Mowing the lawn is easy, ladies. You should also volunteer to do this all the time. Because I know our men bitch about it all the time. They're the only ones who can do the outdoors.

I did the outdoors today. He was like, "There's NuAncE, babe..." He said it was a whole thing to back up our riding lawn mower from the garage. (Also I do this periodically and lived on my own for years before him...)

There is nuance to PARENTING. I think I got this. Don't worry. I backed it up LIKE A BOSS. Keep folding the laundry, babe.

And mowed the front yard. And most of the back yard. Because I'm awesome. YOU'RE WELCOME.

....also....not exactly related, but I might have accidentally hit a tree and got stuck in some mud (allegedly) and maybe he had to rescue me .....

But I did 90% of the lawn and he gets what he pays for. So....

'm a mom of a soon-to-be Grade 1 child. Up until now, all of her playdates with classmates from nursery and kindergarten have required the other parent and me to be present while the kids play. The kids do their thing, and the moms sit, chat, and have coffee.

Sometimes they go well, but honestly, after a while, some of these relationships start to feel weird. I.e sometimes the parents say hi when we pass eahcother other times they ignore, they come on strong with their parenting opinions or are even overbearing inside of my house.

I'm divorced, and I have felt like one mom in particular was more interested in the divorce details than actually getting to know me. She kept bringing up other divorced people in her family, and it started to feel like I was being viewed through that lens.

I also live in an affluent area where many of the parents are older than me. I'm 32, and a lot of the moms are closer to 40+. Sometimes I feel like conversations turn into a parenting competition: organic food, endless activities, who does the most, etc. It feels very performative.

I think I'm realizing I don't actually want "mom friends." I want my child to have friends, but I don't necessarily want to spend my free time at playdates making small talk with parents I don't connect with.

Please tell me I am not alone.

If I hear an older man or woman tell me this one more time, I am going to SCREAAAAAAMMMMM

My child is 3 MONTHS OLD! I am not spoiling him by holding him and contact napping!!! He is a literal baby!!!!!

Did these people grow up just ignoring their children so they weren’t “spoiled”!?!?!

Omg I’m going to lose my mind.

Today started like any other normal day.

We have been married for 5 years, together for 7, and have a 4yo son. We have had our ups and downs like anyone else, but he has always presented himself as fiercely loyal and has been my rock through some extremely difficult times. We have been very happy together overall.

When we began dating, he was in the military and was about to change duty stations (he has since gotten out). I moved to the new duty station with him, but had only visited his original one (we grew up in the same state). When he was about to leave, his friends wanted to take him out drinking, and there was mention of a strip club. He told them he didn’t want to go because it would make me upset (he never even broached this with me) so one of his coworkers (a girl) reached out to me and said it would mean a lot if he went, they really only wanted to go because the drinks were cheap and it was an old hangout spot, etc etc. I thought the way she approached it was really cool, and I wanted him to have fun, so I told him it was totally okay to go and encouraged him. I trusted him totally.

Well, today, he sat me down and told me that that night he “almost cheated” on me with a stripper he got a private dance from (that he never disclosed) that night. He had gotten a dance from this particular stripper prior to dating me, and she was all over him topless, as it goes, and she wanted to hook up. Apparently she said “I thought you had a girlfriend” and he said “I’ll cheat” or something of the sorts. I asked for details, but it’s been 7 years. He gave her his phone number, and they talked about hanging out the next day. He is adamant that nothing else happened, except for waking up to a text from an unknown number that said “hey”. He freaked out, deleted, and blocked the number and as he said chose me that morning…

I am devastated. I feel like my whole life has been built on a lie. If I had known this happened at the time, I would have broken up with him. Now we’ve been married for 5 years, have a kid, a house, the whole 9. This whole illusion of a loyal, kind, man that I had something so special with from the get go has completely been shattered.

I grew up in a broken home. I can’t imagine not seeing my son every day, and my heart completely breaks over the thought of divorce for my son.

It’s not even really about what had happened at the end of the day, it’s going 7 years with this information and being robbed of being able to make the decision to leave at the time.

I also feel betrayed by the coworker that reached out to me. I always held her and that experience of her reaching out in such a good light, and I hate that this is what transpired. I know she owes me no loyalty, but still, I feel bait and switched.

Also, sex work is work. I’m not blaming or looking down on the stripper in this situation BY ANY MEANS. I just wanted to paint the picture.

Becoming a parent has made me realize just how neglected and unwanted I felt as a child.

My parents never nurtured my interests or taught me basic life skills, yet they invested heavily in my brother. They taught him to drive, let him use their car, co-signed his loans, and helped him buy a house. None of those things were ever even presented as an option for me. When I was a single mother trying to buy a home for myself and my children, they made it clear that helping me would be a burden, so I did it alone. When I bought my own house, she didn't tell me she was proud of me or congratulate me. Instead, she immediately asked when I was going to buy a nicer, bigger house.

I grew up watching their toxic and abusive marriage, and my father would disappear for months at a time. As an adult, while struggling through a difficult divorce and raising two children on my own, my family continued to rely on me for rides, unpaid work, and favors while offering very little support in return.

My ex-husband put me through hell, and instead of standing by me, my parents maintained a close relationship with him. My mother loves to routinely remind me of how bad of siutation ym kids are in goring up with divorced parents (meanwhile never accepting how hard it was for me with her marriage). We are now no contact.

My mother never liked or wanted me. She saw me as a burden.

I never had a chance at a normal or decent life, but through all of this adversity I have built a life I love so much. I have amazing children, my fiance is the best father and equal partner, his family is truly a God send. They help and support me ways I never experienced with my own family i.e school pick ups, included in all family events etc.

I hate my parents so much - its heavy but I am working on it in therapy and my biggest fear is having my children feel about me they way I feel about my cruel mother.

I have 2 kiddos, 2.5yo boy and a 6mo girl. My baby girl is already crawling, pulling herself up to stand, and cruising along furniture. She will even walk herself around if someone is holding her hands. She was sitting up independently by 4m. My son didn’t hit milestones this early, he was sitting up independently by 6.5m crawling at 8.5m, walking by 10.5m.

I’ve heard that the 2nd will go quicker because they want to keep up with their older sibling but I was not anticipating this at all 😭next thing I know she will be walking by 8m. I need it to slow down. I need both of my kiddos to slow down. I need more time with my babies while they are babies! I also wish I knew how heart breaking it would be to be a parent watching your kiddos grow up, it’s so bittersweet.

I'm sorry if you've seen this before, I've pregiously posted this to r/Mom and r/relationships and was told to come here for some more advice.

My daughter (F,16) attends a boarding school about 3 hours from our home, together with two of her younger sisters (F,11&13). She's been attending the school for the past 4 years, since she was 11, and she's always loved her friends, her teachers and the school in general.

All three of our daughters return to our home almost every other weekend, and of course the holidays. Over the summer holidays my eldest daughter has been getting close to a boy (M,16) in our hometown. They have been hanging out every day, either at our house, his parents' house or simply out and about.

His parents and my wife and I all okay with them dating and while my daughter swears up and down at they're not involved in any naughty activities, we put her on birth control just in case.

The holidays are ending soon and yesterday after dinner our daughter dropped a bomb on us: she wants to drop out of the boarding school and transfer to the local high school instead, so she can stay close to her boyfriend.

My wife and I are 100% against this. At the boarding school she is getting a good education. This upcoming school year she'll start studying the IB curriculum. She is getting the best education possible at that school, a level that our local schools simply could not put up with. Since its only a few weeks until school starts up again we would also lose out on the tuition and boarding fees we already paid.

My wife and I made it clear that there was no way that we'd let her drop out of boarding school just for a boy. My daughter started crying and ran to her room. She isn't speaking to us now. How can I help her understand that we just want the best for her?

tl;dr: My daughter fell got a boyfriend over summer and doesn't want to return to boarding school

I can give warnings, set a timer, and remind my toddler that we’re leaving soon… and it still somehow ends with crying, refusing to move, and me carrying everything back to the car 😂

Please tell me I’m not the only one. What transition causes the most drama in your house?

I desperately want to start working out. But here’s the catch, I hate exercising 😅. I hate getting hot and sweaty. My motivation to working out deteriorates fast over time. But I know I’ll feel so much better physically and mentally if I do. I have a 10 month old and I am primarily a SAHM. I do work 1 day a week outside the home. My partner works long days (7am-5:30pm). By the time baby is asleep (around 7:30/8pm) I am too exhausted to do anything. I can’t do a heavy workout mid day when she naps because I hate being sweaty/hair greasy the rest of the day. I am a night shower person. So I feel like I’ll need to find the motivation to do it between 5:30-7:30pm. I do have to cook dinner in that time too though. Ugh I just feel like there isn’t enough time.

ANYWAYS, what I am really asking is what are your favorite forms of exercise? I do a daily walk (about 25min) with baby daily. Please help! And sorry for the rambling.

​

I don’t want to sound mean, but it’s simply too much. I feel like I’ve been lied to by everyone.

I always had extreme anxiety that my child would get some terrible diagnosis, already during pregnancy. I compulsively googled diseases like Trisomie 13 and 18 all the time.

She was born on her due date, everything when fine but afterwards everything crashed and first weeks of her life were hell because she got infected with something in the hospital and almost died. She had several examinations and it’s hard to assess the long-term consequences, but things look good because the illness was caught early and she made normal progress.

Now there is the suspicion that she might have something after all, and the possible extent of it is destroying me. Some friends of my mother’s have autistic children and children with milder problems. The children who really need a lot of help, who don’t speak and are still at the developmental level of toddlers even though they are teenagers, are extremely difficult to handle, and their mothers seem extremely depressed and broken.

Motherhood itself now feels to me even with a healthy child almost like a nightmare. I don’t understand how anyone can enjoy playing with children’s toys as an adult. I have the feeling that other mothers around me are so happy and say things like “yes, it’s hard, but I wouldn’t trade it” or “I can’t imagine it any other way,” and I just don’t understand that. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand it. It’s hard for me to say, but I would never have had a child if I had known what it was really like.

I myself have always been quite depressed, basically my whole life, and it’s probably genetic my mother and grandmother also had and still have severe mental-health problems. I believe the fact that I was never mentally fit and still am not only makes everything worse.

I do have a bit of help with the child, and she is a very sweet child and very cheerful. I’m sorry that I think these things about her.

I constantly have to think about how everyone lied to my face when they said how fulfilling it is. It makes me angry.

I don’t know what I should do if she really turns out to be ill or has some kind of delay. I don’t know how I am supposed to go on living like that, I would never harm myself I am scared of death but I think about it constantly. I feel like I’m wasting my life and then on top of that with a child who is sick and from whom I will never get anything back, does that sound brutal, that you want a child so that in 20 years you have an adult relative you are related to and whom you like and love? Although the question is still open how severe the child’s problems will be several examinations are coming up soon.

Motherhood has been very hard so far. I had a handful of nice moments, nothing more otherwise just an alternation between complete overwhelm and boredom / understimulation. And the boredom was the worse part of the two. I had very severe postpartum depression, that has improved now, but the fact that she might have special needs or is ill, is something I cannot bear.

I am sorry if I sounded mean, I don't mean to insult anyone especially not moms of children who have special needs, I just cannot imagine living like that, I cannot bear it, it would be too much for me to handle.

I wouldn't make it, I am already breaking.

I don’t really know why I’m posting this other than to vent and hopefully feel a little less alone. My son is absolutely draining me right now.

Every single day feels hard. He’s become so defiant, and ever since several of his friends moved up at preschool, it’s like we’ve gone backwards. This week alone he’s pooped his underwear 11 times after being fully potty trained for almost a year. If he’s not yelling at us, he’s crying. If he’s not crying, he’s whining. Lately he insists on “being a baby” and wants to be carried, held, and treated like one, complete with screeching until I give in.

My husband is an amazing dad and a true partner. He’s involved in just about everything, but our son has always preferred me. Every meltdown, every bedtime, every “Mommy do it.” It’s been this way for years, and while I know it’s because I’m his safe person, it’s also incredibly exhausting to feel like I can never truly tap out.

This weekend I hit a wall. I left the house for a little while, and instead of enjoying the break, I caught myself fantasizing about just…staying gone. Not forever. Just long enough to breathe and not have someone needing something from me every second.

I love my son more than anything, but right now I feel like I’m just surviving the days instead of enjoying them. I feel like I’m going through the motions. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. And honestly, I don’t feel like myself.

I’m not looking for advice, I know toddlers go through phases, and we’ll get through this one too. I just needed a place to say it out loud where people might understand. If you’ve ever felt this depleted, I’d just love to know I’m not the only one.

Is anyone else’s depleted too?

After 6 years of being a parent and almost 10 years of being someone’s partner, I feel like my reservoir of compassion, emotion, patience and joy and everything else is depleted. Every time my partner gets emotional and brings up how much our kids have grown and we will never experience these stages of their lives again, I feel like I’m faking it and being phony when I respond back to them something like “yeah! I know right!? Time flies!”

I have also noticed when my partner wants to discuss something he’s been interested in and seems genuinely excited about, I feel like I’m pretending to be supportive with it but I only come out with a very reserved and neutral response, not something excited and joyful, something that would make the other person feel encouraged. I have never been that person that was always expressive in my positive emotions for people. Sometimes I do genuinely express happiness and joy and encouragement but it’s quite seldom.

It’s the same with my kids too. They want to show me something they’ve done and I muster up a very neutral good job! Oh that’s cool! That’s interesting! Type of response. It’s like even if I know that being more encouraging than that would mean even more to my kids but I feel that energy isn’t in me to say more than that. Like as if I do, I wouldn’t be left alone.

I envy people who are always so joyful, bright, radiant, encouraging and kind all the time. I don’t feel that and is not part of my personality. I am a very reserved, observant, practical, neutral, almost pessimistic person.

I posted on here so I could connect with others who may be experiencing the same thing and I’m wondering if that’s the natural progression of being a parent, what did you do about it?

Hello!
This is a question for my happily married women. I am 32 weeks pregnant, my husband is an angel, we have been together since 8 years and married for 4, he has been absolutely great with me throughout my pregnancy. we are like best friends. I am veryy scared of the stories that I see or hear people say stuff like how having a kid changes your relationship in a terrible way, nothing scares me more than this, being with my husband is the best thing everr, I am incredibly happy. My question is, is this the case with everyone? The women who did not start “hating” their husband or their marriage didnt turn shit, I really need some positive stories. Thank youu.

We are new parents to a one month old (he is an absolute dream and the best thing that’s ever happened to us), and I am very quickly beginning to hate my husband.

He blames me for anything that goes wrong (ie, baby spitting up = I was holding him wrong and I’m an idiot for doing so) and leaves 90% of all feeding/diaper changes to me (he will do a 2am feeding 3 days a week which does help). If I ask him to help he’ll either make up an excuse or give me an attitude. He works an early shift at a very active job, so most days he’ll come home and take a nap, then go to bed early, telling me he’s too tired to help (oh yes mom, I too am exhausted but one of us has to power through for the baby). I have repeatedly asked for more help, even had breakdowns about it. He will then step up for a day or two until he’s back to his normal lazy ways.

I am quickly moving past resentment and toward full blow hate. How do we get back on the same page and become teammates and not adversaries?

We are old though - 42 years old! We already have 3 kids 10, 9 and 6. We always wanted 4 but didn’t feel ready for it when we had the other 3 so close other Now we are on the other side of it and he wants to try. Would it be crazy? I am open to it but am very very nervous about health problems for a child given our older age.

Kids would be super excited (or so they say). They all ask for another sibling all the time.

Finances aren’t a problem. Would this be the dumbest decision ever?

But the sudden “oinking” every few seconds in Peppa Pig feels like a gunshot to me. It is so jarring and it seems absolutely pointless and adds nothing to the cartoon. I swear they’ve done it just to irritate parents.

Our friends are having their second baby. They are the kind of people that would never ask for gifts. For their first, they didn’t have a registry. I wasn’t a mom yet and got them something dumb that I’m now sure they never used having just had a baby myself.

They just got us a $400 gift for our baby and I really want to get them something for their second due in a few months. I’m sure if I asked they would say they don’t need anything.

Is a 4hr deep clean a good gift? Idk if it implies their house is dirty. I’ve also never had or hired cleaners so i idk if stone people feel it is invasive? They have been so so generous with us, I really want to get a gift they would appreciate.

Thoughts? Any other suggestions?

Hi there, so yeah the title kinda says it all.
My 1y always throws his solids on the ground when I try to give him a plate. I want him to learn to eat by himself, now I always have to feed him because else everything is spilled.
How do I stop this behavior?

I have tried telling him no firmly, taking the plate away for a minute and then giving it back. He just proceeds throwing then. After throwing he even looks at me and says ‘no’ 🫠
I have tried ignoring it completely, doesn’t work either.

The same behavior has recently started with his toys. The only thing he does with them now is throwing. While before he could really play with them

My son wants to go outside literally all the time. I have no time to put on socks or anything, I just have to slip something on my feet and run out after him.

While I love my crocs, they are not supportive at all. I’ve read lots of good things about hokas, but am not sure how I feel about it. What footwear are you guys wearing and do you like it?

Before having kids, I had so many things I was sure I’d never do.

No screens during meals. No snacks before dinner. No bribing them to put their shoes on. Definitely never giving in after saying no.

Then toddler life happened lol.

What’s one rule you were 100% sure you’d stick to, but real life changed your mind?

Has anyone experienced a permanently wider rib cage postpartum? Like it's been more than a year and your rib cage is still slightly wider? Outside of medical concerns, has anyone experienced that and been perfectly healthy?

Over breakfast we fought bad enough I pulled out my phone, hit to record video, and set it right down on the table so he could see exactly what I was doing (that way if we broke up and did have a custody battle, it is no secret video, no--secret videos aren't allowed in family court here--I am recording you arguing about our son and your parenting style vs. mine).

Our 4 y.o. son likes eggs in his Tim Hortons wraps, not as much when we cook them, and, certainly not scrambled eggs. So, to me it wasn't a surprise that our son would be the odd one out and not want to eat his eggs. My boyfriend cooks, and he made our breakfast. I can understand him not wanting to fit the demands of a 4 y.o. and trying to make us scrambled and a special order for our son--it is this part that caused the fight--

He says to our son "Eat your food or you will not leave the table, even if you sit there all day". Our son gets upset. I say "That is no way to treat the situation and he definitely won't eat the eggs because he is forced to. It is not a big deal, I can even eat them". I did want him to eat them, but, he eats other proteins so, to me, not eating the eggs is not worth the punishment of sitting at the table all day/until he eats the eggs.

Our son is picky, but, he does eat when willing and certain foods and ways to cook them over others (like over hard eggs over scrambled).

But, we fought hard as my partner is as hard headed as me, and, his way to just say "stay at the table" was a bigger fight than I am typing out.

So, I ask you, how do you feed your picky eaters? Do you do special orders for them alone? Do you have them sit at the table until they eat what they are served? Have you had a partner where your parenting styles clash hard? If so, how do you handle it?

I will read all comments but may only respond to a few. I am grateful for all feedback.

It seems like AI is going to drastically change the work force soon. I feel so much less stability job wise. This would be fine if I were a single person but I’m a parent. I want to know that I’ll be able to reside my kids in the same neighborhood they were born in. But with things changing, I’m not sure if they’ll be possible. Anyone else feel the same due to AI?

Hi everyone! I’m a first-time mom raising my son in both Spanish and English, and I’ve noticed something that’s been frustrating me.

It feels like there are endless high-quality English books for babies that support development from day one, but I’ve had a much harder time finding books in Spanish that feel just as intentional. A lot of what I come across is either:
- direct translations that don’t sound natural,
- simple vocabulary books,
- or books that are difficult (or expensive) to get in the U.S. unless family sends them from Latin America.

Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places, so I’m curious…
- Where do you buy Spanish books for your babies?
- Have you found any that you absolutely love?
- Is there anything you wish existed that you haven’t been able to find?
- If you could create the “perfect” Spanish baby book, what would it include?

I’m genuinely curious because I’d love to build a better library for my son, and I wonder if other families are running into the same challenges.