Christmas in our family is busy with lots of people. There are three boys (3,5,7) from different families. When they get together they go bat shit crazy! Wrestling, climbing, jumping off things. I’m exhausted thinking about a whole day of it. The 3 year old is my son and I also have a newborn. We’ve bought a trampoline for Christmas and I’m hoping that will do the trick but I’m also worried this could backfire on me and just hype them up more. If i have to kick them off the trampoline ( and give the quiet kids a go) what can I give them to do to keep them out of trouble?

After cheaper ideas for presents from Santa. I don't want to give lots of little plastic things that will just add to the toy clutter. clutter.

Stuck for ideas as 5yo just had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and got lots of things

Santa doesn't give expensive toys as they come from husband and me.

Hey all, just wanted to know what kind of red flags i should be looking out for

Today my SO pick up our 3 year old from day care, and he was playing in the toilet with another boy, saying “skibidi toilet”. I’d heard it was a meme but knew nothing else about it.

My SO told me about it when she got home, and that he was talking about heads popping out of a toilet on the drive home.

Out of curiosity, I looked up Skibidi Toilet and it was exactly as he’d described. I asked him where he’d seen the heads in the toilet and he said “on the iPad at daycare”.

I’m not sure if I should bring this up with the daycare, or if this is just the way it is now.. am I under reacting?

I have seen the shit that pops up even on YouTube kids, and we’ve always avoided letting him watch it.

Hi All, just found this community this morning, but couldn’t find any post on this topic yet… kids smart watches! We live semi rural and the 2 older kids (nearly 11 and 8) often like to explore our property and our neighbours (our/their friends), as well as have play dates back closer to school and be able to contact us. My eldest had an iMoo smart watch which he quite liked but that stopped working when the 3G network got shut off. We absolutely DO NOT want them to have phones.

At them moment, from all our research the 2 contenders are the Spacetalk and the Apple SE watches (Apple SE has a $99 sim plan per year you add to your family plan and then that means your child doesn’t need their own phone for it to work).

Does anyone have any experiences with either, positive or negative? Keen for feedback!

Thanks!!

To keep the background for context as succinct as possible, I have two children (14 and 17) and the 14 year old lives with me full time. My 17-year old lives with the other parent. My 14 year old's relationship with their sibling and the other parent is tenuous, due to (different) reasons I choose not to go into. On a more recent trip OS for work, which was only for a week, we trialled the other parent coming to stay at our place to care for the 14 year old. It was an absolute shit show and trying to mediate from 6,500kms away was challenging, but sadly, not the first time either.

In the next few months, I have a three week OS work trip that I have to participate in. It's vital to my role and career, so simply not going is not an option. I've been prepping my 14 year old for this, with several conversations that seem to end up with "I'll just come with you", but the destination and environment that I will be working in is not conducive for a 14 year old... school goes back part way through this as well.

I guess I'm seeking advice on some alternative options which I intend to work through with my child. They're pretty inflexible with a lot of things, and I have already prefaced that they need to demonstrate some flexibility in whatever plan we come up with... otherwise we may never come up with a solution.

Without thinking of the negatives, or the challenges or whether my child simply won't like the ideas at all, here are a bunch of ideas that I'm proposing that we can consider. I assume it would be best to leverage several of these:

• A family-friend stays at our place
• My child goes to her other parents place
• The other parent comes to stay at our place
• Sleepovers with friends in the last week of holidays and on the weekends
• Getting my mum to come over from interstate for a week 
• Getting my sibling to come over for a week
• Getting someone else we haven't thought of to come for a week
• Getting a Night Nanny, that would stay overnight, but there would be some effort from my child to make your their breakfast and lunch, help with meals and cleaning - probably very expensive I'd imagine

Please, I am not seeking (unwanted) advice on how to change the psyche and behaviours of my child - I know what I am dealing with and I know what they've been through and what they're working through with some professional support. I'm just after advice from other single parents that may have found themselves in similar situations. Thank you.

I have made some research and it seems like Tiny Walkers Busy Books are pretty good for it's price. Wondering if anyone has any feedback on them?

I have a child in highschool that needs to take early leave 3 times a week. He is doing VCAL, an absolute champion, and not falling behind his work or classwork. He is an extremely hard worker, and we are about 3.5 months into his treatment that takes 10 minutes.

I am working full time, and doing my best to accommodate his needs by squeezing it into my work day during my lunch break. Even then, I am losing time from work.

Recently, the office lady has taken issue to his early sign outs (12-2pm usually) and she marks him away for 2 periods, even though he has been present for most of the 2nd. She made it so difficult for him, we did our best to accommodate what she wanted was for him to miss 1 period only. In the interim, he has approached the subject coordinator to reconfirm that his absence is okay. He was told yes, and his health comes first. However, couple weeks later, she's creating more issues.

She has told him that he should be doing his treatment after school (after 3.11pm), and the place closes at 4.30pm (sometimes earlier). I am unable to take him during this time and he would need to rely on public transport which may not get him there on time.

In addition to this, last week, when I picked him up ... He looked like he was about to cry in the car as she refused to sign him out and was being discriminating by servicing every other student besides him even though sign outs take less than a minute, this was 2.50pm as I was held up from work. He didn't sign out that day and just left.

Today is Monday, and I was unable to take him so he had to take public transport. From what I heard of the event, I can only describe her to be a bully. The office lady has threatened to call me to make a complaint about him, but she doesn't have my direct contact. And that she will allow him "this one time".

Does anyone have any advice on what to do about this? I don't understand why she seems to hold the power to create this much stress on the poor kid just trying to look after his own body?

We don’t allow our kids sleepovers at friend’s houses. They are under 10.

Last year, our son had his friend move away. They returned a few months later and his friend stayed with us for a few days. The parents instigated it and we were happy to have him. The rest of the family stayed nearby with friends.

We have now been invited to visit and stay with them. We prefer our own space and have chosen to stay in a Airbnb near by instead.

Our son has been asked to sleepover. How can I politely explain that we don’t yet allow sleepovers without offending? Especially when we have had their child stay with us. It’s not personal however this is just our family rule for many reasons.

Hi everyone, Hoping for some advice.

My husband and I are in the early stages of planning our first baby - I’m an overthinker, and have been deep diving into our financial entitlements to try and settle some of my nerves well ahead of time.

I am entitled to 16 weeks paid primary carer’s leave from my employer (plus 36 weeks unpaid), and we will also be entitled to the government Parental Leave payments, which will be either 120 or 130 days total depending on when we have our baby.

My husband’s workplace also offers 12 weeks primary carer’s leave, or 2 weeks secondary carer’s leave.

Does anyone know if it would be possible for me to take my primary carer’s leave (plus some accrued annual leave) for the first 6 months of our baby’s life, return to work and then have my husband take primary carer’s leave from his employer? We would not utilise his secondary carer’s leave at the time of birth (as I imagine this would be double-dipping), and would use annual leave and some of the government paid leave days to give him a month or so off around the time the baby is born.

I would like to try to avoid daycare until our baby is approaching 1 year old if possible, and love the idea of each of us being able to spend a significant chunk of time at home with the little one in their first year.

Is this possible? He would be the primary care giver to our child upon my return to work, but I’m unsure if it’s common for employers to grant fathers primary carer’s leave say 6 months after the birth of your baby, once mum has returned to work?

Alternatively, we could obviously use majority of the government parental leave payment to allow him some time off, but it makes sense to use his parental leave from his employer if possible.

Does anyone have experience doing something like this?

Thanks so much!

Hi there, I'm coming over to Aussie with our toddler and I know that his car seat doesn't meet Australian rear facing regulations because it doesn't have the tether strap. But would it be OK to use front facing? Or do any car seats in Aussie need the tether for front facing as well? We have a Britax Boulevard ClickTight

Hi everyone,

I am a scientist from Australia + a mum- I am looking for participants for some new research I am doing.

Are you the parent/caregiver of a child aged 2-12 years? If so, we kindly invite you to participate in our short online survey about sharks. We are interested in what children know about sharks, so this survey involves you completing a couple of questions about sharks, and then asking your children some questions about sharks. You will then be asked to write what your children say or what they do (e.g. if they use hand gestures).

LINK TO SURVEY:

https://research.unisa.edu.au/redcap/surveys/?s=XYPHMNMKFEJR7H4P

Please also feel free to send to any one you know who might be interested.

The survey takes approximately ten minutes per child to complete, if you have more than one child aged between 2-12 they can all participate.

This study has received ethics approval from the University of South Australia (#206267). If you have any queries, please contact the lead researcher: Brianna.lebusque@unisa.edu.au

My son is currently bored of his toys. I don't think they are age appropriate anymore.

Anyone with 17-18mo toddlers. What are they into now excluding raiding the cupboards and utensils.

Question for the ladies. Has anyone found since having kids you get angry quite quickly and short tempered. I have a soon to be 5yo and a 16½mo and find things set me off quite easily from there being too much noise, oldest son not listening or is yelling or throwing things, husband not listening or too worried about playing hiis game on the phone, even when things don't go to plan or house gets messy.

I don't really get me time unless it's driving home from work. I work part time. The day I have off is consumed by childcare and kindy pickups, housework, scrubbing the wet areas and washing etc.

What have you found to help manage the anger?

Hi Everyone, My husband and I have tried everything and our 4 year old daughter still won’t do poos on the toilet. We don’t know what to do and we are to the stage we will be going back to nappies because I can’t throw out underwear every 2 days.

The kindy has been great help and does all they can but she still won’t go. We have tried sticker charts, making a big fuse over when she does go to the toilet and small rewards for no accidents. We have missed swimming lessons a couple of times because she has done accidents as well. She tells us when she has to do a wee and she has never wet the bed so I am in desperate need of help!

Thanks in Advance!

This seems like a silly question but maybe I'm looking for reassurance as well as ideas.

Kiddo starts high school next year. We currently use before and after school care 3 days a week as I work in the city those days.

I think they allow students to hang out in the library and do homework after school, but due to my commute my office days are long so I'm assuming that will get boring quickly.

At what age is it OK for a kid to be left at home to leave for school themselves, and get home, being on their own? What do you do?

We are new parents and trying understand how you go about finding a nanny/baby sitter for a couple of hours on Weekends. Me or my wife will be there and looking for someone to look after the baby while we rest/ do household chores. Any info/ suggestions are appreciated.

I feel like its a day to spend on the relationship with your child including eating terrible breakfasts that the kids work hard on, saying thankyou so much for the things they bought you or made (whether you like it or not) and then going and doing something with the child that (as much as possible) you both enjoy but its more important they enjoy it with you than for you as the parent.

My partner on the other hand see's it as a day they get to do what they want (playing games primarily (not kid friendly)) without being bothered on their day. The kids were told to their faces that the parent just wants time to themselves for 'one day' and to leave them alone. The kids were not happy and really wanted to spend time with their parent but because they wouldnt leave them alone, they ended up getting yelled at.

I dont know if I'm looking at this in the wrong light though, so would appreciate input from others on whether it's common to see Mother/Fathers day as a day to do whatever they want without their kids?

And I am a happy, successful person who is married with two kids and very close to both my parents.

Just wanted to chuck that out there for any parent who needs to read that. I am consistently seeing posts that suggests full time daycare is harmful for kids. It wasn't for me or sibling. You do what you gotta do/what's best for your family. And that is different for everyone.

Hi all! I'm a student in University currently seeking ways to improve children's education by engaging parents! If you could please fill out my survey that would help a lot, cheers!
https://forms.gle/ade3bkLUEZE2ARkC7

My almost 4yo and 20mth/o love listening to music, but not the same music. My almost 4 year old daughter has my pristine condition generation 5 iPod touch bought new in 2014. But of course, with Apple and their forced obsolescence, it’s so slow, she can’t use it.

She has her own Spotify account cause I got sick of my Spotify getting clogged up with kids songs. (I’ve had a family plan since before I had kids, and I had a spare slot) but I don’t want her having a phone, SIM card or not.

We went on a road trip last year, and we downloaded songs on Spotify on my iPad (that I had in the front with me, I wasn’t driving) so she could listen to music in the car with Bluetooth headphones, but I need my iPad for work. Neither of my kids have their own tablets, that’s not something I’m particularly comfortable with them having at this age, and I don’t know much about parental controls.

So, to my question, Are there any decent MP3 players out there? Something that rivals the old iPods? Have you found old iPods (like the classic and nano) still being compatible with the latest iTunes?

Do I need to compromise on the tablets to get something that’s going to meet my needs?

tips and tricks on stopping your toddler scratching kids at daycare?! 😭 my daughter is 2y9m and goes to daycare twice a week. the past few weeks her educators have had to pull me aside at pick-up and let me know she's hurt a couple of kids that day. I feel absolutely mortified, embarrassed and so upset for the kids and their parents, but I just don't know how to get her to stop! she does scratch/lash out a bit at home, usually when she's been told no to something - but she knows now she gets in big trouble at home for not using her gentle hands so ive found its not happening quite as much here. her speech/language/understanding is really good for her age, so it's not that she physically doesn't have words to express her feelings. she also KNOWS not to do it, and that it's not nice - we have had countless talks about it, and theyre talking about it as a group at daycare about being kind, gentle etc. she even told me last night at bedtime when I told her goodnight, big day at school tomorrow - "goodnight mummy, I'm going to school tomorrow and I won't hurt my friends". and yet, I've just had a phone call from her educator about her having done it twice this morning already. any suggestions or ideas are SO welcomed 😭

How many primary schools are having dad only camping trips with the kids? Didn't realise it was a thing.

Hi guys, about to be a new parent. I’m very sun safe, but I’m normally the person to put sunscreen on at home. Considering how gross your hands get from sunscreen, how do you normally clean your hands if you are out and about with the baby? And say you want to eat? Or is it not an issue? Thanks!

I am looking for baby monitors for my 3 kids rooms. I would like to know which of my kids is crying, without having to have the sound constantly on (eg. it just turns on the sound when it detects crying). Is there a monitor which has VOX for multiple rooms? I would prefer a non-wifi monitor as I am not sure I would wake to a phone notification. Any suggestions?

Has anyone travelled overseas particularly to Japan as a sole parent of minors from Australia ? My kids have their passports but I’m wondering what other documents I need to take to show that the other parent has granted permission. There are no court orders in place. Thank you.

My 2 children (5m) (2f) are in childcare 4 days a week. We've had ongoing issues with violence in the room mostly with our 5yo. It seemed to have died down after the last incident made it into the herald sun. Well today I was picking up my 2yo and before I've even logged in to sign her out I hear screaming and very loud banging. As I walked to her room the whole time I'm thinking wtaf is going on and please don't let there be something going on on her room. Low and behold I enter the room and a much older child is throwing an absolute meltdown worse than anything I've ever witnessed. He was with his mother who seemed to be trying to take him home. But the whole time he was thrashing violently, hitting and kicking her, she'd release him and he'd start punching the walls and windows. I kept my cool but the educators were just sitting there watching this happen, doing nothing to intervene. Standard response from my understanding is that the child should have been removed and if that wasn't possible the other children should have been removed. I'm fairly upset about what my daughter has witnessed and don't know how common it is for her to be exposed to this. I'm waiting for a call back from management. But what am I actually supposed to do besides withdrawing my kids? This is their 3rd childcare in 2 years and the next option is a 30 minute drive from home.

For some added info, I understand that neurodivergence is almost definitely at play here. I understand all too well being from a neurospicey family. But there is a line between ND and dangerous and this incident went well beyond anything resembling the acceptable tolerance for behaviour.

As per title. Any recommendations? I'm specifically looking for boys sneakers.

Google comes up with a bunch but I dont have any familiarity with the brands.

Hi everyone, Monash University is currently undertaking a study looking at eco-anxiety in Australian children following the effects of climate change. We would love to hear from your kids about their thoughts and feelings about the environmental crisis!

We are recruiting children aged between 9-12 years old to complete two 10 minute online surveys, and their parents to complete a 5-10 minute survey for the Eco-Anxiety Assessment Project!

You will receive a personalised report about your child's levels eco-anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour , as a token of our appreciation.

For more information and to express your interest, follow this link:

https://redcap.link/0krberet