They’ll be ok, I have hope.

Don’t even get me started…

I just don’t want to be the number one reason they’re in therapy as an adult.

My 2 yr old peed on two of her daycare teachers today (so far), so your last line made me laugh out loud.

Ah yes I see that now. Missed it before.

If you’re seeking feedback, that needs to be clear.

I’ll clarify: Are you advertising here with this post?

Are you advertising?

Mine would LOVE to turn into a mermaid!

… My FIL just asked me if this is actually true.

Yes, FIL. I wanted to ask him how much he even helps, because sitting on his phone in my living room watching sports commentary videos every week isn’t contributing positively to my kids’ lives.

Locking this because nothing productive or positive is happening in the comments.

I sure hope.

It probably does help to quantify, though I suspect all the numbers in the world wouldn’t change some minds.

Man, did they really need a study for this?? Seems pretty obvious but I guess not.

Let’s see, what are points of stress? Costs of living, raising children, time…

Yikes, nobody needs that kind of scramble at the last minute.

Done!

Water in her ear.

Ohhh ok. I don’t think the vinegar odor would linger despite not really being able to rinse it out.

A Fels naptha bar may be your friend too.

Nah vinegar is great for removing odors, or even just used as a fabric softener. Does not make clothing smell like vinegar. Obviously you rinse it out.

Worth noting that this did not work when they were infants, especially not for my oldest.

Somehow, simply touching my kids helps calm them down enough to sleep. Now my four year old reaches for my hand at night. Am I trapped for a while? Yes. Do I mind? Not one bit.

Dinner. I don’t even know why.

My 2 year old treats them like stickers but for any pain she has. Or just to stick on her forehead.

You’re doing it. One day at a time.

That sounds intense and incredibly stressful. Kudos for all your hard work.

I’d not heard of that before. Does the therapist help? If it’s ok I ask, at what point did you realize it wasn’t just “picky kid” and was something deeper?

I don’t know what it counts as, but it’s certainly evident that he’s listening and can understand quite a bit!

My oldest was such a terrible sleeper, we were basically zombies for the first 6-8 months. I got rear ended on my way home from getting some diapers. The woman said she was tired because she had a new puppy. I told her I was tired because I had a baby. I was too tired to have any sympathy for her. Looking back, now I feel a little bad for being so snippy. Puppies are no joke.

Please don’t post this as a topic next Thursday.

I’m trying to include my preschooler in some small household things or at least explain why I’m doing some odd thing she’s never seen before.

“don’t eat with your toes”

Kid was plucking food off her plate with her toes and eating. But hey, at least she was eating food that wasn’t Goldfish.

Apparently this can be debatable, but I think treating children like humans with feelings can go a long way.

I found one that’s hopefully decent for those using either light or dark mode.

I was using one of those before!

I’ll hunt around later after shudders bedtime.

This one is basically invisible on dark mode. I’m using Boost.

Big sighhhh

Thank you! I don’t see the broken icon on the app I’m using but I see it on web in chrome. I’ll change it tonight. Btw I’m in central time.

Broken? It should just be the emoji for a baby or kid or something. What are you seeing?

Also, what would people like? I’m not an artist so didn’t design something, and didn’t want to steal other people’s work.

Sideways was the only one that worked for my oldest.

My oldest is 4 and she takes no BS. She is so strong-willed it can be absolutely maddening. As much as I fear parenting her is going to be rough, I hope she maintains her spirit. She feels all her feelings in quite a big way, for better or worse. She has always been this way. I truly hope it sticks. I’ve had strangers tell me that she’s the type that is going to run the world.

My other one is 2.5-ish. She is so tuned in with others’ feelings, it’s pretty incredible. She likes to make sure everyone has their napkins and dinner and utensils and everything before she’ll sit. If she keeps this up, she’s going to be taking care of everyone all the time. That’s not a bad thing. The world needs some more of her empathy.

As you see their personalities emerge, it’s hard not to feel confident in them and hopeful that you’ll also feel proud of the decisions they make on their own.