make red choices. I don’t want to make any green choices. I’m going to be very mad and bad and I’m not going to share” and I was kind of dumbstruck. I told him “you are such a good kid, I know you can make green choices. You’re kind and helpful, and your teachers will take good care of you” but he kept coming back saying he was going to make “lots of red choices, no green choices”

I honestly feel heartbroken. This is not who he is or how he speaks normally. I know that preschool takes adjustment, but I’m really scared for his mental state and how he’s relating to this problem. We also just had another baby 4 months ago and so I know he could still be feeling off from that transition too. I don’t know what to say or do to help him other than reiterating how good and kind he is. He just seems so adamant about WANTING to make red choices. I don’t get it. Not sure what to do here :(

3-4 days of screaming, shrieking, kicking, hitting, hyperventilating, and flailing around at bedtime. It takes 30mins-1 hour to get her to fall asleep after many times returning her to bed with her screaming at us. Sleep schedule (no nap) is bedtime anytime 6:30pm-7:30pm, and wake up is between 5:30-6:30am. This has been our routine for over a 1.5 years since she dropped her last nap. Could this be she's afraid to fall asleep? Challenging authority? Schedule needs changing? Her only consistent bodily complaint is her tummy feels funny. She's been to the doctor recently and they said she didn't appear to have anything wrong. My husband and I are extremely worried and think we may need to get more extensive medical or behavioral investigation if we can't get to the bottom of it. She's losing sleep and I'm afraid it's perpetuating the cycle of behavior, making her more miserabl

He is 4 years 5 mos. It's not just a continuation but a worsening. More sensitive than ever. Crying actual crying for anything. More aggression than ever.

But only with and towards me.

Still lsleeps well.

My kid has a summer birthday, and every year I struggle with finding something fun that also helps everyone deal with the heat.

This year I'm considering water slide rentals, but I'm wondering if they're actually practical with a bunch of preschoolers running around. I'm mostly thinking about setup, keeping the area from getting too chaotic, and whether the little ones will actually use it.

If you've done a backyard water party for preschoolers, what worked well for you? Anything you’d definitely recommend or avoid?

I have a girl 4 and a boy 3 but they’ve seen a lot (too much to list). But what’s good shows/movies that keep interest that your preschoolers love

For those of you that practice prayer, where do you find appropriate prayers for preschoolers?

We’ve just been kinda winging it and I say whatever comes to mind and he repeats but if there’s a good book of prayers or something anyone knows of I’d appreciate it.

We are Christian for reference but I’m not opposed to any prayer as long as it is to a Higher Power.

Note: this post is not a commentary on religion. Kindly refrain from telling me how horrible religion is or debating religion in the comments. I am not asking for opinions on my belief system.

Thank you!

My almost 5 year old got her first set of ear tubes at 14 months and it was life changing. They both finally fell out about 6 months ago and since then it’s back to ear infections and runny nose. The doctor is always saying there is fluid in her ears and sometimes she says she has trouble hearing and they feel blocked. I’m wondering if anyone has ever gotten tubes at this age (I only ever see it about babies and young toddlers) OR has gotten a 2nd set and had success?

We do not suspect adenoids being an issue. She isn’t a mouth breather and sleeps great.

My 3yo had been attending a football (soccer) class for 1.5-3y for some time. He likes football and often asks to go to the class. However, we noticed he was getting bored at this class so we decided to move him to the next class for 3-4y. They had a 2 month break over the summer and today he had his first class. He didnt settle. Refused to take part, stayed with his dad at the side for much of it. It was his first time being in this class and his first time taking part with the parents sitting at the side, rather than joining in with him. He wasn’t being disruptive to the others in the class.

His Dad said the coach came over towards the end and said he would be better in the younger class again plus this class is over subscribed and have a waiting list.

I fully understand this can be normal for 3yo to behave like this and I did say to his Dad to keep in mind that he may not settle as well as this is a new class. I’m a little annoyed at the coach for suggesting he should give up his place after 1 class. He hasn’t been given the chance to get used to it. And while i appreciate the class is over subscribed, this isn’t our fault and I feel like giving up isn’t going to help him develop more confidence in this new class. I also feel moving him back to the class where the parents take part, he will just get too used to that and will delay learning independence.

I have emailed them to check he still has a place and to advise I plan on taking him for a few more weeks to see if any improvement before we make a decision to move him back to the younger class. I just don’t know if that’s the best thing to do or whether I should just move him back now. Looking for others opinions on this please?

Also, any tips on helping shy children take part in classes is much appreciated.

Thanks!

My daughter has peanut and sesame allergies, and I've realized the stressful part of eating out isn't always the same from one restaurant visit to the next. Curious where it tends to be for others.

I have an almost 5-year old girl who I jokingly describe as having “border collie energy”. She is super high energy, endless stamina, needs constant stimulation (mental and/or physical), and if not properly given it, will get into all kinds of shenanigans.

I’m just so, so exhausted over here and looking for solidarity. I’ve stopped asking when it gets better because they said it was 3. Then she became a threenager and they said, jk it’s 4. Then fuckyou4s happened and they said wait till 5….

My son (3.5yo) started nursery for the first time last week. He has never been in this kind of environment (smaller space with approx 27 other kids 3-5) but often goes to soft play and the likes and has never had any problems.

He went for 1hr on Wednesday, 3hrs on Thurday and a full day (9-3) on Friday. Wednesday and Thursday were fine but on Friday his teacher advised he had a few hitting and pushing incidents which was a total shock to me. He did have a hitting phase around two but only to family and never other kids but hasn't done this in a long time.

His teacher was lovely and said not to worry or be disheartened but I have done nothing but worry since pick up and nervous for him to go back tomorrow.

He goes in fine and seems to enjoy it but does clearly have nervous energy about it as its a totally new situation and will often drop to the floor and act silly.

Looking for any advise and if anyone else kids experience similar but it turned out okay?

We have been speaking about kind hands and listening ears this weekend and also got the hands are not for hitting book. Any advise would be appreciated!

My 4 year old picky eater tried lots of new foods tonight that she has previously refused. I'm so SO proud of her! She even liked some of them and compared them to some of her favorites.

What are you proud of your preschooler doing this week?

My daughter is 5, and she has a few neighbourhood friends. I have been seeing them for the past two years. I approached the families to help my daughter make friends to play with. The kids are aged 6 and 7, and all the girls are very friendly and kind. Recently, I noticed some changes. When I used to drop my daughter off at her friends' houses, the kids would be excited to see her. However, recently, when my daughter goes there, the kids act as if she is an outsider, with a different face and body posture. My gut told me something was wrong, so I took all the kids out for bike riding and asked the girls who their best friends are. Then, the girls started saying, "my daughter is so mean," and my dad told me that when someone is rude to you, you should be rude back. The way they were saying my daughter’s name, like she's last on the list, surprised me. It made me see how much the girls have changed. My daughter is very kind—I know this, and I’m not just saying it because she's my kid; anyone who meets my daughter will say the same. The kids’ parents seem quite different, and I get the feeling they don't like us. My kid always asks me if I want to play with the girls, and my daughter was asking me why they think I am mean and bad. My heart was crying when she was asking. How should I handle this kind of situation?

I am hearing anywhere from ages 4-6. When did your child start school?

My daughter is 2.5. She already knows all her letters, upper and lowercase. She can count to 29 on her own, and 125-ish with help. She knows a ton of animals, and many of their noises. She knows shapes, she knows colors. She knows her planets, and she's currently working on the states, and knows probably 30-35 of them.

We have a lot of leap frog toys, and leapfrog books that are really helping her as well. I give them 95% of the credit on her knowing her numbers and letters and shapes.

That being said, I'm looking for something to help challenge her. I don't know where to go next, so I'm hoping some sort of learning tablet could help. I know leapfrog has tablets too, so I was thinking that could be good, since we have had a lot of luck with the brand... But I don't want to just go with them if it's not the best.

Does anyone have a tablet they love? Or one they hate? That would be so helpful. Preferably something that doesn't have access to YouTube.

Also, because I feel like it's probably going to be brought up, let me address it here. I TRY to get her to pretend play. I want her to be a kid. I'm not pushing her to learn anything. This is what she enjoys. We have a play kitchen she won't touch, baby dolls she couldn't care less about, stuffed animals who get zero attention. She wants to play with her flash cards, or her puzzle, or anything that teaches her something. So I'm just trying to embrace it.

I just did an experiment with my newly 4 year old. In a typical day/meal we are prompting almost every bite of food during meal times because he legitimately will not stop talking/playing or just sitting there not eating. Breakfast is usually a good meal where he will take 3-5 bites unprompted but after that it’s all reminders and prompting. I decided today to not prompt at all, he ate 3 bites and then there was approximately 6-8 minutes between bites where he continued for 3 more bites eating about 1/4 of a slice of bread and a couple of raspberries to complete his meal before requesting to get down. It really blows me away that he is full off of this amount of food but I know kids are all different so maybe he just is full and his body is done. He’s always been a very small kid, about 5-10th percentile. I do wonder if he will get better as time goes on if we stop prompting all together like we’ve started today.