Parenting Contents Archive

How to Help My Son Identify Gender at School

My son is 10. He recently became friends with a student in his class and today told me, “mom, I’m not sure if my new friend is a boy or a girl?” We had a good chat about gender identify and gender fluidity and I gave him some tips about using “them” or “they” when referring to their friend if he’s unsure of their gender or listen to see how other people refer to this friend. We also talked about being sensitive to how people want to be called - for example if this friend identifies as a girl, don’t call her “he” etc. Any other suggestions or tips to tell him? I want to be sure he’s being respectful and sensitive. He’s always been one of those kids who hangs out with girls and boys so I don’t think it matters to him - he’s just curious about his new friend and I don’t think outwardly asking the friend is appropriate. It’s worth noting this friend has a gender neutral first name.

I’m tired of my mom chastising my decisions as a parent.

I told my mom about some research I had done about the emotional issues that can arise from your child learning the Easter bunny and Santa aren’t real. I decided I would tell my child that these things are imaginary, but we can still play santa and the tooth fairy. My mom was irate. She started telling me I’m taking “the magic of imagination” away from them. She went on a tangent about how we’re so politically correct in my generation and she’s sick of relating psychology to kids. This isn’t the first time she’s done it. She gives me shit for not letting my child watch tv right before bed and not giving him real chocolate milk (I give him pediasure) When I try to tell her why I do things a certain way she talks louder and over top of me. She tells me I’m ridiculous. I’m really frustrated and hurt.

Since young children don’t often have an opportunity to exercise choice and control, free play can be a liberating experience, nurturing independence and relieving stress. @EdSource @KarenDSouza4 https://t.co/M8dduPhYlY

In this week's episode of the #WeAreFamily Podcast, producer and entrepreneur @ThisIsTyJames talks to host @JulsDennison about meeting her rockstar dad @RickJames at 13! 🎸Tune in on @ApplePodcasts, or wherever you listen👆:https://t.co/Sp41uR9iE7 https://t.co/unqlA8L6xi

All 3 discipline mistakes are yep, mistakes. I see #3 so often. Work hard not to do this in my world! https://t.co/OUDuNMd7LA

TIP: Be available to listen and empathize when your child does fail... and offer solutions/suggestions... without swooping in to rescue them. #positiveparentingsolutions

I made our baby laugh

And I think it’s the most serotonin I’ve ever felt in my life

How/when do you all get "projects" done?

Our house is such a disgusting wreck lol I couldn't have people over even if I wanted to. I clean all the damn time but it's never enough. I bought a booth table in March to be built and it's still sitting in the box The over door broke and needs a new one The toilet paper holders and towel racks have all fallen down My bfs closet door is broke and just leans up against the closet now ha Water filter needs changed under the house And do much more 😭😭😭 my bf works about 60 hours a week and is understandably exhausted on weekends. He helps with the kid stuff equally when he's here and quick cleaning around the house but they follow him around like crazy while he's here I'm not sure he could get a project done if he tried. I am nursing my 3 month old so even if I could attempt one of these projects (,not really my area if expertise) I'd have to stop halfway though go nurse the baby. How do you all manage??

unpopular opinion?

i actually like sleepers with snaps over zippers. snap sleepers seem to fit him better and dont give that hump in the middle when he's in between sizes. but i cant find a lot of them anywhere. do yall have any ideas of where to look?

Toasting Marshmallows around the fire: such a fun family activity https://t.co/zXAaJY1Hmr #familyfun #Outdoorplay AFF https://t.co/lcPLV58i0x

I'm just over Christmas

It happens every year. I tell my husband I don't want to go crazy with gifts and have a broke January. Every year it's the same. Money on gifts, decorations, experiences, groceries are crazy high. I quit my second job in November and I wish I hadn't. But damn two jobs is tiring. I sometimes wish I was single again. I had many years where I just didn't buy gifts, and none were bought for me. I'm nearing 40. "Gifts" don't excite me like they did as a child. We went and saw Santa this weekend. 43.00 for FIVE pictures. I wanted to cry. Like what a waste. Plus my son was full of pee when we got up to the line. Anyway. I'm so over it. It's exhausting. Annoying. I hate Christmas music. I hate the cold, and I hate that it's dark by 5pm. Less than two weeks to go and this crap is over.

Smegma on circumcised baby boy?

Not looking for judgement here, but advice from more experienced parents. Advice for caring for a circumcised penis never seems to mention smegma buildup, so we were clueless. Our baby boy is 7 weeks old and we didn’t at first realize there was much foreskin left, so we were not pulling it back at all to clean beyond what was visible. Then a week or so ago we noticed there was some smegma buildup and then upon further inspection saw there was a fair amount of skin left and a lot of buildup beneath. After a warm bath and cleaning with water, we asked the doc about it and he recommended cleaning with water daily. Any tips (no pun intended) for cleaning without going through the whole bath ordeal every single day? Peri bottle seems like it will make a wet mess, but open to suggestions!

How to feed a 5 month old with a bottomless stomach

My son is at the cap of 36oz a formula a day, he eats 6oz 6 times a day. His pediatrician was a little taken aback by how much he's eating. He's a healthy weight, somewhere around 16lbs (he's in the 99th percentile for height, so I know where all that foods going!) But he clearly wants more at each feeding, and this has been ongoing so I know it's unrelated to any growth spurt. When I bumped him up to 7oz, I expected him to be able to wait a little longer between feeds- but he's still demanding a bottle at the same times, sometimes even barely breaking 2hrs and 40m after he ate before he's hungry crying again. It seems like he's grown a wake up from nap-feed association, maybe, if that's a thing. Like he won't settle after he wakes up until he eats, and then is happy as a clam again. I don't want to overfeed him, and i just feel like 42oz of formula is a LOT. Any advice?

If anyone has ordered clothes from Primary, do their onesies and rompers run long or short?

I really want to order from them but I’m not sure what size to get as my son is long for his age. He’s 3.5 months old and upper half fits into 6 month clothing but length wise he needs 9 month or even 12 month clothing. Especially for footie pajamas, his 9 month ones are getting tight in length so I want some rompers without footies. The onesies and pjs we have are from Carters mostly. How would you compare Primary to Carters in terms of length?

“They say, ‘Our children are too young to hear about racism.’ Who is ‘our’ children?” @onparenting @LeslieStreeter @washingtonpost https://t.co/jrr4mCLs8N