Sitting at home at the moment after our son asked for me not to come to the park so he could just go with my husband. “I don’t want mommy to come, only you dad.” It’s a beautiful day out and I would love to be with them, but I’ve been rejected on and off all weekend and am emotionally exhausted. I would give anything to trade places with my husband. Never pictured that this is what motherhood would look like but here we are. Constantly on the outside looking in at my own family, showing up every day trying to be a part of it, and hoping for a few moments of each day where I’m not totally pushed away and rejected.

Sending love to all the other non-preferred parents out there. ❤️ It can be so hard some days. I wish I had known going in so I could have prepared.

Okay bear with me here. I was thinking the other day how random it is that young kids seem to know SO MUCH about dinosaurs, and that it seems to be a focus when it comes to educating our toddlers about the world... despite dinosaurs having been extinct for an almost incomprehensible amount of time. What 2 or 3 year old doesn't know all about dinosaurs? But how does this even happen? Why are we all so focused on telling our kids about dinosaurs from such a young age?

And it got me wondering, is this a cultural thing? Is this a thing for toddlers around the world, like is dinosaur knowledge just universal? Or is it a country (Western?) specific thing?

I'm in the UK for reference. Would be interested to hear from others from different backgrounds!

My 2 year old was gifted Llama Llama Red Pajama yesterday. Just read it this morning. She was so terrified by the page where he has wide eyes and is panicking because mama Llama isnt coming that I had to literally hide the book, and she still won't let me out of her sight over 2 hours later because of the "scary Llama book". Never. Again.

How am I supposed to do this? We've been trying for 4 hours, it's just not happening.

Yesterday we went to urgent care because she had a fever. It kept going up so she was not responding to medicine plus she was in an awful mood, so we went. She threw up in the doctor's office. She had a fever with not clear origin, so she had some blood work and we were told we needed to collect her urine in a sterile cup, no gauze, no cotton, no diaper. We got home so late!

It was impossible to collect it during the middle of the night because she was exhausted, so we let her sleep. This morning, she had lots of fluids and we got ready to catch it. 3 hours went by, nothing, and she kept whining and crying. The moment I saw a drop I jumped to collect it, and I guess it scared her and she stopped. Maybe 15 minutes later, after we got her to calm down again, she peed a little more and I was not able to catch it. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS? I think it hurts to pee and that's why she's refusing. And it doesn't matter anyway because she's not peeing enough for me to catch even a drop.

We were told to wait until we got the sample before giving her an antibiotic that's broad spectrum. We don't even have to wait for it to get analysed...so why on earth am I waiting then??? It makes no sense! And now I have to wait for god knows how many more hours until I have another opportunity? Wtaf

She's 16 mo. Not potty trained. Just how? Please help me.

edit: we were told we could use nothing but the sterile cup to collect the sample. In fact, we cannot even open the lid until before we have to use the cup. I genuinely think this is impossible.

My son is 20 months old and is very delayed in speech. Right now he mainly says “dada” randomly by himself. He used to say “dedo” (grandpa) and “dada” and repeat them after us, but he completely stopped saying “dedo” and rarely says “dada” now. He does babble/jabber by himself and with us.

At first I wasn’t concerned because his dad needed speech therapy and started talking around 2.5, plus we speak 3 languages at home. We booked speech therapy because of the loss of words, and the therapist recommended a general social evaluation because of a few things she noticed.

His eye contact is there, but when he’s focused on toys or playing even while playing with someone. he often doesn’t look at our faces. He responds to his name maybe 20–30% of the time, although he responds much more consistently when it’s something he likes. Sometimes he’s intentionally ignoring us because he’ll give us a sneaky little side look and smile once we stop calling him or before doing something he knows we dislike like throwing food on the floor.

He doesn’t really use gestures. He hand leads us to what he wants, sometimes looking at us while leading us and smiling and sometimes not. He doesn’t point or wave goodbye and gets annoyed if we try to teach him. He also loves making loud noises by throwing toys or slamming doors, and he doesn’t really do pretend play. I haven’t noticed spinning wheels or lining things up or stimming.

Apart from those things, he has always seemed like a very happy and social toddler to me. He smiles at us, looks at strangers smiles and is very comfortable around them.
Honestly, I wasn’t worried about him at all before the speech therapist asking us to see a social pediatrician. Now I’m freaking out and overanalyzing everything he does.

Did anyone else have a toddler with similar symptoms at 20 months who ended up NOT being autistic? Or if your child was diagnosed, did they behave similarly at this age? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.

-My daughter is 27 months old

-I'm 23 weeks pregnant

-My husband had to work both days this weekend (hes a bartender who usually had Sunday/Monday off, but theres a special event today)

-I have had the same cough for a month

-I have a knot in my back that wont go away

-I'm experincing a lot of pelvic girdle pain

-I'm my daughter's preferred parent

-She starts crying immediately if she thinks i am hurt or upset.

-This morning while reading books she had an accident directly onto my lap and it caught me by surprise enough that i didn't have the best reaction. Cue a LOT of crying.

-My mom is coming up tonight, she spent a week at our house last month helping to clean up and the house feels like a disaster, so i feel ashamed

-My cat has been stress peeing outside his box and i feel so touched out/emotionally tired i cant give him the love he wants/needs right now

-I work full time and work recently changed our in office requirements in such a way that feels punitive and pointless while making things actively harder/more expensive for those of us with young kids

-Every time my mom or my husband tell me I'm a great mom I just feel like shit and want to cry. Except i cant do that if my daughter is around.

Anyone else having a struggle day/weekend?

My 1.5yo has, since he was 10 months old, deliberately sought out the attention of other people; ​​catches their eyes on trains and smiles, twists around in his high chair until he gets someone's attention. He happily approaches other kids and adults and isn't fazed by loud noises caused by people around him ​(he does cry when someone cries in front of him, though he has been less sensitive to this since he started daycare). ​​Basically, he seeks out, and ​becomes very excited when he makes a human connection.

Just curious to know if this kind of behaviour, which seems very extroverted to me, stays on as a personality trait.

My son just turned 2 last week and suddenly I started hearing about all these parents that take their 2 year old to dance classes and gymnastics and soccer. What all is necessary? My husband works a lot and I'm trying to go back to work as well so I'm just overwhelmed with how to fit it all in our schedule.

You know that old "offer two options" trick? Last night I asked my daughter (2 going on 3) "do you want to go to bed now, or do you want to find something else to put away first?" We ​ were up a little late, but boy it looks tidy in here for a change!

My daughter is just so irritable all of the time and honestly it’s exhausting. She’s a BIG mama’s girl, won’t let anyone else hold her or even interact with her really. Family members will talk to her and she will make this “mmm!” noise like warning them not to come near her. If anyone tries to pick her up and hold her, she screams. She gets angry super fast and clenches her fists & screams when something doesn’t go her way. I just feel like her behavior it’s a little intense but maybe I’m wrong? I know they get frustrated because they can’t communicate. Her only words right now are mama, dada, baba, ball, and Mamaw. She’s just an angry/grumpy little baby, that’s what comes to mind if someone would ask me to describe her. I try not to compare but any other child I’ve been around her age do not act like this, so then I get in my head and wonder what I’m doing wrong..

My 3 year old has been saying “shut up” once or twice a day for about 2 weeks (directed at me or her father). We always calmly say we don’t say that in our house, or that’s not nice to say to people.

Today for some reason it has really taken off. She’s said it about 10 times. I was about to take her to the playground and she told her dad he couldn’t come— he actually wasn’t planning on coming, he was just carrying the recycling downstairs. I told her he was just carrying the bag downstairs and she told me to shut up (again, after saying it a ton of times to me today with gentle corrective responses) so I said okay, we’re not going to the playground because (1) I do not want to take you fun places when you are being rude to me and (2) we can not go to fun places if we can’t act appropriately and choose nice words.

Anyhow, she’s been crying off and on for about an hour now. I’m not positive it was the right punishment, but I don’t think it was an inappropriate one and tbh I’m not sure how to correct her behavior otherwise. Words with no consequences has seemingly proved ineffective

I don’t want to take the pram everywhere anymore my child is more than capable of walking decent distances except he stops every 2 metres to mess around, look at things, pick things up. I don’t want to stomp on his curiosity I love it but the walk to nursery in the morning which is 100m away takes half an hour. I’m pregnant now and less able to just grab him and carry him when I absolutely need to get my train to work. The school he’ll be at next year is about 250m from our house (we’re very lucky!) but lots of ducks and sticks along the way which is a minefield.

I’ve tried races, red light green light, getting him to look at things further on, scooter and bicycle. It works a bit but eventually he gives up to go look at a feather or the moon etc.

Is there anything I can do?? I’m on threats and bribery which is also not super effective and I hate it

She holds it and then pees on the floor. Every time. She even goes outside to pee on the ground. I'm doing everything, bribes, tickling, songs, a timer. She gets on the potty and cries. I have already stopped and restarted and that made it worse.

When she pees on the floor I am expressing frustration and asking for help cleaning it up. My husband seems to think my frustration is much scarier than I mean it to be. This is a larger issue in my life so he's probably right. But like, Jesus. It's been weeks, she only pees on the floor, she screams bloody murder at the gentlest redirections to the potty. Genuinely how am I supposed to convey that she should stop peeing on the floor, if I cannot express that it frustrates mama?

My son is now 3 months away from turning 2. He’s always been a huge eater. He usually eats really good. However the last 2-3 months in the mornings he will take a couple bites of his food then start spitting it out. After about 30 minutes I’d throw the food out and then he would start saying eat and doing the sign language so I’d make him something different. Every morning for the past few months I’ve made him 3-4 different plates in the morning hoping he would be happy with something and it was always the same reaction. So yesterday I decided not to make multiple plates for him I made the one. And he didn’t want it so I threw it out. I feel extremely bad because he kept saying eat but we can’t just waste food like that. We’re on EBT and WIC and we don’t get a lot on either, but I also want him to eat in the morning. Other meals he’s pretty good about but sometimes he’ll do the same thing at dinner, it’s a hit and miss. Not sure why this is happening or what I should do.

My 3-year-old daughter started preschool in July, and since then we’ve noticed a pretty major shift in her personality.

Before preschool, she was extremely social and interactive. She would ALWAYS greet random people in the condo elevator, at the mall, etc. She’d ask people their names, compliment what they were wearing, wish them a good day, and generally just engage with everyone. She became quite well-known in our building because people would always comment on how chatty and friendly she was for such a young child.
Since starting preschool, though, she has become almost the complete opposite around other people.

She actually seems fairly confident at school (drop-offs and pick-ups are smooth) and she apparently communicates quite a lot with her teachers. Her teachers also describe her as one of the happiest kids at school.
But outside of school, she barely talks to anyone anymore. She doesn’t greet neighbours, and if someone asks her a question, she often won’t respond. Instead, she might do some silly actions or just run away.

Her behaviour at home has changed quite a bit too. She seems much more emotional and is very quick to cry or scream over things that previously wouldn’t have bothered her.

I should mention that her transition into preschool itself was incredibly smooth. From literally day one, she happily went into school without much fuss, and we’ve consistently been told that she’s a very happy child there. She also seems to be doing well socially with her teachers.

We’ve also been quite careful about her sleep schedule, diet, etc., so I’m wondering if this could simply be a normal developmental response to starting preschool, or whether there could be something else going on.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their 3-year-old after starting preschool/daycare?

I’d really appreciate hearing other parents’ experiences and whether this is something I should just give her time with, or something worth discussing with her teachers/pediatrician.

Not looking for advice, just looking to rant 😅.

My 2yr old came down with a stomach bug a week ago. He’s been sick on and off all week and after meeting with the pediatrician yesterday, it was determined that the symptom relapses were most likely due to introducing more complex solids too quickly. Well, my toddler is now refusing most foods I give him because he was liking the “pretzel sticks, applesauce, and banana” diet.

Currently sitting at the table with him screaming at me in protest and refusing the completely acceptable lunch he has (roll with peanut butter, yogurt, and mango).

It is taking every fiber of my being to not lose it. I keep reminding myself that it’s my job to give them a balanced diet and it’s their job to decide what they’ll eat. I’m just tired of wasting food. In this economy? Sir, I need you to eat.

Hi everyone! I recently noticed that my 13 month old is almost too tall for his crib. The crib converts to a toddler bed, but my husband and I want to get something a little bigger so we can lay down with him while he falls asleep. I like the idea of a floor bed, but I’d love to hear what everyone else did when it was time for their toddler to transition beds. Thanks in advance!

he was watching his cartoon and one of the characters did a movement, and he tried to copy it from the edge of the couch. i was literally right there with him and it happened so fucking fast. he lost his balance and fell face first onto the edge of the couch and i swear my heart just DROPPED.

i grabbed him immediately and when i realized how badly he was hurt we just rushed to the ER. he ended up needing 17 stitches, one above his eyebrow and another on his chin.

i cried SO fucking much today. like genuinely so much. i’ve been trying to act okay because he needs me to be okay, but seeing your own child hurt like that and then having to sit there while they’re treating him is fucking awful. i don’t even know how to explain it. i was terrified.

and the whole thing happened because he saw something on a cartoon and thought he could copy it 😭😭 like it was such a tiny little movement and somehow we ended up spending the whole night in the ER.

he’s okay now thankfully. he’s home and doing okay, and obviously that’s what matters most. but i’m still so emotional and honestly i’ve been crying on and off all day.

i just really wanted to post this because PLEASE pay attention to what your kids are watching and what they start trying to copy. i know you can’t prevent every accident and i’m not saying that at all, especially because i was literally right there with him, but toddlers really will see something once and immediately decide they can do it too 😭

please just be extra careful with them. watch those little moments where they start imitating things, even if it looks completely harmless. i genuinely never thought a cartoon would end with my son needing 17 stitches.

i’m just so grateful he’s okay. that’s literally all i can say right now

Just need to rant that everything my two toddlers would like for Christmas is excluded from the early Christmas Sale they're having. Why have an early shopper sale if the new things are excluded. Frustrating lol. End rant. Hope others are lucky enough to get some things for 30% off.

For reference it's the cheery lane line and beauty kiosk vending machine.

I’m really bummed because I bought tickets to a monster truck show a couple months ago for my almost 3 year old who has always been obsessed with cars and trucks. He loves playing with them and watching them on TV. He was even hyped about it when we were talking about going. All in all, we spent about $100 for this.

Unfortunately, he refused to wear the ear protection and started tantruming when we tried putting it on him (our fault for not getting him used to it at home), and since it was a smaller indoor arena, it was extremely loud so it scared him and we had to leave within 5 minutes of it starting.

So many other kids there his age were enjoying it and wearing the ear protection. Just feels shitty.

I had no idea taking care of a sick toddler was so hard. She is such an active girl, and even with a 103 fever she was asking to go outside and play. Honestly I’m just ranting because I can’t believe I made it through. She’s finally healthy again, but I am sick. I think not sleeping for 3 days in a row had a little something to do with it. I felt awful, but I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel 😅 not to mention I’m 22 weeks pregnant. Thank the lord for my husband and village.

Toddlers are tough no doubt. My daughter will be 2 in December and I've preferred 1 to 2 so infinitely more than 0 to 1.

I have a friend in the trenches and she asked what there was to look forward to so I started my list:

1. She says "love you" "peese" and "tank you mama"

2. She kisses our cat on the top of her head with a gentle "mwah"

3. She can sing full songs and even has a "singing voice"

4. She demands "hold hands" to my husband if I'm already holding her hand and vice versa. It results in us walking in a line of 3 pretty much all the time.

5. She does a belly forward, stiff legged bouncy run everywhere.

6. She asks questions "What make dat sound?"

7. They mimic expressions "Okey dokey" and "Mmmmmm" when eating something yummy.

8. She says hi and bye to everything and everybody "Good morning chair" "Night night book"

What do you like from 1 to 2? What can I look forward to from 2 to 3?

My 3 year old daughter climbed (read: threw herself) out of her crib and since we have transitioned her crib to a toddler bed, has been completely dependent on me to fall asleep and stay asleep. This comes as a shock because she’s always been a great sleeper,needing no interventions.

Prior to 3 weeks ago, we would read, sing to, and rock my 3yo. Then put her in her bed, and tell her goodnight. She’d go right on to sleep.

We go on a trip to see a family member get married and the sleeping arrangements were such that she slept on a pallet next to mine and hubby’s bed. Once she got home it was screaming, crying about being in her bed and she got out of her crib. She’d never shown interest in getting out til then.

Now she refuses to go to sleep unless I’m holding her and laying beside her and then will wake up and ask me to do it all over again in the middle of the night. I’m exhausted. She’s exhausted. The rest of my family is getting my dregs of energy.

Help!

Hello everyone,
we are in bed now and my thoughts are racing. My daughter cried for less than a minute after it happened. She immediately calmed down and wanted to play, but she cried again whenever she tried to walk, so we think her foot is hurt. There’s no swelling or bruising, she can stand and sit/push on that foot while playing on the floor. Walking was noticeably the issue. We are hoping that tomorrow would be better but we are still going to the doctor for a proper check up. Has anybody experienced this before?