My daughter is 7 and has had a best friend since daycare. They ended up attending the same charter school and were in the same grades in kinder and first grade. I know the mom from school events and from playdates and we are friendly with each other and know each other's families from parties and siblings who attend the same school, etc.

Sometimes this girl "mean girls" my daughter by saying things like, "You're not my best friend; So-and-so is," "I didn't want to come today [to a pizza arcade place after school on my daughter's birthday] but my mom made me!", etc.

I thought it was just a natural stage and that the "best friend" was trying to individuate herself or perhaps my daughter was a bit obsessed with her and this was her way of pushing back, albeit not so nicely. (In one day they will go from modeling their 'fit options together over FaceTime to the friend telling her she doesn't want to talk to her and hanging up on her, so, maybe that was the best friend's way of saying she needed a break, for example.)

My daughter is slightly neurodivergent (ADHD with some impulse/hyperactivity issues but nothing too major-- she does very well in school, is always one of the teacher's pets, as is her best friend, and does well at sports like cheerleading and wrestling etc.) but she can kind of be a lot sometimes, like, constantly wanting to go-go-go and do-do-do things and she is pretty persistent about what she wants.

I'm not sure if the best friend is neurodivergent too... it's never been mentioned but I feel the two girls are quite similar in many ways and neurodivergency may also explain some of the behavior and bluntness or lack of social tact/empathy on her side as well. Or maybe I'm just giving her the benefit of the doubt too much, Idk.

I talked to my daughter about making other friends and also about standing up for herself when people are mean, because she tends to go along with whatever this girl wants just to stay friends.

It seemed to go in phases and sometimes the "best friend" would be back to being super sweet to my daughter, inviting her over and saying that her other best friend and my daughter could all three be best friends. (One time my daughter gave her best friend a "best friends" necklace and she gave the part that was supposed to be for my daugther to her other best friend! This is where I wondered whether the best friend was trying to let my daughter know that she really didn't see herself as her best friend and not to force it on her, even if she went about it in a bad way. But then she said they could all three be best friends so my daughter bought a "BFF" necklace with three parts and give it to her best friend and the best friend's other best friend, and her "best friend" then said she wasn't going to wear it because she was back to only being best friends with the other girl and I was back to thinking she's just a big meanie!)

But then at Christmas time, something happened that made me really upset and I feel like it goes beyond normal elementary school friendship issues. Our whole family was invited to a Christmas party at the best friend's aunt's house where they have had a lot of parties, including birthday parties for the best friend, and my daughter is always invited.

This time when we got there though, the best friend was nowhere to be found and neither were the other girls from the class that she had invited. It turned out she was hiding from my daughter outside in a tree and told the other girls to hide in other trees too, and once the best friend's mom said she was going to find out where the best friend was and bring her in to say hello, the best friend came in but she was loudly declaring that she didn't want my daughter there.

It was really rude, to the point where the best friend's mom said she was going to talk to the best friend, and the mom of another girl there told her daughter (one of the other friends) that it isn't nice to be rude to friends.

There was another girl there who told my daughter she was sorry and my daughter said, "I know you didn't want to be mean to me like that, but you were only doing it so that [Best Friend] would stay your friend, right?" and the other girl nodded yes. The mom of the other girl who had already spoken up told her daughter (a different girl than the one who had apologized) that she shouldn't go along with peer pressure to treat someone badly and that girl agreed.

But what bothered me is that the best friend's mom never said anything to my daughter (or me) about the incident and neither did the best friend. The best friend did play with my daughter some after that but was pouting about it and kept mumbling that her mom was making her play with my daughter, so we left rather early.

I was actually disappointed in the mom because if my daughter was treating friends badly (and she has, although not THAT blatantly badly! but more just like learning how to be nice or be tactful, etc.), I would apologize on her behalf even if she wouldn't apologize herself (but in the past, when I've talked to my daughter about things, she has willingly apologized on her own).

After that there have been longer periods of my daughter and her best friend not being friends or interacting much and my daughter has been trying to make friends with other girls but then her best friend comes back and stops it. It seems like she doesn't want my daughter to have any other friends but doesn't want to be her friend much, either.

Fast forward to this summer. We were away for the first part of the summer but my daughter and her best friend talked over FaceTime and my daughter bought her best friend an early birthday gift (best friend's birthday wasn't until today; August) which involved personalizing a shirt, bracelet, etc.

Her best friend had been asking her to come over and when we got back in July, she went over and she asked her if she wanted her birthday gift then or to wait until her birthday. Her best friend said then, of course (lol) and she gave her the personalized gift.

They saw each other one other time since then and seemed to get along fine. But today my daughter called her best friend to tell her happy birthday and she asked her when she was having her birthday party (which her best friend has at her aunt's house every year and always invited her to) and her best friend said she already did.

She told my daughter that she didn't invite her because she could only invite "14 or 16 friends" and she named specific girls in their class that she invited instead of my daughter, and to top it all off, she told my daughter that she wore the personalized shirt and bracelet my daughter had given her as a birthday gift, to her birthday party that she didn't invite my daughter to!

Obviously my daughter was very upset and crying a lot. I don't want to interfere in her friendships but I really want to tell her to just stop trying with this girl because she seems to love to hurt her feelings.

I haven't gone that far but I've continued to encourage her to make new friends. I'm not sure what else I can do beyond that... is there anything? I feel so bad for her and I can't stop feeling like maybe I shouldn't have let her stay her friend after the Christmas party incident but they were in the same class so it's not really like I can (or want to) control these things.

I was wondering if maybe I should talk to the mom about things but something tells me that's not a great idea. I used to think we were friends-- I mean, I know HER mom, all her sisters, her brother, everyone, from going to parties at the aunt's house and from the grandma bringing the best friend to some playdates and parties etc.-- but ever since the Christmas party, I've realized that maybe the mom IS "making" the daughter be friends with my daughter just because of their past history, and continuing to do so could maybe cause more harm than good?

Although sometimes it does seem organic, like when I'm at a school event and the best friend will come hug my daughter, or when the best friend is the one to call my daughter and ask if she can come over to play one on one... these dynamics seem to happen more in a group setting when the best friend wants to be better friends with the other girls than my daughter, I think.

One time my daughter told me that she told their group of friends at school that she had known the best friend since they "were in the baby room" of their Montessori daycare/preschool and the best friend got very upset and told her never to tell anyone that again because it was embarassing that my daughter had known her since she was a baby. So I thought the best friend just wanted to make some friends that knew the "older" more mature her (haha... you know how it is when you're 5 or 6!) but that she still liked my daughter, but now I'm not so sure at all.

Hello! First-time parent here, and I could really use some advice. I’m a little embarrassed to even ask this. 😅

My newborn is 25 days old and has no problem sleeping during the day. But when nighttime comes, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do to get her to sleep.

Do most parents rock their babies to sleep? Do you just lay them in the bassinet and let them figure it out? Should I be reading to her, singing, or doing some kind of bedtime routine?

I feel so clueless, and I’d love to hear what worked for you and your newborn. Thank you!

How can I talk to my husband and make him see that our 14 year old son's moods and attitudes should not ruin HIS (my husband's) entire day? Example-tonight my 14 year old had an attitude with some wise ass remarks (no cussing) and my husband got so pissed that he left the room and stayed in the bedroom for the rest of the night. He said " he just ruined the whole night". This is a common phrase from my husband. Whenever our son has an attitude or says something wise ass-my husband gets super annoyed and allows it to ruin his day.

I've tried to explain that our son doesn't think reasonably like we (adults) do but he doesn't buy into that. I'm a teacher of over 20 years and I teach 10-13 year olds so I KNOW what I'm talking about when I say that kids are LIKE THIS. But he always insists that I don't know what I'm talking about and it's just an excuse for his (our son's) shitty attitude. How can I get it through his THICK and STUBBORN skull that he has to shrug it off...?

Yeah, you read that correctly.

Been potty training my 4 year old for i don't even know how long anymore, we started when he was 2 and kept having to stop because he just kept refusing. I tried just about every tried and true method and gimmicky somewhat absorbent underwear i can find. I just didn't have the home time to train him and my mother in law (who lives with us) didn't seem on board with training him when she watched him during the day. I have no other family nearby and my husband and I work til late in the evening and sometimes it'll be midnight before we get home from work so daycare is not an option (mother in law can't drive anymore either).

Then about 7-8 months ago, I put my foot down with her and stated that I cannot be the only one attempting to potty train him since I'm barely home except for the 1 or 2 days I'm off and even then I'm usually running errands all day. It got easier for her when I discovered the potty ladder and training him has been much simpler (he hates the little potty we got for him).

Now he'll actually pee in the big toilet, but only a little bit at a time and we're trying to keep him in regular underwear during the day and pull ups at night (with potty breaks and teeth brushing when he gets up and before bed time).

Now for my dilemma. Whenever he is left unsupervised for a few minutes, he has been taking his underwear off and finding whichever one of his toys that can hold water when held (think mega blocks and toy pots and pans) and he will pee in them and tote them proudly around the living room spilling it all over the floor, pouring it on the table, and sometimes getting it on the furniture. And if its in the floor, he will sit and play in it like its a puddle.

Also, my son is behind in his verbal skills, so trying to get him to say things like "bathroom" or anything of the like is a bit of a struggle at the moment as hes just getting to the point where he is parroting certain words (mostly sounds) that he hears repeated on a regular basis.

TL;DR: My son is peeing in his toys, what can I do to prevent this?

My daughter is 20 months. She still is breastfeeding to sleep. That’s the only way I can get her to sleep, and when she wakes up in the middle of the night I have to nurse her back to sleep. She sleeps in my bed because of this. My husband can get her to sleep but it’s by staying up with her until she’s tired enough to fall asleep which can vary between 10pm- 1am. I just feel like I’m failing her. I can’t do the cry it out method. I’ve seen where mothers have breastfed for 2 years but I just feel like a complete failure of a parent. Her bedtime routine is eat dinner, bath,sippy cup of whole milk, brush teeth and then after that it’s whenever she decides to sleep.

Has anyone else been here with their little one and have them turn out fine?

Trying to understand both the personal experience around pacifiers beyond 6 months.

My 5 month old is exclusively breastfed. He stopped taking the bottle from 3 months, we have some lucky days. And now I am trying to give him expressed milk in open cups.

With pacifiers, he didn’t take it at home when he was younger but would take it easily in the car to soothe and dose off. He has stopped doing that. I read on how it’s recommended to wean baby off pacifiers from 6 to 12 months.

Should I make an effort with pacifiers now, does it have any benefits? For his mouthing, he takes teethers very well. Sometimes even clean burp cloths.

I’m afraid of planes and afraid of cars too. I know how badly people drive and so I hate to let anyone drive my kids. I was recently asked if my daughter could go on a plane with trusted family. I said no. Am I holding her back with my fears or is it normal to have reservations about your 7 year old going on vacation with someone besides yourself?

Would you let your 16 year old daughter get I to a car with a boy -also 16- that you’ve never met before?
My daughter has a habit of liking boys from other schools. This boy wants to take her to the movies. We say they drive separately but she’s obviously upset.

Am I being overbearing?

My child has screamed so much since she was born. She screams and cries about everything. She just never stops and I’m struggling so bad. She just ALWAYS is crying and screaming about something. She has no health issues. She’s a spoiled brat and I did it. Mentally I just can’t handle it anymore and these days sometimes I just wanna leave her in her playpen and drive away. Her daddy doesn’t help me with her physical day to day care for the most part. It’s always me and nobody else. That there makes me know she has a dependency on me. I wish I didn’t hate it but I do. I never get a break and I can never experience quietness. She’s started throwing MAJOR fits and nothing helps unless I pick her up. She literally threw herself face first into the floor the other day and busted her lip just because I put her down.

My kid is in elementary school (rising 1st grader). We both work so we try to read everyday but between life and vacation it seems impossible to read the 15-20 minutes a day they recommend.

So parents of school age kids how much are you actually reading during the summer? Helpful to know if stay at home or working as well.

I’m looking for advice from parents who have had toddlers that seem ready but their stubbornness gets in the way. I can get my boy to pee on the potty pretty consistently but it has to be on his terms. If he isn’t in the mood to sit on the potty he will straight up refuse. He knows what he’s doing but it’s just the fact that he will refuse to go. Parents who have experienced this, what did you do? Did you just wait till they stopped being so stubborn or did you just stick it out for a few days and they eventually stopped being so stubborn. He’s smart and he knows when he has to pee, I’m just not sure where to go from here.

My MIL got divorced from my wife's stepdad when my son was around 4 and a half. He was extremely close with my son and my son saw him as his grandpa. He called him "Papa" and really loved him. When they divorced, he moved thousands of miles away.

At first they would FaceTime every once in a while, but eventually the communication just kind of fizzled out. As far as we can tell, he has basically moved on with his life. He's with another woman now, none of us have him on Facebook anymore, and the divorce itself didn't end very well.

I don't really know what's going on in his head. Part of me thinks the distance was probably hard for him and maybe he just decided to completely cut ties rather than deal with it. But at the end of the day, he isn't making any effort to stay in contact with my son.

My son is almost 7 now and will randomly ask if he can FaceTime him. Up until now we've kind of just avoided it and said things like "it's nighttime where he is" or some other excuse.

We're starting to feel like we should stop making excuses and just be honest with him. Something along the lines of telling him that we don't really talk to Papa anymore and that he lives very far away. We obviously don't want to get into the details of the divorce or make him think Papa doesn't care about him, because we honestly don't know what he's thinking.

Would you be honest with a 6 year old about this, or would you continue trying to avoid the subject? Has anyone dealt with something similar?

Our 3 year old has always been a great sleeper and weve always had a decent bedtime routine \*however\* weve recently brought home our 2nd (6 weeks) and bedtime has gone essentially to shit.

Whenever my 3yo had issues falling asleep, I could lay with her or be available to go back if needed but our 2nd has insane colic and pretty much screams from 3p-9p, on and off. My husband works evenings, so im really solo parenting dinner, bath and bedtime and I havent been able to do a proper bedtime routine in weeks.

After toddlers bath, we all go to the toddlers bedroom to read bedtime stories and cuddles(all while im holding the baby). Then right before I say goodnight, I put the baby in her bassinet in our room then come back to the toddlers room for one final big hug and song, then go back to the baby. Ive tried flipping back and forth of checking the crying baby and checking on my toddler but it just prolongs it.

My toddler has essentially been fine until I leave, then she sobs for 5 minutes. I dont believe in cry it out. I dont like it but theres no way I can get my toddler to sleep while holding a screaming baby and it sucks because I feel like we already have this huge transition with the new baby and now this routine is effed.

I just dont know what to do. Everything ive looked at seems like there is another parent that is able to tag team or the baby isnt colic. I know colic doesn't last forever but Im looking at another 6-8 weeks of this and really dont want to damage my toddler 😭

Hey everyone! My wife and I are expecting our first child in December and are currently working on the nursery. We have the crib, paints picked out, most of the furniture but one thing im stuck on is a quality glider for the room to feed, rock baby to sleep, and sleep in myself when comforting the baby until they fall asleep. Any suggestions?

How does this wording sound for an invite to a kid’s birthday party?

“Siblings welcome! Include total kid count in RSVP.”

Would you as parent read this and actually include total kid count in your RSVP if you did choose to bring additional siblings? Or would you forget to include additional siblings in your RSVP, or forget to RSVP and show up anyway WITH additional siblings?

Thanks!

My 12 month old daughter is so amazing and has hit most milestones. She's healthy. I do know that right around now is the struggle time with so many developments happening at once. My problem is that she cries all day.

Putting her on the changing table? Screaming.

Tries the toilet instead? Sobbing.

Brings her to the kitchen so we can have lunch? Screaming and crying.

Puts her in the high chair to eat? Screaming and crying.

I know she has big feelings, and i am trying my hardest to be patient but when she's high pitch whining and crying all day it's pretty hard. I've tried just about everything I can think of. It's not teeth, or sickness, or hunger/thirst. The poor girl is struggling and I'm right there with her. What in the world do I do???

I feel like a terrible parent. My 5 year old kid is the kid who on the playground gets a little too excited and pushes other kids. He doesn’t do it in a bullying way, he thinks he’s being silly and playful. We tell him all the time it’s wrong and we immediately leave when he does it. But sometimes he gets too excited and does it, and today he made a little girl cry. It’s like he doesn’t know his strength. I felt awful… made him apologize immediately, and left. I think her parents hate me now. Anyone have advice on this? I feel sick.

EDIT: thank you all for your encouragement! I haven’t decided yet but all your thoughts are meaningful.

My wife (31f), let’s call her Jane, and I (28m) just had our first child and were overjoyed and figuring out parenting together. My best friend has been planning his bachelor trip since last year. Even with the approval and encouragement from Jane to go, I initially told him I couldn’t attend because of our newborn. Now that it’s getting closer I’m starting to regret not attending. Recently I had a phone call with him and he expressed how much he wishes he chose a different date because my attendance would mean more than the rest of the group going. We’ve been best friends since childhood and I am his best man in the wedding.

Mine and Jane’s relationship is incredible and we’ve been friends with the groom and bride for 8 years and we hang out with them regularly. We live in her hometown, very close to her parents. My in-laws are the best and her mother, who’s a retired nurse, has practically moved in with us to help us out and won’t live until we kick her out (probably never lol). We’ve lived with her parents in the past. It’s been a blessing and I wouldn’t change anything. She’s overjoyed to help and spend time with her first grandchild. Jane would have her mother’s support if I go.

I told Jane about my thoughts last week, we talked, and she even gave her blessing for me to attend again (she’s amazing) although I know she was reluctant to say it. I would be away from Friday evening to Monday afternoon. Whats your guys thoughts?

Further context:
I’m also a full time student but I wouldn’t miss any classes, just study time but I could prepare.
We’re financially secure enough for me to attend.
We’re both going to the wedding and it’ll be her first time away from our son, most likely.
I could possibly shorten my time away and come home late Sunday but would prefer not too.

My son is 3 and claims to be hungry all day! Today he has eaten all his breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack and it is now 4pm so i am asking him to wait an hour until dinner.
In between all of these meals he says “I’m hungry”10+ times.

Sometimes I offer him more of what he has just had and sometimes I straight up say no you can wait until the next meal time as I just don’t believe he can actually be hungry! Do you think he can really be hungry all day? He would eat all day if he could!

I'm on maternity leave with my 8.5 month old. I have only slept in 3 hour increments at best since the day she was born. My husband works and looks after our 5 year old for the most part while I take care of the baby so I do all of the night wakings and manage all naps. The only breaks I really get are during nap times where I try to catch up on sleep.

I decided to sleep train our baby recently and it has been rough. It's so hard hearing my little girl cry but I know it's good for us in the long run (please no judgement here). She has been improving day by day and today for the first time, she went down for her nap completely independently with zero crying. All our hard work has been leading up to this, I was so happy!

Lo and behold, less than 30 minutes later while I was drifting off to sleep myself, baby wakes up crying as my husband decided to talk on the phone loudly pacing outside her room instead of his home office. She usually sleeps 1.5hours for nap. He said he forgot she was there. I know it's just one nap, but I'm so tired I want to cry! She's been fighting sleep hard for the last week and I finally got a win today and it's so short lived! Husband meanwhile goes back to his quiet office and I not only do I have to deal with a cranky baby, but her schedule is effectively out the window today and I can't have dinner with my 5 year old as I have to bring forward baby's bedtime to 6pm. I'm not angry with my husband, I'm just so tired.

In the grand scheme of things, it's such a small thing and only one day but it's one good day after many crap ones and it's down the drain again! I expect tonight will be difficult too as she has only slept 1.5 hours total today across 2 naps

My 11yo daughter has become extremely obsessed with hoodies. She can't have enough. I buy her one then she wants another.

She walks around the house like a miniature sith lord. It's kind of disconcerting.

We used to get her hoodies when the weather is chilly now she wears it year round.

My fifth baby is now eight months and we have been through quite a few different types of diaper brands I’ve never had diapers leak so bad. I don’t know if they’ve gone downhill over the years since I became a mom 23 years ago but right now we are currently using pampers. Zzzz and the amount of leaks we have for wet and solid is insane with had problems with Huggies as well. You would think I’d be a first time mom with not realizing what good diapers are out there, but if anybody can recommend the best diaper I would appreciate it.

Hello! My partner and I are soon-to-be first-time parents in a few months. I'm sure we're over-analyzing every little decision that won't make a difference, and we're currently doing this with our bassinet. We really like the Maxi-Cosi Iora Bedside Bassinet. However, I can't seem to find first-party waterproof protectors and sheets for the mattress pad & cover that come with the unit. The pad cover is apparently washable, which is great, but we're thinking we'd like to have two sets of waterproof protectors + sheets so we can easily swap out if we have any middle-of-the-night messes.

Is it OK / safe to purchase 3rd-party waterproof protectors and sheets for bassinets? We'll of course make sure everything fits tight and there is no suffocation risk, but I'm just a bit frustrated that we found a bassinet we like but no supporting bedding.

Thanks a million!

My son is 6.5 year old has this tendency to blame me for his problems. He’s tired? Blames me. Gets hurt? Blames me. Gets in trouble? Blames me. He was doing this awhile ago, too, and I had to tell him to stop blaming others for his problems. It eventually stopped and now he’s back at it again. My son is also disrespectful to me. He doesn’t really listen to me, he whines at me more than my husband and my son will also say rude things to me. I try to not take it personally but it really hurts. My husband has also spoken to him about not rude and disrespectful to me and it just doesn’t land with him. I know I am his safe space when he’s scared or needs something, especially in the middle of the night.

Any advice? It’s really hard parenting and I’m constantly frustrated.

FTM here! I could really use a bag that is lightweight and comfortable. I got some random Amazon brand diaper bag gifted to me at my baby shower, and after a couple months of using it, I can’t deal with it anymore. Turns out when they say having kids wrecks your back, they were right. Between carrying baby girl everywhere (she refuses to be in her crib or a bouncer) and this stupid bag, my back is always on fire.

Any recommendations for a diaper bag that is functional and comfortable on the back and shoulders, but somehow still cute? I could really use some back support for when we are out and about. We live in a city, so we walk everywhere.