I hosted my daughter's preschool classmates for a fall play date at our home. We did pumpkin painting. I provided all the art supplies and everyone had to bring their own pumpkins. I also provided food and drinks (chicken fil a minis, fruit, crackers, cheese, egg bites, coffee, and juice) A few other moms brought dessert as well. I also rented a bounce house for the kids. I was expecting 15 kids and I knew a bounce house would fit them all. The kids had so much fun. But towards the end... one mom said this was more than what she was expecting and gave me $20. I still have mixed feelings about this. I understand she was trying to be considerate but I wasn't expecting anything in return. I love to host and I have the privilege to host as well. It's not like she has less than. We both live in the same upscale suburb.

It's wild because I've heard of other moms asking for money for play dates. And I'm over here doing the most and just want everyone to have a good time.

How would you have handled this?

I get the cuteness and the snuggles but I feel so damn guilty at the end of the night when bed time routine was rough or I was waiting for nap time all day.

1. Am I going to regret or feel guilty for feeling like I’m in survival mode most days?
   
2. Any advice for a mom with kids under 5 🥺

Anyone else not like bringing their kids to their family’s houses because they aren’t childproofed and they know they will be the only one chasing their kids around the entire time they are there?

What’s worse is when said family says, “you have your hands full” or “mom you’re no fun” as you’re trying to prevent your child(ren) from breaking things in their home and/or hurting themselves.

Kids are under 3 for reference.

In a conversation with my husband he mentioned that he would really love for me to look into developing a hobby. He has many, he likes to golf and game and build things and I don’t share a love for any of those (lol) but I can’t keep doomscrolling for the rest of my life and I too would love to have a nice hobby to unwind to or do in my spare time. The downside is, I am a very artsy girl. It’s a downside for me because anything related does the opposite of relax me. Painting, crafting, sewing, pottery all sounds nice in theory but the moment I start I become very particular and often end up stressed out about it not being perfect etc. I also really enjoy writing and have put writing my novel on the back burner but I’m not ready to write yet because, again, it’s not relaxing for me. It feels like a thing I’m doing to get an outcome/result out of. I have a newborn and a 4 year old so leaving the house isn’t in my cards right now but I’m curious to know if anyone has low stim hobbies they could recommend.

I went swimming with my 4 year old today. He is a well spoken and curious little boy, who also has a loud voice and is even louder when he is enthusiastic.

We were changing into our swimwear and he was noticing all the stuff I brought. His swimming trunks, his floaties etc. At one point I am completely naked an he yells in excitement: mom, you even brought your vagina!

At that moment I hear someone in another stall burst out into laughter, he was definitely heard by others. 😆

Eta: I wrote kids in the title, but it was just my 4 year old.

Mine just washed the dishes and wiped the counters without being asked after having a huge blowout fight. Makes me think I should pick a fight just to get the house cleaned now and then!

I had two kids at 34 and 36 (1st spontaneous, 2nd IUI), then went through years of IVF and ultimately had a third child using an egg donor at 41. I was completely happy with three kids.

My husband and I were not as careful as we should have been thinking there was no way I could get pregnant spontaneously. Well, I tested positive today at almost 43-years-old. I honestly think it won't be viable. My eggs were already poor quality three years ago. I don't even necessarily want another child. I'm just looking for perspectives.

I am (so lucky) to be a sahm, but I often think - how are working moms doing this?? Between laundry, cleaning, cooking, baby waking at night…how are you guys managing it? And with more than one kid too??
I only have one but want more - HOW? You guys are superheroes!

Am I overreacting by being terrified that my son's school will call child services after an accidental injury?

Yesterday evening, my husband was tossing a very dense, hard squishy toy around with our five-year-old son, and it accidentally hit him directly in the eye. He immediately developed a black eye, and the area underneath his eye is now extremely swollen, with a nasty cut and bruising.

My husband feels absolutely terrible about what happened. I was really angry with him, but I also have pretty severe anxiety, and my mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario: Oh my God, what if the school thinks we abuse our kids and calls child services?

For context, I have a really good relationship with my kids' school. I volunteer there, stay involved, and my kids have never shown up with unexplained bruises, marks, or injuries. This is a complete accident, but obviously, my son now has a very noticeable injury on his face.

As soon as it happened, I emailed his teacher and explained exactly what happened. I told her we would monitor him and decide whether he needed to be taken to the ER.

This morning, my son was his usual happy self. He wasn't complaining of dizziness or vision changes, and he seemed completely fine otherwise. The injury is underneath his eye, and although it looks absolutely horrible, he seems unbothered by it. We sent him to school this morning.

Meanwhile, I spent practically the entire night crying and panicking because I'm so scared someone is going to suspect abuse and call child services. I know my anxiety is probably making this ten times worse, but I can't stop thinking about it.

Am I overreacting? Did I do the right thing by emailing his teacher and explaining what happened? Has anyone been in a similar situation where their child had a significant accidental injury to their face?

I just feel sick with anxiety, and I don't know how to stop worrying about this.

Husband announced after 20 years of marriage that we are to be separated and his dating other women.
He said, he does not care what I think or feel.
We were on the outs for a while, I stopped doing wifey duties as he refused to spend time with me, children or doing household duties. He just spent time on work, gym, hobbies daily. Ignored me asking for help even though working overtime for months.
His on steroids and like a personality switch so selfish and self centred. His moving in a few weeks and I have been civil as have children at home and his accusing me of being in mood and saying we should still be friends.
Have not informed children yet and his asking eldest today if she dislikes him as she don’t talk to him.
Why would she, when his ignored her for months.
He makes me feel like I should be acting like besties and I am wrong for not.
The audacity makes me feel sick.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Some of my favorite childhood Christmas memories are sitting by the tree, listening to Christmas music, and watching movies with my family.

I've got three kids (7, 5, and 3), and the older two are already asking what we're doing for Christmas Eve this year. We usually watch a Christmas movie together and leave cookies out for Santa.

My kids have been really into Frozen lately, so I'm thinking about doing a blue and white theme for the tree this year, maybe with some snowflake decorations. My youngest loves just watching the lights, and I'd like to get all three involved in decorating this year.

What do your kids usually like to do on Christmas Eve? Any ideas for something all three of mine could enjoy together? Frozen ideas are welcome too!

I’m a FTM to a 7mo little boy whom I love and adore. About a month ago, I injured my back terribly. I was in so much pain for about 3 weeks that I couldn’t care for him at all, my mom had to step in to help my husband who works long hours while I was largely bedridden.

Then I had my surgery and I noticed my baby stopped calling me “mom” and didn’t want me holding or touching him. It’s now been 2 weeks since my surgery and my baby still hardly smiles or makes eye contact with me but does with others around me. If others are in the room with us, I don’t even exist to him anymore. He also seems so irritated by me, no matter how hard I try to smile at and interact with him.

It’s honestly breaking my heart and I have another 6 weeks of recovery in front of me before I can pick him up and care for him normally again. I’m concerned that our bond may have been broken and I’m at a loss as to how I can rebuild it when he screams if I try to cuddle him and ignores me if I look at/speak to him.

My daughter’s daycare places all food brought from home in the fridge. Normally I use an insulated thermos, but that doesn’t really work for certain foods. Has anyone come across a tray or bento box type lunch container that is also insulated as well as the thermos is? Thanks!

I am a 30 year old FTM to a 1.5 year old toddler. Let me preface this by saying yes, I recognize this was me at one point lol but I just need to rant.

Unfortunately, 95% of my friends will probably not have children. They're all single and focused on work/social life/being childfree. I am also the first of all my friends to have a baby. A lot of us in the friend group are age 30-34 (majority of them being 32+).

I have a very difficult toddler, no village, a husband that works 14 hour days so I am absolutely burnt out and a parent with stage 4 cancer/mobility issues due to it. My other parents have chronic health issues. My child is always a menace but within the last 2 days he's been on 100. Being in a psych ward sounds like a spa day right now 😂

Anyways, my friends keep bothering me about Halloween because they want me to come out. And it's been NONSTOP messages the past 2 weeks about finding a place/event to go to and picking one. Today, my friend sent a GIANT list of events she found in the group chat since "no one put any effort into finding one". And then continued to make comments about how she's so busy but made the effort to do it -blah blah blah. And she's demanding we vote our top 3 and then go from there. Honestly, it set me off after the type of day I had plus zero sleep on top of it (since my son wanted to scream cry and wake up 4x last night).

I so badly want to say "I don't give TWO fucks about Halloween and I certainly don't need comments about how hard you worked to research events for the group to go to". I don't even want to celebrate Halloween unless it's related to my child!! I'm an adult with a child! I don't even have a costume! You think that's my fucking priority with everything else going on in my life?

So yeah, my rant is over. Unfortunately, now that I am a mother, the "problems" my childless friends have are so incredibly stupid and annoying 😂 and again, I know this was me at one point but once you have a little human being to take care of, I cannot fathom something as minuscule as finding Halloween plans to be important AT ALL. We are fucking 30+ years old lol and if this post offends you, I'm sorry. Just because we are parents doesn't mean we can't go back to our life before parenthood but I just feel like it's very isolating when none of your friends have kids because they just don't get it. At all.

My niece is turning 16 soon. She just got her first car and I wanted to make her a bag she could keep in the glove box for emergencies like mints, pads, chapstick, stain remover etc. What would yall want in a bag like that? (Im sure her parents have given her things for real emergencies, just looking for things to make her life easier)

I had two babies pretty quickly and I know hormones and everything that goes with that can definitely cause some brain fog. I feel like after my first I had a little but now my babies are 1.5 and almost 3, and man I feel like an idiot most days? I was diagnose with ADHD in my early 20's but I do take a low dose of medication for it. But half the time it feels like I can't have basic conversations and I just feel so scatterbrained. I feel like a hot mess most of the time. I've heard people say before when their kids get older this tends to get a little bit better. I'm just curious, did you all experience this and when did you notice it start to get better??

Looking for easy ways to shed a few pounds of baby weight without putting too much time or effort in. Y’all get it - I work full time, have two young kids, and keep a household fed and running. The last thing I want to do is do a full-blown workout at the end of the day!

Thank youuuuu

Pretty much the title. On Sunday, our kids (3, 5) went out with their grandparents. They came back home and my ex had left the house and left behind a suicide note. My ex-MIL called me to pick them up. My 3 yo was oblivious, but my 5 yo was hysterical that her dad was “missing.” She later told me she had read part of the note addressed to her (yes, she can read), but thankfully she didn’t understand it was a suicide note.

He did come home safely. Police were engaged but did not take him on an involuntary hold. He lives with his parents and they are monitoring him. I don’t know details and when I reached out, it agitated him further so I’m staying away.

He texted me that night that he wants to give up custody and not speak to the girls. FWIW I strongly believe that’s the depression or whatever it is talking, not his actual beliefs. He also refuses to talk to the girls and has ignored their FaceTimes. They asked to send him a video, which I sent to him and he asked me not to send more. I did not tell them that.

I’m completely at a loss of how to support my girls. My 3 yo remains oblivious and I’m her preferred parent so she’s just thrilled to be spending more time with me. My 5 yo is super sensitive and she’s having some big emotions (understandably). She keeps asking when she can go back to her grandparents/dads house. I just keep telling her that daddy needs some time, but he loves her very much, and the grownups are helping him get better.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears. I’m so heartbroken for my girls. I’m simultaneously worried about, angry at, and sad for my ex that he’s going through this. And I’m just barely keeping it together myself.

It’s nauseating. For some reason, the interactions I’ve had lately have just all been the same. For reference, I have two kids with different abilities. One is very high in certain areas but struggles in some areas and has pull-outs, and my other is very high academically. But I don’t know, I don’t go around bragging about it. Basically, I feel like over and over again lately, some mom wants to tell me how gifted her kid is and the rest of the kids are bringing them down OR how great they are at sports and the rec league is below them.

900 variations of this:

-Little Johnny is GIFTED (emphasized very dramatically) and I’m so worried he will be bored and the “bad kids” will distract him.

-I am trying to stack the basketball team so that we get all the good players and can win (youth rec sports).

The thing is, I don’t care how f-ing gifted your kid is at academics or sports, the very vast majority are not playing for the NBA. Additionally, it’s great they are gifted. Apply for gifted programs. Do extracurriculars. But when they graduate, I can’t tell you the number of average or just below average kids who doing just fine in the workforce and as an adult, even surpassing the gifted ones. My point is, do what you need to/want to, to help your kid soar athletically and academically, but maybe just don’t be an ahole about it, ya know?

It starts as babies and who potty trains first, and keeps on going from there.

Do you regularly experience competitive moms? Why aren’t dads like this?

My daughter (6) has had off and on diarrhea for 4 months now. Her doctor is recommending a MiraLAX cleanse, which I agree with, but I’m not sure what to expect.

Her DR has recommended 1 capful, twice daily for 6 days, then continue with one capful daily.

Has anyone done this method? On one hand, I don’t want to keep her out of school for a whole week, but also don’t want her to be spending the whole day in the bathroom at school.

Is this method mild enough for her to still attend school? Should I start on a weekend?

I plan to follow up with her doc, but in the meantime I thought I’d ask for other’s experiences.

It was actually a conservation commission meeting. There’s a big condo development planned to go behind my and many of my neighbors homes in the woods and I got word last minute I should show up to the meeting to advocate against it. No babysitter to be had so 2 year old came with! I got him a usually forbidden lollipop at the drugstore first to keep him quiet and he did so well! I even got to stand up and speak at the podium with him! I’m usually a pretty anxious homebody and my little man quite shy so I was really proud of us and just wanted to share.

I am looking at applying to jobs but don’t want to get a job without childcare. And don’t want to secure paid childcare without actually having a job yet. My parents work full time and my husbands mom is states away. It would only be part time for me so daycare makes less sense than a nanny so I’m not paying for a whole week and not using it. I have no idea how long it takes to find a reliable and trustworthy nanny in my area?? I’m struggling, halp

I’m not looking for financial help or help finding a nanny. Just need help with the timeline and how to go about this.

We started our 2yo in daycare earlier this month and it has been a hard transition for him. He has been going to a babysitter for about six months and does great with her. She takes really good care of him. Our budget doesn't allow for us to send him to her full time. There was a transition when we started with her but not as bad as daycare. She did a really great job of settling him, distracting him , and comforting him. Now when we pick him up he doesn't want to leave. The daycare only had a spot for two days a week, so that's what we signed up for until more became available. Before all this he was staying home with me while I WFH. It was really hard and I was losing my mind.

I have two older kids who also had a hard time transitioning to daycare. They eventually got used to it and were fine after a few weeks. I know that could be the case with my toddler, but I asked the teacher how he did today and she let me know he did a little better around nap time. She also told me that most of the time they put him in the playhouse in the corner and tell him he can't come out until he stops crying. That immediately made my heart hurt for him. Is this normal? It doesn't seem like a normal thing to me. She was saying that if they don't do that he just follows them around crying for me. I understand they have other kids to take care of but it just seems cruel to make him sit in a corner crying by himself.

Because of the different time zones and our 14-hour layover, our baby's first birthday will span around 33 hours as we travel across three countries.

Honestly, I always imagined celebrating her first birthday with a big cake and all the little things I’ve been dreaming of doing for her. 🥹 I had so many ideas planned, but due to certain constraints, we had to book our travel for that day. So we will basically be spending her bday in three airports.

I still want to make the day special for her in whatever little ways we can, even if we’re spending most of it in airports and on flights.
I’d love some simple, creative ideas for a little birthday photoshoot, decorations we could carry, or ways to make the day memorable as a family of three.