My 3 week old is too strong for a swaddle but too new for arms out. Thoughts? I have tried blanket swaddle, Velcro, zipper, love to dream, etc. She busts out of all of them and gets her arms caught up by her face, waking her up naturally. My first born was the same way. I did arms out sleep sack last night and she had the roughest night, translating to me too. I'm not sure what else to do given that pesky Moro reflex is around for awhile still.

Second time mom with a 5 week old. I am one who is mindful of nap lengths, wake windows, and aiming towards a schedule once age appropriate. I understand 5 weeks is way too young and to just follow cues. However, my baby is seeming to gravitate towards a schedule but there is a bit of a blip. Baby wakes between 7:30 - 8:00 am, stays awake for 1 - 1.5 hours each window, takes naps for 45 min - 2 hrs until mid afternoon. She then *fights* that last nap and doesn't take it, and ends up going to bed at 8:00, sleeping 12 hours. I've read babies this age don't sleep 12 hours overnight (2 feeds still) and she is awake from like 4:00 to 8:00 pm which is way too long for a 5 week old. The last window is cranky and she is clearly tired but just refuses. Any advice??

Assuming they're old enough to have a phone, obviously. I have to send my daughter reminders to do things all the time because she's extremely forgetful. She's not annoyed by that, she's asked me to do it. And whenever I send her one, I get a read receipt *and no reply.* And I've told her a bunch of times that it's rude to not reply to texts like that, but she keeps doing it. It's driving me crazy. She's a good kid, but why doesn't she return texts?!

My child just started kindergarten. As far as I can tell, it's wonderful and is the best place for him. We're just... people of means. We've saved _a lot_ of money compared to the private schools we were considering. I just don't want this to be inappropriate. We'll give to all the standard pta / school fundraisers and already do the wishlist and extra school supplies requests. I'm still selfish. I do want plenty of it to benefit my child. Appropriately though. I just also want to make sure that the (kindergarten) teachers can get pizza and beer or whatever without it seeming like bribery. .

To give an idea of our family: My partner and I have two children with two other parents. We are two fathers and they are two mothers. We both live in our own houses and the children are with us half of the time. But I guess explaining that further is a topic for another time when there is interest (let me know). What I struggle with at the moment is my partner. And I would like some advice or maybe somebody who can relate. My partner wanted children so much when we started all this, but lately after our second child is born he seems different. He cannot deal with two children alone and finds it very difficult to handle the crying of our newborn and the needs and nagging of our 2yo. We all have a parenting day that we are alone with the children (with exception of one of the mothers who is also still there every after 8h to ensure the right bonding). He gets really stressed out, tired and emotional. His coping strategy is to try to contol everything about the two children and he seems obsessed with them both sleeping. In his opinion they are both always tired and should sleep more. Anything I try to say to help makes him angry and makes him feel like he is a bad parent. I can wait untill it gets better, but he is so stressed.. I don't want him to get burned out or something.

My 3 year old just kicked me off the couch so she could invite her dad to come snuggle with her. What are your kids up to?

https://www.tattletaletimes.com/index.php/2023/07/24/enfamil-develops-tranquilizing-baby-formula-with-help-from-large-animal-veterinarians/

My wife continues to use Reddit and the german counterpart to this community. A user got in touch and asked what you could do if you had become listless and anxious as a result of your interaction with the child. The key question was probably: "Where do you get your strength from?" There were many answers that were aimed at constructive assistance, leisure time compensation, physical problems, or depression were considered in the comments and an offer of options on how to proceed. But my wife was bothered by a comment and I think she was right. A user replied, her love would be enough. This is absolutely condescending and presumptuous because it assumes that the desperate parent who is trying to get better would love their child less or that it is their own fault. I just wanted to get rid of that, because due to my job as a kindergarten teacher (or is it educator?) I am often confronted with thoughtless statements that may even have been meant nicely, but don't bother to take a foreign position or to find a sustainable solution.

My kid [3yrs] speaks the local language with his other parent (separated. 50/50). and English with me (my native language). I speak both and my kid knows this, so I can't hide it. He speaks the local language well, but English is a struggle. Comprehension is 100%, but he only speaks random words. He mostly speaks to me in the local language. Where we live, he will learn English in school, so I'm not worried about that. I've tried various things to get him speaking English, but it's a struggle. Are there any strategies that might work?

**'I don’t come here to enjoy other people’s children!' Should pubs and restaurants be kid-free zones?** Children were once banned from most British pubs. Some owners and customers miss ‘the good old days’ – but can they really turn back the clock?

I'd like to introduce my app which I have been working on for about half a year, it's called Baby Journal and it's an end-to-end encrypted app for tracking your baby activities, like feeding, diaper changes and so on. On iOS you can install it to your homescreen as a webapp, on Android you can either install it as a webapp or directly from Google Play. On both you can just run it from your browser. Neither has any advantage over the other, the content will be the same. Links: - [baby-journal.app](https://baby-journal.app) - the (optionally installable) webapp - [Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.baby_journal.twa) - [Backend source code](https://github.com/RikudouSage/BabyJournalApi) - [App source code](https://github.com/RikudouSage/BabyJournalUi) --- Now onto the app itself! The biggest feature is that it's entirely end to end encrypted and I as the server operator have no access to your unencrypted data. I'm of the opinion that the privacy of your kids should not be compromised for some company to make a quick buck. What activities can the app track? - **feeding tracking** - nursing (left and right breast separately), bottle, solid foods - **diaper changes** - wet, poopy or both, you can also select the color and amount - **breast pumping** - left and right breast separately - **sleeping** - **temperature taking** - **weight** - **length** - **milestones** - with cute descriptions! - with ability to add custom milestones And some cool features! - **tracker** - just hit start on your activity and let the app count how long it takes - **multiple babies** - if you have more than one bundle of joy, you can switch between them easily - **sharing with multiple other accounts** - you can easily share your data with as many people as you want without compromising privacy - **shared tracking** - if you use the app with multiple people, you can enable shared tracking - start tracking on one device, finish tracking on another - **data at a quick glance** - on the main screen you can see when was your baby fed for the last time, when they had a diaper changed and so on - **various fine-tune settings** - do you want to calculate the time since last feeding since the beginning of the feeding or since the end? Do you want to ignore small gaps between multiple feedings (for example 10 minutes while you switch from nursing to bottle) as one feeding session? Does water count as feeding? All configurable! - **daily summary** - you can get a nice summary where you can see all the important data in a concise format > Currently the data can only be tracked in metric units, but imperial support is coming. > Note that the encrypted nature has one downside - if you don't export your account code and lose access to the app (for example your device breaks), there's no way to recover your account. I advise you to securely store your account code as soon as possible. --- For advanced users there's also a self-hosting option! You can run your own backend and app. Or you can just run your own backend and point the official app to it. Currently there's not much documentation on how to do that, but if you need that, I can write something up. --- Do let me know if you have any questions!

My wife and I had a miscarriage last week. We were 11 weeks along but our baby only grew to 8 weeks. It's been devastating. I'm hoping to get some advice from anyone who's been through it. - what can I do to help my wife? She's in physical pain which seems to be overriding the emotional pain, but I'm sure it will hit in due time and want to be able to help her the best that I can. - our 15 month old obviously doesn't know what's going on, but it seems like he's noticed a change of energy. Its hard to play with him like I normally do. I love him to bits, I just don't have the energy but I need to make sure he knows he's loved. - we were able to collect the fetus as it passed naturally , we would like to do something to memorialize our unborn child but don't know what. - how can I take care of myself while taking care of my family through these times. Thanks for any advice.

my kid likes to postpone her homework infinitely ( just like me when I was in school... I think it's my genes working ... sh*t ) . How to handle this scenario. Thanks,

I've been thinking about this for a few days. I want a place where parents can come talk about parenting with a group of peers to commiserate, seek advice, provide advice, etc. Parents of all children of all ages are welcome.

My 4yo is just starting to get the hang of knock-knock jokes. She told this one this morning that I think turned out unintentionally pretty hilarious. 4yo: Knock knock 9yo: Who's there? 4yo: Banana 9yo: Banana who? 4yo: Banana you glad I didn't say Orange?

Hi there, in case you're wondering, this is just a burner account as I want to keep somewhat personal things separate from my usual account. I'm looking for some advice/thoughts on the following. I'm in a relationship and we're slowly looking into moving together, which also brings financial things to the table. She's got a kid, both of the parents are still somewhat in the picture. When we're moving together it'll mean that they will be living in my house. She already told me that shes not ever asking me to pay anything with regards to the kid, but I think that's not really all that fair. I'm looking for advice/thoughts on this matter. Personally I would find it nothing but fair to chip in for the necessary things, as in food, clothes etc., but draw the line when it comes to school, vacation and that sort of things, mainly because both of the parents are still there and to not bring a kid that her and I might ever have in the future in a financial disadvantage, because I've been chipping in for everything for the other kid. Secondly, it's of course their kid that they chose for, so it's not my responsibility, neither does the kid owe me any responsibility.

I thought this would be a nice place to aggregate lists of miscellaneous parenting tips, organized by age. Maybe if this gathers lots of good input, I’ll post another age group in a few days. If nobody is into the idea, no big deal. Let’s start with babies 4-6 months old, since newborns are way to fucking complicated! Suggestion: post a single tip per comment, so people can up/downvote each tip, rather than long comments with lots of ideas. May the best advice float to the top!

My 1 year old loves beans. Mashed, with cheese, baked, refried, multiple times per day. I'm looking for other filling meal ideas that are also vegetarian. I can't just feed them beans.

I've always been a fencesitter when it comes to having kids. I'm getting to a point where I *think* I'd like to have a kid. I don't know if it's because I really want one, or there's just nothing major left on the list of life accomplishments and it's a societal expectation. The thing is, I can think of a million and one reasons not to have one and can't put into words why I would want one. However, I'm starting to have a nagging feeling that I want to start trying. I just don't know if that feeling is something I actually want, or just society telling me I should. It doesn't help that I don't have a lot of small children I regularly interact with, so I honestly don't have a clue what life would look like after kids, beyond it being a lot of stress and hard work. It also doesn't help my spouse says it's my choice and they'll go along with whatever I want . Any advice or things that helped you know it was the right choice/time for you to expand your family?

My child lost their first tooth today. I (being clever) got them to put it in an envelope under their pillow ready for the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy tells me the envelope was empty but they left £2 anyway. Hopefully this is standard procedure. XD

I'm going to try and keep this clear and concise. I'm not confident in my parenting. I don't feel like I've been a good parent, but I have done the best that I can with the tools and resources that I have. My 18 y/o has lived with us since she was 4. My partner has been in my 18y/o's life since they were 13 months old. 18y/o is copy->paste of their deadbeat mother and I don't know what to do about it. I don't know what I can do about it at this point. I have tried to instill structure, while allowing wiggle room at times. I recognize that it's my job as the parent to draw hard lines and it's my kids job to push the boundaries and cross those lines. 18y/o is almost mute around us. Doesn't communicate much of anything beyond surface level 'pleasantries'. And it's more often than not, anything but pleasant. They (biological female) are diagnosed with ADHD, 'change disorder', anxiety and depression. I've done so much reading trying to figure out this person and how I can help, but nothing seems to help. Kid has never really be honest with therapists. Lies for no reason, and doubles down even when presented with irrefutable evidence that they've been caught. If I had to 'self-diagnose', they have ODD and are a sociopath, but I've seen how they behave around friends and peers. They only have disregard for us. Outside the home, they are a people pleaser. But if we suggest something, or ask for something to be done, it's a fight, every time. They are a senior in high school, is a good student when there's nothing rocking their boat, but had steadily declining grades as the school year presses on. I have no idea what's going on in their life, everything is responded to with a random selection of the following list: I don't know I don't remember I don't know how you want me to answer that Do you want me to respond? I don't see what the problem is. I don't see how this is a big deal. The current argument is regarding whether we should be expected to wake them up for school in the morning. I've already put my foot down about it, and since December 1st, they've already walked themselves to school twice because they overslept. They are impossible to motivate. When things finally come to a head and an argument breaks out, which typically boils over because there can be no constructive conversation with someone who is either unable or unwilling to have a conversation. And only when the argument breaks out do we get any action on anything, and then it's an overcorrection. For example, we've been pushing for them to fill out scholarship applications for 8 months. We've had friends provide spreadsheets with links to what we collectively think are viable scholarships, for no action responses. Then when we finally get a break in the wall, they fill out scholarship applications for tens of thousands of dollars for enrollment in a school states away with misleading GPA information. We are not in a financial position to accommodate that kind of enrollment, even if we wanted to support the decision. It comes off as an "I'll show them" move. Nevermind the drivers license thing. Can't get them to get off their ass and get their license. It's been a battle for 2 years. Something always goes wrong. Last time I pressed on it hard, we ended up in intensive outpatient therapy. They're unmanageable and I don't know what to do for or with them. Our home is small, 800 sqft and it's a hell hole. My partner has almost left me twice over this kid's behavior over the years. Partner and kid do not get along at all at this point, and has lead to a false CPS report so my kid could try and move in with their crush's family. There so much context missing but there's no time or room for 18 years of back story. I don't know if there's a question here, but I need help or support, or something. Any stories or advice anyone cares to relay would be appreciated. I'm terrified that once this kid leaves, I'm never going to hear from them again. But I can't control that, and I recognize it. Thanks for reading.

[!dads@feddit.uk](https://feddit.uk/c/dads) and [!fatherverse@midwest.social](https://midwest.social/c/fatherverse)

I hope this isn't an inappropriate question to pose here. If all goes well I'll be a first-time dad this summer and I want to do my research. I've done some general searching online for answers to specific questions, but I'd love two or three more comprehensive resources. You know, the kind of thing to give me answers to questions I hadn't even considered. I spent some time searching for pregnancy books oriented to men, thinking it could give me some useful insight into being an ideal partner during the process. At the same time, I'm hoping it'll give me a good general idea of what to expect. The results of my search were rather disappointing. It seems like the majority of books of that nature seem overly bro-ey and just generally too macho for me. I found titles legit along the lines of "Baby Hacks EVERY Man Must Know." Ok, not for me ... A few popped up that on the surface seemed more promising, but when I looked into them I got wary. One seemed to be sponsored by some men's parenting social media site and the other was written by a self-professed influencer. Also not for me. (I'm on Lemmy because I can't stand influencer-culture.) I finally settled on a book that seemed a little more my speed in terms of attitude, but with very little substance. It's basically 150 pages of, "Hey, you should be nice to your wife." OK. That's already my standard operating procedure, so we're good there. I feel like what I want has to be out there. I'm just looking for a resource to tell me all of the little things. You know, stuff like signs to watch out for regarding potential dangers during the pregnancy, what the hell I'm supposed to do while my wife is giving birth, how to avoid falling down the stairs with my new baby, etc. Anyway ... Do any of ya'll have any hidden gems to recommend? My wife and I are elder millenials so we've got some life experience under our belts. As it probably matters for the topic of parenting, we're quite progressive but don't buy into anything too woo-woo (we're big believers in science).

Running out of ideas to entertain my toddler and preschooler. Help! One eats everything and the other is in full three-nager mode.

For those unaware, Miku baby cameras are now charging a monthly subscription for features that owners previously had access to such as remote access, live breathing monitor, nightly statistics, DVR of movement through the sleep. We originally paid $400 because it was advertised as a product that would not require a monthly subscription, and we've been using it that way for the past 14 months. As of this month, the only functionality that exists without a subscription is video monitoring, but only on your local network. Everything else requires you to pay. Likely what led to this was due to the fact that they released a buggy firmware earlier this year that bricked everyone's cameras and they were on the hook to replace cameras. A few months after this they declared bankruptcy, only to be purchased by someone who has instituted the monthly subscription (rumors it's an investor of Miku trying to make their investment back). I didn't get an email about this change, only saw some chatter on that other site about it. Anticipating this change, I blocked the app from updating on my Android phone and all apps from updating on our iPad. I know it was a long shot thinking that would work, betting that it would be a server side change as opposed to client side. Looks like the change went live a day or so ago, people are pissed, however I still have access to features. Looks like the subscription block is a client side update based on the screen shots I've seen. Long story short, how can I pull the .apk from my phone to distribute to others? Fuck this company. EDIT: Figured it out, here's the update from May 2023 with features still intact - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sOOCY08j8nxvfXJd1SU7Kll-uMjiRftm/view?usp=drivesdk EDIT 2 - I figure this company only has a few months left, we'll easily just transition to a cheap Ubiquiti camera that records on my local network. Fuck this remote recording approach.

Title says it all. I've built up communities before but that w as s before I had any children. I'd love some help here. Something about how it takes a village comes to mind. 😂 I want this to be a respectful place. If a child's health or safety is at risk, feel free to speak up. Respectfully.

As the title says, my 4 year old has been clenching her jaw a lot in the past few months. I think it started as stress and has now developed into a habit. As for the cause of her stress, we've had some major life changes in the past few months. Her grandparents and cousin came to stay with us from the other side of the world for about 6 weeks and went back about a month ago. We also welcomed her new baby sister 2 months ago. She had been an only child before then. I've been doing all I can to spend time with her and maintain our relationship while juggling the exhaustion that comes from a new baby, but it seems like she needs more. Her father, my mother, and my best friend who is practically a surrogate mother to her have stepped in a lot to help, but the jaw clenching remains. So my question to other parents of multiples is how to help her adjust. Any tips or advice would be welcome.

I like all my kids friends except for one. She stayed overnight a few weeks ago and there was something off putting about her. Took her out the night of the meteor shower and again she’s just non-responsive? Last night she was part of a big NYE sleepover. She didn’t pick after herself, insisted on sleeping in the closet (was at an Airbnb, not our house), wouldn’t wake up when we were trying to get everyone ready to leave, and refused to help with picking up the house/clean up for check out. Wasn’t necessarily disrespectful to our face but not respectful either. If asked to have this one over again, I’m inclined to say no. But maybe fourth time is the charm? Not sure if I should be telling the parent. She’s in sixth grade so probably 11/12. Maybe autism spectrum? Thoughts?

In a surprising and controversial move, the government has introduced a new national holiday that has left parents in a frenzy and employers infuriated. The holiday, officially known as “National Daycare Closure Day,” has caused frustration among working parents across the country. This day is chosen randomly each year, without prior notice, and seems to serve no purpose other than to inconvenience parents.

Whether it's April fools day or Christmas Day joking with your kids is a good idea.

Hello everyone! I'm about to become a parent in a few months and I was wondering what books would you recommend reading to get myself prepared. Is there a new parents bible or something like It? The baby won't come with instructions. Thanks!