Parenting Contents Archive

My 1 year old pulled a glass jar out of the cabinet and broke it. Husband told me it's because I'm an incompetent mother.

I feel terrible. I didn't mean for my 1 year old to break the glass jar. They're ok, but my husband came out and yelled at me and told me I'm incompetent and how did I let our one year old do that. Maybe he's right? But I don't think that's what should have been said to me. I cried and he yelled some more to stop crying right now. Am I over reacting?

How do you play with a newborn?

She’s 7 weeks and i’m trying to get her to follow an object with her eyes but she’s just staring into my soul lol

Not Saying Hi to the Mom

Has anyone noticed that some people don’t say hi to you anymore? It’s always “Hi (u/yourlostlittlegirl’s husband)! Hi (baby’s name)!” It’s usually from my husband’s side but sometimes even my mom will do this. I’m less irked about it with my mom because she actively shows she cares and stays in contact with me. It just seems so rude for people who almost never see me to just straight up ignore me and say hi to my baby instead. People are weird.

Free, reward-free potty training resource?

My son is 18m adjusted (22 actual) and is obsessed with the toilet and going longer without wet diapers, waking up from naps dry, etc. We'd like to start learning more about potty training, but I see so much conflicting information out there and it all seems to put the actual helpful stuff behind a paywall. We also like to avoid extrinsic rewards / punishment as much as possible, just as a general parenting style, and don't want to do sticker charts or candy if we can avoid it. Can anyone recommend a free resource on potty training? (Like a website, blog, Instagram account, or book I might find at the library.) Thanks!

Does tour toddler say I love you?

I'm a mother of 2, I have a soon to he 5 year old. My child has never really been affectionate but she can be when she wants too. I don't force her to be affectionate, like cuddle, or let me hold her , etc. She is cuddly when sick, or when we are laying in bed she wants me to rub her back. I've realized I've never actually heard her say she loves me or when I tell her I love her which is all day everyday she never says I love you back. Which is fine, but is this a normal thing for kids? I never really have been an affectionate parent, like I never really held her constantly, she never seemed to mind. She never slept with me in the same bed and what not. I think I realize this more because my youngest seems more wanting hands on and want me to hold her more.

Help dealing with second night syndrome

This is actually our fourth day but the situation is still very similar. LO cannot enter deep sleep at all, myself (dad) tried holding/him for 1 hr and he’s still exhibiting Moro reflex constantly. Any time he gets put down he frowns and wakes up crying. The only way either of us has reliably gotten him to deep sleep is skin to skin, but that requires insane amounts of willpower for that parent to also not fall asleep in an already sleep deprived state. It’s also impossible to transfer him to crate/crib safely since he’s well, not wearing anything. Any advice other than tough it out? I don’t know how long this will keep going for.

Hey guys we are at 7weeks with our newborn with colic. Both nurses. We feel just worn down. We’ve tried everything.

He likes outside and baths. Luckily we have some family help. Man is this tough. Do you think it helps to just hold them constantly? We are sleep training so he gets used to the bassinet. Poor guys burps and farts like a grown man. Anyone else struggling?

App suggestions to motivate kids to do chores?

I have a 9 y/o and 5 y/o and I’m struggling to have them contribute to household chores consistently. In the past, I’ve used a rewards system where they get gifts for completing chores. This worked really well but the process was too manual since I had to maintain it on the whiteboard in the kitchen. I’m looking for something similar but more automated, ideally through an app that the kids and myself can use. I’ve found a few apps (like Nipto and OurHome) but they’re either not kid friendly or have been abandoned. Does anyone have any recommendations?

When did you process your traumatic birth?

He was born seven months ago, I haven’t really processed what happened to me that day. He was looking at me with his pretty doe eyes and I just heard in my head he almost died. I had a bad placental abruption and we got him out just in time for him to be perfectly healthy with an emergency cesarean, but my doctor told me the next day that he wouldn’t have made it 30 more minutes in there and we would’ve had a stillborn. I just can’t stop crying and holding and kissing him. I am so sorry mothers who lost their babies. I am so so sorry.

Help me find podcasts for me and my nanny kid

Hi! Really appreciate any help on this. The 8 year old kid I nanny and I have a 45-60 minute drive home 5x per week. We both like the bbc earth podcast and National Geographic overheard. He likes animal facts. He seems to really enjoy stories that have some suspense or mystery. He has also expressed an interest in ghosts and monsters but nothing too scary. I’m looking for suspenseful/mystery podcasts with those themes, but still kid friendly. He has adhd and autism so they need to be engaging enough to keep him interested.

Combo feeding?

I love breastfeeding and have been lucky that it has been fairly easy for me and my five week old baby so far. I hate pumping, so I am considering formula for when my husband needs to give her a bottle at night or when I am away (1-2 feedings per day, max). She takes a bottle of breast milk just fine now. Anyone use formula in this manner? TIA.

Wwyd ? Another kid tried to get my kid to do her work!

My daughter (8yrs old, second grade) is an over achiever. She loves school and is a ⭐️ student. Today her “best friend” gave her a folded up paper with her login info and told my daughter ”when you get home do my Lexia”. She told me she took the paper but threw it out later on cause she felt uncomfortable. So i asked her, do you have the most units in class? She said yes, that she reached level 14 today and it was announced in front of the class. I told her she needs to tell her friend tomorrow that she threw out the paper and didn’t do her work because that is cheating. I also told her to suggest if she needs help that she can help her with her work and call her after school. My daughter has asked me not to say anything to her teacher and I want to respect her wishes but I’m conflicted. She gets praised often in front of her peers and she is a people pleaser, so i do not want others to take advantage of her or get jealous of all the praise she receives. WWYD?

Is swaddling with a blanket safe?

I’ve gotten mixed advice from doctors and nurses on this issue. My baby is 4 months, and our caretaker will swaddle him arms out with a blanket. Is this safe? Should I just tell her wearable blanket? I’m scared that even with it securely wrapped he will get loose in the blanket. Thanks for any advice!

Sick with every pregnancy?

Hi mamas! I’d love to hear about everyone’s experience (or lack thereof) with “morning” sickness. I have a 13 month old and a 3 year old. I just found out I’m 6 weeks pregnant (yikes I know but I’m elated). I was VERY sick for basically 3 months straight with both of my boys from roughly week 6/7 through to week 18/19. It was terrible. In bed eating bagels and cream cheese. Worse than I’d imagined. I’m hoping for some miracle that maybe i won’t be as sick this time around as I’ve heard it’s not always the same with each pregnancy …. My first two pregnancies were identical so the odds aren’t in my favor but I’d love to hear from you! were you sick/not sick with your babes? Consistently the same? Different? Thank you!

Is this what the top gums look like while teething?