Parenting Contents Archive

Anyone else NOT a fan of headbands on baby girls?

I have a sweet 10 week old little lady and I promised myself since before pregnancy I wouldn’t put a headband or bow on her head. Anyone else find these to be a) unnecessary and b) kinda ugly? As a baby myself who had limited hair for the first several months/years (read: bald), and who has had a baby with little hair as well, I still don’t see the need. Is it to prove she is a girl? Or is it a fashion statement? Either way, I won’t be doing it!

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My teenager watched porn and told me, not sure how to address

Last night, my 15 yo teenage son told me he went on a porn site and watched porn, since he felt extremely curious. I was half sleeping, so just thanked him for being honest and for letting me know. My kids feel safe opening up to me, so I'm thankful he confided in me. However, I'd like to approach him about it today, as I don't feel like it's healthy for him, yet I also don't want him to feel shamed, or attacked/controlled by me. I just want to explain how this is unhealthy/unsafe practice. Being curious is fine, I just don't want it to become a habit. Any ideas on the best way to approach? Note, my husband won't be able to talk to him, as our son doesn't feel comfortable sharing with his dad.

When do you find time to workout?

Dad here. Ever since having kids 3 years ago I have struggled to find time to workout. I wake up with the kids in the morning so mommy can get a few extra minutes of sleep. Then it’s off to work. After work we have dinner and family time. By the time the kids (3 and 18 months) are in bed, it’s 830-9 pm and time for mommy and daddy to have adult time and unwind. Basically there is no time for me or my wife to focus on our self. How do you do it?

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New parents, what are your New Years Eve plans?

First time mom with a 4 mo old and I can’t remember what it feels like to do anything past 7pm. Dinner these days is now at 5pm and I try to go down by 9pm to get ahead of evening wakings and nursing. All that to say we will probably do the same routine NYE. Maybe clink champagne after the babe is down, take a hot shower, and call it a night!!

What are your go-to healthy postpartum snacks?

Every pediatrician, ob, and lactation consultant appointment ends with "make sure you're drinking enough water and eating a balanced diet". Well, breakfast this morning was a leftover brownie and lunch was a glob of peanut butter licked off a spoon. It's really hard to manage eating well on days when Dad goes into the office and baby is taking up one arm or if I put him down, I never know when he is about to go off. So what are your go-to healthy-ish snacks or meals that are easy and quick and ideally one handed? There are only so many hard boiled eggs I can eat.

I am already hating Christmas vacation

I have an 11 year old son with adhd. His boredom looks like picking on his siblings, breaking things, making lots of irritating noises (that are always geared toward someone until they snap and then it’s a huge fight between kids). It is 3:00 on the first day of winter break and I want to scream. It has just been one thing after another. And it’s absolute refusal on his part: “why not walk to the library?” “No that’s stupid” “go downstairs and hop on the trampoline” “no that’s dumb”. Okay then you can take your toys upstairs. “Nnnooooo that’s so boring”. “Okay then stop picking on your sister or you’ll go to your room” I had planned on reading The Golden Compass together today. And doing some baking and wrapping presents and all it is is managing him and keeping him from pestering his younger sisters. I want to scream.

Christmas presents for partner

What are y’all getting your SO? My husband is very hard to buy for. He buys everything for himself. He doesn’t have a xmas wish. And really feel guilty right now for not knowing what to get him

How to help 15 year old daughter with fear of growing up?

Recently my teenage daughter has had several breakdowns about getting older and is especially worried about our elderly family members dying. She is also stressed about working even though she’s never actually had a job yet. She says she feels like she will be wasting her life working jobs. I have no idea where this is coming from! No one in our family is unhealthy or near death. No one is pressuring her to start working or grow up too fast. I did talk about how me and her father are older than most parents at her age because she is the youngest and we had her late (I’m 56, Husband is 51). Maybe that set her off? I just do not know how to help because she is more upset about aging than I am!

Formula is not evil or toxic

I am exclusively breastfeeding but if my baby is advised to have formula top ups due to medical reasons I would do it in a heartbeat to help my baby. And I did with mine at the beginning as she had jaundice. Some mums get angry or upset or even refuse formula altogether when advised by medical professionals to do so to help their babies. I think it's a bit extreme, your thoughts?

Are all babies extroverts?

Or did I somehow make one? He makes so many friends whenever we go in public. I swear he’s better at small talk than me in spite of being limited to saying dada and laughing. Also he wears a cranial helmet and people stare rudely but he’s like “I ASSUME YOU’RE LOOKING AT ME BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS!!”

What made you decide to go back to work?

Obviously, it’s financially necessary for many. But I’m curious, what made you decide to be a working parent? Are you happy to be back at work? Do you work full or part-time? My LO will be starting daycare 3 days a week after the holidays. He’ll be 14 weeks. I’m not sure how I feel about going back.

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How do you get over the fear that you won't be a good parent?

I babysat my friend's toddler (2 year old) this weekend and it was awful. He cried so much, threw tantrums, threw food, hit, kicked, and hair pulled. And I know it's cause I'm not mom or dad, but there was so much I couldn't/didn't know to do. My friend made a schedule and had it ready for me just in case an emergency came up, so I wasn't left in the dark or anything. Plus I hang out with them a lot so I'm not a stranger to him. It was so bad that I had to call my friend, his mom (which I didn't want to do because she was in the hospital) and ask what to do. After I finally got him to bed an hour late, I cried cause is this what being a parent means? I know it's not going to always be gumdrops and skittles but I just felt so bad about the whole thing. For context, my partner and I planned on trying for children after our wedding next year.