So my 5 year old attends a community arts program and does the 4 to 6 year old classes on Saturday mornings. During previous sessions that we have attended, most parents dropped off the kids and left or maybe if they stayed like worked on their laptop in the lobby. This session (which started 3 weeks ago) every parent in the class of 10 kids stayed! And are hovering over their kids and kind of doing parts of the craft for them! I read a book in the hallway to give my daughter some space but then I could hear another parent start helping her. And in this kind of sad judgy way that my daughter didn’t have a parent in there helping her! So for the rest of class today I sat in the back and came up to my child only very sporadically. Anyways it was very awkward and weird and I’m not sure if I’m doing anything wrong but it’s completely different than our previous experience. The vibe of the room is completely different too with being half full of adults now. Is this normal nowadays?

I'm part of a local parent group that mainly exists to connect parents and their kids, so the little ones can have friends. A new dad joined our group after moving from the US to our country. He is a single father to 3 girls, 3 and 1 year old twins. While introducing himself, he mentioned that he had his daughters via surrogacy after breaking up with his fiancé. My wife and I didn't think much of it, but apparently some other parents in the group find it odd that he would choose to be a single parent, and also choose to have daughters, as gender specific IVF is allowed in the US. There have been discussions why he wouldn't just find another person to start a family with, or why he would choose daughters over sons. One dad has gone as far as saying he might have ulterior motives for wanting daughters. I really don't understand this. They don't even know him and he seems to be a good dad, from what I've seen so far. Why would we immediately assume the worst about this man? Is it really so strange for a man to want to be a single parent and have daughters?

my baby daddy gives an attitude whenever i ask him to do things related to the baby. to add up, he doesnt have a work and im the one who pays for bills. its just annoying for me seeing him getting mad when i tell him to burp the baby or change the diaper. he even has the nerve to be impatient with me even after i told him that i just gave birth and i need him to be more understanding.

my baby daddy gives an attitude whenever i ask him to do things related to the baby. to add up, he doesnt have a work and im the one who pays for bills. its just annoying for me seeing him getting mad when i tell him to burp the baby or change the diaper. he even has the nerve to be impatient with me even after i told him that i just gave birth and i need him to be more understanding.

We're about to have a hard talk about respecting boundaries. I don't expect it to go well. He will be given an ultimatum. I think physical issues are possible but not super likely. I am more concerned about legal issues. He is a very crafty and manipulative man and has a good bit of experience in getting the law on his side.

I live in Illinois.

Edit: Here is a clarification about what I'm asking:

Do you have any practical physical safety tips? Recommendations on house alarm systems, what to do if he shows up, we might be changing the locks to be safe, etc.

Is there anything I need to watch out for him doing? Some sort of way he can steal money from us because of the information he has as my father or by having the child's social security number. Or some way he can get visitation rights although that seems rare in Illinois as my wife and I are together and will certainly be considered legally fit as parents.

i really like cats and although i like my baby cousin a lot (i love him to death), i don’t feel that ‘babies are soo cute’ feeling at all and i often wonder what it’s truly like to be a parent. the thought of it doesn’t make me smile or anything, it just makes me feel sort of…awkward. i often don’t know what to do with myself around babies and toddlers yet i’m oddly good with nine to twelve year old kids lol.

the thought of pregnancy makes me feel strange, even. how am i supposed to be responsible for a whole ass human being who i don’t get to give back to their parents…for pretty much all my life, or at least the first twenty-one or something.

this question is for parents who weren’t exactly fond of children. i’m not really a fan of kids and since it’s optional, i’m like ‘why have them?’ but i would like to hear what other people think, maybe there’s something they see that i don’t.

also, what’s parenting like? do you ever fear that you wouldn’t do a good job? why did you have kids even though you had the option of not doing so? what about your dreams and ambitions? if you have a partner, does that lighten the load and make it less-daunting and if you don’t, what’s your experience like?

my main question is, why did you choose to have kids when you had the option of not having kids? answers to the other questions are very much welcome and appreciated, too.

I’m 17F, and I’ve been talking to this guy on TikTok/Instagram after he DM’d me We’ve been talking for a while, FaceTimed a lot, and now he wants to meet up. We live in the same city, and we’d meet somewhere public, so it’s not like I’m planning to go somewhere private with someone I’ve never met, and I wouldn't do it anyway

But I want to tell my dad because I don’t want to hide something it and If something were to happen I want him to know who I was with and where I was even tho is next to none it would . At the same time I feel like he’s going to say no and I want to go, and once he says no I can't

Especially the men, like I'm seeing a bunch of gender reveal parties where the soon to be daddy gets butt hurt cause his seed didn't sprout a third leg. What's up with that? It makes me queasy.

I started thinking about how much more connected a child might feel to a story when they recognize the people, places, and little moments in it. But every family is different, so I’d love to hear from you- what gets your child excited about books? Do they love silly stories, seeing themselves in the pictures, choosing what happens next, or having a favourite book read again and again?

I am currently pregnant with my first. (yay! due in March) My husband and I are discussing when the second should come along, and we plan to have 3 children. My siblings are all no less than 15 months apart, and I came ten years later-whoopsie lol. We are all incredibly close but obviously they have stronger bonds being so close together, where as I have always felt a little disconnected.
I want to hear from everyone. If your children are closer together, why did or didn’t that work for you?
If you waited to have the second/ third, do you wish they were closer together or feel more comfortable with the age gap, I’m talking like 2-3+ years.
My husband is a twin and his parents say while it was stressful the first few years, when they got older it was so nice to kind of get everything done at the same time.
We are leaning towards just banging them out (sorry poor choice of words but it just makes sense lol) and I would love my children to all have a friend in one another rather than going through periods of disconnect. But having them close together also kind of scares me. Please give all your opinions/experiences!!!!

or do i even need to?. ive never been emotional with my mum, never opened up about anything except once when i was sh and she ended up embarrassing me in front of her friend. i just had a conversation with her a she found some alcohol hidden in my room, she wasnt mad but just confused and upset on why i dont open up to her or talk and then proceeded to say i hate her and that i think shes a bad mother. I dont think she is and i feel really bad for her as im not the way i am because of her but because of my dad. Though i am very uncomfortable opening up to her and honestly wouldnt mind going my life without speaking to her other than the occasional i am alive texts. But i know that would upset her which is the only reason im still talking to her. I dont know what to do or how to face her now, weve never had a conversation talking about feelings or confronting each other like that and im just so shocked and confused on what to do now i just want to crawl into a hole and dissapear. okay thanks for the rant xx

So my eight year old cousin is over, and he’s not as over as often as the three and one year old are, so I don’t have as much experience with him or kids his age. He generally listens to me tho.

I woke up early at five, he was still asleep in the living room, so I didn’t wake him up.

When he did wake up, and I noticed he didn’t go back to sleep, I asked him if he was hungry.

So he asked me if he could play on my iPad

The only game I have on there is Animal Jam, and that’s an online game that I’ve spent time playing on my file. So I do NOT want him playing on my file on there, and it’s not up to me wether or not he’s allowed to make his own

So I said “No, I don’t really have any games on there you can play”

To which he responded “none?”

And I said “I have games I can play, like online games, but I don’t want you playing that”

Then here’s where I might’ve messed up, I said “well… do you like Piano Tiles?”

He didn’t know what it was, when I explained it was a game I could download for him, he said he wanted to play it. So I downloaded it for him. It’s a game I’ve played before, so I know it’s kid friendly.

He brushed his teeth, and I made his breakfast while he played on my iPad. If I didn’t have an egg allergy, I would’ve cooked him some scrambled eggs to go with his waffles, but since I can’t handle eggs, he got air fried chicken. I also cut him up some fruit, and for his beverage. He got warm milk with honey
(I like to spoil him when I can, haha. I did ask him if he wanted that as opposed to normal milk)

The other two kids are still asleep, so it’s not like he was playing on my iPad in front of the younglings. That I wouldn’t allow. I also told him to put down the iPad to eat, which he did with no argument.

Hello everyone! So a woman in my church just announced her 11th pregnancy. (She is pregnant every 1-2 years) Everyone at my church was clapping and excited. However, I was thinking to myself. “How does she have enough time in the day to give every child what they need mentally and emotionally?!”

As parents, do you believe that this is possible? I would love to hear actual thoughts from parents.

I’m 17, and I feel like my uncle has gotten way stricter with me as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger, I could pretty much wear what I wanted and act how I wanted, but now its like everything I do is suddenly a problem. I can’t just wear what I want anymore of feel comfortable in or act like myself without them having something to say about it

I think part of it might have to do with him marrying his wife, who has two sons, because things have felt different since then and she thinks I dressed inappropriate but her sons can walk around the house shirtless and do whatever, but when it comes to me, there seem to be completely different expectations. I don’t understand why there’s one set of rules for them and another for me when we all live in the same house and I get more rules now then I was when I was little, like isn't it supposed to be the opposite

I have 2 children and an insane amount of toys (and of course they all come with a million different pieces) and I’m so tired of having to pull our corner sofa out to sweep all the toys/dust/snacks out from underneath.
I’ve seen lots of people use tapes/foams/wood/plastic to act as a stopper, but does anyone have recommendations for what they’ve found works best?
has to be sturdy as one of my children is autistic and is a picker

I am 18 and is currently a sophmore in university. However due to some problems with my dorm being of full capacity and me living generally close to the campus, I was rejected from the dorm this year, thus ended up in me moving back into my house.

My mom has always been obsessed with my sleeping schedule as I grew up, however I thought that it'll pass as she had become more lenient as of the last few years, but then after I got back home, she started implementing a strict rules that I have to be asleep before 10 pm. Which as a college student is ABSURD. For context, I am studying electrical engineering. I NEED TO STUDY. Along with all the projects, assignments, late night labs, and classes I have to juggle, I cannot sleep at 10 pm.

I tried to explain it to her but she gets crazy and starts screaming when I brought the topic up. She said I need discipline, but she has to know that I genuinely cannot do it like that right?? I think she have some sort of controlling issue and my psychiatrist suggested the same thing, but I dont know. I need a view from a parent perspective on this.

Is she genuinely normal to do that and I'm the crazy person to think that it's weird or is she genuinely a control freak?

I’m 17F, and my mom has never celebrated Halloween, like that so I’ve never gone trick or treating or done anything for it. I’ve wanted to celebrate it every year, but and this year I really want to go.

I have four guy friends, all 17, and we’ve been best friends since fifth grade. They’re planning to go out for Halloween, and I’d probably be spending most of the night with them. Since Halloween is on a Saturday this year, I coul stay over at one of their houses instead of coming home late, and come home in the morning they also all split money to pay for my costume if I’m allowed to go so she doesn't have to worry about paying it

Is 17 a reasonable age to go out for Halloween with my friends Should I ask my mom for permission and try to make it happen, or should I not even bother since we never celebrated Halloween before?

My husband and I were pretty self-sufficient as young adults. We paid our own way through multiple degrees and never asked for money from our parents, although my parents did offer to help us with the down payment on our house. We’ve also striven very hard to raise our children that way. We have given them everything they’ve ever needed, and some things things we ourselves never dreamed of: tutors, lessons, brand new clothes. We also put away money so they could have decent, reliable used cars.

And they won’t have to pay a thing for their education. (However, we will have them take out student loans. If they finish the degree program, we’ll pay those in full. If not, that’s on them). They will always have access to their college funds. My daughter moved out before she finished college and is now working. She’s a dog trainer, which she loves, but of course the pay is awful. We paid for that training course, which she has not finished.

Here’s the heartbreaking part. Recently, my father died and left me far more money than my siblings. (Yes, they loathe me. Next question.) Our plan is to invest it for our retirement so they’ll never have to take care of us. After we pass, everything will go to the kids.

Our daughter’s reaction has us floored. The day after the funeral, she demanded “her” portion of my inheritance now,calling me the nastiest names possible, accusing me of the most outlandish things. She claims it’s not fair bc she’s living paycheck to paycheck.

Unfortunately, her cousins, who received much less, (NOT MY DECISION) have been feeding her this narrative of mommy is evil and greedy and has stolen her birthright. Her friends have also egged her on, saying that it’s my fault that she is so poor.

I know the best strategy is to wait a few months for everyone’s emotions to settle, and then sit down with the kids and discuss our financial plans, calmly, no favoritism, no snide remarks. But my question is, how the hell did this even happen? This is not the daughter I raised. She’s never acted like this before. We did not raise our children this way, not by a long shot. Do her friends actually have this much sway over her? Encouraging her to act in a way that is opposite to everything we’ve instilled? I’m completely heartbroken and don’t know how to respond emotionally.

UPDATE: When I said “everything she needs,” I meant the $20K we spent annually on supports and therapies to help her overcome her disabilities.

I’m 14M, and now that I’m almost an adult and getting older I’m starting to realize people aren't going to treat me like a little kid anymore and have to be more responsible, and also can’t always get what I want or have things done for me anymore which I know it was going to happened anyway but still, isn't that what's leads to bad realtionship

Like do you still treat your kids with the same kindness as they get older, or does the way you treat them change a lot when they become teenagers? I keep seeing 16 and 17 year olds talk about having bad relationships with their parents, and tv always shows kids not having good realtionship with parents, does that happened to everyone or just TV

Parents with 2 children, what’s the best age gap? I have always wanted to have 2 kids and as I become an adult I’ve started to sorta plan my life around what would make it easier/more convenient for a future with children, not to an extreme sense just saving up some money and trying to rent near good daycares and schools, that sorta thing.
Now I’ve gotten to the point where I’m thinking about age gaps. I already know I want to have at least a 2 or 3 year age gap between them because toddlers are…challenging to say the least but I’m unsure exactly what I’d like the age gap to be so I thought I’d ask reddit lol. What’s the age gap between your kids and are there any pros and cons to it? Thanks

I'm not a parent, but as a former child, I wonder this. Like, I get it with like little kids and pre-teens, but even with teenagers, parents see it as bad behavior, if their 14-year-old does something that is objectivelly neutral, but them doing it without parental permission is what turns it 'bad'.

Isn't it much more important wheter your child makes choices that are not bad, and are neutral or good choices objectivelly.

Or parents lose their shit for 'backtalk' or such, as if they have some God-given infallible authority, even though it's ultimately about the willingness of the child to accept the authority of the parent. If we're talking about teenage children.

Like, if all teens stopped collectively obeying their parents, what could be done. Same as if everyone stopped paying taxes, you can't put everyone in jail.

But yeah, maybe you actual parents can offer me some perspective. I hope you get what I mean, this may have been too philosiphical question..

I originally thought I was going to become a dad somewhere around 33, and my wife around 30. I had my life pretty figured out by 26, so we decided to try for our first, which is when we found out my wife was pregnant with our first. She gave birth to our beautiful baby girl Violet when I was 27 and she was 24. Sure, we’re younger parents, but I don’t have any regrets now. That made me want to ask the question—When did you have your first child, vs when did you want your first child?

[UPDATE] I told them... they took it pretty well!

I'm 25, my parents mean the world to me but I tend to hide problems until I have a resolution because when they're stressed, it usually adds a new layer of stress to the situation.

An MRI found a spiculated 2.5cm mass in my lung. Do I tell my parents or save them the worry until I know whether or not it's something to be concerned about?

Hey everyone, my period is late, about 3.5 days, and thats not normal. I take the Pill since 6.5 years. I started with the Pill because my Periods where painful and a lot of Blood.

In three weeks is my 18th Birthday so i am still quite Young.

i started with the Pill when i was about 11 Years Old.

Now:

My period is 3.5 days late (my period always beginns in the morning and its already evening, thats why i say point Five)

Yesterday i took a Test in the morning, Negative.

And 3 days ago i had a fever in the morning of my supposed period, but in the afternoon after a long sleep It was gone, so i dont think that it's because of the fever i also only had 38°celcius so not a "Big" Fever.

(I once Heard that a fever can weigh out the period so that the body only consentrstes in the fever and the period comes the day after. But again the fever didn't even last 10 hours and my period is still not here)

I Will take another test tomorrow or in 2 days.

I am a bit scared to be honest.

But is It possible that after taking the Pill for such a long time in the teenage years It stops working?

I want to know if this is common or if anyone has expirienced something similar.

Thank you for reading this. I Hope to get answers soon :/

Edit: i DONT take the Pill at the same hour Everyday, i know It sounds stupid but my Grandma was/is a doctor and told me that i can take It in a span Up to 8 hours as the day before. so in HER lógic she told me i could take It one day at 8am. And the Next at like 2pm. I know It sounds stupid but i belived her and Now i am not so sure why, my mom also always says that my grandma IS very smart and knows what she is doing.

[Yesterday we were driving home and my grandma started to Scream because my mom (the driver) was appearantly too close to another car. So there's that.]

I think i am quite f¥@#ed at this point. And please don't go after me saying i shouldnt have listend to my grandma. Every doctor that i go to knows my grandma and always talks good. my genecologist one time even told me his time was running out and there were patients waiting, i should just ask my grandma for explainations.

Okay thanks to everyone, i have my answer i Will lock this post, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!