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Good morning,

I am looking for advice- my 2 year old daughter absolutely hates me and destroys me every evening/day.

She never wants to play, when i am with her she screams non stop that she wants to go to Grandma's house, never listens to me and says that she does not like me.

She loves her mom, but not me.

I don't understand what i am doin wrong- i try to spend time with her, i buy her candy, presents. But anything i do, afterwards, it just feels like she resents me even more.

I am desperate. Is there anything i can do?

Thanks guys.

So my son (1) shit his shorts today. The stomach bug that our humble abode had toiled through gave one last flicker as I hear my little homie, in triumphant fanfare, announce the arrival of his poo. So, I guide him up the treacherous stairs on his journey to the changing table, but to make sure he doesn't lose his way, he cunningly leaves pooplets as he ascends to the heavens. I am the wind at his back, but unfortunately there is a downward pressure that can only be described as a wise anchorman once said, "it stings the nostrils". Our little hero rapidly runs to his room, but each toddler stomp rains from his butt cheeks chocolate rain. At his destination, he sees his precious. He squats down to retrieve his precious, but at that moment the pressure was too great and more poop had breached the walls of the Kirkland diapers. I, attempting to coordinate disaster cleanup and sounding the horn for my wife-in-arms for aid, pick up the child who had not fully grasped his precious and had immediately become possessed, throwing himself backwards, arching his back, and letting out a screech that summoned his brethren. When the initial survey of the damage was done, the mud run had completed its reach on his back all the way up to his neck. My wife, in her astonishment of the events that had unfolded, threw up several times throughout the entirety of this. But this left me unphased. My thousand yard stare was broken when I saw the older child (3) has now discovered he enjoys stickers. He opened up the violin case and removed his Bluey sticker book, and in the blink of an eye, the house said hello to his little friend as he emptied the magazine of its stickers onto the walls, the floor, the mirror. I go back down, and the stickers were everywhere!

Nonody warned me how hastily these kids are with these stickers. Just like the plague and k-pop. It's everywhere, now.

PS. I found the cookie part of an oreo in my boot.

The emotions over a child's cartoon made us realize

Bluey isn't a kids cartoon.

We have been prepping the kids for this for a while and it's been hard, especially my 10 year old son, while my 7 year old daughter has been excited.

Well today of course The Sign drops. Really the timing on this could not have been fucking worse if it was planned. The episode is beautiful, but this honestly reset all the work we did with our kids back past the baseline we started at and both of them are now FUCKING PISSED at us. Having them decide not to move is great for the show - we all knew that was going to be the case - but goddamn it this doesn't help anyone. Not moving is the TV show or Hollywood ending that is precisely not what happens in real life. So I guess Bandit is setting one more example that we dads can't hope to meet.

So that's it - this wasn't what we needed.

So I’m an avid D&D player and DM, and we have two sons. The older one is 5, and has today discovered my Monster Manual (3.5e). Some of the illustrations in there are pretty scary, even for older kids, but all day he’s been refusing to put it down (I’m at work right now, this is the report from my wife, and I don’t doubt it).

I’m planning on taking it away tonight, and basically saying “Our job is to keep you safe and healthy, and your mind is part of it. There’s a lot of scary pictures in here, that are difficult to describe to someone your age. I think we should put this away until another time”. Is this the best approach? Not sure how to broach this subject…

TLDR Dad of my daughter’s best friend reportedly hit my daughters butt, squeezed her shoulder, and dropped an object into her lap, then picked it up. Not clear child molestation, but concerning. What to do?

So I have a 13 year old daughter, whose best friend is our next-door neighbor, a 12 year old girl who we can call Sarah. The girls dad, who we can call Alfred, is a very close friend of mine. My daughter has been having a lot of challenging behaviors lately, which fits with her ADHD diagnosis and the onset of adolescence. She has been unusually moody for a few months, but we just figured this was to be expected.

Last night, my daughter disclosed to a different Neighbor girl, a 16-year-old who had come over to hang out, that Alfred had made her very uncomfortable with how he had touched her. My daughter said one time Alfred squeezed her shoulder, another time he hit her on the butt, and at least one other time, or maybe more, he had dropped something into her lap while she was sitting crosslegged and then picked the object up. Alfred is an awkward French dude Who can be physically clumsy.

I really have no idea what to do. These accusations do not rise to level of involvement of the police or child protective services in my mind. Notably, I am a pediatrician, and my wife is a foster care social worker, so we have familiar at a professional level, though not a personal level, with children who have been sexually abused. Thank God my daughter didn’t come to me With a clear report of sexual assault! However, I just don’t know what to do from here.

It is possible that Alfred is a child molester who has been grooming my daughter or who is getting his kicks by groping young teenagers in a way that he thinks he won’t get caught doing. It is alternatively possible that Alfred is just a clumsy, awkward, idiot, who accidentally made my daughter, uncomfortable, and needs to be more careful With his body given that he is a man and young girls can be scared and intimidated by his touch. A third option is that my daughter is impulsive and very frequently tends to tell highly exaggerated stories. I don’t know if there is a way to differentiate between these three possibilities .

If Alfred is a child molester, I cant imagine that he would admit it if confronted directly. He might just become more careful and savvy. If he is not a child, molester, and just touched her carelessly, maybe a direct discussion could help him learn to be more careful. If my daughter wildly exaggerated the story, then we could introduce terrible stress into our best friends family and marriage, which isn’t really central concern morally, but practically, would be terribly unfortunate for these people that we care about.

Acutely, we will keep our daughter away from sarah‘s house and ensure that she is not alone with Alfred. We see these people literally every day, though, so it’s not like we can just avoid them. We will let our daughter know that we love her and believe her and support her. She has been seeing a therapist for several years, and we will work with that person to process what happened. We will continue to talk with her to find out whatever additional information we can learn or if something worse has happened to her.

Practically, what the hell are we supposed to do about this sort of inappropriate but not clearly criminal touching of our kid? Has anybody been through this?

Edit: For those who say confront Alfred or speak to both of Sarah’s parents, what would you say? How would you respond if he denied it?

So we were out dinner and we had our 9 month old in a high chair. She was very happy and bouncy and I had been holding her steady, keeping my hand in front of her, making sure she wouldn’t get hurt. I get the bill and reach for my wallet and she slams her face into the table! (She has her top four teeth) I’m thinking she’s fine but her top teeth look like they got pushed back in a little. Is that possible? If so, how bad is it? I tried googling this but I wasn’t finding any solid advice. Anyone been through this before? Thank you!

Spoilers ahead for the new bluey episode:

We are in the middle of packing our house up and moving 1,000 miles away. My little girl loves bluey and we were so excited for the new episode, especially after "Ghostbasket" because the Healers are selling their house, just like us!

Perfect! Let's make popcorn and sit down for a movie night because Bluey is gold and this will help my little one with the feels and fears of selling and moving.

Boy was I wrong... That ending just wrecked her. "See Daddy, they're not selling their house, they can stay, why can't we."

Damn fellow dads. That was a kick in the dick after the buildup. Wish me luck, lots of tears and cuddles happening right now.

When you first have children they talk about the challenges of parenting....the struggles of a baby waking in the night, the toddler who won’t stay in their bed, the cost of childcare, injuries from sports...

Having to take off work to pick them up from school when they don’t feel well, helping them with homework, a messy house, the never ending laundry, the cost to buy school clothes, packing their lunches....

You watch their eyes light up on Christmas morning....and try to soak in the magic of those moments.

You coach them in sports, rushing to practices and ballgames...and tote them all over the country to let them play the game they love...no matter how exhausting or expensive it becomes.

Life is just so busy that you rarely even stop to think what the end of those days look like.

In fact, it’s not really even something you can wrap your mind around.

You go into it thinking that 18-20 years sounds like a long time....

Then suddenly hours turn into days...days into months...and months into years.

That little person that used to crawl up next to you in bed and cuddle up to watch cartoons...suddenly becomes this young adult who hugs you in the hallway as they come and go.

And the chaos and laughter that used to echo throughout your home....gets filled with silence and solitude.

You’ve learned how to parent a child who needs you to care for and protect them....but have no clue how the whole “letting go” thing is supposed to work.

So you hold on as tight as you can...wondering how time passed so quickly...feeling guilty that you missed something....

Because even though you had 20 years.....it just somehow doesn’t seem like it was enough.

You ask yourself so many questions...

Did you teach them the right lessons? Did you read them enough books as a child? Spend enough time playing with them? How many school parties did you have to miss? Do they really know how much you love them? What could I have done better as a parent?

.....When it’s time for them to go, it all hits you like a ton of bricks.

And all you can do is pray....hope....and trust that God will protect them as they start to make their way into the world alone.

Parenting is by far the most amazing experience of your life....that at times leaves you exhilarated....while others leave you heartbroken.

But one thing is certain.....it’s never enough time...💕

So for all the parents with young children...whose days are spent trying to figure out how to make it through the madness... Exhausted day in and day out...

Soak. It. All. In.

Because one day....all those crazy days full of cartoons, snuggles, sleep overs, Christmas morning magic, ballgames, practices and late night dinners...

All come to an end.

And you’re left hoping that you did enough right, so that when they spread their wings....

They’ll fly...💕

Misty Brewer Lee Art: Katie M. Berggren

What brands have you all find give the best value for durability and comfort? I bought some pants from Boden recently and they are already showing major holes along the belt line. Similarly, I bought shoes from PediPed and they are almost down to the soles within the same period. I like both these companies, but am also looking for other brands that are durable and comfortable for active kids.

Good lord everyone in our household is a tearful mess. Kiddos, parents, everyone. Of an average episode is a tearjerker, this is a tsunami.

My wife and I have been together for 10 years and recently had our first baby, who is now 6 months old. I adore my baby—she's healthy, happy, and adorable. I also love my wife, who is sweet, kind, and a great mom.

However, since our baby arrived, I've been feeling empty. I miss the little things my wife and I used to share—cuddling, chatting, and just being silly together. We no longer have those moments of affection, and it's really getting to me. I'm feeling unmotivated and distracted, even impacting my professional life where I used to excel.

Our baby sleeps in bed with us, which means I can't even cuddle with my wife. I work from home, shes a SAHM. I handle the household chores(cooking/cleaning/etc) and financial support, she handles most the childcare(I help extra on weekends). We spend our days focused on our daughter, and although we go out on weekends, it feels like something vital is missing at home (its not sex, more like the intimacy/closeness between us just feels bleak)

I’m restless and looking for ways to reconnect with my wife amidst our new routine with our baby. It feels like im watching my relationship die in slow motion.

I spoke to my wife about it and she feels the same, like she misses me too.

What have others done to keep their relationship strong while managing the demands of a young child?

I’d really appreciate any advice, sorry for the rambling.

EDIT:

NOT TALKING SEX. Just romance or a shared activity. Painting together, reading together, baking cakes together. Something you can do together at home, when you can no longer leave home on a whim. Something that you can put down for a moment and pick back up. Something that can facilitate just talking and being friends.

Before baby, we had baths together and ate cake in the tub for example. Or we would go to arcades and game together. Or play any coop Nintendo game, snuggled up together with snacks.

Not jigsaws lol, those are boring. Also, we trip over eachother if we cook together. She prefers to just eat the cake/bread/dessert.

Im talking loving eachother. Shared experiences that make you feel loved/affection with your partner. Something to pay attention to each other thats also fun.

My 6 yo randomly wrote this song today... And it's weirding me out for some reason. My wife thinks I'm over reacting (and I'm hoping you all agree with her) but I can't figure out why this random creation is bothering me.

I said I feel like we're at the beginning of a horror movie or something.

When we asked about his "muse" he said he was thinking about the seasons and when he performed it for us the tune was an oddly jaunty one.

Please tell me I'm being nuts.

Hi dads! I’m overjoyed to announce I’m part of the club! My beautiful daughter was born 3 nights ago. We are already at home, she is perfect, healthy, my wife is also doing great! So why am I making this post if everything is fine?

Well. I come from a routine where I stayed home all day playing video games and worrying only about my own personal stuff. I’m 29 and my money comes from investments I’ve made, everything on this matter is also fine.

Since my daughter was born, I tried to stay awake as long as possible to take care of her, and allow my wife to rest. Couldn’t sleep well the first night due to the lack of beds so had to do it in a chair. Second night, we were moved to our own personal room, I had a bed to rest and it was very spacious. However, I could not make myself sleep. I had serious trouble doing so. Eventually I’ve slept about 4 hours again, just like in the first night.

Now, at home, same thing. I can’t seem to be able to rest and fall asleep. My consciousness gets heavy when I close my eyes, expecting my daughter to awake and scream, so I can rush to attend to her and allow my wife to stay as rested as possible. But I feel exhausted, and in my alone time I cry in despair, afraid of the future, afraid of the routine changes, haven’t seen or done my personal stuff. (That’s not to say I don’t enjoy taking care of my child cause of course I do). But I’m having panic attacks and don’t know what to do!

Can you please share some enlightenment and advices? That would be good, I’m in need!

Thanks!

I'm glad my daughter can get rid of what she needs to, but does it need to happen every time we leave the house?

Am I crazy or did the price of this formula increase like crazy over the past year ? The 30oz used to go for 30/40ish and is now 62 at CVS. Best deal I’ve found was the 40oz at costco for $46. I know at least it’s not like at the height of formula shortage but it’s kinda nuts of expensive formula has gotten. Sorry for the rant.

Holy cow, as an older brother I loved this movie when I first saw it, and it was immediately one of my favorite Pixar movies. But now that I’m a dad with two kids? Who are just starting to take care of each other?? Tears.

Hey daddit! I saw a post from two years ago looking for people for D&D so figured I’d check in again.

I’m interested in running a campaign for 4-6 people. As the dad of a toddler, I thought it’d be nice to play with people with similar lives. I’m thinking every other Friday, after work for 3 hours max. I’m in US Eastern Time/UTC-5

Let me know if you’re interested. New players and partners welcome.

Long story short, my now 18 month old went through a prolonged illness, hospitalization, and drug treatment from ~11-13 months old. Now at 1.5 years, he's barely talking, not walking, and struggling to eat (moving beyond bottles and purees to finger foods and self-feeding).

I'm curious if anyone else's child went through a prolonged hospitalization during the first year or two and how it affected their development. Given how relatively rare this is, there's not a ton of information or studies out there on the topic.

Longer version if you want it, bit of a wild ride: My son (our second child) experienced some gross and fine motor delays that we started to notice around 6-8 months old when he was still struggling to roll over (trying but unable). He entered early intervention at 8 months, and quickly made some progress to rolling over and beginning to belly crawl by 10 months.

At 11 months (this past September), an illness hit him like a bolt of lightning one Saturday, and after being admitted to the ICU for frighteningly high temperatures and a seizure that very nearly killed him, we found out he had bacterial meningitis and brain empyema. He had brain surgery to drain the pus/infection from his brain, was in a medically-induced coma for over a week, spent another subsequent week in the ICU still heavy sedated, and then spent yet another 3 weeks in the hospital for ongoing monitoring/tests/medication/etc. All told, he spent 6 weeks in the hospital. And even upon returning home, we were administering IV drugs almost around the clock for the next 6 weeks, and he was just completely out of it; slept all the time, barely wanted to play, etc. On top of this, he was on a feeding tube the entire time. Anecdotally, I felt like when he finally came off everything around 14 months, he'd slipped back to where he was developmentally at 8 months.

We did, however, get a clean bill of health for neurology/neurosurgery, with no anticipation that the illness or surgeries should have any long-term physiological impact on brain function, or impair him in any way (which was a miracle).

However, a followup MRI detected an anomaly with his eye shape. Upon an examination by an opthamologist, she recommended genetic screening for Marfan Syndrome, and that diagnosis was confirmed a few weeks later. It explained his earlier - and ongoing - motor development delays, as it impacts muscle/body strength development.

So, his genetic diagnosis potentially helps explain some of his delays: not walking is likely due to strength and joint stability, speech delays could be related to poor vision that wasn't corrected until ~2 months ago, and even eating could be affected by mouth/jaw strength issues. That being said, in working with Marfan specialists at our pediatric hospital, his delays exceed what they typically see in their patients. This condition generally doesn't affect cognitive development, either.

Then, the X factor, and what would make logical sense, is that a traumatic experience of being sick and in the hospital/on loads of medications for several months just piled on to whatever his already modestly delayed baseline was and made everything considerably worse. And introduced delays/setbacks in other areas where he was previously "on track".

He's in basically every form of developmental therapy available, and is making progress in all areas. But, I suppose - given all that's gone wrong for the poor kid - that his mother and I just can't help but fear/shake the idea that there's more to it, and we're going to find out something else is wrong. None of the dozen-ish doctors and therapists we're working with have indicated otherwise, but maybe we're just living on edge.

Anyway, I've tried to do my own research on the topic, but there's not a ton out there. So, I was curious if there were any other dads with kids who dealt with a severe illness/long term hospitalization/drug treatment during their first 2 years, and how it affected/didn't affect their development?

We have a 6 month old, baby and me got badly hit with a stomach bug since Friday night. Mom was miraculously spared (as of Sunday evening). If she was sick too I don't know what we would've done. She spent the whole night checking on the baby and me.

It got me thinking, what do you do when the whole family is sick? How do you even manage?

Edit: mom is sick. This is gonna suck.

For context I’m a girl dad. She just turned two. And I am single (widowed). When my wife died our daughter was barely one, so she didn’t talk much. So my wife didn’t really call her private parts a name. Also when our daughter started to talk, my wife was really sick so I did most of the bathing / changing diapers.

I’ve just called it private parts. I only started recently because when bathing her I narrate to her what I’m doing and what I’m washing. I read that calling it private part isn’t good? Do other dads just call it a vagina? Or is vagina not the right word? What’s wrong with calling it a private part? Should I wait until she’s older to call it a vagina? I feel awkward calling it that. Please don’t attack me. It’s been a hard year.

Omfg Brandy (the mom's sister) is pregnant. My wife and I LOST it, totally did not expect this episode to wreck me in so many ways.

Hey all, This past weekend my daughter (7) learned an expensive lesson. She lost our family switch at a dance competition. Some backstory. We own a studio so we are often at competitions most weekends. It’s the #dancedadlife and I love it. However, this day she was playing and placed it on a chair not near our stuff or the case and rushed to support other numbers at an awards session. This was at the end of a long day being at the comp and she just was not thinking. By the time awards were done and she made it back to the dressing room the switch was gone. We’ve gone through all the channels to locate it (venue, dance competition company, and a dance teacher fb that is pretty good for those sort of things). That being said I did have the talk with her last night and I felt pretty good about it. I had to balance both giving warnings but also tell her I wasn’t upset. Mistakes happen and I don’t want her to not come to me for things, you know?

So. All that being said I want some advice on what can I do to maybe help my daughter earn another one. I want to make this at least a couple months of help with chores around the house. What are some things you’ve all come up with for your children. Thanks in advance and have a great week all!

Just tuned in to the 28 minute Bluey special. As a Bluey fan, my kid (3) has grown up with it her whole life.

I know it’s a highly recommended show around here but all I will say about this episode is it’s an absolute must watch. 10/10. Laughed and cried. The last few minutes are incredible. Bravo to that shows creators.

Go check it out.

Just a heads up.

She is terrified that we are now going to move because she loves her bedroom

My 3.5 yo just walked over with our help to ask the 6yo girl behind us to play.

They’ve played before but we’ve always or their dad always asked.

Today she held my wife’s hand and walked over and asked herself.

So good to see!

Just recently switched jobs for better pay and benefits,it’s a 2-2-3 schedule but how is it for having a wife and kids. I get I’ll be working more one week then only work 2 days the next. My wife thinks it’s better since we’re due for another (just found out a couple weeks ago she was pregnant). But I’m nervous about when shes later in the pregnancy when she needs me more. Also it’s 6pm to 6am.