Those who have living parents, how often do you speak to them (daily/weekly/monthly/yearly/never) & how healthy is your relationship with them (healthy/semi-healthy/not healthy)?

Hey parents, I’m in the midst of a 4 year old potty training regression. My nearly 5 year old keeps messing herself. It seems pretty clear that she just doesn’t want to stop what she’s doing to go to the bathroom.

I have realized that she doesn’t mess herself when she is naked, when she is strapped in her car seat, or when she is at daycare with other kids.

I’ve tried timers, rewards, incentives and now even harsh consequences. Nothing seems to get through to her that she needs to choose to go on the potty and not her pants.

Is there any wisdom or pieces of advice that other parents can offer that I’ve been through something similar? I’m getting desperate here. My wife is pushing for a continuation and possibly escalation of harsher consequences but it clearly isn’t working.

Hello I just wanted to know if this is normal: my step son is 10 years old and he is ALWAYS being loud and vocal. But when I say vocal, I don’t mean saying words, I mean making weird noises. He’ll make high pitched noises like squeaky sounds, weird yodeling sounds, and honestly a bunch of other sounds I can’t describe. He is atypical for the most part but I have suspected for a long time that he may have autism because he is very sensitive to certain fabrics, very picky with food textures, tip toe walks, and knows a lot of random facts (very smart). I’m not sure if he is making these noises due to that or if this is totally normal behavior for a 10 year old boy?

*I wanted to add that when he does make these noises he thinks it’s funny. Like if someone tells him to stop or ask him why he’s doing that, he will laugh or make a joke

She text to me saying, I'm really in a bad mood today, your father doesn't works at all, he is lazy at home and still excuses for himself, i feel so bad for her, what should i tell her to let her cheered up?

I have a son who is a young teenager, unfortunately he is still wetting the bed at night. We have all the bedding protectors, plus he sleeps on a washable protector that sits on top of his covers. This still means I have to wash every morning the protector, his duvet (he wraps himself in it during the night), if he has wriggled then I have to completely strip the bed as some may of leaked to the bed sheet and on the additional protector. It is upsetting for him and frustrating for me but we deal with it. He is an extremely deep sleeper, the bed wetting alarms just do not work (we have tried numerous times over the years), the nappies haven't worked for a number of years that you can buy either (leak). He does not know he has wet himself until I wake him in the morning. Currently I am avoiding the medication as I am told it stops his kidneys producing the urine, that concerns me.

Does anyone have experience of this and found a pair of shorts/pants that are discreet that would hold a night time bed wetting incident? I saw some online about 2 years ago, they were £70 though, I didn't want to risk spending that much for them to fail. My son has a school trip, he would like to go but obviously doesn't want anyone knowing. It would also make our lives easier at home if it was just a slight leak on the top protector, with the shorts instead of washing everything!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Hello everyone ! I'm speaking on this sub for advice from parents or big brothers/sisters of teenagers....

I have a 14 year old little sister who is into "trends". I don't know if it's just with adolescence and the need to identify with something, but I feel like she's losing herself : she likes certain things BECAUSE her friends like them too, she wants those shoes BECAUSE everyone likes that brand, she wants make-up BECAUSE the girls her age around her have it and because she sees it on the networks too. In the beginning, my parents gave in easily to everything she wanted, but it was ephemeral, and as soon as something else appeared, she abandoned the gift that had previously delighted her and turned to something else entirely... I really feel that this generation (including my sister) is no longer about authenticity and "being yourself", but just about appearances and the superfluous... I love my sister, I know she's young and I want the best for her, but when you're labeled as "mean" because "no, I won't get you concealer for your young age or foundation" well... it discourages me a little. With my parents, we've tried lots of things, like teaching her the value of money, giving her small paid tasks so that she can manage her own money (maybe if she experimented, she'd understand!), and our parents "stopped" giving in to her incessant demands. We've even set up a debt system : if she borrows €20 from them, she has to pay them back before she can borrow money from them again! But I get the feeling that nothing works...

How can I get her to understand the importance of having HER own interests and not just stupidly following the trends or opinions of her friends?

We live in a state with hot climate and never get to wear boots. We are traveling to Wisconsin in the winter so any suggestions on toddler boots that look stylish but are great for snow ? I thought uggs were great but they are not made for rain and snow.

So, My child is turning 3 in a few days but hasn’t said any real solid words or even potty trained. We are in speech therapy, We have a routines learning curriculum and I really just want to know if I should get some tests done. Or maybe i am overreacting and in time all will be well. Any advice ? books? programs? Activities?

he has bronchitis for the second time in 2 months and cannot sleep. the cough is so bad, it's a deep barking cough. hes elevated, hydrated, has the humidifier and air purifier running, been given bromfed dm and guidfenesin and he's still coughing every few min. maybe a 4 min break in there. any ideas on how I can help him? I'm really hoping this isn't asthma, the dr called in an inhaler late at night for him but the pharmacy is closed.

As the parent of a three year old. Green Apple is the superior froth for kid soup and Bubblegum needs to be left behind!

(My kid has named baths kid soup and the bubbles are like the froth of coffee I make)

How do you normally deal with your kids being isolated or not being allowed to join a game? Do I let my kid sort it out themselves? Experience it and learn a lesson from it?

Edit to add: Child is 7, a girl.

He might have whooping cough. He’s jjst had a really crappy time with other illnesses and injuries as well. We want to give some to cheer him up. He likes basketball and Pokémon

Hi everyone. I personally do not have kids. Every year I buy gifts for foster kids in my town.

A ten year old boy requested an NFL sweatshirt. He’s size “10”. I’ve noticed the NFL brand specifically is different than other size charts for other kids.

What size for a ten year old boy who requested “size 10”?

I am a 18 year senior in high school. When I starting getting ready for bed and powering my mind off the only thing that I can think of is how much I want to be a dad. I can't get this thought out of my head every night for at the very least the past month. I just dream of having a daughter just like my little sister, but my own. Is this normal?

It was a DVD from one of those five dollar bins at Walmart. It was a compilation of short, stop action motion cartoons etc. It had pingue thr penguin. And some kind of bath toys with a shark + others. If anyone can remember the name of the shark/ bath toys part or anything else it would be much appreciated!

TL;DR: 4 month old with milk and corn allergy and now possibly wheat. Any advice?

Looking for advice from other parents in the same boat. My little one is 4months old. We have been through failure to thrive with a hospital stay around a month old. There we found out they had a cows milk protein allergy. Then through a long battle of formula changes we have determined they have a corn allergy. The only formula that works is Alimentum ready to feed. It has to be RTF because it’s corn free. They still throw up a lot but it is so much better! Our 4 month appoint went great and we are finally making headway on gaining weight. Our pediatrician recommended starting introducing purées. We started with oatmeal and eating wise it went great. However that night they were inconsolable. We had hours of crying, multiple bowel movements and throwing up like crazy. The next day I noticed mucous in the stool and they looked greasy. My only guess was a possible wheat allergy. Now the pediatrician wants him to see an allergist. Has anyone dealt with food allergies this young? Any advice is helpful

My niece is the first baby in my life, she’s currently 10 months, will be 11 at christmas, and her 1st birthday is mid january. I have absolutely no clue what to get her for both of those, money is out of the question. She already has stacking cups, stacking rings, activity walker that turns into a board, a xylofone, an activity ball, a pop up toy, a shape sorter. I need ideas for what to give for christmas and for her birthday as well.

My son has been struggling in school, he is in 2nd grade and still cannot read and still struggles with identifying letter and their sounds as well as numbers He has also been struggling with his anger and impulse control. He is quick to hitting when he is upset and just keeping his anger in check. His current teacher thinks his being behind is adding to his anger. I'm at a loss, I don't know what we can do to help him. We have our own theory and have and have had past teachers think the same, that he might have a form of add? But it's not professionalaly diagnosed, and we can't afford for him to go to a professional at this time Myself and my husband both work full time and we would love some advice on how to help him catch up

Obviously I have a rough idea but it be good to hear from people who’s been on this grind before.

UK

First child 7 year apart

i can’t be the only one that thinks this diana show is weird and kinda makes me uncomfortable. it teaches them nothing of value on top of that but idk i just don’t understand.

So my child is 5 yrs old and is in his first year of primary. They are going on a school trip soon and I’m thinking I want to put some sort of tracker on him for the sole purpose of him getting lost or left behind or anything like that. I don’t think Apple tags are good for this as they have limited range I think. Any advice?

Honestly, I'm just looking for some advice. I'm 47 now. I had a son when I was very young, and I was always there for him, but I had to leave a lot for work, so my wife raised him and my two daughters most of the time. I didn’t graduate high school, but I became a welder and made good money, even though I was often gone.

When my son was 17, we went through some tough times financially. He told me he wanted to join the army so that it could pay for his college and help save money for us. He fought hard for us to let him do it, and eventually, we agreed. He joined at 17 and served for six years. He went to Afghanistan when he was 19, and years later, he went to Syria. Now, at 24, he has just gotten out of the army and was hired by Border Patrol, where he'll soon leave for the academy.

Yesterday, I asked him how he feels, and he said, "I don’t know anymore, Dad." I know I was hard on him growing up, and I feel like I was too hard. My wife told me he said, "I think Dad’s embarrassed of who I turned out to be. He never said he was proud of me." I always just wanted to push him to be a better man. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or vape. He doesn't even drink energy drinks because he says, "God will always give me the energy I need."

I know that me being gone for work affected him a lot. I’ve tried to fix things and tell him it’s okay to talk about his problems, but he just says he’s fine. I thought after the army he’d come home and stay in Arizona, but he chose to move to Texas after the academy for Border Patrol.

I don’t know what to do. I’m very proud of the man he’s become. He grew up much faster than I did. Do you have any advice on how I can be a better dad to him now and fix our relationship?

Me and my husband (both 29), cannot think of a good reason to have kids. Everyone keeps telling us to have a kid or two or we will regret it in the future. What was your reason to have kids? Are you happy with the choice you made? I know most people love their kids, but would you change your decision if you could go back and erase that part of your life?

My daughter graduates next year. We don’t have any family around and she has a small group of friends whose parents I don’t all know. I am close with 2 of her best friends parents. I don’t feel I can have a traditional big graduation party for her. Would it be alright to just have a cookout for her and her friends and invite the parents we do know?

Likewise I have similar feelings about my youngest son who is only 8 and his bday party. He is in a class this year where he doesn’t really know the kids all that well. He likes the boys in our neighborhood but they are a little rough. I only know 4 boys. He likes a few others in our neighborhood like I said but they are a few years older and seem to get into trouble and I don’t really want to encourage him to hang out with them. I can invite the 4 I know but if one or 2 can’t come then it’s not a party 😢

My friend’s son is 12 and he has been a handful for sometime. Diagnosis of ODD and ADHD. Was adopted by my friend when he was 4. Recently he started stealing from the house. My friend went through her son’s backpack and found her wedding ring (I guess it doesn’t fit right now). His little sister ratted him out and said he tried to give it to his girlfriend but she refused it because it was too expensive. Now his sister’s necklace is missing and other things too. He got punished. He then went to school and told people she was his step mom because his real mom died and that she beats him, which is not true. What would you do?

Hello, my son (3rd grade) has been invited to 3 parties within the last year and activity like places. He gets to play (jump or go to a museum, laser tag), have wonderful food, and a nice goodie bag (one contained a $20 lego set 😲). Also, the parties just contain school mates and their families (i cannot imagine not inviting at least his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins) I feel like it's as if it's my kids bday, if that makes sense.

I appreciate that my son is included but I cannot help but think how much these parties cost. My son has only had family bday celebrations, small under 20ppl @ home but I know he wouldn't mind one including his classmates/friends...however he hasn't asked.

DH and I prefer a party at the park, maybe jump house and bbq...basic decor..and invite his friends but also our family. However we live in the Bay Area and idk if it's just the Bay Area but I feel like parents expect alot and feel entitled when they have their kids attend a bday party and would be disappointed with a no fuss party. Also, I feel like the bday parties are only with schoolmates, when that snot possible since we just plan on 1 celebrations and including everyone; family and his classmates.

Parents that do have park bdays also have clowns, animals, painters, huge backdrops and decorations ect...however that is not in our budget and we don't see the logic in it. We plan on bbq, goodie bag, cake, pizza, drinks maybe jump house. Opinions?

What’s the cutest thing your toddler or baby says or used to say wrong?❤️ For me my 2 year old says ooglyoogly instead of tickle tickle. So whenever he sees a feather he goes OOGLYOOGLY😂 I’m not ready for him to grow up and say it properly🥹