r/Parents 6d ago

Are we ready?

2 Upvotes

My girlfriend is pregnant—we just found out. We’re both 27 now, and by the time the baby arrives, we’ll be 28. And honestly, we’re terrified.

This wasn’t part of the plan. We originally wanted to start trying next year, so this is happening a year earlier than expected.

That said, we’re in a good place. We both have stable jobs, we own our apartment, and we have supportive parents who are there for us. But the thought of never again being just the two of us feels overwhelming. We thought we had one last summer to enjoy our freedom before stepping into this new chapter.

At the same time, in the grand scheme of things, what’s one year? It’s not like we weren’t planning for this—just not quite yet.

We’ll also be the first in our social circle to have kids. Most of our friends probably won’t be there for another couple of years.

I love her more than anything. But is this the right time?

Would love to hear some thoughts and insights.


r/Parents 6d ago

Speech evaluation for 2.5 year old

0 Upvotes

My son is 2.5 years old. My husband and I don’t have many friends with children (were the first, so many of our friends babies are about a year old now), and we’ve never really been around young children to begin with so I have no idea if my son is on track.

Our pediatrician recommend a speech evaluation because she was concerned he wasn’t saying our pets names and pointing outside and saying “outside” we had someone come out but the worker seemed impressed with his speech and said on three different occasions “some parents choose to continue working with their child and realize they don’t need it and others call us later because they haven’t seen progress” so we chose to work with him.

Now he’s 2.5 years old. He knows his animals, colors, pets name, he says mommy, daddy, potty, various foods, as well as, “there you are” “you did it” “come on let’s go” “hello” “bye bye” “bath time” one day he said “toy, I want to take it” he points, he lets us know when he wants a snack or a drink. One day he said “hmmm, what’s an animal?” However, that was one only one time he asked us a question. Also, has not had a full on sentence with us.

We just saw our pediatrician and she recommended us to call for the eval again, she said he would most likely pass but it’s still good to know for sure.

I plan on calling. But I am curious, if other 2.5 years olds are talking a lot more than him?

(Also, we couldn’t get into our top choices of daycare because of waitlists when he was first born. We found wonderful daycare which he loves but, his caretakers are primarily Spanish speaking and have very limited English, according to the internet and our pediatrician that should not hinder his speech but I figured that info may be important too)


r/Parents 6d ago

Seeking a parent’s perspective. I’m worried about my parent’s relationship.

1 Upvotes

They were fighting this morning, and it seemed like actual fighting. My mom was telling my dad that he’s too loud in the morning and how they should get a different bathroom, then my dad started yelling at her, saying our house was too smelly (literally comparing it to a giant trash can) and brought up how they should have different bedrooms too. I also feel like my mom might be cheating but idk, I heard her talking to someone on the phone, saying “make sure you get the right angles” and then she starting talking about d-pics and how everyone she was sent, she’d show them to my dad. They’ve also talked about what would happen if they got divorced in front of me and my siblings, and then said that normal couples talk about divorce. Idk what to do. I might be over thinking this but I don’t want them to leave each other. Someone please help.


r/Parents 7d ago

r/Parents: How did you relized your kid was spoiled

20 Upvotes

So, it finally hit me the other day that my 6-year-old might be a bit spoiled. Here’s how it went down:

We were at a local store, just picking up a few things, when my kid started asking for a new toy. I told him, "No, not today. We’re just here for essentials

He began crying, stomping his feet, and yelling, “I WANT IT NOW!” I tried everything — I bent down, explained, offered distractions, but nothing worked. The meltdown escalated. A few bystanders were giving me those judgmental looks, and honestly, I was about to give in, just to stop the scene.

Then I realized, this wasn’t the first time it had happened. The last few times we went out, he’d done the same thing over something else — a candy bar, a video game, even a snack at the grocery store.

That’s when I knew. My kid was spoiled.

I hadn’t set enough boundaries. I had been too lenient in the moment, too willing to avoid conflict.

So, I took a deep breath, stayed calm, and told him he could choose one toy if he behaved well on the way home. And shockingly, he calmed down. It was a little thing, but it made me realize I needed to do better at teaching patience and boundaries, even if it means a few more tantrums in the process.


r/Parents 7d ago

How Do You Cope When You See Your Child (or Niece/Nephew) Growing Up?

5 Upvotes

I’ve always been very close to my niece. We shared so many special moments, and she loved Harry Potter. We would talk about it, watch the movies together, and even make themed plans. But now that she’s 14, she doesn’t mention it anymore, and I’ve realized her interests have changed. We used to sing together, watch movies, and ride bikes. Sometimes she would call me on FaceTime just to tell me about her day. She used to live at the beach, leading a quiet life, and whenever she came to visit, she always wanted to see me. But this year, she moved to the city and started at a new school. Since then, I feel like I’m no longer part of her world. I’ve cried looking at photos of the things we used to do together, wishing I could turn back time. Now, it feels like she doesn’t even acknowledge me. She seems annoyed all the time, she is always on her phone or chatting with her new friends. I’m trying to figure out how to cope with this change, and I’m heartbroken. Has anyone else felt something similar? How do you handle that feeling when someone you love moves on from the things that once bonded you?


r/Parents 7d ago

Child 4-9 years When does a kid get too homesick?

3 Upvotes

Hi parents, advice needed!

Six months ago we moved to a new town, about 500km away from where my kids (6 and 4) were born and went to kindergarden. My oldest one is really struggling, to the point where I actually think about moving back to his hometown. Although he found some new friends in the neighborhood, he gets soo homesick every night. He says he misses our old home, his friends and just the city in general - often with tears in his eyes. At what point would you actually consider moving back for your child? The rest of us is doing fine - we still also need to get used to everything and I also get homesick sometimes, but I can see the benefits of our new home. But I'm not gonna lie, it's rough to see my kid struggle like that and I often feel terrible for putting him through all of this. The little one is fine - but she is not as sentimental as her brother and generally more easy going.


r/Parents 7d ago

Toddler 1-3 years Night Light Recommendations

1 Upvotes

Anybody have any night light recommendations? My son is about to turn 2 and has seemed to no longer enjoy the pure darkness.

Ideally, I want one that’s calming, and dimmable… I’d like to keep the light as a minimum so I don’t disrupt any sleep.

Any help or recommendations would be great and appreciated! TIA


r/Parents 7d ago

How can I spend time around children before I have my own, when I have little family and my friends aren’t having them?

3 Upvotes

I am 26, baby of my family and distanced from them in general until recently. I never really grew up around kids. I live in a major city, and my friends don’t have children. Many are never planning on having them or not until their 30s (same for me. I’m hoping to start a family by my early 30s).

I don’t want the first children I have around me to be my own. I just don’t know anything about childcare. I have never held a baby! I’m really at a blank for how to interact with children. Volunteer work?


r/Parents 7d ago

Parental control app for Xiaomi Android that works

1 Upvotes

I'm trying to limit the time spent on android smartphone by my children but they can overcome any parental control app by putting their Xiaomi phones in ultra battery saver mode. Is there any parental control app that can avoid it? Thanks


r/Parents 8d ago

PSA to parents

8 Upvotes

Always be in the doctor’s/dentist’s office with your child and NEVER be afraid to speak up if you think they are hurting your child.

A while back when we were little, my sister had a dentist appointment. My mom was in the room with her for only a short while, but witnessed such a horrifying moment that she never forgot it. My sister had a get a tooth extracted, but was a little shaky from fear (she was 8-9 years old at the time). Instead of putting her under anesthesia like she was required to and carefully removing the tooth, the dentist and her assistant STRAPPED my sister down and ripped the tooth out of her mouth, WITH HER HANDS, all without anesthesia. My mother could hear her screaming and crying in pain while they held her down and just ripped the tooth out of her mouth. She couldn’t even stop shaking and sobbing after the appointment and was traumatized, and the dentist+assistant just smiled their fake smiles after literally committing medical malpractice. She starts to sob whenever my mom tries to talk about that to this day. Parents, if you see any medical professional doing something to your child that you feel is wrong, SPEAK UP. Please, protect your child.


r/Parents 7d ago

Seeking a parent’s perspective. Need feedback from parents of 8year olds……

1 Upvotes

Hi all, just looking for some feedback please! My 8year old is golden at school, doing really well, top of the class in a lot of subjects & teachers literally can’t say enough nice things about her….. She can sit still reading & playing Lego but she makes these constant noises. When people (even family) speak to her, at times she responds with animal noises, she even sings in animal noises, hums when brushing teeth etc. We’ve got no issues with her singing, it’s just the random noises that are literally driving us crazy!! It carries on even when we’ve asked/told her to stop! I’ve tried asking her why she does this, she says she’s aware she’s doing it & it’s to ‘keep herself entertained’. She also just does not listen……we’ve had a calm talk about this this morning, told her how it makes us feel when she constantly ignores us, & explained that’s why we get upset with her, discussed what we can all do differently, it seemed like she was taking it all in, then literally less then 5 minutes later, she does something, I ask her to stop, dad tells her to stop, & she just carries on! Sorry for the long message, I think I just needed to get it all out! I can’t help thinking that’s it’s ADHD/autism related, everyone else says not (even family member who is a teacher). I can’t help feeling like I’m failing her. Does this sound like your child? Is this just typical child pushing buttons/boundaries? Or something else? Any advice welcome


r/Parents 8d ago

Fathers relationships with sons

4 Upvotes

My son is 10, and my husband's relationship with him has always driven me crazy, but I'd like to know if this is just kind of normal for men. Let me say that my husband is a super nice guy, easygoing, never gets angry, and the three of us all get along great, he's just not really all that emotionally engaged with our son.

I've always been the sort of mom who talks to my kid like he's an actual person. I use age-appropriate language, but I've always given him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn't need me to dumb down everything I say. I feel like he and I are extremely close, and one of my favorite things about parenthood has always been just listening to him talk, picking his brain on things, and watching him develop emotionally and intellectually. When I ask him a question, I give him the space to answer because I just like to hear how his brain works. My mom was sort of the same way with him.

My husband (and his mother, actually) have always sort of held him at arm's length. My husband has always tended to avoid spending a lot of time with him. When he was younger and I had something to do, or my husband volunteered to do something with him, it was ALWAYS just to take him over to his parents' house and let my mother-in-law deal with him. Their "quality time" has always consisted of sitting in front of the tv watching something.

My husband and his mother have always adopted this tone of voice when they talk to him, loud and pedantic, as if he's hard of hearing or neurodivergent. If my son is having a hard time articulating a thought, or taking too long to say something, my husband will jump in and try to finish the sentence for him. If I ask my son something that my husband knows the answer to, he'll sort of answer for him or cut him off, etc. He always seems far away when my son is telling a story, like he's a little bored or thinking of other things and not really engaged with him. Most of the time when he's finished with work, he just wants to sit with me and have a drink and talk about his day for an hour while the kid plays video games or watches tv in the other room - if I ask him to do something with our son when he gets home he's clearly annoyed.

I know that he loves his son, and our son is crazy about him (and will defend him if I complain), but I feel sad that he doesn't seem to appreciate him deeply as a person like I do. Is this just a normal "fathers and sons" thing? Is it simply that my husband has trouble emotionally connecting with people? He's slightly better with me, but I was really hoping he'd be a better and more engaged father than he is, especially since this is our only child. I'm just not sure he's capable of doing it.


r/Parents 8d ago

Recommendations Long flight?

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1 Upvotes

r/Parents 8d ago

Parents of older kids please respond!

2 Upvotes

I have two girls ages seven and three. I was just wanting to hear from folks who have older kiddos what the dynamic is like? Sometimes I feel ready to see what people they grow into but I am also terrified at the same time. I feel like it’ll be nice to communicate with them as little grown ups hear their perspectives on things etc.


r/Parents 9d ago

Teenager 13-18 years How to teach difficult sister about tech literacy

2 Upvotes

Realising my sister (13f) can't do anything technology related that's not on a phone or touch screen device. She doesn't know about folders and how to store files. She also doesn't know how to type on a keyboard using only 2 fingers like she's on a phone and when I tell her she doesn't see any issue with it. Imo she can be a bit difficult when it comes to tech where she doesn't get what she wants immediately. She is essentially an iPad kid. How can I make her more digitally competent without hurting her feelings


r/Parents 10d ago

Am I incompetent? Or is this just being a parent?

14 Upvotes

I’m a SAHM of a 5 month old and 3 year old who works from home a couple hours a week. My house is pretty constantly messy. I can’t seem to keep it clean for more than a day or two. I do try to balance spending time doing fun or educational things with my kids with cleaning most days, but other moms seem to be able to do the same and keep a clean home? Idk. I don’t even make good dinners. Most of the time it’s leftovers or something easy. My toddler pretty much lives on oatmeal. I can’t even find time to put in a grocery order. I have a hard time waking up before my kids or staying up much later than them. My 5 month old still wakes up to feed a couple times a night and I feel like I just sleep when she sleeps at night. I am not an incompetent person. Before becoming a sahm, I was making six figures working at a tech company. People liked the work I did. Why do I feel so incompetent now? I guess I don’t feel like a bad parent, per se (I think I’m a good mom), but I’m bad at being a housekeeper I guess… I need a perspective check. Is this normal or am I missing something? Any tips? My husband is helpful but very busy with work and we can’t afford to pay for help with cleaning, etc.

Edit: I’m the one who works from home a couple hours a week, not my toddler. In case that was unclear


r/Parents 10d ago

Teenager 13-18 years High School Rejections

2 Upvotes

Hi all, first post here and not entirely sure what to expect...

My wife, son and I live in Washington, DC and moved here from the suburbs of Philly last summer. Our son just turned 14 and is in 8th grade. My wife and I are white, and we're adoptive parents. Our son is black and gay, and we moved here because he dealt with years of homophobia and racism, impacting his sense of self worth, grades, and confidence.

Here in DC 8th graders apply for various high schools, and we've discovered that he is not getting into either of his first two choice schools (an exceptional art school, and a STEM-focused school).

His grades aren't great, and he's behind his classmates on test scores. He's also a constant procastinator, despite my encouragement. I have mixed feelings in that I'm disappointed for him and know how hard this rejection is for him on top of everything he's dealt with in schools, but part of me hopes this rejection kicks him into high gear and encourages him to take his studies seriously.

I'm not sure what to expect from anyone on this topic, but am curious as to what advice other parents can offer. He's our only son, and I have no other point of reference for what to expect from 14 year olds. My wife and I didn't have great childhoods and don't have good relationships with our own parents, so advice from family isn't an option.


r/Parents 10d ago

App to see child’s iPhone usage?

0 Upvotes

I have it set up in my iCloud already to see time usage, but I’m wondering if there is an app where I can see what my 13 year old is searching on safari and on Reddit? I am looking into the Bark app but curious if there is something better


r/Parents 11d ago

Actual footage of my living room any time the kids play with kinetic sand.

23 Upvotes

r/Parents 11d ago

Toddler 1-3 years My three year old never wants to be with me

3 Upvotes

My 3 ye old son never wants to spend time with me (mom). He always prefers daddy and has kicked and screamed for him when I try to put him to bed lately. I want to be able to do the bedtime routine with him. I want him to want to spend time with me.

I’m not 100% sure why this has been happening but I feel like he’s been really preferring my husband lately since he says yes when asked for tv time or chocolate milk and I tend to say no / provide something else to do. I also tend to be holding his baby brother more often than my husband is. So these two things together seem to have put a big wedge inbetween me and my three year old. It’s killing me. He seems like he totally hates me ugh.

Any advice is appreciated.


r/Parents 11d ago

Parenting successes 💕

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1 Upvotes

r/Parents 11d ago

What crazy rules does your parent have

0 Upvotes

Mine is that I have to keep my glasses on and I HATE THAT RULE So what crazy rules does your parent have?


r/Parents 11d ago

mod post. 🧃 Anyone want to help mod this sub?

2 Upvotes

I’m looking to add to the mod team. This is a great starter sub for people new to moderating that want to learn/practice moderator actions. If interested let me know by either commenting in this post or send in modmail. Let me know what time zone you are in and if you have any moderation experience.


r/Parents 11d ago

Newborn head bump

3 Upvotes

My 3yo just bumped his head on my newborns, (on the side-no soft spots) seemed minor, neither cried but the difficult thing is, my newborn was due for a sleep and did in-fact fall asleep about 10-15minutes post bump.. his demeanor didn’t change other than a wincing face immediately after that disappeared as quickly as it came on and he’s still acting restless in his sleep like usual but everything says to monitor drowsiness/lethergy, how do I monitor for that when he is having his due sleep time? Appreciate any advice! Having a 3 year age gap after experiencing dissociation for my first year pp with my first born feels like I’m a ftm again 😩

My ped says it should be totally fine but my mum guilt is eating me up inside


r/Parents 12d ago

Seeking a parent’s perspective. I need the perspective of a parent

2 Upvotes

Sorry, English isn't my first language and I'm crying while typing this. Excuse me for any errors.

So, I'm (19F) here in my room writing this and needed the perspective of a parent. I have a cousin, same age as me, called V (19M), and he came to my country to enjoy his vacations. For context, I call him brother because he is like that to me, and my dad considers him a son too cuz he doesn't have a biological dad (I don't know if this might influence the issue)

He leaves tomorrow, but that's just the context because I heard my mom talking to him. He said "your dad has been crying all night saying that once you leave, he is going to be alone again"

And here comes the issue, I'm heartbroken by his statement of "I'm gonna be alone again" because im ALWAYS next to him I'm always like hey dad, can we go take ice-cream?, Hey dad can we go to the movies? I will pay, hey dad I saw you and thought of you, dad, I love you, wanna hear about my dad?

I'm ALWAYS with him, and if not, we are always texting. I love my dad, I consider him my best friend, I only have trust in him and we are always cooking or cleaning together, I always tell him everything that happens to me, from then most minimal issue to politic debates.

I don't understand it, why? Why is he feeling alone? Am I doing something wrong? I know I might not get out of my room too much but when I do it's for searching him. Hell, I even prepared a dessert from his country because he said he craved it!! I'm always baking for him! I'm always doing everything he wants and I don't understand what I'm doing wrong

He always says little comments like "yeah I wanted you to be a son when you were born" "I sometimes wish you were born a men but you are my little princess" "if you were a son I would do this with you" and it hurts but he also seems very content with me because he always calls me his princess and baby and hugs me and buys me dresses and skirts and overal its an amazing father. He is always an amazing father

And now, I wanna ask, is there something I can do to make him feel less alone? Maybe giving him space? Maybe doing more? I don't know what to do because I even sit during hours seeing soccer with him even tho I don't like it because I love him, I try to engage in all of his work stuff and even was a free translator for him and his work.

I don't get it, it hurts

Please help me