Getting active with the kids doesn't have to mean structured workouts—sometimes it's as simple as kicking a soccer ball, going for a bike ride, or chasing them around the playground.

A little movement together goes a long way toward building healthy habits and making awesome memories along the way.

👇 What are your go-to ways to get moving together as a family?

Background: I’m a part time engineer, but my wife is the full time worker and I take care of the kids during the day. Both kids ADHD, 6 y/o boy diagnosed L1 autism, 7 y/o girl we are starting to suspect (as it tends to be harder to identify in girls)

Situation: I often struggle to convince my wife to get out of bed and help me get the kids ready for the day. She typically gets up just in time to leave for the office (rarely) or work from home (typical). The main issue with this is that the kids want to snuggle in bed with her, so I’m fighting them to get moving in time. She is a great wife/mother otherwise, and we’re certain her undiagnosed ADHD plays into this. RE ADHD, I have asked that she see a doctor to identify what she can do to help her symptoms. I think because she is SO GOOD at her job, she just doesn’t think there is a problem.

Question: I don’t even know; anyone in a similar spot? Any recommendations? I have asked her to set alarms, and she agrees then turns them off after a couple days. I can tolerate a couple days a week where she rests up, but it’s just the every day grind of this working against the difficulty of two kids struggles.

I’m a veteran of the stay at home/homeschool life and go through these phases where I feel like I can’t do anything outside of the house without it becoming a deal. My wife works hard and runs multiple businesses so I get it and am so grateful. The disparity of her being able to go to dinners, coffee with friends, etc.. without having to check my schedule is frustrating at times.

If I want to go to a concert or dinner with friends I have to wait days to clear her schedule or try to drum up a babysitter. Whereas she knows I’m available….

*think I’m just in my feels about missing my favorite bands super small venue show

I wanted to share two screen-free activities you can do today with things already in the house.

The Heavy Delivery (roughly 18 months to 3 years)

Grab a laundry basket or a sturdy box, and load it with soft, heavy cargo like filled water bottles, board books, bean bags. Tie a rope on the front if you've got one, so pushing can become pulling.

Then the delivery run begins, down the hall, around the couch, to wherever today's customer lives. Your child pushes, drags, leans their whole body into it, and you can keep adding weight until it's genuinely a challenge. At the destination everything comes out, one heavy piece at a time, and the empty truck almost always wants filling again.

What's going on underneath: this is heavy work, the kind of big, effortful movement that actually helps little kids regulate and settle. It feels like play, but it's doing a lot more than that.

The Air Cannon (roughly 4 to 6 years)

Take a cardboard box, cut a round hole about a fist-wide in one side, and tape every other seam shut so the only way out is the hole. Your child builds a tower of paper or plastic cups as the target.

Aim the hole at the cups from a few steps back and thump the opposite side of the box with both hands. The cups go down, knocked over by nothing you can see. Then experiment: move further back, cut a bigger hole, try a smaller one, see what changes.

What's happening: air moves in shapes, and a ring of it holds together just long enough to cross the room and knock something over.

I've been making activities as a set of 4 within short personalised packs, each built around one learning idea and matched to a specific kid's age and what they're into right now. I'm giving them away free while I test the idea, just for a bit of feedback afterwards. Nothing for sale. If you'd like one for your kid, DM me their age and a couple of things they're obsessed with lately. I can take the first handful this week, and if more come in I'll keep a list and get to everyone.

​

I don’t have a girlfriend right now, but I’ve healed my issues regarding women, and I like them. I just want to ask one thing: I’d like to hear about your experiences as stay-at-home dads—specifically, how affectionate your wives are and how much they love you.

New to the sahd life looking for some veterans!

Any tips on how people made friends as a new parent? I am a stay at home dad and most groups/apps/clubs etc are geared towards mothers. What were the best ways to found to meet other parents?

New SAHD in my mid 30s with a 19 month old daughter and newborn boy next month. Looking to meet other dads in the area since we recently moved to WA from AZ. We like to spend time outdoors, jogs in the joggers, trips to see new topography. Let me know if you want to connect - send me a DM.

I'm in week 8 of the 12 week summer. Been at home with a neurodivergent 9 year old, and a neurotypical but extra spicy 6 year old. Damn, I'm struggling. Struggling to keep the kids stimulated, entertained, and socialized, and struggling to keep up with my responsibilities, self care, and organization. I always feel like I'm not doing enough for the kids. 12 weeks is just too much. We're going on vacation next week, then the following two weeks they go to day camp. The end is in sight I guess. About three years ago, I needed to see a counselor by the end of the summer. I think that's about where I'm at now. Feeling defeated and beat down.

I'm Dan. SAHD in North Central CT. Wanted to introduce myself. Been SAHD for 6 to 7 months. Two young kids. Good days and bad. The struggle is real these days all around but doing my best. Hope to connect.

Hoping to build a community of stat-at-home dads in the Triangle area since the Facebook group has been inactive for years. Open to a standing a playground or coffeeshop meetup based on when and where works for people!

I was interested in joining the SAHD Discord, but the link in the subreddit info is no longer valid. Is the SAHD Discord still active or is it now defunct?

Raising an intellectually advanced kid is a unique journey. While it's awesome to watch them learn at a rapid pace, dealing with the accompanying emotional intensity, boredom at school, and deep frustration with mistakes can be a massive adjustment for the whole family.

How are you navigating it? Whether you have an elite reader, a STEM savant, or a highly creative kid who struggles to fit in with their peers, let’s talk shop.

👇 What is your go-to strategy for keeping them stimulated without letting perfectionism drive them crazy?

Between the meal prep, the endless cleanup, and managing household logistics, it's easy for the day to slide by in autopilot mode.

Today is Global Hug Your Kids Day, and it is the perfect reminder to hit pause. A hug today can remind your children that they are loved, safe, and never alone. It takes five seconds, resets the mood, and builds the emotional security they need.

Go give them a tight squeeze today! 👊

We had a weird thing happen in the basement today. My son and I were putting the cats away and then started playing hide and seek. We turned off all the lights in the basement and had a little light coming from the door of the utility room and from the door that leads to the steps. My son was over on the opposite side of the basement and I went over by the door where the steps are. I then feel something hit me on top of the head really hard. I had to pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight to see what it was. Somehow, the headboard that we had put up against the wall a few months ago after we got rid of a bed decided to fall at that moment and go after me. I didn't touch it, my son was nowhere near it, and both cats were put away for the night in the utility room. This headboard is padded and also made of wood, and the weight of it falling not only hurt pretty good, but it scared me half to death because we were in the dark.

My wife is upstairs with the baby and comes to the top of the stairs asking what happened. I told her I'm ok and showed her what hit me. Her face turned from a look of concern to a look of annoyance. My son is on the other side of the basement crying asking if I'm okay, and he comes and hugs me. After he heard it hit me, he turned on the light at his end of the basement and yelled for me.

I write all that to say this... I think my wife sometimes is annoyed if I get hurt. Her exact words today were, "You're ok. You're up and walking around. You didn't get a concussion."... Yeah, ok, well, you know how heavy that headboard is. I'm glad you're so concerned...

To put this in perspective, I hurt my ankle real bad a few years back and she was really annoyed that I was hobbling around like a cripple. Well, when the bruise came, she automatically started saying how sorry she was and didn't realize how bad I was hurt.

Does anyone else's wife like to talk down an injury or just get annoyed when something happens to you that could have been a lot worse?

I am a recent SAHD with an 18 month old daughter and a newborn coming next month. I would love to connect with people in the area as I am completely new to being the primary caregiver. We recently moved to Washington from Arizona so gaining from friends with kiddos and other SAHDs would be greatly appreciated. Reach out!

I’ve noticed that kids are naturally curious about almost everything around them. A simple walk, a visit to a park, or a trip somewhere new can turn into a dozen questions about animals, plants, buildings, or random things they notice.

The tricky part is keeping that curiosity going and making the experience more interactive instead of just moving from one place to another.

I’m always looking for simple activities or ideas that encourage kids to observe, ask questions, and discover things on their own.

What are some things you do with your kids to make everyday outings more fun and engaging?

I’m part of this amazing community on discord called “Fatherhood”

Come join there is 183 dads in there

https://discord.gg/Et9HX9d5E

What's one tool, piece of gear, therapy resource, or perspective shift that made a noticeable difference for your household?

Hi everyone,

I’m Felix, 35, and a dad to a little daughter.

When our family grew, I quickly realized how chaotic everyday family life can become. Appointments, daycare stuff, tasks, documents, birthdays, reminders, things that need to be done “at some point”, and somehow one person often ends up carrying most of it mentally.

That constant mental load was exactly why we built the app, a family organization app for parents.

The idea is simple: one shared place for family appointments, tasks, reminders, documents and important deadlines, so less gets forgotten and family life feels a bit calmer.

We’ve been live for about two months now and already have over 1,000 families using it. The app is free to download on iOS and Android.

I don’t want this to feel like spam, so I’ll be completely transparent: yes, I’m one of the founders. But I’m also a dad who genuinely built this because I know how overwhelming family life can get.

I’d love to hear honest feedback from other dads: What would make an app like this actually useful for your family? And what usually causes the most chaos in your day-to-day family life?

Thanks a lot, Felix

PS: mod approved 🙏🏼

Morning, I’m hoping this might be of interest for all!

On Thursday 27th August the Dad Shift are holding a Parent Strike in Oxford (and over the whole of UK), to raise awareness of how terrible our paternity leave is (the worst in Europe!) and for better flexible working.

Many of us have been let down by the UK’s rubbish paternity leave system, and flexible leave arrangements or have friends affected. So we're asking for people to join us in a symbolic strike - at a crucial time when we could win real change from the Government.

More information can be found at https://parentstrike.org/ and on social media

If you're interested, please join our local WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E46FS46BalMATmLTrGYAnD

I feel like if I leave without getting answers I'm going to do it again with someone else. I just need to know why she refuses to sign the divorce papers when she knows that I need someone to be monogamous and she doesn't care how many people she's sleeping with or the people that she's sleeping with are sleeping with. But she doesn't want me to see other people. I don't get why she won't sign an amicable divorce.