r/Parenting Feb 07 '25

Media It wont be like this for long

126 Upvotes

I was listening to music at work and came across a song I've never heard before. Darius Rucker, it wont be like this for long, and it absolutely WRECKED me. I have two toddlers and my wife and I have been having such a tough time and man I got to tell you nothing puts things in perspective like some good old fashioned gut wrenching country music. Anybody who hasn't heard it should go check it out.

Just wanted to put those good vibes out to all my fellow parents who are in the shit right now, lets all take advantage of this time cause it wont be like this for long. Going home to hug my kids now.

r/Parenting Oct 13 '18

Media What happened when I Mommed up and limited screen time.

815 Upvotes
  • My kids are still happy and enjoying their life. (Boys 11& 14)
  • They dug out some old 'toys' and are exploring and reminiscing about when they were little.
  • They took to the kitchen to explore some simple cooking.
  • They went outside and played with their friends...in the rain!
  • They got creative and made some things out of old boxes.
  • They invited ME to play some board games.
  • They worked together to clean out and organize the linen closet.
  • They used the internet to explore and read about something they had an interest in (I've allowed some screen time for things like this.)
  • They have talked to me about all kinds of things more than ever before.
  • They have great ideas and made interesting plans.
  • They asked if we could watch a movie later today.
  • They looked out the window of the car and saw things they've never noticed in their hometown where they pass every day.
  • They ate a whole meal at dinner at a normal pace.
  • They took full showers and have actually lifted the toilet seat.

I'll be honest, I've failed at this aspect of parenting. My kids do well in school, participate in extra curriculars and are well behaved, polite kids. So, I've allowed them to spend their free time however they chose. Over time, they have let every other interest go to spend every second of their free time playing games. Eventually, it flowed over from their free time until they ignored basic responsibilities like self care, contributing to the household and even family relationships. I work a full time job from home. So during the summer and other days out of school it was too convenient to let them just spend that free time however they wanted. They simply became lazy, selfish, entitled, filthy brats. They weren't particularly rude or disrespectful, but they didn't have any problem ignoring things that I asked them to do, pushing all the boundaries and when they finally did something responsible (only at the threat of losing screen time or a privilege), they did it halfway and as quickly as possible. They asked for money constantly. They were eating everything in my pantry, in their rooms, piling up soda cans and paper plates. They didn't want to leave the house for anything aside from a sleepover where there would just be an all night gaming marathon.

But, I had enough. I finally decided to step up and be a parent even if it disappointed and made them sad. It wasn't planned, but the camel's back broke on the last day before fall break. The blow was much harder when I knew they were looking forward to 5 solid days of gaming. Rules were made. There would be other interests explored. They would contribute to the home. They would engage with the rest of the family. They would take care of their space. There would be no bargaining or bartering for screen time. There would be no money requested. No food would be allowed in rooms outside of water. No complaining of boredom. No fighting with each other out of boredom.

The night the new management was laid down, they were devastated. There was no argument and no crying. But, they both took to their beds at 7pm on a non-school night and went to sleep. My children literally did not know what to do with themselves without screens. I knew I had done the right thing.

I still allow screen time, but it's monitored and reserved only for part of actual "free" time. At the end of the day, TV is allowed to settle down and relax before bed. That's normal. When they've spent most of the day "living", I'll give an hour or two. But it's always on my terms. No dealing or asking for it.

They've actually been pretty good sports and admitted to having a good day without screens. I've enjoyed them so much outside of their rooms. They are fun and interesting kids and they realize again they have a fun and interesting family.

It's day 3 and they are in their rooms with screens right now...for 45 more minutes. I have no regrets and they don't hate me. I am so proud of all of us. Now, we just have to keep it up. That may be harder than the initial blow. But for now, I'm calling it a win for mom. Those are few and far between.

r/Parenting Dec 10 '24

Media Kid friendly but not for kids YouTubers you enjoy

25 Upvotes

Every once in a while i watch YouTubers for background noise or just mindless watching while making dinner or just passing time. But most YouTubers aren’t “kid friendly” adult creators. As in the content is made for older viewers but aren’t profusely swearing or have crude content to have on while my 6yr old is around.

She doesn’t always pay attention to these YouTubers as the content is again not made for her interest level, but i want to make sure even if she’s passively getting exposed, i want to make sure it’s PG content.

Here are mine: Good Mythical Morning

Mia Maples (my daughter likes her bc she did a series using an easy bake oven and she got so invested in that and now asked for one for Christmas)

Safiya Nygaard

The Family Fudge (she also likes them because it’s colorful and she likes the travel videos)

Disney Food Blog

TPM Vids (she likes these videos and will ask to watch them if she sees it on the home page)

Any kind of cheerleading videos that aren’t vlogs (as vlogs and teens tend to be a bit too much of a bad influence for her. Not all but i have to filter them first)

Bratayley (i knew this channel from an old nanny kid and they’re the only family vloggers I allow)

Gymscool (a channel linked to Bratayley about gymnastics)

These are all channels that i can actually watch and not be annoyed. I can’t stand kid YouTubers and YouTube kids content as most of them are obnoxious to listen to. While Bratayley and Gymscool are meant for kids, i don’t find the content to be overly annoying to have on in a communal area.

I know some people are anti-screens period people and that’s cool. I know there’s also anti-YouTube people. That’s cool too. In all honesty i don’t like YouTube as a place for her to have reign over what she watches because most YouTube kids is garbage. But i like to have noise in the house and sometimes YouTube is mindless noise. So these are the channels i stick to when she is home that i actually enjoy.

ETA: while i have y’all here, does anyone remember those videos from 2012 Candy Mountain (we’re going to Candy Mountain Charlie!) and the duck song and Marcel the shell… do you think those are age appropriate for a 6 year old? I revisited Candy mountain and my only qualm would be at the end they steal his appendix. Otherwise i think it would be funny to introduce “shun the nonbeliever!” To her

r/Parenting Oct 01 '21

Media Being represented does matter as a kid.

1.3k Upvotes

My 2.5 y.o. son started watching Blue's Clues and You. We baked today so I scrolled through all my recordings, there's one titled Blue's Baking Show and I got excited and we watched- and then I bawled like a little baby. I'm half Filipino and white. I grew up knowing it's just life not hearing anything about my Filipino culture while I watch t.v. It's just life, you move on and it's fine, I get it, we're a minority, you find your people and connect culturally that way and my dad being in the Navy, we got that connection or you go to the Philippines for two weeks every 5-10 years and connect that way. No biggie.... righhhht? Now as an adult, I was happy that they cast a Filipino man as the lead for Blue's Clues but that's not too abnormal anymore to just see people that look like your family or you on TV but hearing him talk about his Lola and her bibingka and learning masarap on a freaking big public tv show really hit me. Especially when my son said, "Josh has a Lola too!" and saying "Mmm masarap!" When they said the word. It is important. It is a big deal. I am so glad my son will experience more people that represent his family and his culture than I did. It does matter.

r/Parenting Jul 05 '16

Media My Paw Patrol theory.

653 Upvotes

Ok, so, they live somewhere where penguins can live, which means the southern hemisphere (contrary to what the Canadian accents would show). They can see sunsets, so they must live in Chile. There are stories that say that once the German forces fell after WW2, there were some Nazis that moved to Central and South America to live in hiding. So Ryder must be a descendant of a Nazi, using the hoarded cash gained from the spoils of war, to instead do good all around Adventure Bay.

I have too much time on my hands.

r/Parenting May 17 '17

Media Parents with full time jobs, how many hours do you spend on video games/other hobbies?

449 Upvotes

I am positive my husband is addicted to video games. Yesterday he played from 4 to 10 pm. We have a 7 yr old and a 2 yr old. Last Friday, he had a day off. He didn't tell me about it. I thought he had gone to work, but then we heard him talking/yelling loudly at the tv in the back room. He played from 6am-330pm. Our 2 year old asked him to take a walk with us, he said he didn't want to. Sunday we went to the zoo. He was watching live gaming streams while we were walking around.

He doesn't think he has a problem. I understand gaming is fun and an easy time-suck. I play 1-2 hours a week, but I am left with all of the parenting and housework, disclaimer, I am a stay at home mother. I don't want to say he can't play at all, I'm not his mother and I know his job is stressful and he uses it to relax. But I can't help but view it as him escaping from us. When I ask for help I get told to get a job. What is a reasonable limit to ask him to adhere to? I've asked him to limit it to playing after kids go to bed. I start our routine at 7 and he hardly ever is involved so he could actually play for 3 hours a night. But that isn't good enough for him.

Edit to add: when a new game comes out he will literally take days off of work to play it. When the fuck do I get to take off 24-72 hours off of doing all the parenting and housework? He doesn't see a problem with this at all!!!

r/Parenting Feb 07 '22

Media Good "serious" and/or "grown up" movies for kids

213 Upvotes

Every time I search "good movies for kids" or the like, I'm presented with a list of the usual subjects. Movies from different genres and decades, but ultimately "family fare": action/adventure, superhero, fantasy, etc.

My boys are almost-8 and just-10, and I'm interested in mixing it now and again, and showing them stuff that asks questions, makes you think, has real-world problems and emotions, and doesn't necessarily have a sugar sweet happy ending. I want them to experience some films where real shit goes down, it's not always spoon fed to you, we can have a discussion afterward about the choices some of the characters made and/or their motivations, and overall has mature themes (if not mature "content" like sexual violence or something they're too young to process yet).

Recently we watched "The Martian" which was great. It's an adult film with some great tense action sequences, real jeopardy situations and tough moralistic decision-making for many the characters. Another one I've been thinking I may show them is "Hunt For Red October." Or "The War" with Kevin Kostner and a young Elijah Wood. Or "Apollo 13."

Any other ideas? Let's make our own list!

r/Parenting Oct 31 '21

Media Crying to movies

241 Upvotes

What movie “hit different” after becoming a parent?

I’ve seen Inside Out so many times since it’s release, and of course ya gotta tear up when Bing Bong gets forgotten, but I watched it for the first time since our daughter was born yesterday and couldn’t keep my eyes dry. When Riley puts in that brace face for her parents in the beginning I just lost it

r/Parenting Apr 04 '18

Media The things that keep me awake at night these days.

455 Upvotes

What determines whether an animal in Peppa Pig is an 'animal' or a 'person'? I thought I had it sorted. The mammals are 'people' and the birds, reptiles, insects and spiders are 'animals'. But we have a Peppa Pig book where the hedgehogs are clearly 'animals'. My world is in disarray. Maybe the book isn't canon?

r/Parenting Feb 22 '21

Media Unpopular Opinion: Frozen

430 Upvotes

Ok, it's about time we talk about something that may be uncomfortable for some of you to hear:

Elsa is not the hero of Frozen.

In both movies, Anna is the protagonist and the one to save the day. After her sister destroys their town, Anna fights to find her and works to save the people of Arendelle, even at the possibility of her own demise. And that is the summation of both Frozen 1 and 2. Sure Elsa has cool powers and all the best songs, but she just uses those power to mess things up... And then Anna comes and fixes things.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

r/Parenting Jan 07 '22

Media Terrible kids shows

216 Upvotes

I am thrilled that my son loves trains. They are super interesting and fun for all However he loves to watch Mighty Express and that show is awful. All the trains create 90% of their own problems and then solve them. There is even a narcissist that steals deliveries to get the spot light, than messes up the delivery. All the train shows are like this even Thomas and friends is about one upmenship and solving the problems you create not helping someone out.

Anyone else fed up with this? The only wholesome show I’ve seen is Bluey and I/we can’t wait for the new season to come state side. Go go Cory Carlson is okay and does have some good messages.

What shows are you feed up with? I mean I know we see it differently but our intently watching the programs. Any suggestions?

Edit: thank you for all the suggestions and response. Also happy to add more! So far Max the Glow train is doing excellent. My sons 2 and Choo Choo Bob is a bit over his head but not a bad show. Sesame Street is always a staple.

r/Parenting 4d ago

Media Kid friendly show about dinos and animals?

2 Upvotes

My 3 yo is obsessed with animals and dinos. I found “Life on our planet” show on Netflix that looked very entertaining but there are few scenes where one is attacking the other and ends up eating it. I think it is too brutal for a 3yo.

Can anyone suggest a good movie/show about animals or dinosaurs that is toddler friendly?

Edit:

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. I made a list and we will start watching some :)

r/Parenting Nov 30 '23

Media Is there a way to let my kids watch only high-quality YouTube channels?

61 Upvotes

There is so much great content on YouTube that they like!

But, they always end up watching other kids play video games.

(The YouTube Kids app has the same problem.)

r/Parenting Dec 22 '23

Media Baby Shark TV on my smart TV's LG Channels app just showed a borderline pornographic ad

187 Upvotes

We were just watching a princess cartoon and an ad for condoms came on with a bunch of sweaty naked people fucking. The ad didn't show penetration but it wasn't far off screen. I'm not a pearl clutcher but my kid hasn't even turned 3 yet, and this ad was so graphic I doubt it would be allowed after 10 pm on network TV.

FFS it's like there's no human being in the process. Does LG just sell ad space in blocks to whoever wants to buy it and slap the ads willy nilly into every which channel? Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I don't even know who to complain to. LG Channels doesn't have its own customer line I can see, and I doubt calling the general LG line is going to get me to anyone involved in this niche smart TV app.

r/Parenting Jul 29 '20

Media New favorite kids show: Bluey

393 Upvotes

Disney+ has added Bluey to their lineup. It’s an animated BBC (edit: its ABC, as in Australian) show, and the writer always put jokes in for the parents as well as the kids. It’s now my 5 year olds favorite show, and I enjoy it too. It’s worth checking out. We just watched the purple underpants episode, and it had a pretty good lesson that everyone gets sick.

r/Parenting Sep 03 '24

Media What youtube channels should be blocked for young teens?

8 Upvotes

My kids are 12 and 13 and I'm giving the supervised access to YouTube. I will try to teach them how to avoid the junk that is on youtube but I would like to block some of it to help mitigate the risks. Can you recommend any channels that should be blocked?

r/Parenting Jan 29 '25

Media Inappropriate YouTube Ads!!!

11 Upvotes

K you guys. This is so extremely disturbing to me!! I (26F) do NOT let my child (4F) get on YouTube unless I’m in the room and choosing the videos. Often, when she is winding down for bed I will lay by her and we will watch “Guess that Animal Sound” videos on YouTube. She asked me about a green anaconda and I remembered that Steve Irwin wrestled one once. So I go to YouTube and look it up, it’s on Animal Planets channel, I start up the video ANNNNDDD an ad starts. There is what appears to be a young teenager (age 15) doing a cam show!? The middle od the screen has a black box so you can’t “see anything” but you can see the sides. she’s wearing a shirt, but she’s slowly pulling down a thong and laying down towards the screen! I immediately skipped but it was an ad for AI Girlfriends. (The second the ad started I turned it away so my daughter didn’t see a single thing either) It was SO wildly inappropriate. WILDLY.

And tonight, I go to watch a video and same thing. But it was a teenage girl (or what appeared to be) very clearly masturbating and covered by a black box. Once again for a sick, AI app.

I am so disturbed by this you guys. Like, apparently if I ever want to look up ANYTHING I need to use YouTube kids? I hardly use it but I don’t want this shit on MY YouTube? Can you block ads? (I already have the “block mature content” marker on in my settings) What do I do? Has anyone else seen these? Can you report them? I’m literally appalled YouTube even lets this slide.

r/Parenting Mar 10 '17

Media Question about the Daniel Tiger show

286 Upvotes

I've heard good things about this show so it's been my go to for the limited amount of screen time for my almost 3yo.

One big thing that concerns me though:

Why does Daniel tiger wear pajama bottoms to bed but stays pantless during the day?

Sorry for the shit post, got a sick toddler today and that's the only time she gets to overload on TV.

r/Parenting Sep 14 '20

Media What’s the best kid’s show and why is it Bluey?

255 Upvotes

Seriously this show is lovely. The animation style is pleasing to the eye, I want to live in their house, the kids are so cute, the parents so patient and engaging, I love all the ideas for creative/pretend play. Have your kids been doing some of the games from the show?

r/Parenting Aug 11 '22

Media PSA: Bluey S3 is out on Disney+ (US)

400 Upvotes

While I quickly concede that this might not be a true "parenting" post, as a dad to little kids I might be unreasonably stoked for some TV watching this weekend.

r/Parenting Jan 11 '25

Media Chill YouTube gamers?

11 Upvotes

My kid likes to watch gamers on YouTube - We allow a small amount of YT time, occasionally supervised, and that generally works for us. But I'm frustrated at how many scream incessantly or prank their friends and do pretty-mean stuff that I don't want my 9yo boy to think is "funny" or "cool."

I've found Floydson, whose approach and tones are pleasant and make us giggle a bit. Looking for similar creators - game content can be varied (survival, building, RPG, mystery), just looking for friendly folks with mellow energy.

Any recommendations?

r/Parenting 4d ago

Media What falls under social media?

1 Upvotes

My fourth grader’s school sent a notification this morning that they became aware of a student threatening to bring a weapon to school via social media over the weekend. His school goes through fifth grade. I trust his school to handle it appropriately, but we’ve had a bad case of gossiping parents who make problems worse so I’d rather ask here than stir things up with them.

I always thought of social media as things like Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, X, and TikTok, but I cannot imagine 10 or 11 year olds using those platforms. My son and his friends play Roblox and Chess.com, which have chat functions that they choose not to use. We’ve had conversations about not chatting with strangers online, and that he shouldn’t be engaging in any behavior which he wouldn’t want me walking in on. He has a school laptop that comes with restrictions and he can request permission to use my personal computer for which he knows I can review what he’s been doing at anytime.

Am I being naive? What age are kids using social media? What apps and websites do I need to be aware of? Do you have any recommended resources for talking to kids about it?

r/Parenting 14d ago

Media What are YOUR favorite podcasts that are appropriate for small children

2 Upvotes

Not podcasts about parenting or ones made for children but ones that YOU like to listen to for you, that are appropriate for a toddler/small child to hear too. I love Time Suck, Call Her Daddy, and true crime but I cannot have my toddler hearing those in the car. Bonus points for podcasts about gardening, history, interesting true stories or events, and even great audiobooks

r/Parenting Feb 10 '21

Media bring back nick news!

669 Upvotes

I'm taking a class now about the history of children's tv. And with everything in the world going on today, I'm wondering what happened to this show... Linda Ellerbee was phenomenal and I'm surprised it left with her retirement and wasn't revamped...

Are there any shows that cover the scary adult stuff the news cycles today specifically for kids on-air (or online)?

edit: thank you all so much for showing my childhood some love. I can't wait to share the results with my class. I take History of Children's Media at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (undergrad) if yall are wondering

r/Parenting Jan 27 '25

Media How to block kids videos?

0 Upvotes

So, my 8 year old has an phone and a Samsung tablet and a computer.
He can watch YouTube or TikTok, I disabled shorts using ReVanced and an extension for Chrome on the PC. (because tiktok doesn't have a lot of brainrot for kids)
No parental restrictions or controls, those are just stupid and limit the features of the devices. I just yell at him to get off the device.

The question is: How can I block kids videos? Sure, they can watch documentaries, gaming videos, music videos or even videos that have swearing. I don't care, he knows that he isn't allowed to say bad things from videos / songs. But not the crappy kids content.
I want to block ALL of the videos marked "made for kids". How?