Parenting Contents Archive

Ugly baby clothes

Did anyone else receive the ugliest damn clothes as gifts? I’m really struggling because I have ocd and live very minimalist lifestyle, and strongly believe that if something doesn’t bring joy then you shouldn’t keep it. But I also hate being wasteful so I am conflicted 😂 it also doesn’t help that a lot of it came from my evil mil so it makes me want to physically set some of this stuff on fire, she bought my baby onesies that say stuff like “ladies man” and “men are superior” like wtf am I supposed to do with that sexist shit😂

Can we define what constitutes science and evidence based commentary and reinforce it as a rule?

I think it would be great to refresh everyone on what constitutes “science based”/ “evidence based” vs anecdotal evidence, how to determine unbiased and objective sources, and maybe even include a high level refresher of the scientific method / research study literacy. It would also be nice if we could curb some of the fear-mongering and emotionally charged commentary around topics such as circumcision, breast feeding, etc. It feels like some of the unchecked groupthink has spilled over from some of the other parenting subs and is reducing the quality of information sharing / discourse here.

Does it bother you when your parents or parents-in-law call your kids ‘their babies’?

For ex: ‘where’s *my* boy/girl?’ Or ‘there’s *my* baby!’ How do you nicely get that to stop without directly confronting someone? Especially if said person would probably get upset/offended and I’m trying to keep the peace?

Favorite pacifiers?

My one month old is indifferent to pacifiers. He’ll sometimes spit it right out and sometimes hold it for 30 seconds then lose interest. I’ve tried to be mindful of not just shoving it in his mouth during stressful times. That feels a bit like telling someone in a stressful situation to “just calm down”. Happy or sad, he’s kind of meh. Our ped said we should be trying a bit harder to have him use one as another tool in our soothing toolbox. We’ve tried the following: Philips Avent, Chicco Physioforma (favorite so far which isn’t saying much), Nanobebe Flexy, and the Dr Browns one. We use Dr. Brown bottles and have from week 1 so was sure that one would be a hit as he loooves to suck on the bottles after they are done. I even placed the bottle (nipple and all) within the Dr Browns pacifier and still nothing. Can folks send your faves please? Or tips to make pacifiers more interesting?

When do kids start to benefit from team sports?

I have a 3.5 year old who takes swim class, but I've been feeling a little guilty that some of his peers are in soccer or t-ball in he's not. He's also in daycare fulltime so he gets plenty of socialization. When is a good age to start team sports? Would my child benefit from team sports as a 3.5 year old?

Is it possible to work from home with newborn?

I’m a wfh teacher so I’m on a webcam teaching 2nd grade 6 hours a day. I have to go back to work 6 weeks post partum. Is it even possible to do this with a 6 week old?

Toddler’s interactions slightly ‘off’ according to key worker at nursery

So I went to pick up my toddler today (32mo) and finally caught up with his key worker. She was generally positive - he’s making progress, coming out of his shell, asking lots of questions to learn etc. She said he’s attempting to interact with other children but it’s just ever so slightly ‘off’. He’ll go and sit near another child, won’t say anything much, when they shuffle along because he’s too close, he’ll shuffle along too. She said he’s not reading the cues that they don’t want to sit that close to him. She also said he joins in with nursery rhymes but while all of the children sing in sync, he’s usually about 10 seconds behind. I dunno if this is normal stuff? She said she reckons he will slowly learn these things but it isn’t coming instinctively to him like it does to the other children. Do children at this age know how to read social cues like this? Is he not still a bit young to understand completely? What can I do to help push him along? Thanks!

In-laws disturbing my 1 month old

What does it take to explain to grown ass adults that you shouldn’t touch a sleeping baby? Showered fed burped and sleeping peacefully in the living room in his bassinet. Left MIL to watch him while I go inside to pump for 15mins and within 15mins he’s crying outside. I go outside and see my sister in law cradling him and said “oh he has gas”. I checked and he has NO gas. I can also smell my MIL’s strong ass perfume on my kid so I know she picked him up while he was asleep and that woke him up. Every time I take a whiff of this smell it boils my blood. Let the baby sleep!!!

Milestones That Broke Your Heart

My 5 month old has repeatedly refused his favorite pacifier at nap time. Our routine had always been sleep sack, pacifier (we called it Paci Bear because it had a stuffed bear attached), snuggles, crib. The last week or so at nap time, baby gets mad when I try to offer him Paci Bear and turns his head away to fall asleep. I know this is a good thing, to not be over dependent on a pacifier, but it also means my baby is getting big and it hurts. What milestones have your little ones hit that have broken your hearts?

Let's Talk Toys!

My girl is about to be ONE! People keep asking me what she needs or wants for her birthday. I started an amazon list with some toys and clothes that I can share with people, but I am really not sure what to recommend or even get for her myself as she is our first. What are some of the best things you got for your kiddos in their first year of life that they thoroughly enjoyed and used?

Ritalin and Adderall

Anyone have experience? Daughter has ADHD-Inattentive, but seems pretty mild. She can concentrate for hours on a task she’s interested in, but often daydreams at school. You can classify me as anti-drug, just wondering how others felt putting their child on the above medications.

Confused about sleep training

I have been told by friends and family that I should be sleep training my baby soon, but I am genuinely confused. What exactly is sleep training? My baby gets sleepy around the same time every night and usually wakes for two feedings overnight, usually around the same times. Would sleep training mean ignoring him when he wakes up hungry so that he learns to sleep through the night? Does it mean teaching him to fall asleep on his own (he currently needs to be rocked to sleep). This post isn’t about whether I should sleep train or not. I’m just not sure what sleep training would mean for my baby considering he already has a routine.

Parental tone of voice

Looking for recommendations on how to get my husband to relax with the children. We have a 4yo child with ASD, yes they’re frustrating at times, but nothing too major that can’t be resolved with patience and explanations. I’m now on the 5th time of asking him to watch his tone & to stop raising his voice with the kids. Sometimes he’s so loud that even I as an adult would jump, can’t imagine what the 4yo feels like. He doesn’t take long to get at that point either, maybe one or two warnings before barking at them to listen. Frankly it’s really bothering me, as I can see how that will impact their self-esteem and the ability to advocate for themselves in future. I can’t keep asking him to „watch his tone and highlight the shouting.“ any advice on how to get him to recognise how it feels? To add- he’s never hit the children, never been close, it’s just the rapid escalation vocally.

Yard work with littles

Has anyone come up with a good system for doing yard work with a baby? I’m getting ready to go back to work and my grandma will be watching my 10mo, she’s hoping to get some weeding and planting done while she has LO and I agree that spending some time outside in their (shady) backyard will be very good for her. She crawls but doesn’t walk yet and my grandma can’t wear her in a carrier, does anyone have any methods they’ve tried for getting yard work done with a baby around?

Watching shows around 1 year old

So I have a one year old daughter that I stay home with and sometimes I’ll put a movie on for myself to watch in the background as I’m cleaning. Tbh she doesn’t pay much attention to the tv she’s usually playing so I’m not worried much ab screen time but I had Twolight, New moon on and she happened to be watching and It was a scene when jasper attacked Bella and she got scared and started crying!!! I felt so bad and honestly I wasn’t aware that she’s able to kind of interpret things like that. I obviously know she doesn’t know what’s happening in the movie but it still shocked me. Now I feel like I can’t play my shows around her cause she’s grasping more than I thought. What do you guys thinks and how do you approach this situation?