Parenting

Parenting

We all know that mom whose hair and makeup is always perfect, whose car is spotlessly clean when her kids show up at practice in new shoes, and oh look - she brought homemade gluten-free snacks. We've all wondered if some people legitimately have more hours in the day than we do. One mom took to r/Parenting on Reddit to ask users there: "How are some parents so incredibly organised?"

It's a random Tuesday in October, and your kids are home again. A national holiday? Nope. A snow day. Not even a speck of frost on the ground. It's Professional Development Day or Parent-Teacher Conference Half Day or one of the 15 other noninstructional days that appear in the school calendar like little landmines for anyone with a full-time job.

One of the most infuriating things a partner can say to their wife is, "But you didn't tell me to do it!" There's just so much to unpack there - why is mom usually the one in charge of delegating tasks? Why are they the default managers of the household? And why can't dads take some initiative and figure out what needs to get done in the family sphere?

I was raised by a single mom who was a teacher. We didn't have a ton of money, but we always got by. As a kid, I noticed that my grandparents' house was bigger than many others, and that they'd give me Christmas presents I'd be longing for. There was never a conversation, but over time, I realized that my grandparents were our financial safety net.

I'm lucky I'm not a lawyer or an accountant or something professional, says Peach Martine, a 23-year-old musician whose Instagram feed is a kaleidoscope of colourful faux fur and leopard-print outfits. People sometimes have trouble taking my name seriously. First, there are the jokey comments (Is your sister named Papaya?) and then the assumption that she must be a bit silly. And don't get her started on going to Starbucks. They always put Paige on the cup!

Look, we lie to kids all the time when we don't think they're emotionally ready to handle certain parts of life, like the permanence of death, or how Santa Claus can leave presents at houses that don't have a chimney. Sometimes, telling them the truth is cruel and heartless. (When my 5-year-old asked those questions, I said to him that most people live on this planet for 1,000 years before they go to cloud city in heaven to live forever, and that Santa and his

Everyone talks about "teaching moments" these days, those reframes of a shared experience that retroactively rescue what would otherwise have been a feel-bad moment or awkward encounter and turn it into something positive, and for which you're almost grateful. Still, most teaching moments are fraught with the best of intentions but the lousiest of outcomes-lessons in how to lecture, bore, and patronize your child at the same time.

Before having children, I worked as a journalist for years. I loved my job, and after my daughter was born in 2021, I returned to work full time at a magazine. My monthly salary just covered her childcare fees with little left over. This meant my husband had to cover all other living expenses, with only tiny contributions from me. When we had our second baby, a son in 2023, something had to change.

The original poster (OP) wrote in the Mommit Reddit page, "My kids have 2 birthday parties to attend coming up, and I am low on funds until I get paid in 2 weeks, but I don't want my kids to miss out for their friend's birthday parties. The friends are turning 6 years old. Any ideas on budget friendly gifts/ideas?"

He is now dating the woman he cheated with. She spends time with my son and spends the night in their home for several days at a time. They live across the street from me, but I haven't seen the girlfriend since my ex and I split up. Even two years later, it still stings and makes me sick to think about them playing house with my son.

"The first child is the one who makes you want 10 more children. But the second child makes you feel like you have 10 children. And boy, they weren't kidding. Everyone has heard tales of the terror that is the second child. I heard them more than once during my second pregnancy, but I'll be honest, I didn't pay it much attention. I thought surely this one will be just like the last.

Going out to dinner with young kids is not the most relaxing experience in the world. First, there is the anxiety: Are they going to behave? Are they going to scream and run around? What will the other diners think of you as a parent? Then, there's the actual experience: Uh oh, they don't have chicken nuggets even though chicken nuggets were promised and little Brayden is now writhing on the floor.

Man, I wish my mother would say this to/do this for me. She's always on her phone with me and will cut me off mid-sentence in order to read me her texts if they happen to come in while I'm talking. It's annoying and demoralizing. I'm glad he's realizing it early on.

My mom had healthy pregnancies. I don't have medical information about my grandmother's pregnancies. But both my sisters had an identical poorly-understood complication, which led to intensive care unit (ICU) stays and, for one of them, a very close brush with death. Both had long recoveries, and one sister is going on two years of reduced mobility and medical monitoring. Both kids are healthy.

A family based in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman.

If you've got a restless child on your hands, getting to a playground can be a welcome relief. Your kid can run off some steam and find other kids to play with, and you may even get a moment to yourself to sit on a bench and relax. But the peace of playgrounds depends on a delicate ecosystem in which all the adults tacitly agree to the same codes of conduct, both for their children and themselves. One person's rude behaviour can sour the experience for everybody - and no one wants to be that parent.

The first time I was called to the principal's office was to discuss some questionable artwork my oldest son had created in 3 rd grade. The principal expressed his concern that the picture of bloody, beheaded snowmen was a warning sign. It wasn't. In fact, my son and his classmate had drawn the snowmen after watching a particularly graphic, but PG cartoon on TV.

Confidence is one of the most precious gifts a parent can bestow upon their child. It empowers them to embrace life's challenges, fosters resilience in the face of setbacks, and cultivates a strong sense of self-worth. Yet, many well-meaning parents inadvertently sabotage this vital aspect of their child's development through their words, actions, or even silence. If you've noticed your child becoming shy, overly dependent, or withdrawn, it might be time to reassess your parenting approach.

Forcing children to accept unwanted affection can send a harmful message, according to Karen Days, the former president of the Center for Family Safety and Healing at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Days explained that this kind of forced affection can teach children the wrong lesson: that people they know are always allowed to touch them. She pointed out that while parents often emphasize "stranger danger," they don't always stress that familiar adults must also respect personal boundaries.

"I picked her up that afternoon, just as a surprise, and she came walking out of school totally clueless," Brooks, 39, tells TODAY. "I did a double take when I saw her shirt."

I know the school needs to keep you informed, but I really do question whether a phone call home after every incident is helpful or productive. Think about whether you want to suggest a standing monthly (or quarterly?) call or meeting, so you can be aware of what's happening at school. They can continue to call you if and when they feel it's necessary, following major incidents, but I don't think it should be every time anything happens.

I had my second one at 38, and it's such a different experience than 26. I much prefer it this time around because I feel more settled and mentally present. With the first one, we were just running around, figuring stuff out together. We could match energies. Now, I just outsmart her (play offense, not defense). Both were/are fun. They're my partners - I love doing things with them in different capacities. But I'm worried about the future. The 18-year-old likes to hang out late and kick it. At 43, I can pull it off. Once I'm in my 50s, I don't have high hopes.

We're both huge readers, with a house full of books, and we plan to read to our baby from birth, so naturally many of our friends and family members are giving us picture books. The problem is that most of these people are very progressive, like us, but lack experience with young kids. The books they choose tend to be focused on social messaging and education, and are largely boring, preachy, and (in my opinion) badly illustrated; they tend toward the garish and oversimplified, while I strongly prefer more intricate, fantastic, and old-fashioned art.

A flying saucer rocket launcher where they can stomp hard to get the discs flying and then use the net to catch 'em. Go ahead and assign yourself as the designated "stomper" (so you can stay stationary) and have your kiddos use allll that pent-up energy to chase the flying saucers all around, trying to catch them before they fall.

When I was pregnant, we moved to a new town, to a wreck of a house we planned to do up. My mum, who was ill, moved in with us, and then I was the carer of a newborn and a dying parent at the two extremes of life, but sharing many of the same needs, and often at the same time.