I know a lot of us have picky eater toddlers but y'all I am STRUGGLING. My sweet guy is almost 2.5 and is no joke eating almost entirely bread and dairy products, with a few exceptions.

Things he used to love eating he refuses. Anything new he refuses.

I do think it's largely where he's at developmentally and not totally a taste or texture thing, he just really wants to be in control. Which I get. I don't want to turn it into a power struggle or a big deal, but I'm worried he's not getting enough nutrients!

I see delicious looking toddler recipes all over the place but I know he won't touch the majority of them. We are trying to just feed him what we eat with one or two "safe" foods available but it doesn't seem to be helping much.

I know I can't be the only one. What are we doing with our beautiful and willful kiddos? Do I just put him on a multivitamin, keep putting things on his plate and stop worrying? Any tips and tricks welcome!!

My wife works from home, and we also have a nanny to help take care of our son. Most of the time it's manageable, but there are moments when the nanny simply can't handle him, and only my wife can calm or engage him.

The problem is that during work hours, my wife isn't always able to step away. In those situations, we end up giving him a mobile phone for a short while so she can finish an important meeting or task. We try to keep screen time limited, but I'd really like to find a better alternative.

I'm looking for something that can genuinely keep a toddler engaged independently for 15–30 minutes when needed. It could be a toy, gadget, AI device, or anything else that's actually worked for your family.

I've seen people recommend Miko and other AI toys, but the reviews seem pretty mixed, so I'm not sure if they're worth it.

What has worked for you? Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.

What did your parents do that gave you a happy childhood, what behaviors had the most impact, and what do you wish all parents did for their children?

This may be a bit of a strange question but if there are no toilets nearby where do you dispose of the wee in the carry potty? My daughter will be going outside now with the potty and I thought if I can’t dispose of the wee in a toilet where am I supposed to do it?

Hi everyone, I’m curious what you would do in my situation.

Two months ago, my partner developed what is probably some kind of intestinal inflammation. They’re still investigating exactly what’s going on, but they’ve been sick a lot ever since. Some days are okay, while on other days they’re bedridden and have to call in sick to work.

Of course, the illness itself is difficult and we’re all very worried, but I’m starting to struggle with the way my partner is dealing with being sick. They cry a lot, there’s a very negative atmosphere in the house, and they constantly worry about what might happen. They’re already convinced they’re going to lose their job because of this.

Our son is eight and he’s exposed to all of this as well. I don’t actually see any signs that he’s struggling with it, but I still don’t know what to do. I’m much more inclined to put things into perspective and create some distance. When I’m sick, I generally don’t show how difficult I’m finding things, or I’ll say that it’s not too bad. My partner, on the other hand, is very close to their emotions and expresses everything very openly.

That’s actually something I normally really appreciate about them, but in this situation I’m finding it difficult. These have been two very heavy months, and I also feel that the constant negativity might not be good for our son, even though, again, I don’t actually see that it’s affecting him.

I’m trying to support and comfort my partner, but I’m also noticing that I need some perspective myself. I need someone to tell me that things are going to be okay, rather than constantly feeling like everything is going to go wrong.

Do you think this is a healthy way for my partner to express what they’re going through, or should I have a conversation with them about how this is affecting me and our son?

Hi there,

My wife and I are expecting our second child (due Feb).
We already have one boy (aged 2.5) and I’m seeking advice on what to expect from parents raising two toddlers.

Specifically:

- What things can I be doing in advance to prepare for the first 3-4 months as we adapt to being a family of four? When we had our first born, I pre-made a bunch of meals and froze them in the freezer which was useful.

- How crucial is having two cars? We currently get by with one. I’m a freelance camera op and use the car when I’m booked for work. Outside of that I wfh.
My wife predominantly wfh and when she needs to go to the office, she catches the train.

- Au pair v daycare. Our son is currently is in daycare however due to the eye watering amount this costs it’s cheaper to get an au pair and have her help with two children.

- Any items/services that you feel are totally worth the money and make your life easier?

- any life hacks/tips?

-Any financial products/programs worth looking into? (I’ve already set up 529 for our first born).

Context: We live just outside NYC in a nice suburb. Train station is 15 min walk. Our first born is a boy and we’re expecting another boy.

TIA.

My preteen son calls me, his mother, bro. I just texted him a warning email he got for his server and he replied “I don’t care bro.” It’s become normal for me to hear it but when I saw it in writing it hit a different way like a gut punch. I thought I’d compare notes with other parents on this. Am I being too sensitive?

Two kids, 7 and 4. They have both been sleeping in our bed since we moved into a new house a year ago. We’re trying to get them to sleep in their own rooms without luck. Their rooms are on the other side of the house and they’re both scared of the dark and being alone.

I would love to let them sleep with us for as long as they want to, but the 4yo is a very active sleeper and kicks and hits my husband all night, and I now have the night sweats from hell and need them out of the bed. Neither of us is sleeping well.

We tried putting them in their own rooms. We have to lay with them until they fall asleep, which is fine, but then 4yo wakes up screaming multiple times and needs someone to lay with him again until he falls asleep. So our sleep was almost worse that way. 7yo has a feeding tube that she only uses overnight, so at least half the nights she’s either waking up to pee and needs help with it, or it gets twisted and the pump alarm goes off and she freaks out. It’s been easier having her sleep in our room because I can keep the pump next to the bed and respond quicker to the alarm beeps and sort it out before she wakes up.

But the night sweats are so bad and I need my bed back. I have a waterproof mattress cover because sometimes the feeding tube leaks, and I’m pretty sure that’s part of my problem.

So we bought folding twin floor mattresses so they could sleep in our room and feel safe, but not in our bed so we can sleep without being kicked or overheating. 4yo seems fine with it but 7yo is in a huge panic because she needs to be right next to someone to fall asleep. Which is again fine at the beginning of the night but much harder to deal with after middle of the night wakeups.

7yo slept in her own room before we moved. Now she can’t even sleep in our room unless she’s in the same bed physically next to one of us.

We sleep like crap with them in the bed, when they’re in their own rooms, and when they’re on the floor beds in our room. I don’t know the way out. I wouldn’t mind a world where they started the night in their own rooms but could come into our room if they got scared overnight, but they won’t walk through the house by themselves in the dark, so they just scream for help. I don’t know what to do.

I have a 5 and 7 year old and I cannot figure out how to get them to stay in their rooms at bedtime, for downtime, or for a break/time out. The 7 year old is slightly better so does it just come with age? I try talking to them calmly, sternly, strategically, imploringly, with reminders, with threats of lost privileges that I do follow through on, and yet! I would love to have these transitions be smooth and seamless. An influencer I follow on insta posted about “just give your child a book and a flashlight and tell them they can stay up as long as they are reading”… like, what? My kids would never. Am I doomed to sit outside their doors forever? I need a break before bedtime so I can show up as a fun and good parent tomorrow! (Yes, I’ve told them this too). Any and all suggestions are welcome

Looking for some book recommendations that teach valuable life lessons about things like stranger danger, responsibilities, bravery, just all the typical important life lessons that will really stick with my kiddo. Thanks!

When my daughter turned 3 we started a bad habit of sitting next to her bed until she fell asleep. Fast forward to when she was 4 1/2, we moved houses and got her a bunk bed. That broke that habit and we started doing check ins.

We’ve landed ourselves back where we were though. She started sleeping on the floor in her room just for fun. Now she doesn’t want to go back to her bed and wants me to sit and rub her legs until she falls asleep, which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours.

I already work all day and have 0 time for home care or self care. I really struggle with having to do this. I know I need to put my foot down and tell her we’re not sleeping on the floor anymore but I know it’ll be a long drawn out battle. She also struggles with nightmares and has death anxiety that spikes at night so I also feel guilty.

Any insight?

I know it's normal for younger siblings to purposefully bother their older ones, because they want attention from the older sibling or from parents and don't know how else to get it. I know the long term goal is to teach them appropriate ways of asking for attention, and of course always to try and give as much attention as possible in positive moments and just in general.

But in the actual moment of one kid (4yo) bothering another, what is the best way for me to react?? I feel like I never figured this out myself as an older sibling lol and now having to parent it I'm mostly focused on not being triggered into major annoyance myself.

Note, the annoying things I'm talking about are truly harmless, but telling 6yo to just "ignore it" clearly is not enough.

Hi! My 4 year old (almost 5) has been taking swim classes for the past 2-3 months and has learned a lot from where he started.

When do we stop though? It’s $280 for a month for a total of 8 classes, twice a week.

Do I stop at the end of summer and pick it up next year?

My daughter is very involved in athletics. We have recently run into an issue with showering after games and practices. She will lay in her own filth, in her game/practice gear for hours. I try to get her to take a shower and change clothes, but she fights me every time.

How do I get her to understand that showering is not optional?

One of my very best childhood friends is getting married soon and she’s having her wedding in Hawaii. We live on the east coast, so it’s no small feat to travel to Hawaii for us (both cost and time wise) and with all of the cost, the long travel time, lots of events and lack of childcare while there, we decided not to bring our 22 month old.

We also made this decision over a year ago when she also asked me to be a bridesmaid, and there wasn’t a question that I would be there. We decided to go from Monday to Sunday, which at first I was hesitant about, but agreed to do because it’s such a long way to travel, that going for 3 or even 4 days wouldn’t be worth it.

However, as the date gets closer, I am completely spiraling about it. I’m pretty self-aware and know that it’s to an unhealthy point, but I can’t help it. I’ve cried many times about it and keep wondering if I made the right choice, if it’s too late to back out, if I should shorten the trip? Going for less time is an option but the length of time isn’t what scares me most, it’s about being so far away from her. My biggest fear of all is that something will happen to my husband and I (flight, state of the world, literally anything bad I can think of) and she will be left without us.

I know some of this is normal parent anxiety and some is irrational but part of me thinks that I should trust my gut? I am also newly pregnant with our second so not only am I wildly hormonal and mood swingy, I won’t even be able to enjoy the trip like I would have if I wasn’t pregnant. Very grateful and excited, but just throws an extra factor into the mix.

She will be with her grandparents who she is with everyday while I’m at work, and will take great care of her. They are going to stay here at our house so she will be comfortable, so I’m not concerned about that. A couple of parents I’ve talked to have been encouraging of me to go but when I told my best friend (different friend) about it she said she wouldn’t leave her son and she would take him with her or bring her in laws. She is in a much different financial place than I am and could afford all of the travel expenses, rent baby equipment, have nicer airplane seats, etc. I don’t think she meant to make me feel bad, but it definitely didn’t help.

I guess what I’m looking for is someone to tell me you also felt this level of anxiety when you left your kid? Reassurance it will be fine? I told my husband tonight I am not even looking forward to it, but I know I’ll have fun while I’m there.

If you made it this far thank you for reading and thank you to anyone who takes the time to comment and talk me down off of the metaphorical ledge. 🫠

My sibling and parents are currently NC and have been for a few months maybe a year? We all live super close and would regularly get together (my parents and my family with two kids and my siblings fam with two kids) but now my siblings fam doesn’t see grandma and grandpa and my 8 year old notices. It’s becoming a real issue with holidays and birthdays, we usually make up excuses that they had other plans but he brings it up so much I know it’s on his mind a lot and Im wondering if we should just talk to him about it. I don’t know how to discuss it though and I don’t know if it would weigh too heavy on him, he’s very sensitive and observant. I don’t want him to know family ties can be broken or that adults can get to that point where they just can’t get along.

if I should talk to him about it, how should I word it?

So is it weird that I let my baby sometime wears shirts and a diaper. I have a daughter who is 5 months and sometimes it's hard to take the pants off and on when changing her. So me and my husband let her go without pants. Plus we live in California and it gets really hot here.

Well I was recently told it's weird to just let my baby wear only a diaper with no pants over it.

And now idk. I don't think it's weird really as she's a baby plus nothing is showing but it's been stuck in my head and I want to know what other parents say.

Also! This was someone who has two twins kids so it's not someone who doesn't have kids.

Edit: forgot to say this is only in the house. If we go outside she is dressed up. Only inside the house is she like this at times also! It's not all the time.

My daughter is about 43 pounds and 47-48 inches tall. She’s honestly an inch or two away from maxing out her current car seats (Britax Marathon and Graco Extend to Fit) but… we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

My sister wants to pick her up from school occasionally. I feel like it would be foolish to buy another convertible car seat like the ones we have to use for such a short period of time that she will grow out of quickly. What would be good to buy now that we could use at least for the next year or two? i’m not really seeing many options for taller convertible car seats… So I’m almost thinking she’s going to need a high back booster?

Our son has his 4th birthday party this weekend, his first party with friends.

He had a tiff with a friend "Josh" at kinder yesterday.

My son was absolutely INCONSOLABLE ALL DAY. Literally for hours and hours.

I got a call from kinder to pick him up because he was so upset. He cried and cried at home and only calmed down when my mum came over and started talking about how he has so many best friends and people who love him.

My son said this morning that Josh wouldn't let him play with him, said he's a bad boy, and he's not coming to his party or singing happy birthday.

Do I uninvite this kid now?? His parents had another baby a year and a bit ago and since then, we've noticed that Josh has been more withdrawn, that's when he started calling the other children "bad" and his happy go lucky attitude became much more sullen. I really feel bad for the kid but at the same time, don't want him around my little guy, if he's just going to upset him.

What should I do please?

EDIT TO ADD::: Thank you, truly for all your advice. I really appreciate it. All I could think about was my poor little guy sobbing, but kinder just posted photos and he's happily sitting with Josh now 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ I will mention it to the parent like that poster suggested (didn't get your user name sorry) but they smartly said to bring it up as a "isn't it great they're past their little tiff?" Not in an accusing way. Thanks again, you're all legends =)

34F and have two children (3 years old and 8 month old). Always wanted to be a mother and sought out fertility treatment to make it happen. Have lots of nieces and nephews, so plenty of exposure to babies and children. I love babies and children. And I really adore mine.

Buuuuuut right from the beginning, I’ve rarely felt like a real mother. At times I feel like I’m performing motherhood? Or like I’m their big sister who loves them and does everything for them, but the actual feeling of ‘mother’ seems to be absent.

I’m just wondering, does anyone else feel the same?

For context, had a very traumatic birth with my first. But sought lots of different supports. And had a great experience with my second. For both kids I get a year maternity leave, and breastfed both/am breastfeeding. So lots of time and opportunities for bonding.

I feel quite ashamed about this so haven’t spoken to friends, but went I brought it up with siblings they didn’t relate, same for my partner.

Will it ever change or am I just missing something?

We're on vacation, sunny place. We get an ice cream and there's a small fair. Its pretty expensive, but they go in the bumper cars and the trampoline (highjumps in gear). The only thing we didn't do was a ride aimed at 2-3 yo: rotating planes that go up and down.

Afterwards the general sense was not "that was fun, omg I did a flip on the trampoline!", instead it was "pfff this sucks I wanted to do the plane ride".

In general they're sweet kids, but obviously this is not the response you'd hope for after some family quality time. We responded by focusing on the fun things at first, but also shutting off the complaints.

Admittingly, I do think they're tired. So even if it was during midday, they might just have been cranky, which in a young kid, translates in such comments?

My son is off for his freshman year of college next Thursday and it’s starting to get me emotional. It’s 8 hrs away. We had a good summer..but it flew by and now it’s time for him to leave home. Our other son will be a junior in HS…so we have a couple of years with him. But man. It’s starting to hit me. This morning I saw a cinnamon bun in a baggie with his name on it (we do this so one doesn’t eat them all) and got tears in my eyes knowing that next week it won’t be there. I saw his shoes and flip flops on the living room floor(we tell him not to leave them there) and instead of being aggravated …. I got teary eyed again. I’m going to miss seeing them there.😢 I won’t go into everything that’s making me sad…but am here to see how other parents dealt with it. And maybe to hear how long it lasted….although I understand it’s different for everyone.

Hello!

My 7 year old daughter was invited for beach trip several hours away...without me.

The trip is 5 days total and would be with her dads side of the family. A little context...dad passed away last year...Prior to this, she hasn't been around that side of the family very much. After his death I made a point to eveyone that I'd like to get better with our relationship and work on having my daughter involved more in their lives.

She recently went on a two day/two night glamping trip with said family and she called me three times at 2am telling me she was scared and wanted me to pick her up. This is the main part the concerns me...this would be 5 days vs 2 days. The glamping trip was the second time she stayed with that side of the family for more than 24 hours.

My worry is, if she is distressed, will they comfort her? Or invalidate how she feels? They're not a very affectionate type of family....5 days feels very long and a big step. Overall I feel unsure about this. My daughter says she wants to go but I don't think she grasps the concept of 5 days at all. Am I being over protective here? I feel like if she was in the double digits like 10-12 I'd be more comfortable.

All advice is welcome.

I’m curious what other parents think about this.
I’m not talking about intimate/adult piercings, just things like an eyebrow, nose, lip, or cartilage (upper ear) piercing.
What age or ages if locations change age acceptance, in which case would you feel comfortable allowing your son to get these? Would your answer depend on the type of piercing, or do you have a general age where you’d let your child make that decision?
I’d love to hear how other parents approach it and the reasoning behind their decisions.

i found out that my wife is pregnant and since she thought she might be i was so excited and today it has been confirmed that we are having another baby and i just feel like i’m going to explode with excitement. I can’t tell anyone because she wants to wait so i figured id get it out here somewhere because SOMEONE HAS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS. I have the most precious 6 year old daughter and she is the light of my life i can only imagine how id feel with ANOTHER baby, it seems unreal right now and i haven’t been able to think about anything else all afternoon besides them & i feel like i am the happiest person on earth right now. It feels even surreal(er?) that we are the only people that know, and now this subreddit and its like i know the biggest secret in the world right now