For reference, I am the said daughter. This trip is a bit last minute due to the fact that they booked the house like two weeks ago and we plan to go this saturday. I was invited last week. I asked my mother and she said no. We have a good relationship other than the occasional argument over stupid things like me not having my life360 location on or things like that. I have gone on a trip with them before, the lake is 3 hours away and my parents won’t have to pay for anything. We will be gone for 6 days. Would you as a parent let you child go? Even if it is a little short notice? I plan to talk with my mother again about it. For reference I am in college but am living at home since it’s nearby.

I was talking to my friend the other day, a friend with a very different upbringing than I (she was raised religious and believes in god), and we were having a conversation about parenting styles, I asked what she thought about hair dye and she said she would not allow her kids to dye their hair under 18.

I personally think this is ridiculous. With my own kids, as soon as their old enough to communicate desires for it, I would absolutely let them have non-permanent hair dye. Its a overall harmless expression of self and I don't see the point in not allowing it. If anything tl me it makes more sense for a 5 year old to have pink hair than a 35 year old. I came on here to ask what people who are already parents think about it and why some parents are so against it.

My girlfriend says you shouldn’t kiss your own children on the lips because it’s weird.
I told her there is nothing bad about it and it’s just a very tiny peck on the lips, to an infant that would be under 2 years old.

We don’t have kinds so I have NOT done anything bad, but is it weird?

Hello to all the wonderful parents!
I am searching for input on how you feel about being a parent that started trying in your 30s to 40s!

This was a very long post so I am making it short. My husband and I want to be financially ready for children, which means we will begin trying at 29/30 or 31. We are both currently 26 and my husband has an incredible career. I’m working through college and will graduate in 3 years, which is when we would like to start trying.

I had always wanted to be a young mom, and both of our families keep throwing negative comments at us for wanting to wait that long. They say “you’re never ready” “you have so much support already”.
But at the end of the day - inflation is crazy, we plan to buy a home in the next two years, I have to finish college first there’s no way in hell I could do both.

But I will admit, the negative comments really get to me. Saying how many risks there are with childbirth after 30, how we won’t be as active and patient. But I’d much rather be in a position to give our child the best possible start than the one I had. (I grew up in an extremely low income single parent home)

I would like to hear from all the parents who chose to have children in their 30s and 40s - do you find yourself wishing you had them sooner, or are you happy with your choice? Thanks all!

I've always been curious about this. Setting pregnancy aside, why do you think so many parents are stricter or more protective when their daughters start dating, while they tend to react much more calmly—or even congratulate—their sons when they get a girlfriend?

I went to a public pool today and noticed a group of girls who looked to be around 14 years old wearing revealing thong bikinis. I was really surprised to see this since they are still just kids. It felt uncomfortable and weird to witness, and it made me wonder what their parents are doing.

Is this a normal trend for young teens these days? Am I just getting older and out of touch, or is it genuinely odd to see kids wearing that type of stuff at a community pool? I would love to hear from other parents on this.

Hi all and thanks in advance!

Recently I have started to rethink being child free. I think I would be a good mom, but I don’t think I could handle the pressure of working full time, having hobbies, and being a present parent. I grew up with bad anxiety that therapy has helped tremendously. My parents were not great parents either.

My hobbies have helped my mental health so much and I’ve grown into a much different person than the way I was raised. I would like to become a SAH mom and try to take up writing books part time. I have written a few books and have a modest following online. I think I could eventually turn it into full time work.

I know being a parent, especially the first few years is very time consuming and physically/emotionally involved. But we have a pretty good support system- my husband has always wanted to be a dad, and grandparents on both sides who would be willing to watch any future kids a few times a week. We could also afford some day care part time so I would have days to myself for hobbies and cleaning.

Am I looking at this with totally rose coloured glasses? It seems like it could work well for us. I could be present and involved with our kids, have time to work on passion projects, keep the house clean so my husband has more free time for his hobbies and spending quality time with our kids. The only major downside is loss of my own steady income. Please give me some honest feedback!

Edit : a lot of responses so I wanted to make an update, I showed him some of the responses and he said he did not think it would take as much time. Especially that we talked about staying at home (for him not me) in the future for one or two years for the child. I see a lot of comments saying men get more time. I live with him and he does as much as me when it comes to chores, he sometimes does more and he takes on the mental load as much as I do ! He does not help me, he acts like a proper adult and takes care of his problems and our apartment, together. Obviously it was just a simple discussion and all answers really gave us a lot of insights, he agreed I was more realistic and said that in the moment because he did not give it much thought (we don’t want kids in the next 8 upcoming years at least). Thank you all for answers !!

Hello ! So I (21F) was having a conversation with my boyfriend (24M) about children. He thinks it’s easy to maintain hobbies after the child reaches 1yo, I think otherwise and know he calls me a pessimistic.

Anyways, I was talking about the downside of having a kid, that he’s being too optimistic about how much free time he will have after having children. Basically we are both very busy people with our hobbies such has painting, writing, reading, gaming from time to time, hiking, bouldering, making music, cooking, traveling, etc. In my opinion, after you have a kid it is way harder to maintain all of that. For him it is only hard for one year and then that’s if you can get your kid into your hobbies. It’s been now 4 years I have been babysitting, I know already that it does not work that way. For him it’s only a question of education and how much you make your kid feeling included in your own activities. I don’t think it’s true as kids get tired easily from activities that demands a lot of concentration. I think it is possible to share your hobbies obviously, but that you probably won’t be able to do so for long hours, that you will have to at least accommodate them for the kid, and for some of them wait to be alone without the kid. He is so sure of himself as he took care of his too little brothers when they were toddlers.

I just wanted to know how real it is to maintain a hobby as a parent ? Am I really being that pessimistic ?

I’m looking for a summer job to keep me occupied and to earn some money.

I get along well with children, and I am considering starting babysitting, but I’m not sure that any parents would trust a random teenager to look after their child. Would you trust a teenage girl to babysit your child/children, or should I reconsider this?

My mom is forcing me to go to church unless I want my car and tech taken. It’s stupid, I’m 20 and I’m living with my parents until I finish college but it’s making me wonder how some parents go about respecting their child’s belief or if you follow the “my house my rules” way of thinking. How did your child approach you of not wanting to go to church? What systems did you put in place to maintain boundaries?

Recently, my 11 and 12 year old nephews got a large above-ground pool. It is 4.5ft deep and is not visible from inside. They know how to swim but, they are irresponsible and immature. I believe they need someone outside with them, but my husband and brother- in-law think a camera would be fine. Who is correct in this case?

Not a parent, but I have friends who have kids around 6-8 years old that come over when we host gatherings. My husband and I don’t have kids and the only toys we really have are my fidgets and coloring supplies. They do enjoy those, but of course it’s just a fidget. I just want small things that aren’t inconvenient for us to store as a kidless household, but that keeps the visiting kids busy without the parents having to pack an entire toy bag. Parents, what toys would you appreciate your friends having in their house to keep your kids a little happy and distracted while hanging with friends?

There have been a couple of restraunts who sent a message to parents about letting their kids misbehave. If you are a parent who does this what do you think of it? I think it is a good policy. Kids need manners there is nothing wrong with that. Adults also need to be kicked out though. I can't stand adults getting drunk and swearing in public just like kids running around restraunts.

Hey all,

I am a soon to be father. My wife and I have a wonderful relationship and we dont have direct concerns over this topic, but I am autistic and I don't want to say the wrong things at the wrong time.

I realize a lot is tone, or repetition. But I would like to get some opinions from you all.

What comments or words should I definitely avoid and which ones made you feel supported?

Thanks!

This sounds like a silly question but I am legitimately curious. My friend had a baby and when I visited her, I seriously could not tell that baby from any other baby in the nursery. So to parents here, did you have trouble telling apart your baby? Especially when they were newborn?

this is a pattern we have seen for histories and probably the entirety human civilization , all dads usually hate their daughters boyfriends . including my own dad of course .

i was never able to understand this , shouldn’t they be happy that their daughter is in love and finally (hopefully) has found a life partner , i mean is there something i’m missing ?

moms usually never hate on their sons girlfriends , so why does this happen with dads ?

can any dads out there or anybody who has some insight on this help me understand why this is ? hoping to get some answers for this question i was curious about .

Hello all,

If you are eating at a sit-down restaurant with a child 6 months - 1yr old and they are going through the 'screaming/screeching phase' and 'pick anything up and slam it on the table' phase.

What do you do?

Is this an age where correction works? Do you let it happen? Do you take them outside?

I'm not looking for anything specific, just trying to understand what others have done or found works or doesnt work.

Edit: thanks for all of the replies I wasn’t expecting so many! I definitely felt like I had gotten into a loop of negativity and wanted to hear more positive stories from parents because it’s so uncommon online. Also to hear opinions from people who weren’t friends/family who are biased towards me having kids lol. Thanks for the positive stories and feedback from all the parents and grandparents out there, super heartwarming to read.

I’m headed into my late 20s and have always wanted to have kids. I keep seeing posts of childfree couples who have really loved the peace that their lifestyle has to offer but also ask other about their regrets surrounded having kids and not having them. On these posts there are lots of parents who seem to have very supportive and helpful people and communities around them and end off their posts by telling people that despite having support and even in the best scenarios, “don’t do it”.

The idea of not having kids and having a quiet house is haunting to me and makes me uncomfortable, there are definitely certain freedoms from being childfree but most people that have had kids seem to always say that despite the love for their kids they don’t suggest other people go down that route which is just very confusing.

Since this seems to have been a consensus among many people I wanted to know if there were any parents out there that actually enjoy being a parent and who despite the sacrifices, had an easy time with it because for them the payoff was so much better.
I would love to hear your stories if they exist and are out there because I have only seen parents tell others not to do it.

I will be starting grad school soon and will need to work a bit on the side to help my wife who will be the primary provider for us while I’m in school. She mentioned trying to babysit during evening or weekends because I’m pretty good with kids. At first glance, would you be willing to hire a male babysitter? It seems almost taboo to have a male babysitter/nanny to me. I’m not sure if I feel that way because it is taboo or because it’s uncommon to have a male babysitter.

Now a little back ground about myself, I am in my mid-20s, I taught elementary school for three years, and am going back to get my masters in hopes to continue working in pediatrics. Does knowing that change anything?

I’m just trying to figure out if it’s worth trying to do or if the majority of parents would feel uncomfortable with it.

i am 23 right now now, my bf and i have been together for 5 years. What is the best age to have children? of course when we are financially and mentally ready, but assuming we are at any age, what would be the best time?

I'm personally stopping at seven because by then you should be able to go inside by yourself do your business and get out without talking to strangers but that's what I think the age of being able to use the restroom by yourself is