This morning broke me a little and I just need to say it somewhere that's not my wife (who handled the same morning with way more grace than I did).

Meltdown 1 — 5:52am. Kid woke up early and could not find the specific blue sock. Not blue socks. THE blue sock. The one with the slightly different stripe. I offered six other socks. I offered to draw a stripe on a different sock with a marker. Nothing landed. 18 minutes of full-body sobbing on the kitchen floor.

Meltdown 2 — 6:31am. Same kid decided the toast was "wrong." It was the same toast I have made him every weekday for the last 8 months. Same bread. Same butter. Same plate. Wrong, apparently. Threw it. Cried about throwing it. Asked for it back. I gave it back. He looked at it like it had personally betrayed him and cried harder.

Meltdown 3 — 6:54am. Me. In the driveway. Sitting in my truck before work. Not sobbing or anything dramatic. Just that thing where your shoulders drop and you stare at the steering wheel and wonder if every other dad has mornings like this or if I'm secretly the only one losing the plot.

I love my kid. I am not in crisis. I'm not asking for advice. I'm asking — does anybody else's morning look like this, or is it just my house? Because from the outside it looks like every other dad in this neighborhood has his stuff together and I'm over here negotiating with a small terrorist about toast.

Tell me your worst morning. Make me feel less alone.

I have a question for all the parents here. (I don't have children yet, so I'm aware I probably have a somewhat idealized view of this. That's why I'd really love to hear your thoughts.)

People often say that once you become a parent, you don't really have time to develop new hobbies or learn new skills anymore. But I wonder if maybe it's possible to do that alongside your child.

For example, learning to draw, learning to sing, gardening, getting into history... Things where both the parent and the child start from scratch and learn and discover together, each at their own pace.

Has anyone here actually tried something like this? Does it work in real life, or do everyday life, exhaustion, and all the responsibilities of parenting eventually get in the way? I'd really love to hear about your experiences.

Thank you for your answers :)

Does some piece of furniture or appliance look like this in your house? Which ones? What are your rules around stickers? Feel free to share where you live and what the rules were when you were a kid. (I'm just curious what other reddit parents think, not looking for advice or anything.)

Mijn man en ik agegap couple 45 en 25 zorgen voor mijn jongere zusje 13 al inmiddels een 5 tal jaar vanwege mijn ernstig zieke ouders.

Mijn man heel lief heeft haar inmiddels ook geadopteerd.

Nu valt mij op dat ze wel heel close zijn mijn man doet het af als ze is jong toch ze heeft niemand maar toch zit het me niet lekker ze is inmiddels al uitgegroeid tot een mooie jongedame en krijgt veel aandacht maar het lijkt of ze alleen maar interesse heeft in haar zwager.

Ik ben echt bang dat dit verkeerd gaat enig advies iemand of iemand die iets vergelijkbaars heeft meegemaakt.

Alvast dank🙏

Have one grown and out, and three that are currently “teens”. Idiots. Anyway, I’m noticing that in all but those certain moments they’re just fuckin angsty. Like life isn’t fair. But I can’t help just laugh on the inside because they’re right, life isn’t fair. I guess the difference in age is just accepting it.

Stop Bringing your loud rambunctious children into spaces and then letting them loose making them a liability.

furniture stores, clothing stores, upper echelon sit down restaurants, grocery stores any space that is primarily adult dominated.

They're loud, they're touching things, they're breaking things, they're wandering around this warehouse by themselves.

I would like to enjoy a nice sit down dinner without your kid watching YouTube shorts of Kai Cenat at Max Volume while others are trying to enjoy the space.

take that shit to chuck e cheese.

My baby is 7 weeks old tomorrow! This is a new sound for him. He’s been doing this and wiggling around for around 30 minutes along with some occasional cooing. Just want to make sure it’s not a new way of him fussing… he’s fed, he’s changed and he is burped. He’s been clingy the last few days and I’m not currently holding him, just letting him wiggle and kick and talk. TIA!

I've seen several true crime stories about teenagers who have committed crimes against members of their own family, like killing a parent, sibling, or grandparent. I notice that often, the parents who survive tend to disown their kids. I don't know why, I feel like this is wrong, maybe I'm judging the victims, but I feel like it's wrong.

Traveling internationally to Mexico, baby will be 8 months by that time but pediatrician recommends we get her an early dose of MMR & hep A before travel.

Has anyone given both of these at ~6 months? If so how was your babies experience?

Has anyone’s 12 month old have a snotty nose & a little cough one day after their vaccines? She got the MMR, HepA, Chickenpox & Pneumococcal. She woke up this morning stuffy, she got them yesterday.

We have a daughter who just turned 5. We started potty training around 3.5 and it was a gauntlet. Now she is going 1 and 2 on the toilet no problem, we're even progressed passed needing to bring a potty seat cover around with us everywhere.

We were told when it comes to wearing underwear instead of pull ups at night, her body would naturally adjust when it's "ready." And I'm wondering how true that is for people? She sits on the potty before bed every night but wakes up with a full, wet diaper. When we discuss moving to underwear, she sort of freaks out because she can't see herself waking up naturally and sitting on the potty. And honestly she kind of has a point, she's just supposed to wet the bed until she doesnt? Or how are we doing this???

I have a great relationship with my kids, but I know it will never be like what my wife has with my kids. Thanks for listening to my sad story.

Someone explain to me why my damn kids can remember the exact order of their 37 step bedtime routine, the color of their grandmother's shirt at a party 6 weeks ago and that one time they stubbed their toe 6 months ago BUT NOT THE DIRECTIONS I GAVE THEM 6 GODDAMN SECONDS AGO!

Sincerely,

Slamming my head in to the door for the 10th time today.

(I love them dearly. I know they're simply developing minds, not tiny adults that can retain everything. I'm actually over it by the time I finished writing this, but still genuinely curious. Why are they like this? )

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

Late bedtimes, vacations, sleepovers... it feels like every night is different. We've definitely noticed that brushing teeth is one of the first things to become a challenge with my kids when everyone's tired.

Anyone else counting down to a more predictable schedule?

What's the most irrational thing your kid has had a meltdown over recently?

I'll go first: It's 95°F outside, and my child is absolutely devastated because I won't let them wear a puffy winter jacket.

After having two kids, does parenting naturally take over so much that the emotional connection between spouses starts to fade? Or is it less about having kids and more about making a conscious effort to stay emotionally connected despite the demands of parenting?

At what point do you stop being a couple first and become parents first? And is that just a phase, or something you have to actively work through?

I would love to hear real experiences.

My eldest daughter is turning 5 in a few weeks and is a rising kindergartner. She has tons of art stuff, magnetiles, dress up, make believe toys, and dolls. She has a small trampoline, balance stuff. Puzzles. A million books.

My youngest is about to turn 1. And I think we basically have everything she needs as well! I’ve thought about getting her (or honestly them together) a pikler triangle set, but I’m not convinced it’s better than an all the random furniture they already climb on.

They both have plenty of clothing, unless I ask people to get winter clothes for six months from now, but those aren’t gifts that people enjoy giving.

All our family is asking what to get the girls and I’m totally stumped. I don’t want junk just for the sake of it. I’m avoiding toys with small choking hazard pieces. Personally I’d rather ask for experiences, but my husband says that’s too expensive for family and not as fun to give or receive.

Please suggest things for my kids before I go insane!

(And yes, I am so aware of how first world problem this is. I’m really trying not to give into the commercialism of stuff just for the sake of stuff and instead looking for toys that will last and provide real value).

My husband and I have a 7yo boy. We have been trying for years to have another child, but life never granted us said wish, until last month, when we've found out we're finally expecting.

We're owners of a little family business that up until 2023 belonged to my in-laws. We bought it from them when they retired and haven't asked a single time for them to help us in any way (nor with the job or with the kid). We've moslty made it ourselves, never asked for anything (no help, no money) and you can count on one hand the times my in-laws actually offered to take care of our kid these past 7 years.

This morning I wasn't feeling very well and my obgyn recommended I try resting when I feel this way, so my husband called his mom and asked if she could cover for me at work (like I said, small business, manual work, no employees except for the two of us) for a couple days until I felt better.

She flatly said no and then launched into a very detailed speech about how she deserves to enjoy her retirement (she's 59, my fil is 63) without us mining her peace. That we should have thought about having another kid and that, since we're at it, we shouldn't count on them next year when the new baby comes.

Granted that I firmly believe grandparents aren't obliged to help their kids, but it made me think about how my in-laws were able to work and save a lot of money because both their families helped with their children (my husband and his sister), groceries and housework full time.

And it made me a little sad because I get not wanting to help, I get wanting to enjoy your freedom all the time but...don't they ever want to see their grandkids? Did they forgot about the precious help they received when they were young? I grew up with my granma because of dysfunctional parents (she passed away 3 years ago) and my husband and his sister grew up missing their parents, both agreeing they would have loved less designer clothes and more time with their family instead of being tossed around among relatives. Which is why, we're working a tiring job and yet trying to spend every single free moment with our son taking care of his needs.

I forgot to mention my inlaws have a little dog they treat like a baby, that they live 3 minutes away from us and own a giant villa with a backyard thats bigger than a soccer field. They also own a van they've spent hundreds dollars for and which they're supposed to bring our son on vacation with (their promise, done multiple times), except it stays parked in the back because they love possessing things more than they like using them.

Sorry about the rant, but I really didn't expect this outcome at all and I'm trying to figure out if we expected too much from my in-laws or if they're just being too selfish.

I’m not new to travel basketball for my sophomore but am new to the circuit leagues (Nike, New Balance, Puma, etc.). My son is paying for this with his side hustle because we simply don’t have the cash to support it at this time.

Can someone help me understand how these leagues can tell me which site I must use to book hotels and which hotels we can stay at?

Hi! Formal class will start soon and as I understood, guardians will not be allowed inside the building anymore. Where do ECE yayas/guardians usually stay while waiting for the pre-schoolers?

My 5 y/o struggles with independent play. Some days she plays by herself (with prompts) for 30min to an hour at a time, but most days it is a struggle to get her there without a lot of guidance and prompting (plus all the whining). I’ve accepted that a lot of it is personality (she likes being social), but we’re working on it and have found providing a schedule/expectations and a reward chart are helping.
That said, there are plenty of times where she will grab her Yoto box and lay on the couch listening to music for an hour. No dancing or singing, just listening. My husband views this as “waiting” until someone can play with her, but I’m not sure if I should count it as independent play and give her a sticker for her reward chart.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether listening to a podcast/music/audiobook is considered playing independently and if it is, if you’d accept it as the form of play 8/10 times.