Parenting Contents Archive

We got the custody of my husband's nephews and niece. Should we let them call us mom/dad?

My brother in law and his wife died in May and we took their 3 young kids (3 yo twins and 11mo) home, it's been hard but for everybody but it's getting better. But anyway, the youngest is starting to say mama and dada and we know that's usually the first words for a baby but we're wondering if she's gonna call us mama and dada and whatever we should correct her and tell her to call us auntie and uncle, her brothers call us this way right now. This is super comflicting for us because obviously we're gonna raise them like our own but their parents were BiL and his wife and that's always gonna be this way even though they're dead so we don't know.

A child's ability to read “on grade level” by third grade is often a key indicator of future academic success. @NataliePateGwin @USATODAY https://t.co/OMeVvGjXyg

To the friends I lost by having a baby

To the child free ex friend who told me I'm boring when I was 8 weeks postpartum. Of course I'm boring, I have a now 4 month old and I'm on maternity leave. It's not a holiday, I am the full time care giver to a tiny incapable human. It might not be interesting to you , but I listened to you talk about stuff I'm interested in because it's important to you and you were important to me. To the ex friend who ended our friendship because I didn't tell her about my pregnancy in person. It was lockdown. What were you expecting? To the ex friend who "needs space to come to terms with" my elective c-section because you had 4 vaginal births without pain relief. FUCK OFF AND DON'T COME BACK.

Activity is so important for everyone’s physical and mental well-being, and just because you have a new baby doesn’t mean this important time needs to disappear. You might just need to be a bit more creative in figuring out how to get it! Here's how: https://t.co/kOgsSTLmI5

Crying because my baby is too cute

My LO just fed me a piece of pasta from her dinner then offered me her tippy cup to wash it down, it's just too cute for me to even deal with right now. If anyone needs me I'll just be over here crying

When to pierce ears?

So my little girl is 3 weeks old. The other night my MIL was asking about her birth stone and stated that she plans to get her earrings. I wanted to tell her to hold off as husband and I have not decided when or if we would do it. I have had my ears pierced since I was 2.5 which I thought might be a good time. However my mom admitted that she regrets doing it at that age and would have waited a bit till I could ask for it and take ownership of the care. So I am just wondering what are your thoughts or rules on when to pierce your daughters ears?

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Sometimes I don't actually feel like I'm a mom yet

Has anyone else delt with this? Does it go away or do we just get used to the imposter syndrome? it's not in a PPD way or anything, I've just never really felt like an adult either, just like a teenager roleplaying as an adult if anything (I'm 25). Now that I have a child, I feel more like I'm babysitting sometimes or like an older sister. Don't get me wrong, I love him like a mother, he's my whole world, but it's almost like I stole someone else's baby and claimed him as my own? It's just so hard to wrap my head around the fact that this tiny adorable human is actually MINE and I made him.

How do i get my 3yo to poop on the potty?

My 3yo is potty trained well when it comes to going pee: He knows when it's time to pee, asks for help, and gets the job done. Rarely has accidents. But when it comes to pooping, he almost always goes in his pants. He'll come get us after it happens to get cleaned up, and frankly it's getting very old. We've tried giving him treats to sit on the potty and have had little success with that approach. We've tried a star system - 3 poops gets him a reward - but he's not taking to it. It's a daily thing, and we are out of ideas. We talk with him each time it happens about what needs to change but it's just not sinking in. Anyone had to deal with a similar situtation?

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My husband remained fairly calm and cool during the run-up to the Big College Goodbye, but at the last minute, as we're ready to hit the road - he morphed into a different person. https://t.co/tDLiK4yuyU

What do yall do with 'downtime'?

When I have some time to breath ie 1 year old is napping, 3 year old at preschool, I want to veg. I want to doom scroll, eat, sit on the couch, do nothing. When the kids go to bed I'll do a reset on the house and water the garden. Not always though, sometimes I just do not want to. My husband is a busy bee. He always has to be doing something. He works from home 4/5 days during the week. When he isn't actively working he is cleaning/fixing/gardening/ect. He never gives me flack for sitting on my ass, but sometimes I feel a little bad. Part of me wants the motivation to do more shit during my down time, and sometimes I do! But I also get so overestimated with these kiddos that I just need to do nothing. I do not understand his busy bee personality.

My Childrens ( Our ) Best Friends ( Family ? ) Moved Away

Hi, Our closest family friends moved away today. We are so happy for them ! But we are sad for us. I'm sad, but keeping it togther. My wife is distraught. My kids are very sad too. They are all crying and I don't know what to do besides keep it together. I have to work. I can't take time off. The last 2 years of my life have been nuts and I'm playing catch up. How do I help my family get through this.

How do I get out of this funk?

I’m tired. I have a three and one year old. They are on opposite nap schedules as the one year old still takes two naps a day- morning and afternoon. The three year old takes naps most days around noon. I have tried pushing the baby to one nap a day but she wasn’t having it and she sleeps better at night when she has the two naps. But all I want to do is sleep and not have any responsibilities. I am on meds and have a therapist but idk I just feel tired- especially today. I have been a stay at home mom for three years now. I can go back to work but finding childcare is the biggest hurdle. All of the daycares are full. They are expensive. I’m home sitters are hard to come by. I am tired of being a mom and want a break but there is no end in sight. I am tired of the day in and day out routine. Family works full time so they can not help. What has helped you besides time and the kids getting older? I’m in the thick of things and can’t seem to get out of survival mode.

16M My Mom gets really worried when I go out "late"

Ever since I started going out and coming home later than 10h30, my mom has always insisted on picking me up and the days she can't she says I can't come back later than 10h30. I can almost understand this but we live in Switzerland, a veerrrry safe country and I don't know if she should talk about this with a therapist because it prevents her having fun when she (pointlessly) worries about me.