Parenting Contents Archive

Partner irritation

I’m 1 week postpartum today and I’ve noticed my partner annoys the hell out of me. He never used to and it makes me feel guilty because he’s doing his best but my god he’s annoying! Did anyone else feel this way? Will it go back to normal soon?

Sleeping in same bed

I feel silly for asking this. My daughters(13) best friend(f13) is gay. They sleep in the same bed like every weekend when she comes over. I feel as if I wouldn’t let a boy sleep in the bed with her…I’m just looking for opinions here. What do?

Barnardos Wizard of Words team at @voluntireland #VIAwards - Lucy Deering, Mary Mulligan, Michelle King, Therese O'Doherty. 😊 Well done to all the nominees and winners at tonight's awards 👏 https://t.co/4dwovZmuhH

We need to have more critical conversations about SEL. The question is: How can we widen the spectrum of ways it can be critiqued? @EdSurge https://t.co/eMfYydzdnP

Afraid to Move

Currently sitting on the couch with a 1 month old and 2 year old. Both are sick and my husband is out of town this weekend for work. Just a minute ago I was comforting my crying toddler in one arm and bottle feeding the baby in my other. They have both fallen asleep. It’s almost my toddler’s nap time and I’m afraid to move and wake up either one. I think I’m just going to watch a movie on my phone and enjoy the peace and quiet before things get hectic again, just wish I had snacks. Is this peak parenthood?

What kind of parent are you? A gardener or carpenter? https://t.co/tT2LNmqRR6 #ParentingTips #ChildDevelopment

7 year old wants a Nintendo switch..

My husband says we should get him one but says it should be a shared switch between our 4 year old and our 2 year old(when he's older) and gift it to the boys. Our 4 year doesn't even know what a switch is but will try to take over for sure. I don't like this and I don't know how to explain it to him..Our 7 year old has been asking for 2 years for a switch and he's been very patient and he's a good kid. I feel like we are slighting him somehow and I don't know why. Help me find the words to help him understand? Or am I completely missing something and my husband has a point? My husband made the point that our Xbox is a family game for everybody and I get that. But this feels different somehow..am I way off here?What would you say/do? Thanks for any insight!

Separating after the holidays

After years of miserable marriage, my husband and I have mutually decided to go our separate ways after the holidays. We‘ve been together 10 years, and have a house and a toddler together. I’m sad for my lost life dreams (I’m mid-30s, and had hoped to have more kids). I’m sad our daughter will grow up with separate households. I’m nervous about ever dating again. But I’m also relieved to be out of this emotionally toxic relationship, and hopeful for the future. It’s going to be a long, weird month.

Adult direction leads to the assumption that rules are determined by an outside authority... When children play just among themselves...they realize that rules are merely conventions, established to make the game more fun and more fair, and can be changed... -Peter Gray

My friend is going through a dilemma of moving to a new country to raise her unborn baby, or staying in the US with her two kids from a previous marriage

Normally I wouldn't get involved in things like this, but my friend needs some advice, and she doesn't have a lot of people to talk to about this. My friend was married to a guy "Andy" in our town, and they had two kids together. They got divorced, and she's married to another guy "Pedro", and is pregnant with his child. Pedro is from Mexico, and we're from the US. My friend wants to move to Mexico because Pedro's alma mater is one of the best, and it just makes more sense because of his job. However, since she has two kids already, she feels bad about leaving them in the US. She could take them to Mexico, but she respects her ex husband, and doesn't want to hurt him by taking them to a different country. It's one thing to not have your kids live with you, but it's another thing for your ex partner to take them to live in another country. So she doesn't know whether to stay in the US for as long as she can (at most 3 years) or just come back to the US as often as possible

How do moms cope when their child is injured or hurt?

My 1,5 year old toddler touched the hot part of our house’s heater. His skin got burned then it started to scab. Being an active toddler, he ran around jumped up and down and the scab got scraped off and it’s now an open wound. He was crying in pain. We cleaned his wound with saline and then applied ointment meant for the burn/wound. I have been feeling immense guilt and sadness and intense worry. My heart really really aches. I’m very very sad. I don’t know how I’m gonna cope when he’s older and life gets harder and if he’s hurt, I just can’t. Please tell me how do you cope? I don’t want to make the mistake of reacting too anxiously that it affects my son emotionally. He’s asleep now, I’m crying.

Where do you put a newborn when they're awake?

Like...I know about tummy time. But you can only do so much of that. So, when a newborn is awake, where do you keep them? Swings? Loungers? Keep 'em in your arms? Can you pull your knees up and prop them up on your legs while doing face to face play? What about high chairs? Or are you supposed to keep them in their bassinet until they're older??? Help!

I’m curious, when did you stop asking visitors to wear masks around baby?

Baby is about to get her first dose of vaccines as she is 2 months old but SO and I still intend on asking people to follow our rules when they visit us (masks, handwashing…), especially with all of the illnesses running around. Thankfully our family has been respectful regarding our requests. I was thinking that we might change our rules once baby is 4-6 months old (I’ll check with her doctor). However I’m just curious: when did you feel that it was safer to “loosen your restrictions”?

Hibiscus Tea

I was enjoying a nice cup of hibiscus tea and a coworker exclaimed "I didn't know you could have that!" I'm 33 weeks pregnant for reference. I said "well it doesn't have a lot of caffeine, it's just tea." And she responded "I was told that hibiscus can cause early labor" So I asked Dr Google and there are some websites that say to consume either in moderation or avoid. Is there any scientific evidence to this? I'm nervous to finish my cup lol.

STOMP

I just have to share because this story is too funny not to. My 15mo has just gotten up from a nap. She’s thrown all of her crib toys (stuffed animals) onto the floor and has now carried them all over to me, sitting in the rocker. My husband comes in and lays down on the floor. My daughter decides that it’s time to put the toys back to her crib. So she leaves the rocker and walks over to her crib with her bunny, managing to kick my husband in the head on the way. On the way back, my husband says “Be careful not to stomp on my head”. Well my lovely daughter knows two words in that sentence - “stomp” and “head”. And boy did she. And that is how my husband got curb-stomped by a toddler. I thought I might fall out of the chair I was laughing so hard! (My husband sustained no injuries from said curb-stomping except to his ego.)