Been thinking about this recently, and I've got a few.

I want to teach my child obscure colour names, that a 4 year old shouldn't know. Just for fun really, but a reception child blurting out burnt umber sounds quite funny to me.

I also want to teach her to read an analogue clock with hands, cos I think it's a very useful skill.

Third thing, is mine and my husband's phone numbers off by heart.

What about you?

I could very well be overthinking this so just wanted to get some more opinions on some Christmas logistics.

We have 2 kids - daughter is 5 and in reception and son will be almost 2 at Christmas.

My wife is working a 12 hour shift on Christmas day. This is not the first Christmas she has been working and previously we have just done our Christmas day on another day. So our first thought was to just push it back a day and celebrate on the 26th. Our 5yo is generally trusting of what we tell her so on one hand I think this shouldn't be too much of a problem but she also notices and remembers EVERYTHING so I fear this could go badly.

I think I've got 2 main points where we may come unstuck.

1. The advent calendar

2. Finding something to occupy both kids on 25th when everything is closed. I fear if we do any of our usual walks/parks then we will bump into other kids excited about what santa has brought when he won't have been to our house yet.

I'd like to preserve as much of the magic as possible but I also don't want to be trying to think up excuses on the spot if she starts to get suspicious.

Would you be upfront and say that santa is coming a day later because mummy is working? Or try to fool them that it isn't Christmas day until 26th (it has to be 26th this year)?

Has anyone got any thoughts or tips on what has worked in your family?

Writing this out of sheer desperation at this point (currently 4.45am).

My recently turned 3 year old girl has started waking in the night every single night. Usually 3-4am. Screams the house down until she falls back asleep. I can’t understand why. Tonight she’s screamed, gotten out of her bed and demanded to go to her grandparents house! I’ve tried reasoning with her, getting in her bed with her, giving her a drink, taking her for a wee etc but she won’t give in until about 30-40 minutes after waking. I also have a 5 month old who doesn’t nap well in the day so to say I’m wrecked is an understatement.

She goes to the childminder 3 days a week which she loves, has a consistent routine. Up at 7am, doesn’t nap. She takes forever to go to bed at night, usually falling asleep by 9pm. At a minimum she is awake for 13 hours, most of the time 14 hours.

I just can’t understand what I’m doing wrong. She’s due to start sharing a room with her brother soon as he’s growing out of his next to me cot and we do not have room for a cot in our room so I’m just stumped on what to do

Having party at a pub in function room with a dj . I wanted to do a cake to mark the occasion as it is his 18th but his dad (who isnt really part of his life not for my wanting btw. Telling you this to add a little context not to be emotive ) says that a cake is a waste of time as he’s not 6 . What do people think ?? Am I being an embarrassing mum having a cake?
It will be something simple like cream colour with black and gold decs

Bit random but won a couple tickets to a Halloween disco type thing for the kids but I can’t take mine today because my mom has something already booked for them so would hate for them to go to waste. It’s called the party peeps Halloween party and it’s at the Pittville Pump room.

My second child is 3 in February. He’s been a bad sleeper for quite a while but it’s really ramping up and I’m struggling big time. My sleep has never been good and once woken up I’m pretty much unable to fall asleep again.

Bedtime takes an hour of messing around with him eventually falling asleep around 9pm. He then wakes somewhere between 1am and 4am. And is fully awake for at least an hour. During this time he will come to my room, kick me, scream and cry until I get up with him and take him downstairs. After an hour or two he seems sleepy again so I can get him down by taking him back to my bed and lying with him (though usually this still takes 30 minutes). He then sleeps till 7.

I’m dead on my feet. I have a demanding 5 year old who needs a lot of attention and energy or he plays up badly. I have a full time job, and I’m currently decorating the house when I have time/energy.

This morning he woke me at 3am and fell asleep again at 4:30. I haven’t been able to get back to sleep.

Yesterday was better, he woke at 5am.

Monday morning he woke at 1am. I was unable to sleep again.

Sunday he woke at 5am.

A similar pattern for all of October and September.

Combined with the late bedtime he’s just absolutely squeezing me. I have about an hour to myself after bedtime to unwind (either TV or diy/painting) then I go to sleep before 11pm. There’s almost no other time in the day to utilise. Even if I take a day off work I’ll struggle to nap, and it’s not a lasting fix.

He still naps, but I cut this to max 1 hour to help bedtime. Occasional he drops it, but generally he needs it to not be a miserable prick.

I’m not sure how much longer I can do this for. Should I be reprimanding him? Keeping him awake longer in the evening? Wake him up at 6am? Dropping the nap entirely?

My older boy was nothing like this. Sure I was tired, but this feels like a whole new level - especially when they demand so much of me during the day. I’m starting to resent him because “no, I can’t chase you and play games with you because you won’t let me rest”.

Any constructive feedback very welcome. Don’t slag me off, I’m not in the mood, but I’m genuinely open to trying anything.

Hello, I am a mother to two - one 15 year old and one 12 year old, both boys. Recently my eldest had been invited to a Halloween party. He has never been to a party before. He assures me that he will be very careful, not drink too much, be home on time etc but I still have my reservations about letting him out of my sight in a place where there will be alcohol, possibly other substances, and little to no adult supervision. My son is quite sensible and I don't want him feeling left out or excluded by his peers, so I have given him permission to go providing he follows a strict curfew and stays relatively sober, but I am still extremely anxious. Does anybody have any advice? Or any ideas of things I can do to keep him safe without embarrassing him?

Edit: he has drank a little before, once in our house with a few friends when I was at home and supervising (not in the room but nearby and aware of what was going on), and once at a friend's house in a similar situation. He has never been overly drunk before and I have plenty of trust that he won't take it too far but it's the situation which alarms me.

My 2.5 yo has recently decided that EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE SHOUTED. Asking him to be quieter predictably just makes him louder. Ignoring him just makes him repeat himself over and over. He’ll interrupt conversations with shouting to be heard. I’m aware this is all typical twos behaviour but wondering how to introduce and reinforce concept of indoor voice at this age? The volume level in the house just goes up and up as my husband starts raising his voice to be heard too and then everyone is shouting and it’s absolutely driving me mad!

I’m thinking about what to get my toddler for Christmas and she’s really into the Stapelstein stepping stones at her play group. What puts me off them is the £185 price tag for some EPP blocks. I know Smyths sell similar for £20 but they’re slightly smaller and it doesn’t say anywhere what they’re made of and they’re slightly more slippery. I like that with the original you can also use them for other types of play.

If anyone has the originals, are they worth the £185 and the aesthetic element for my house (lol)?

Anyone know what nursery rhyme this is supposed to be? It’s four numbered bags hanging from a tree, not sure if the tree is relevant or not to be perfectly honest. Have posted it on the parent group chat and everyone is stumped!

Others we’ve found on the trail have been things like:
Incy wincy
Row row row your boat
Humpty Dumpty
Dingle dangle scarecrow
Miss Polly had a dolly
Little Bo Peep
Mary Mary quite contrary
Baa Baa black sheep
Hickory dickory
Hot cross buns

This is just a fun post and nothing to take seriously!

I just went bowling this morning with my two daughters (9 and 3) and had a great time, first time we’ve been bowling together and first time I’ve been since the eldest was about 4!

First game, I lost. My daughters both scored the same so they jointly won haha! This led to some friendly bantering about Daddy’s bowling skills. Most of my first game was gutter shot after gutter shot, much to their amusement.

Second game, I thought to myself, right that’s it, time to turn it on!

Smashed them haha, they both took it well and was a good laugh.

So I was just wondering what the general consensus is, do you usually let them win or are you ruthless in your parenting?!

I should note my 9 year old regularly batters me on Mario kart, I think I need to start practicing haha

Struggling a bit at the moment.

The child minder has my little one 50 hours a week, I see him 34 hours a week, with two good full days over the weekend.

He used to go two days a week but now we’re both back at work full time (To get better maternity pay as our second baby on the way in Feb).

We effectively have an hour in the morning before work and an hour or so in the evening after collecting him.

We try to cram as much in at the weekends as possible and always do something he likes; whether that’s a Forrest walk with friends, local play groups, the library etc.

Any tips on getting over the guilt of someone else seeing your child more than you do?

He’s called us by the child minders names a couple of times recently which isn’t helping.

From a working class family with no music background at all, NE England, what do we look for? Classes? Schools? An instrument? Singing? Wait because it's too soon?

Preschooler in question can sing and reproduce with their voice any nursery rhyme under the sun, many popular songs, in tune and with voice variations, humming or mimicking notes in between words or instrumental passages, excuse the non-musical language here. Constantly singing or humming, genuinely seems to enjoy it. Just a regular kid in every other area, that seems to love and live by music.

The event that prompts the question is said preschooler grabbing a microphone and singing to an entire (unfamiliar to them) audience in perfect pitch. We got flooded with 'you need to start teaching music' and we have no clue where to start.

Any tips more than welcome, thanks!

Sat here colouring with the little ones and I am desperate to get them better pencils (ones from the works). Are there any pencils have you found that have a decent amount of colour without having to push so hard you emboss the next 5 pages of the colouring book but are also not expensive art pencils because they’re most likely going to be dropped.

Dad here.

Our little boy is 14 months and has never been a good sleeper. A good night for us is down about 7-8 and then 2-4 wakes getting up at 6

He doesn’t feed for hunger anymore. Never feeds during the day but does look for it if he hasn’t seen mum in a while and he is needy but this is usually quite easy to distract him with play or a snack.

Night time is a whole other ball game.

I can put him to bed most nights without needing a feed from mum. Has always been the case. Bath, story time, sing a wee song then into the cot drowsy or asleep.

But It’s next to impossible for me to get him down from a wake up. Sometimes I can if it’s the first wake up around 10-11pm but that’s very hit and miss.

I can be trying to console him for up to an hour at times and he ultimately always gets a feed from mum. It’s full on red face screaming with very little break. He will sometimes take some milk or water from a bottle but then immediately goes back to crying. Lights on with a book again doesn’t work. Songs won’t work. Letting him play won’t work. It’s always tears until mum comes in. The only thing that will keep him quiet but still won’t put him to sleep is looking at my phone and we want to be strict about screen time and not replace a habit with another. Soon as the phone goes off he’s right back to screaming for mum.

My wife hates the idea of the cry it out method and can’t say I’m a massive fan either. He so stubborn and I can’t stand to hear him upset.

We are doing well at taking him off the boob at shorter intervals but it doesn’t seem to making any major progress.

I used to be able to get him down from a wake up but now it’s impossible.

I don’t even know what I’m asking here or why I’m posting. I just need some sort of advice or reassurance or people to share their own horror stories to make me fell better.

Especially as a dad I feel useless.

My daughter is 7 and can’t ride a bike. I feel like I’ve failed somehow as learning to ride a bike was just something everyone did when I was a child.

When she was 3 I got her a balance bike for her birthday and a family member bought her a scooter. She used the balance bike a bit but much preferred the scooter. She asked for a proper bike for christmas when she was 4 and again even with encouragement that saw little use. She got yet another bike last year and thats just sitting there collecting dust.

I have my own bike that I use often. I don’t drive so that and public transport is my main way of getting around. I try to encourage her by telling her about bike rides we can go on together and places we can go. I tried to make it sound fun and exciting. Every time I mention the bike she rolls her eyes. She just has zero interest. Is it really that bad if she never learns?

I’m a primary school teacher, so I’m off this week with my two children, aged 1 and 4, while my wife works.

Like a lot of families, we’re on a pretty strict budget at the moment, but I also don’t want to spend the whole week stuck in the house!

I’m looking for ideas that don’t involve spending ££££ every time we leave the front door 😂

So, what are you all doing this half term? What’s your biggest parenting hack for getting the kids out, keeping them entertained and spending as little as possible?

Bonus points for things that are genuinely free or ridiculously cheap!

I’m a millennial and back in the day it was normal in my area that around age 13-14 we started to get a lot of freedom; days out catching the train into the city centre with friends, sleepovers where we spent the weekend at our mates, nights out on a Friday/Saturday to the local social club etc And of course the obligatory sneaking off to drink in the park!

I look back and am horrified at how many dangerous situations I put myself in, how many times I blindly trusted older men or strangers, how often myself and my friends had terrible judgement and survival instincts, we just happened to be lucky that nothing happened to us.

Parenting in this generation has changed significantly from what I knew back then, but I don’t know anyone with a teenager so I’m curious as to how things are the same or different to what I once knew? Do teenagers socialise more online now or at they still headed off to the city for a day where you have no idea where they are or who they’re with?

It genuinely took every ounce of strength I possess to hold in my laughter and calmly tell her it is actually pronounced popcorn.

What did your toddler nearly kill you with today?

Having difficulty getting my 10yo to go to sleep before 9pm. She gets up between 6.30 and 7am most days. She's really struggling with fatigue so I'm thinking this isn't enough sleep, or the quality of her sleep is bad. She's highly likely to have ADHD, which doesn't help the sleeping issue. Her assessment is next month. We're waiting for a blood test to rule other stuff out as well.

My almost two year old has been sick constantly since the start of September (coincidentally the same time she upped from two afternoons at nursery to three full days).

It's nothing serious, just viral infections, snotty noses, coughs, generally just feeling miserable and sorry for herself.

She's been sent home from nursery a couple of times with a temperature yet when I get her home and check her she doesn't have a temperature. Checked on multiple thermometers so pretty sure it's not mine that's out.

She's again been sent home today. Admittedly she's been worse than usual with this cold. She was so lethargic all weekend but perked up yesterday and this morning so I sent her in. Got called to pick her up at lunchtime as she had a temperature of 38.9 apparently. It was 37.2 when I checked her at home. She definitely still snotty but it's just the tail end of yet another cold. She can't go back in now for 48 hours because of the apparent temperature.

When does this constant sickness end? When can I send her to nursery without the constant dread and anxiety of that call to pick her up.

Trying to work and watch her is not feasible long term, I need her in nursery and I want nothing more than for her to get a break from illness!