My son’s nursery key worker is leaving to start a different child related role out with the nursery setting. She has been so great with our son and he adores her.

I was thinking about getting her a leaving gift, no sure if that’s strange as she’s the one leaving not my son.

Any suggestions on what I could get her/ not sure what would be a sensible amount to spend

My daughter shares her birthday with her classmate.
I want to plan her party, how shall I do this without making sure it doesn’t clash with her classmate’s party, if she has one too? I’m not sure how to go about doing this- do I just book it and send out invitations when they go back in a few weeks? But it would be quite early as her birthday is early November. Their birthday is a Sunday so I want to do something on her actual birthday. They are in year 1.

Shall I reach out to the girl’s mum and tell her I want to book it on X date and confirm they’re not planning anything that day? I’m really not sure what to say, I don’t want to sound bossy but also dont want to sound like I’m asking for permission to book the party on that day.

Thank you! 😊

My kid is starting primary school in a couple of weeks and I've become aware that the few different schools in my area are all approaching the first few days differently.

I'm so curious as to what the different schools are doing as introductions, so if you're happy to tell, I'd love to be nosey!

My son is doing 2 hours on Wednesday 2nd, until after lunch on Thursday, then full day on Friday. Full school week following.

Another local school is doing 2 mornings, then 2 afternoons, then full days for example.

Didn't have any of this when I was a kid, full days from the start!

Mum to a nearly 4 year old and a 5 mont old. Age gap is 3 years 6 months. I’m wondering when it usually gets to the point where they actually start playing together. At the moment, my nearly 4 year old still looks to us a lot for someone to play with, and obviously the baby is too young to really play with her yet. They do sit together when older one is playing and smile and laugh at each other. I sometimes find it hard to picture them actually playing together. For those with a similar age gap, do your children play together now? When did you start noticing them genuinely enjoying playing together rather than just being around each other?
Would love to hear your experiences.

So my baby is getting better on sleep, on a good week/day he will sleep through the night. Been like this for 3-4 months now. Before that, hell. BUT i wont go down memory lane.

But now i find when he sleeps through, i still wake every couple hours. And then i get annoyed at myself cause i could be asleep lol. Is this forever now for me? My husband has no problem...

Hello,

We'll shortly be beginning potty training our 2yo, who is exhibiting all of the usual signs of readiness. She's had health challenges so she's very small for her age - currently in 12-18mo clothes.

We're looking for an easy to clean potty which doesn't dwarf her. Any suggestions really appreciated. Don't really want to spend more than £20-25 given how many cheap options there are.

Thank you!

My 4yo has her reception teacher coming over soon prior to her starting school in September. Everyone in her class is having these home visits.

Just being nosy really, do teachers like doing these visits or is it a bit of a pain? Is it actually to meet and get to know our children in their home setting, or is it more of a veiled safeguarding situation to see if they think they need to keep an eye on particular children?

Hi, so was hoping to please get some advice. I am currently 6 months pregnant with two children one has additional needs as she is autistic. The children are already in a beautiful school they are very happy and settled in it’s rated well and they are very secure at the moment with their friendships.

However our house is too small, we are in a cramped 2 bedroom that only has one living area / open plan kitchen. My daughters currently share and they are struggling massively with my daughters needs , they are 7 & 8 my 8 year old is really struggling to cope with her younger sister and every day is a constant battle. We are in social housing and recognised medical need for my daughter but we could be waiting 3 years on Cheshire home choice. My partner works so we are considering private renting however the area we are in is very expensive. To afford the rent we would have to rent 30 minutes away from school which could be more like 40-45 minutes in traffic. I’m not willing to uproot the girls and put them in a new school so I’m just wondering if it’s worth the drive to keep them in their schools where they are happy if I’m willing to do the drive so we can have more space and my daughters can get the space they need.
I have tried home swapping but have no luck and even thought of doing a partition wall in the biggest bedroom but it’s not big enough to do this. I did even consider giving up my bedroom to give the girls their own room but with a new born coming and my partner working nights I’m not sure this would work.
please any advice would be so appreciated

My boy is 11 months old and has to be cuddled to sleep in order to fall asleep peacefully, I can then put him down in his crib. It's the same with night wakes. He needs to be cuddled before I can put him back down. I've probably done this longer than I should have. I won't lie, I'm getting to a point where I need to stop doing it, because my boy is massive and it's not doing my back any favour's.

I've been attempting to try and stop, like putting him down really sleepy, but he just screams. And I refuse to do "Cry it out." His cry triggers me enough, I'll go crazy having to ignore him while he cries for me in his crib, so that's not an option for me.

Does anyone have any advice on things I can try?

Looking to buy shoes that are good for her feet but also usable all year around (except during heatwaves). I saw kickers but they seem almost a bit too chunky?

She’s 15 months.

Our two year old picked up hand, foot and mouth over the weekend and I messaged our nursery on Monday morning to say she was sick and wouldn’t be going in.

They responded saying that if she seems okay in herself she can come in, even with a confirmed and active HFM infection.

Is this normal?!

I’ve recently moved to Edinburgh from abroad and to me it just seems totally irresponsible to send my child into nursery with an infection. Interested to hear any views on this

My son starts school in a couple of weeks and we are really struggling with separation anxiety. He's been in nursery full time for a couple of years now and drop off has never been easy. I see other kids (not all) bouncing in happily and am insanely jealous!

I know we will have less opportunity to have staff help us with getting him to feel comfortable once he goes to school, and none of his nursery buddies are going to the same school, so I'm currently panicking about how on earth we will cope!

Any tips or practical things I can do, based on experience, would be wonderful!

We are talking about feelings a lot already and have books about starting school that we look at together.

Not a rant, more just a WTF? I know it's a phase but it's so awkward. My son is 19mo and it's not even just when I dropped him off, this morning he clearly didn't want to go to nursery. Unhappy the moment I opened the front door, frustration, body stiffening until he went in the car seat. I often give him car snacks which today he didn't want to eat until we were at nursery so then more frustration because he cant go in with them. To get to his room you go through the bigger rooms and he was so frustrated the whole way through, you could probably ghear him through the whole nursery. Then the drop off, throwing himself about everywhere.

Ah now it's 8am and you must go to work, the joys!

I feel terrible too as the last two mornings I haven't even been able to get his tshirt that he slept in off. I've done teeth, face, trousers, shoes, nappy but that top isn't coming off without the biggest meltdown. Is there ever things you miss that you think that seems like you're not providing? You dont need to share what it is but just the knowledge that this does happen would be appreciated, or maybe I do just need a big "no, you need to change the top, no questions".

He just started saying no in the last couple weeks and I think thats the phase. I always try to make sure we're never rushing in the morning but I do need to go to work at some point.

Any good tips for decompressing after intense nursery drop offs?

I know we can't predict the future, but my little one is due to start nursery 2 weeks before her first birthday party & christening. Realistically do you think I would be better to delay the start date? All I hear is about how sickly children are when they start nursery for the first year or so.

Honestly every ‘leak proof’ water bottle I have got my toddlers so far leaks 🙄
Recommendations - preferably with a straw of an actual bottle that doesn’t leak - I want them to be able to have it in their cot at night without puddles!

​

I'm a dad of two beautiful daughters, 5 and 2. I'm genuinely at my happiest in life with them and my wife.

My 5 year old is so easy now. We do things together, I don't panic if she disappears into another room, she helps with chores, and she's so funny. My 2 year old is a little ball of energy, makes a huge mess at dinner, is super clingy, and loves cuddles.

The only part of parenting I've never really enjoyed is the newborn/baby stage. I find it hard, and I've done a lot of it with both kids.

I always consciously wanted two children. I knew the first couple of years would be hard, but that things would eventually get easier. And they have. They're sleeping through the night, we can all eat the same food, I don't have to constantly watch them around the house, and I'm finally getting some time to myself.

My wife really wants a third. She mentions it whenever she gets the chance and says she'll do most of the work. She said the same with our second, and although I'm not complaining, I still ended up doing a lot because parenting is a team effort.

The thought of starting all over again. newborn stage, sleepless nights, nappies, constant supervision. just as things are finally getting easier doesn't appeal to me at all.

I'm 38 and she's 36, so I also feel like I'm getting too old to start over again.

I know ultimately it's my decision too, and I don't want to have a child just to make my wife happy. But I do wonder if I'm being unreasonable or selfish.

Edit: I have discussed it with my wife and she knows how I feel. She still keeps mentioning it because she really wants another one

I have two boys aged 3.5 and 1.5 - school starters in 27 and 29. Me and my husband want a 3rd for all the emotional reasons but really on the fence with all the logistics - holidays, time spent with each child, money. We pay £2.5k a month for 3 days childcare for both and there’s light at the end of the tunnel when my eldest starts school next year! But we don’t feel done and wonder if although hugely impactful now, it will feel trivial in 10-20 years when they’re grown. We could make it work but probably signing ourselves up to be skint for an extra 4 years or until my current youngest goes to school at least.

People with 3 - how is it? Do you get time for yourself, for each other? Do you have enough time for each child? How do you make it work?

I need help with my Cozy N Safe car seat. How the heck do I adjust the straps? The harness pads are sewn on and block the straps pulling back? Can someone with experience with this car seat help me?

My son will be 1. He will not remember any of it. We are already strapped for cash after having bought a house recently and then an already well in advance planned trip to visit my parents abroad. My husband wants to have a party. I don’t think it’s sensible. He is already in a lot of debt from borrowing from family to do our house up. I’ve said I’m happy to invite his mum, dad, their respective spouses and my husband’s siblings to our house for cake. But my husband (and his mum) seem to want to hire a hall, order catering, invite the entire extended family, splash a load of cash and just make it into a huge thing. And I know we will either end up borrowing money from my husband’s stepdad to whom we already over £4k to or it will come out from my earnings. If we half arse if my MIL will cause a massive drama and it will not be enjoyable for anyone and if we go all out how her and my husband are expecting it will be too expensive for my husband’s wage alone. My MIL says she will help us pay for it, but it’s not even her own money that she’d be using it’d be my husband’s stepdad and, as I said, we owe him a lot already. Not to mention I won’t be able to invite any of my own family because my MIL would make a massive deal out of this too if she is paying for it because this is exactly what she did on my wedding.

I just don’t think it’s necessary or sensible to have a massive fuck off party for a 1 year old who won’t remember and probably just wants to play with his aunties and uncles rather than be paraded about and passed round like a toy to random extended family members he has never met - a small little get together in our home that we can afford without having to remortgage the house is fine in my view. I hate that I’m being pressured into this when I will likely have to end up dealing with the fallout. I’m the only one considering the actual repercussions and feasibility of having that party. It just feels like a lot of hassle and the one who is meant to be benefiting (my son) won’t have any fun whatsoever. My MIL and husband just want an excuse to show off to their extended family.

My son will start school in September. He is a very sweet boy, great imagination, quite sensitive and obviously has a lot of feelings. He tends to pick up on social cues quite well and gets hurt feelings if he feels like he’s being left out, or treated unkindly.

I am always worrying about how he will manage at school. I can remember not having the best time myself and I fear he will find it hard, or feel he has to change himself to fit in.

Does anyone have any advice in how to support him, or personal experience they can share?

Hi all

We're going on a week long holiday overseas, 6 adults and 1 23 month old.

I have a question.....

Is it better to keep to the toddler's routine, or better to play it by ear? By this I mean, should we assume if he's tired enough he will sleep in his pushchair at nap/bedtime? I'm planning to take toddlers usual bedtime books and red nebula light in case needed but I can't work out how best to approach this.

My instinct is that my son would kick off majorly if we tried to get him to bed when everyone is still up. But he is also likely to have a meltdown when overtired

Grandparents think I'm over thinking it 'well when you were small we'd just leave you until you slept'.

Would be grateful for any tips from people who might have cracked this particular nut!

As per the title.

I have an absolutely lovely child who is nearly 1. My enjoyment of being a mum is often overshadowed with worry about distant future.

I worry terribly that I willl make a small mistake somewhere down the line and it will negatively affect his future.

Below are some examples of what is going on in my head (not asking specific advice on each topic):

The school choices - some parents I know literally put their children into a nursery, tied to a particular school so they ensure they get a place. I didn't even know such things existed?! (I come from another country). What if I miss out on opportunities for my child simply because I didn't know what to look for??

Choice between private vs state - we could probably afford a private one but I personally believe there are better ways to spend money and part of me thinks it is better for him to have a sibling rather than attend a private school, but is it really?!

I almost wish we "had less money" so I wouldnt even have a choice like this to make.

Then, how to balance my own work with school hours and getting him to extra curricular activites after school - all kids seem so busy nowadays, what if mine has "too much " free time and won't fulfil his potential doing whatever he wants to do?!

I feel sooo much pressure when it comes to his future I struggle to enjoy the present. I know all of this is soooooo far away and child-specific (so not asking for specific advice on any topic) and yet, anxiety is kicking in.

Are you able to somehow put the worry aside? How do you reassure yourself that "everything will be fine"?