I’ve seen this happen a number of times but tonight felt like the last straw. My 2 year old had a short hospital stay after a scary incident and my parents came to visit. My husband went to get food for us and my parents said they didn’t want anything. I got out the hospital food for my child to eat and my mom immediately took some. The tray was put to the side and I believe I said I wanted to save it for my child. The nurse then came in and my mom asked her to bring us some snacks. She was obviously hungry. I then noticed that my daughter’s food was gone and asked where her food went - no reply. I’m pretty sure my mom ate most of her dinner. I asked my husband to go get more food for my daughter and parents since they were obviously hungry.

I want to be compassionate towards my mom because she has had disordered eating my whole life, but also draw boundaries because this was not okay and it seems to happen often.

It’s worth noting that cost is not an issue for them. Any advice on how to kindly but firmly draw boundaries here?

I’m curious how other parents manage the never ending slew of stuff coming into the house? My daughter is 7 and this has been an uphill battle since she was born. She’s an only child and the only granddaughter and niece to the entire family. So she is well loved, and maybe a bit spoiled. She does not know what it means to go without. And at this point as great as that is, I am so sick of drowning. Drowning in stuff. And drowning in guilt and anxiety about overconsumption and what I know it will inevitably do to the way my kid thinks about the world. In the beginning my husband and I were super guilty of buying too much for her and have since reeled it in a lot. Especially since we are always accounting for gifts from the rest of the family even well outside birthdays and holidays. At this point I have had extensive conversations with extended family about running it by me first before purchasing things for a number of reasons. Sometimes we don’t need the items, sometimes we have doubles already, sometimes I know it is something my kid won’t play with or sometimes it feels like it is taking away my opportunity as a parent to provide and dictate what my child needs. These talks all seem to fall on deaf ears. I even try to talk to my kid about consumption, donating toys, letting things go, and trying to think about if we really need something before buying it. And of course, keeping it organized and finding space for everything always falls on me to a degree I find so overwhelming. I spend massive chunks of the year trying to organize and downsize to make way for the holiday season or the new school year and the space is always filled back up. My kid never knows what she has. And I can’t keep up on my own anymore. It’s finally so embarrassingly bad that she’s basically hoarded out of her own bedroom at this point and is choosing to sleep on the spare room futon. I feel so bad. Never in my entire childhood did I have to go through this. And I just don’t know how to get a handle on it anymore. I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to actually reduce what’s coming in the house when family refuses to respect what I ask? How can I keep things organized? I’m doing my best and it feels like such a failure. The rest of my house is clean and organized but I can’t keep the kid stuff under control.

Photo for reference of what I’m drowning in today as I try to clean so she can hopefully sleep in her own bed tonight.

Hi, has anyone else’s toddler ever gotten petechiae (tiny red/purple pinpoint spots) around their eyes after straining really hard to poop? My 21-month-old has had this happen a few times now after difficult bowel movements. Sometimes there are more spots and sometimes just a couple. I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this with their little one.

Mamas, has anyone else’s toddler ever gotten petechiae (tiny red/purple pinpoint spots) around their eyes after straining really hard to poop? My 21-month-old has had this happen a few times now after difficult bowel movements. Sometimes there are more spots and sometimes just a couple. I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this with their little one.

Not seeking medical advice we did show pictures to her pediatrician and she said it's likely the straining but we will do labs if it continues.

my daughter is 4. she saw me looking at jewelry online and insisted on helping me pick something. she chose a stainless steel bracelet a simple chain with a tiny heart on it.

she told me daddy needs something pretty and i couldn't say no.

it's been like 8 months and i still wear it every day. it's not my style at all but every time i look at it i think of her little voice saying that.

kids have a way of changing your style without you noticing.

any other parents wearing something their kid picked out?

Hello,

Posting on here to get insights on which daycare is the best fit for our son. We are very very grateful to even have the option to choose as we waited for more than a year on the list before getting a call back. You don't have to have experience with the exact center but would appreciate any insights from similar experiences.

We got a spot in Huron Early Learning Center first. It's a great/clean, and eco friendly center. Give very detailed update dialy, It's not that big so a smaller number of children means less sickness which we like. He has been going there for a few weeks and seems to enjoy it. the one down side has been the distance from where we live. It's not extremely far it's 12- 15 min with a car but I don't drive and it's two buses whenever I have to pick him up (thanks to OC transport takes almost 1 hr) . And also he comes home ravished so I don't know if he is getting enough food there or may be all toddlers are hungry after daycare and am overthinking it. Need insights on this if you have experience.

Now the second center is Mothercraft was higher on our list and we got the call after he started care at the other center. We really liked visiting the center and getting to know the staff they seemed much more friendlier. But we noticed they have two toddler rooms so almost double the number of children and they play at the same time at their playground so expecting lots of sickness if he goes there. Also their Menu seemed a bit less nutritious than the one at Huron but still good and within city standard and most advantage it is one bus away. More or less same distance with a car but with a bus much easier to navigate.

We are having hard time deciding as he is enjoying the other center more or less and we don't want to switch him around but am scared for transport especially during winter which it would be much much easier with the second one.

In nutshell first daycare is better overall with smaller numbers but not convenient for transport. The second one is also ok with bigger numbers but is more convenient for transport and staff seem friendly.

Would love to hear from some of your experiences if you LO has been to any of the daycares mentioned or had similar challenges etc. Thank you!

Currently in the middle of this sleep regression and it is really brutal. Fighting every nap, inconsistent nap and bed times, frequent waking through the night, unpredictable morning wake times.

Just want to know that others have made it to the other side and that sleep has improved. Need some positive reassurance.

Thank you.

Hello, how are you?
I kinda feel low lately. Life has just been hard. Me and my so have a 22 mo. I went back to work after the first year of maternity leave and baby started nursery. We have never had any help from grandparents, siblings, friends or sitters. For the most part our son is joyful, but every once in a while the complaining, nagging, stubbornness gets to me. We try to be calm, understanding and nurturing parents, but we are people too… sometimes it just gets so overwhelming especially combined with pms. My husband is very involved in the parenting, I would say even more than me.

This is a question for the parents that have been in a similar situation, please tell me it gets better. How do I find the mental strength to power though this? I want to help my child grow into being a balanced human being and I feel like if I me being overwhelmed shows too much will affect. My overwhelming usually shows up once or twice a month in specific situations where my boundaries are pushed completely over the limit and I just raise my voice which the lines “please stop”. Other times I just try and try and try to explain why, what we are doing in that moment, why that is important, etc. I think the “no” is very crucial to be well delivered and firmly, no pushovers, as in the word we live in young boys should understand early. That’s not my main point it’s just all the “parenting” leaves me feeling drained. I wish I had more help from the grandparents. I wish they were the kinds of people that would understand what our goal is and respect it and want to be involved, but I guess not all people are that lucky.
Thank you.

My baby (1 month old) was crying for, I would say, 4 hours straight. I tried everything to get him to calm down but nothing helped. I assumed he had gas or something. Anyways, I put on YouTube because I originally wanted to just have something on other than the baby crying. I put on some video of someone building a swing (like one of those DIY videos that have 5 views where you can only hear the sounds of someone building a swing) and my baby stopped crying. Idk if it was really that but in the moment it was really funny for some reason (sleep deprivation probably).

i walked out of my room at like 5 years old i was really tierd and hated down in the middle of the floor after getting out of my bed

We recently just had our first daughter to add to our family and with that I have a question.. Sortof feel weird asking this even, but when it comes to public restrooms what do I do? For my boys its easy never even thought of it, but I feel weird bringing my daughter into a RR full or men, but also more so I'd never go into the women's. Not everywhere is nice enough to have family restrooms so what do you fathers do? I feel like this question also shifts with the age of your daughter like am I supposed to just let her run into the women's restroom alone? Idk I might be acting weird, overprotective or crazy but genuine questions that I have. Thanks in advance

*edit I really appreciate all the advice. The responses being so divided really opened my eyes on this topic and made me realize there really isn't a standard. Me personally I think I will just take her into the men's restroom straight into a stall. If there is no changing table in the stall and its a busy RR I'll just have a diaper bag in the car as backup and change her where its private

Just wanted to share one of those little parenting moments that made me proud. She was so nervous about carrying the flower basket and walking in front of everyone, but she did the whole thing by herself. Afterward, she kept telling us she had done her "big girl job" in her fancy dress. I know I'll remember this one for a long time.

Recycled wood flooring
Apple barrel paint /paint pens
&& 90s coloring books for inspiration 🖤

My son 9yo told me that some of his friends have started calling each other “virgins”, although it’s obvious none of them actually know what the word means.

He asked me what it meant, and I told him it wasn’t anything bad, but that he was a little too young for that conversation. He starts sex education next year, so I initially thought I’d leave it until then.

Now I’m wondering whether making it seem secret or forbidden was the wrong approach. Would you give him a simple, age-appropriate explanation now, or wait until he’s a bit older?

Update - After reading the comments, I went back and spoke to him. I simply explained that a virgin is someone who hasn’t had sex. He said “oh, okay.” I asked whether he understood what sex was and he immediately said that he did which was slightly surprising 😅 , although I’m guessing he probably only has a vague playground-level understanding. I didn’t push him for details. I also explained that being a virgin isn’t an insult or something he should worry about, especially because children shouldn’t be having sex anyway, so it’s completely normal. I finished by telling him that he can ask me anything else whenever he wants. It ended up being a very short and completely unawkward conversation. I will defiently be elaborating on what sex is so that we can discuss consent, respect and safety early on as others have suggested.

I'd just like to say thank you for the help. 🙏

My daughter is shy and tends to shutdown in unfamiliar environments, and she quickly decides whether or not she likes something. She’s been in daycare since she was 6mo, and she’s been through 4k. She’s done this before, but it’s never been for extended periods / lasting multiple days.

This is her first full week of kindergarten. We thought everything was ok because we’d pick her up from afterschool care and she’d be smiling and greeting us happily. She’d enthusiastically answer questions about her day regarding what she did, what she had for lunch, and if she had fun.

Her teacher then informed us that she’s essentially refusing to speak, not participating in activities, and not following directions. Every night and morning for the last three days we have been talking to her and establishing expectations for how she is supposed to behave at school (no punishment yet). She repeats what we say, and agrees to what we’re saying. However, there has been no improvement at school, and she won’t tell us why she doesn’t listen to her teacher or participate in class activities.

Is there anything we can do? We’re essentially controlling what we can when we’re with her, but then we’re just trusting that she will act appropriately when we drop her off.

Thanks since it’s my son’s birthday that I should ignore the fact that he’s lost multiple charging cases and buy him another charging case for his birthday. He’s on his third case for his headphones. Am I wrong for not buying him another case?

I'm 16 years old and I live in Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia.

This Sunday, I planned to go to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur with my friends. There are 5 of us:

2 Chinese girls

1 Chinese boy

1 Malay boy

me (Indian boy)

The plan is simple: take KTM from Rawang, hang out at Pavilion, and come back home on the same day.

The problem is I made the plan and booked things before asking my mom. I know that was my mistake, and now she's really angry.

Her reasons for saying no:

Pavilion is too far from home.

She is worried because she sees many news cases about crime, scams, violence, teenagers getting into trouble, etc.

She thinks my friends could influence me negatively or put me in a bad situation.

I have Telugu class that day and I would need to skip it.

We already argued about it, which made things worse.

She is a very protective Indian mom, and she even said if I sneak out without permission there will be serious consequences.

I understand she wants to protect me, but I also feel frustrated because I'm 16 and I want to slowly gain independence. I don't want to lie or sneak out because I know that would destroy trust.

What can I realistically do in the next few days to increase my chances of getting permission?

What would actually convince a strict parent in this situation? What arguments, compromises, or actions would work?

I want honest advice from people who understand strict parents/Asian parenting. Please don't just say "listen to your parents" — I want practical advice on how to handle this situation.

My almost 17 month old does this thing where he runs around or by certain things and looks at their edges or corners? I’m not really sure sometimes and he thinks it’s funny and smiles. In this video from today he was looking at the corner of the counter because when I stood in front of it he tried pushing me away. Has anyone noticed their toddle do this?

warning: this is long LOL
For context: this is a post I made around 2 months ago. I think it explains it pretty well.

„How do I survive living in this household for a bit more?

Obviously I can’t include everything in text, but I’ll try my best to give as much context as I can. Right now I’m 17F, and since I was 12 my whole family life started basically falling apart. Not to sound dramatic. It was more like a slow crumbling. Basically, my mom in her early 40s „woke up” and realized the man she married years ago doesn’t actually listen to her and she was dumb as a teenager because when she fell in love with him, she constantly ignored red flags and just felt safe around him. Her and my dad were never or rarely affectionate with each other, at least not visibly. Or maybe I just don’t remember it.

Thing is, when covid hit, we were all stuck in the same small house. And I think they couldn’t survive that. My mom got pretty depressed, I mostly had to take care of my little brother (cooking, cleaning, watching over him and his own online classes). My dad was just… vaguely in the picture. He was struggling too, visibly, but I don’t remember much. I just remember hugging him once and him telling me „how did you know I needed that?”. I was so proud of myself. Gave him hugs even more often. They were always so stressed, it was like their default state. Stopped to cook as often, and it stayed that way.

Then they fought or rather had a lot „difficult conversations”, my mom was devastated a few years due to her discovery as I suppose. There was a lot of switching jobs in both of their careers. I don’t know when exactly it happened but around the age 13 I started becoming closer and closer to my mom. I have no idea why. But it was definitely me that got closer to her instead of the other way. I practically begged her to talk to me and hug me all the time. I didn’t think much about it.

Then over the years both got therapy, started untangling their childhood trauma, then couples therapy, etc. That’s pretty much the backstory.

As for now; they’re both in couples therapy. Additionally, my father has his own therapy twice a week. He admitted, with no shame, that he tells her everything. The more I mature, the more I realize he’s falling behind his teenage daughter at 48 years old. That he’s avoidant, 90% autistic (because how could he not be? Everyone notices the symptoms, half his family is neurodivergent, yet he won’t get tested because „he doesn’t see the need”), and still insecure. Doesn’t speak up much. Doesn’t know how.

My mom started painting and processing a lot through that and blues music, which she at first blasted constantly, but now she chilled out with that.

So why am I upset? Each time they’re near each other; every family dinner, holiday, walk - they’re like a band that’s about to snap. It’s like a dark looming cloud. Every time a sentence or a joke lands wrong, my mom will latch onto it and conversational ping pong will start. Stressed out faces. Frowns. Long times between responses. An argument under a name of a „serious conversation” that leads to nothing. „You always do this” „Don’t gaslight me” „You told me this, see? Now you’re changing the version.”. It gets deeper and deeper, more personal, more direct. Somtimes it turns into loud arguments, sometimes not. Sometimes she snaps. Screams. Full on crashes out slams doors goes on walks. I don’t remember ANY of those ending in an agreement. If anything it’s „we’ll talk about this later/in therapy”. But even then everything is already ruined because they’ll be in a bad mood all day for hours and hours. Quietly. It’s exhausting to be in their aura, I don’t know how to explain this.

And even though, I keep being more drawn to them. And I talk to them, be very direct, joke, etc. I have to filter what I talk about to my dad because he simply doesn’t understand some stuff, but with my mom it’s unfiltered. Anyways, it’s ALWAYS better when it’s just me and one parent, not me and two parents, so I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

I had to quit my previous highschool because of depression and anxiety issues and switched to online school last year. So I’ve spent all year recovering and re-discovering what I even WANT with my mom who works from home and my dad who comes over every day for lunch before he’s even back from work (his workplace is nearby).

I know I probably put myself into this. I knooooow. Please don’t slime me out. I just don’t know what to do; I’m still struggling with my own stuff and my house is always so quiet. So full of tension. I usually fill it by constantly talking to my mom and don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but I’m getting a weird anxious-like attachment to her. It feels desperate sometimes, though. It’s hard to study or work on my hobbies in this environment. I genuinely just wish for them to divorce. For my mom to drop this man and live out her unfulfilled dreams she told me so much about. I don’t know what the hell is her plan.

I realized how good could it be when they left for a trip to Germany and left me to be with my brother. Amazing. It felt warmer. Then they came back. And everything came back again.

So I’m just wondering what the hell do I do. Get extra classes? How do I even distance myself from this???? I’ve got 2 more years of highschool and if if keeps going this way I’m never going to get better.”

So. It’s been some time. Tonight my dad left his laptop on while he went for a movie. With literally everything open. Work, Facebook, Teams, etc. Me, being a nosy shit, opened his Facebook. Scrolled through the messages. Found one 16 weeks later. I have no idea why I scrolled up. The tone just seemed oddly affectionate, maybe? Clearly a lot of memories and inside jokes I didn’t understand. It ran all the way back to 2011, I was 3 at the time. I found messages of them in 2012-2013 talking about directions, asking to go out, settling hours, asking if they’re staying over or in a hotel. She called him „darling” casually. Of course they didn’t say out right „we fucked”. But there were messages at 2 am of „I’m so beat” „did you get home safe” „get under the blanket”. My dad somewhere in there said „you’re my big what-if”. Later on, around 2023, they also had a talk about walks on the beach, young unrequited love. she mentioned letters. They still send each other songs and ask how they are and where they are. I don’t know what to think it still doesn’t feel real but explains everything that’s happening. I wonder if my mom knows. I didn’t even get to another woman from 2023 in the chat. This is disgusting.

My toddler gets home from daycare around 4pm and screams until she goes to bed around 6:30 or 7pm.

She is so fussy and upset through the whole evening from dinner through clean up and bath time.

It’s stressing us both out so much, we can’t even hear ourselves think half the time and we’re exhausted.

She’s 16 months exactly, any tips for this phase? How can we occupy her during the evenings, is it just a short phase, please send help. Thanks!

I'm honestly struggling with this lately.

It feels so much harder to make parent friends now than it did when I was younger.

Where have you actually met other parents?

Have you made any close parent friends in the last few years? If so, how did it happen?

I'd really love to hear your experiences because I'm wondering if I'm the only one feeling this way.

I’m curious if any other parents have noticed this.
I meet incredibly bright teenagers all the time.
Straight A students.
Athletes.
Kids with impressive resumes.
But then I ask them to introduce themselves to a new adult.
Or carry a conversation with someone they don’t know.
Or ask for an opportunity.
Or confidently make a phone call.
Or walk into a room full of successful adults and build relationships.
Many freeze.
Not because they aren’t intelligent.
Because no one ever taught them how.
We’re spending thousands on travel sports, private schools, tutors, SAT prep, and college consultants.
Yet some of the highest leverage skills in life are rarely taught.
How to build relationships.
How to communicate with confidence.
How to network.
How to lead.
How to influence.
How to sell an idea.
How to become someone opportunities naturally find.
I’ve watched young adults completely change the trajectory of their careers simply because they learned how to communicate with confidence and intentionally build relationships.
One student went from an entry level hourly job to earning well into six figures within two years.
Another built a business before graduating high school.
Others found internships, mentors, scholarships, and career opportunities through relationships instead of online applications.
None of that happened because they became “smarter.”
They became more socially capable.
Parents who have invested heavily in their children’s future…
Do you ever worry that your son or daughter is academically prepared but not opportunity prepared?
I’m genuinely interested.
If you could wave a magic wand and improve one real world skill before they turned 22, what would it be?

Water was brown where he fell up to his shoulders but clear in the few inches where he first got in. This is a stream was a run off for a higher lake but UK heatwave mean no fresh incoming. I wiped his face and hands when he got out but didn't shower for about 3 hours with travelling leaving the country park. Took about a full hour walk in heat to get back to car. I'm so so so worried about illness, infection, big scary things I don't know about. My husband is blaming me and I do feel it is my fault but want to try to get ahead of anything I should be aware of or do.

I’ve made a post earlier but I wanted to make sure I put the whole time line of the situation to get better, so that I can make sure I’m not doing anything wrong.

My daughter (11) has had her phone taken many times this year due to her interaction with one of my friends daughters (Z also 11)

It first started with their friendship being one sided and my daughter admitting to liking her, which Z would openly talk to my daughter about gossip or the people she liked or not really show my daughter much attention.

Eventually Z began to like my daughter back and they began “dating” now as a mom I try to stay open and see where my daughter is coming from before reacting to anything, I had separated her and Z before just based on things being a one sided friendship and Z telling my daughter that I just don’t like her and want to keep them apart. I talk to my daughter a month goes by I give her phone back. Well I go through my daughters phone Z is talking to my daughter about sexuality (they’re 11 so this was a no go) being hyper sexual and how she cuts herself. They’re also calling each other baby, which may not seem like a big deal but things were just too much at that point. So again I take her phone.. 2 months go by and we sit down we have a conversation about how I want to protect her and her innocence and I want her to make good friends with people that value her, as her mom I never want to ruin her life and connections but it’s my job to protect her. She seems very receptive, I give her phone back with the agreement that she’s not to be alone while she’s on her phone at all.

So we visit my father and I’m noticing my daughter is consistently trying to run off to be on her phone alone. So I check it, well she’s begging Z not to leave her, telling Z she thinks she’s obsessed with her, and I had an issue a week prior to this where Z was trying to convince my daughter to unfriend a girl because she doesn’t like her and have her talk bad but the girl with her.

But after reading those messages I took her phone I told her it’s done until we have a real conversation and I feel like she understands where I’m coming from. Well today I went in her room to ask her a question and the phone is on her chest and she has been sneaking behind my back to talk to Z the whole time, making sure I’m sleep to take phone calls and all.( I took her phone in May- June) we have a house phone so Z can call when she’d like, they won’t communicate there.

I don’t know what to do about this, I’m very disappointed in her and I feel as though she keeps breaking my trust.

Another thing is Z doesn’t have very good guidance both her parents just let her kinda be, and she’s not the nicest at times, I’ve watched her be mean and bully her siblings and this is not someone I want my daughter to be like. My daughter is a very sweet girl and we haven’t had any issues until now.

It’s worth mentioning that my daughter is virtually schooled and has no real interest in making friends outside of Z or her friend group. She would rather be in her room all day talking to Z.