I did some school shopping for next year today my 4 year old starts kindergarten next year and all of the polos were $1 at Walmart today so i bought 10 shirts. They didn’t have green in the girl polos so i just got other colors but green is the schools main color, so i had just accepted i was going to have to buy the green at full price somewhere else.

As im walking around still i see the boy polos the green shirts are entirely full and in my daughters size so i was hesitant to buy them but i got 4 for my daughter and they look pretty much the same as the girl polos but here is my question:

will my 5 year old daughter get bullied next year for having a boy polo? i know it’s ridiculous to think other 5 year olds will bully my daughter but i just don’t want her to be bullied or will kids that small not even notice, not the biggest issue in the world but im genuinely curious , any experiences?

We’re currently on vacation, and my son (3 1/2) must have picked something up. He has the normal sick stuff. Fever, tiredness, the works (no coughing). This would be fine if our flight home wasn’t for tomorrow! What can i even do? His father and I have to get back to work, and we have nowhere to stay past our Airbnb reservation here. Can you fly with a sick kid? It should only be a ~3 hour flight, but even the airport is a lot for a poor sick baby. I’m lost on what to do and stressed beyond measure. 🫠🫩

My 11 and 5 year old demand things instead of asking in a sentence. It’s obnoxious and super rude. For example, if my 11 year old wants to go to Dunkin she’ll say “Dunkin” instead of asking nicely. Or if my 5 year old wants another bowl of cereal she’ll just say “cereal.”

We absolutely didn’t teach our kids to act like this. We are constantly teaching them manners and reminding them to speak nicely. They don’t do this with anyone else… wtf did I do wrong and how can I fix this? It makes me feel like I’m not even a person to them at this point.

My 2.5yo has been fighting bedtime hard. Literally will not even attempt to fall asleep until 10pm at least. She’s only getting about 9 hours of sleep a day. I digress.

I’ve always tried to keep my promises with her. Even the smallest ones. Sometimes I slip up, but for some reason I place a lot of importance on the value of keeping my word.

The issue at hand is that after fighting my toddler for three hours to try and sleep, she was all cried out and said she wanted water. I said I would get her some if she stayed in bed. She said ok, I walked to the door and said “I’ll be right back, see you soon.” I filled her water, realized it was quiet, and saw she was asleep on the monitor.

So now I’m having this stupid moral dilemma, do I stay downstairs since she’s asleep now, or do I open her extremely creaky door and risk restarting the sleep routine just to bring her the water because I said I would? This is such a dumb problem to have but I’m genuinely having an existential crisis over this (I’m very tired).

Hi,

I have a new kindergartener who cries every morning before drop off. She also speaks a second language at home so I knew the transition was going to be hard, but I didn’t realize it was going to be this heartbreaking. She went to daycare so I didn’t think it was going to be that hard for her, but she cries at night saying she doesn’t want to go to school and she wants to stay home. She’s never cried when going to daycare, not once.

When has your kindergartener adjusted? I am almost getting to a point where I want to keep her at home and homeschool her. I’ve seen the teacher be a little stern with the kids and I’m hoping that she’s not mean to the kids when parents aren’t around.. also sidenote the teacher has said she does just fine and tears stop as soon as she’s in the classroom but I know she’s just being courageous and holding back tears until she gets back into the car. Which breaks my heart even more!

How did your kids adjust? What helped or is it just something that needs time? Thanks.

My 26F wife and I 30M have a 4.5 year old girl in Australia. She is the light of our life. My wife is a SAHM and ive noticed this year some of the traits of only child syndrome sneaking in.

We are in a fortune position in life an money isn't a very big concern because of my work so our daughter has opportunities that most kids don't, be it the nice toys or good food, motorbike etc.

How do we balance spoiling her with everything we didnt have as kids while also teaching her the value of what shes given?

I feel like I might be a horrible parent even asking this. My husband and I were really excited last year to get tickets for a concert. We have a babysitter lined up and everything. I just got the email that Meet the Teacher night for my son’s 3k is the same night.

Should we cancel our plans to make sure we are at Meet the Teacher night? We would take a loss I’m sure on the tickets. If you think it makes a difference, my husband and/or I will be at school every day for pickup and drop off, so we will get to know the teacher I think, but I’m not sure if we are jerks if we choose to attend the concert. It is of course the one thing we have planned the whole month that would conflict with Meet the Teacher night! What would you do?

Yes I’m a terrible mom, I don’t need the additional criticism I already know.

She’s had severe constipation issues since she was 2yrs old, did ultrasounds etc and no blockages… apparently just withholding. We used laxative powder regularly etc but have it down from once a week to now once every 2 days, sometimes 3. And it has been a PROCESS.

Usually the first blob is hard and the rest is normal formed. She drinks a lot of water daily as well.

Wears a pull up to go to bed so all day will not wear it, and uses the toilet normal, then when it’s time for bed puts it on gets ready for bed then says need to poop (because the diaper is on).

I have tired things like cutting a hole in the pull up so the comfort is still there too but it’s not doing it. I’m at a point where i just get rid of all pull ups in the house and say gotta do it. But then comes the night time issue, still wet 60% of the time in the mornings.

So should I remove all that to get the poo in the potty? It will cause more constipation I have been trying tirelessly the past two months to do potty poo but it’s making night time last hours. Because that is the only attempt time. I try not to give In, but then it’s hours later and I can’t be having her going to bed at 11pm. So I give her the pull up and she either poos right then, or sleeps and does it in the morning right when she wakes up.

We have tired blowing bubbles, drinking, other random things it says to try online but she just won’t do it. Using a stool to keep legs up also.

I ask and she says she’s too cold when she poos, so I said let’s warm up the seat and give you a blanket etc. nope. Then says doesn’t like squatting. I literally said just no diaper and poo in the floor. Just get this damn diaper off. Nope. Complete withholding. And she will withhold for days.

So now school is about to start. Never thought I would be in this situation. She’s never pooed anywhere but at home in the early AM or PM. I’m scared she will have a situation at school… but maybe she needs that to be embarrassed and snap out of it. Idk, we have even explained how she can’t do this at school.

Do I get rid of all diapers Inc. bed time even tho school is about to start? I don’t know how I feel about so many changes all at once.. just do it? Any other tips. I honestly don’t know what else could work. TIA

My younger baby is almost 6 months old, and my older one is 2. We’ve been using a baby monitor since our first was around 10 months, and it’s worked pretty well for us.

Right now, the younger one sleeps close to our room, but we’re getting ready to move him into his own room. That means we’ll soon need to monitor both kids at the same time.

I’m considering just adding another camera to our current Comfyer monitor, but I’m not sure how practical that is. Would it be better to buy a monitor specifically designed for two cameras?

For those who have two cameras, how does your setup actually work? Can you see both rooms on the parent unit at the same time, or does it switch between cameras? And if both are displayed, can you hear audio from both or only one?

I’m also curious if anyone has experienced lag, connection issues, or missed sounds when using two cameras.

I’d rather avoid replacing the whole system if adding a second camera works well, so I’d really appreciate hearing what has worked for other parents.

I’m 28. I’ve got a 4 year old and a 1.5 year old. I work from home but my job is extremely flexible as I’m basically just an answering service for a family business, I have no real importance. I am just at my wits end taking care of kids all day, every day. I feel as though I’m completely living my life taking care of anyone and everyone but myself. My kids aren’t bad but I can feel my fuse getting shorter with them when they do act out. Do we ever get to feel like a person again while they’re little or does that only happen when they get older. I feel like I’m being robbed of their childhood and doing the same to them by being so emotionally drained. How do I make this easier on myself? Is that even possible? I have a husband who helps and I do have someone to give me an occasional break from the kids about once a month.

I just need someone to tell me there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and that maybe everyone is going through this and that maybe I’m not as bad of a bad mom as I feel.

How do you find time to shower, eat, cook, do laundry, or even use the bathroom when your newborn needs you constantly?

My parents are helping right now, but they’ll be leaving soon, and I’m already stressed about managing everything alone. Especially when I need to use the bathroom or take a shower and there’s no one else around to watch the baby. What do you do if the baby starts crying while you’re in the bathroom? Do you leave the baby somewhere safe and go anyway, or wait until they’re calm?

I’d love to hear your realistic newborn survival tips!

The biggest issue I have is her texting me from school, relying on me to help her make decisions she should be making on her own. I HATE that they allow phones in school. Not in the classroom. But everywhere else during the day. “Should I go for geometry help during lunch?” “Ugh I forgot my Invisalign” “I’m so stressed I have so much homework” “Should I email the athletic director and what should I say?”

She’s a sensitive kid, very indecisive, stresses a lot, and has anxiety. But a really good kid. We’ve talked a LOT about her needing to make her own decisions. I really feel like I don’t coddle her and I don’t always help her out when she texts me throughout the day - I often give a quick “your decision” or “I’m busy, good luck” response. Which I often am! I work (my schedule is very fluid, sometimes I’m at home and sometimes not) but it’s often pretty grating to be getting texts about things my 15 year old should be figuring out on her own during my workday.

I think I really need to set some boundaries here and have a talk about this or this issue isn’t going away. She’ll likely be in college in 3 years or wherever she is at 18 she just can’t be texting mom about every little thing. Or god forbid what if something happens to me, I might not always be around for her in a time of need. My biggest concern though is that she’s using this as a crutch because she’s had a lot of social struggles, especially recently. Her closest friend ditched her and she’s struggling to find her place at school. Sometimes she has no one to talk to at lunch, so I know it’s a relief to be able to chat with me a bit or to vent. She had a really really tough time with lunch at the end of last year and it really broke my heart.

It’s hard to find people who can relate to this because most people’s teenagers want nothing to do with them! My daughter on the other hand wants to talk and be with me constantly. And yes while it is in some ways nice, it just worries me that she’s not maturing as she should and gaining her independence. Ironically she did go away for 2 weeks this summer and thrived, and I thought maybe we’d see some changes, but now with the new school year I feel like we are right back to square one.

I desperately need advice. My ASD level 1 son is saying he doesn’t want a party this year (birthday is in a month) and wants us to pretend his birthday is just a normal day.

We moved in the middle of the school year earlier this year to a new district and he starts school back up again next week and so that’s been challenging. He has not seen any friends from his old school/neighborhood except once, and a few times played an online game with an old school friend.

He seemed to make friends at his new school and had one over for a play date but then didn’t want to play with him again. His new teacher said he seemed to be making friends. But I know he is very shy and withdrawn socially.

He says he has no friends, nobody likes him and has low self esteem. But then he will turn around and mention someone at school as a “friend” so it’s hard to know what he really means by this.

I’m worried he doesn’t want a party because he thinks no one would want to come and so not having a party would reinforce this belief. But I also want to respect his wishes.

I am torn between having no party, or a small party (but worried that will put more pressure on him and emphasize any social awkwardness), or a party where I invite his whole new class plus some old friends (maybe more kids will be a bigger buffer for awkward social feelings?).

I need help please. I feel immensely guilty that I have not been keeping up on social relationships for him but have been very overwhelmed myself.

I need some advice, tips, words of wisdom or just commiseration regarding my 17mo old daughter’s behavior.

Ever since she was born, I’ve had a difficult time with her. She was very colicky and cried for hours everyday until about 4 months old. Maybe even until 6 months, it’s all a blur to me now. She was exclusively breastfed and refused bottles, refused pacifiers, didn’t like to be with my husband so it was all on me 24/7. She had some gas issues and thrush as a baby as well so I’m sure that contributed to the fussiness.
Fast forward to now and she still whines and cries incessantly. If she doesn’t get what she wants, cries. If she falls on her bum (lightly!), cries. Diaper change? Ear shattering screams. The other day I told her no, food doesn’t go on the floor (after she threw her dinner) and she LIFTED HER LEG AND TRIED TO KICK ME! Like what?? I’ve never seen such a .. rebellious? Child in my life. She will cry, stop to look if anyone is paying attention to her, and then keep going. This is so hard and I feel bad but her attitude is so exhausting to me. Does it get better? Has anyone dealt with a “spirited” toddler like this? She does have some wonderful qualities.. she is persistent, smart, independent, and sweet when she wants to be but the whining and crying is driving me NUTS!!!

My daughter started kindergarten and was very excited to start following a big girl routine. I very much want her to have discipline / responsibility/ life skills so we developed a short check list of after school things to do. The rule is when she gets home from school she is to wash her hands, unload her lunch box and put the dishes in the sink, and put a snack and fresh water bottle in her backpack for the next day. It takes just a few minutes but I feel it is really important for her to get into a routine and also will help her build confidence / long term life skills. She is also responsible for practicing the piano for 10+ minutes and that’s pretty much the routine.

When she is with me she definitely still needs prompting from time to time but she gets her little routine done after school.

I work two nights weekly and when my husband is caring for her after school everything goes by the way side. Piano is skipped some the time because he has bad time management skills TBH but the other after school routine never gets done. I always come home late at night when she’s in bed and find the snacks and water bottle not packed. It’s a small thing but it irks the crap out of me because these small habits are setting a foundation for a life of success. It’s also undermining because I work so hard to help her be responsible and establish a routine and it’s like one step forward, two back.

I am just insane and rigid and asking too much? I’ve talked to him about this multiple times but tonight walked in to the same situation.

I’d love to hear what you all are going as! Also…. Any suggestions for a triangle family? He will be 18mo for Halloween. We’re a huge Halloween family, but I always panic when choosing a costume!. Now that I have to theme THREE? Oh lord. So I thought I’d start early 😂

We are hosting our annual Halloween party, and our theme is witches. I’m not fully set on us having to dress in party theme, though. It’s more for the food and deco. But I do like the idea of all 3 of us having a group costume, especially since this is probably our last year where it’s more our choice than his.

Happy Spooky Season! 🎃 👻

Hi all, just looking for opinions.

My son started daycare yesterday at the same school he’s been in for the past year. His dad picked him up and when they came home, he mentioned to me that our son needed to be cleaned.

He was wearing some light cargo shorts and I guess he had some watery poop and it was showing through. However, the poop had dried and crusted in his underwear. My son told me that it happened during nap time and he hadn’t peed since then because he didn’t want the poop to fall out.

I have to speak to the school tomorrow and find out when nap time was, and also why none of the teachers noticed it. My son said there were four teachers in his class today.

I’m very heartbroken that my son had to be in dirty underwear for probably hours until he got home. He was there from 8am-5pm. I am torn bc he will be starting preschool in the same school next week. He is only in daycare this week bc summer camp ended.

What would you do in this situation?

We recently welcomed a new mom and her son to our toddler play group. During the first play date, I noticed various things such as the boy acting angrily to the other kids. At one point he picked up a rock and threw it at my daughter even though I told him not to throw it. I believe he may have hit another child in the arm with a toy golf club, but none of the other mothers witnessed this behavior. If I invite him to the party I risk his actions harming any of the children present. If I don’t invite him I risk alienating the new mom and her son. They have both heard from the other parents that the party is in the near future. The mom who invited the newcomers admitted after the play date that the child has had other concerning behavior

I’m trying to decide if this is just a personal problem/annoyance….or if it’s something that should be corrected.

To be clear, I do not text anyone except my wife or mother on my personal phone when my kids are awake/around. I consider my phone behavior to be acceptable.

My kids (twins, 9) will regularly come up from behind me and start reading the texts. Today, my daughter asked me why it mattered if they saw what I wrote to mommy. It’s a good question. But sometimes we are talking about school, kids at school, teachers, etc.

Is it inappropriate behavior for my kids to hover and read my texts? Or is this a personal problem?

Thanks.

Today was my 6 year old daughter’s first day of school. Her dad and I went to pick her up where we put her on the bus this morning, and the bus was 10 minutes late (to be expected on the first day). When it got there about 15 kids piled off but my daughter was nowhere to be seen. I started to panic and was questioning the driver, but he threw his hands up and said that he didn’t know where she was, if she had gotten on the bus, or if she was let off at any of the stops he’d already been to. He said it was the first day and she doesn’t need to be met at bus by parents because she’s not in kindergarten now (decided by OSTA). Her dad went to her old bus stop in case she was there and I stayed at the one she was supposed to be at.

I called the school immediately and they basically put me on hold for 10 minutes before the principal came on profusely apologizing to me and saying she didn’t know how it happened but she hoped she’d just gotten on the wrong bus. It took 30 minutes to reach the bus driver we told her she might be with, which we only knew because luckily a little girl who she was on the bus with last year told us she hadn’t gotten on the right bus and told us which route she thought she went on. Turns out it was one number off but her mom and I used that to figure out the real number (the same route she was on last year).

The school finally located her on the bus but had no idea where we could pick her up, potentially needing to be at an entirely different school because that bus was over 40 minutes late and had to start its next route. The bus passed us and I waved it down and grabbed my daughter and just gave her a huge hug. Her dad raced over and the little girl who told us which bus she was on and her parents stayed with me until we found her.

Everyone was very apologetic and the principal offered a bus tag for her for my peace of mind (they only do this for kindergarteners usually) and said she will personally get her on the right bus tomorrow.

However I’m appalled this could even happen, and if she had been let off at a random stop that’s over 30 minutes of the school not being able to let us know if she was even on a bus. A 6 year old potentially completely by herself near busy intersections. I talked to my daughter and she said this morning she got off the bus and didn’t know where to go until a parent helped her because she was crying. When I asked what happened at the end of the day she said someone asked her what bus she was on and she told them her old route number. I feel like there should be something in place for kids so young, and I’m not sure where to go from here as this could have ended very differently.

I’m just glad she’s safe.

My MIL is a big crafter and makes us a lot of homemade stuff. It's beautiful things like quilts, toys etc.

I can tell that it takes a lot of time and effort and we use a lot of the things.

Now some stuff is unfortunately dangerous in my opinion. Like a beautiful play mat, but with what feels like hundreds of buttons sewn on. Or a busy book, also full of buttons. In general there is a overuse of tiny buttons on stuff.

With the mat I just cut all the buttons off, the busy book baby only gets when supervised and I'm holding it at all times.

I tried to bring up my safety concerns, but all I get is rolled eyes and that I'm overreacting and that her kids were fine playing with these things etc.

Should I just put everything away till baby is older? Or just keep cutting off everything? It's just so frustrating.

My son and I met a family who is at the same school as he is and who happens to live right down the street.
I talk to the mom often and we tried to get our boys together almost weekly last year when they were in TK. We stopped over the summer because I was welcoming a new baby and they were always around people who were sick.

My son loves other kids but it seems like not a lot of kids love to play with him. He loves tractors, construction, monster trucks and all of that.

I have noticed that prior to me having the new baby, my son seems very excited to play with boy from down the street. But it doesn’t seem to be reciprocated. When my son would go over to his house to play, the boy wouldn’t play with him much, only boss my son around and tell him he isn’t allowed to play with x toys.

Recently my son has mentioned that he has tried to play with the boy at recess but the boy keeps telling him no he doesn’t want to play with my son. My son mentioned he felt really sad that the boy didn’t want to play with him.

Do I keep scheduling playdates even though it seems like the boy doesn’t really like my son? My son says his best friend is the boy down the street.

I'm currently at whatever stage you call this -

Woke up at 3am and shot up straight in bed because I heard my bedroom door open. Told my husband someone is in the house, to which he threw the covers over himself.

Cue my 2.5 year old walking in proud because she opened the door by herself and closed it on her own. She was cold with a little bit of sweat wanting to cuddle so I think she had a bad dream. 🫠

We have Drs appts today, so I'm taking a nap when we get back.

My daughter will be 3 in november, i’m a SAHM and my husband has been pushing part time daycare for a while. It’s for good reason i guess, i got diagnosed with several things since giving birth, ehlers danlos,fibromyalgia,and chronic fatigue syndrome. I can’t do enough for my daughter as much as i want to and it breaks my heart. I know it will be good for her but i got a call from her new teacher today about meet the teacher on Thursday and i’ve been sobbing ever since. I thought I would be ready by the time september rolls around but im not and now i don’t know what to do. She starts next week and i just want to unenroll her and keep her home with me. Everything in me is telling me to keep her with me. I honestly don’t know why im coming on here with this but i don’t know. i’ve spent ever single day of her life with me minus the half days she spent without me when she was in the nicu for a month. I just can’t stop crying about it

We joined an outdoor private school and today was the first day. I was informed the other kids were hitting my child with sticks and just being really mean to him. It’s a small class with three teachers and I’m sad this happened because we picked this private school because we believe in the nature inspired educational thing. Our son spends all his time outdoors or playing indoors so we figured an outdoor nature school would be awesome. But it sounds like at one point the kids were hot and tired and all decided to take it out on mine?
Even hitting him with sticks. Thinking of just putting him in public school now because this was awful