The way the stairs stick out at the bottom and on the sides make this very hard to baby proof. So far I’ve just been barricading it with random things until I figure out what the heck to do.

My 2.5 year old daughter is completely refusing to go #1 or #2 in the toilet. This is the 4th day of her just holding it in until she unleashes at nap time in a diaper or at bedtime in the bath. We’ve tried everything and are out of ideas. We also tried one other time, when she was 2, and after 3 days gave it up. She is naked from the waist down, we sit on the toilet every 30 minutes, and I’ve tried every kind of reinforcement I can think of. Please help

The kiddo had dino nuggies tonight. My self am having my favorite ramen, shin black. Heads up Monday’s market is going to be brutal.

(Lurking mom) I am asking here as this is not quite my territory, I am a city girl.

My boyfriend, myself, our son that just turned 3, and our 2 month old daughter now live in the country--like fields that his parents own are our backyard. My boyfriend really wants to take our son on the 4 wheeler. Last year while visiting, our son was scared of the noise of the 4 wheeler and wanted nothing to do with it.

I do trust my boyfriend will ride slow and safely, my issue is that when the weather dries up, he wants to put him on it (with him) "even if he cries".

This has begun 2 fights between us since yesterday. He says that "he may be scared at first, and then have fun" and my argument is to let our son feel ready, even if not this year, and let him decide when he wants to go on the 4 wheeler.

For context: Our son also has a rideable little tractor, and as soon as it moved on its own (we used the remote control) he hasn't rode it since. We ask him, he doesn't want to. But he will ride his tricycle, something he can control the speed and direction of. (There are a lot of toys as I also do at home daycare again when our baby gets a little older).

I don't know how this should be approached though, I do want my son to face his fears--but to face them comfortably, not just forced onto a 4 wheeler...but, true, he may be afraid at first and enjoy it.

Should I stop arguing with my boyfriend? How would you handle your child's fears about a 4 wheeler/riding tractor?

So my son turned 3 in Jan and he’s very hyperactive to say the least, he’s in his prime of screaming down shopping centres because we can’t let him walk without running, getting up at 4:30-5am every day and fights going to sleep almost every night, on a good night he’ll be out at 9-9:30 but it’s often about 10pm onwards where he’ll finally hit the pillow.

Suffice to say I’m pretty overwhelmed and overstimulated in life these days, well now my partner and her family have brought up the idea of going to Thailand later in the year, and frankly I just do not want to go. I think it’ll be a nightmare to take him on a plane for several hours, and then dealing with the tantrums in another country while we’re out and about, fighting him to sleep every night in hotel rooms… I just don’t think it’s worth travelling yet.

How did anyone else’s experiences go with travelling with a toddler? I just feel it’ll be way more hassle than it’s worth and I frankly just don’t want to go at all.

This looks negative to me but there's the slightest bit of a blue line visible at the edge. It's negative right?

Swabbed the whole inside of the sink and it's coming up lead positive? Or is that just not how the swabs work?

Hi All - I’m just here to vent. I’m at the end of my rope right now and losing it. The backstory: I’m a stay at home parent 85% of the time and work outside the house 15% of the time with a weird and somewhat unreliable schedule because of the work I do. I have three kids who are 2, 4, and 6. My oldest is in school, the others are home. My wife works out of town and is gone 4 (sometimes 3) days per week - when I work, it’s on the days she’s home, so there’s no moment where I’m not either working my job or with the kids. We’re moving over the summer, but we elected to have these weird few months where we’re somewhat apart so we didn’t have to have our oldest switch schools mid-year.

It’s great being home with my kids, and I recognise that I’m extremely lucky to be able to be with them and mostly only take the work I want to do. But oh boy - I’m just… something.

They’re super needy or super self-sufficient. All three of them seem to lean one of those two ways at any moment - and they’re all synced up. We had a self-sufficient day yesterday, and we were all pretty happy. Today is a needy day. And even though mama is home today, nobody cares and they come after me for whatever they need. I tried to go upstairs to our bedroom to get a few minutes of quiet, and all three were upstairs with me asking for snacks and wanting to cuddle and wanting to tell me all of the things their siblings were doing to annoy them within minutes. And my oldest never stops talking. Never. If I ask her to stop for one minute so I can do something that requires quiet, she lasts 30 seconds before she starts again. This is no exaggeration. It is relentless. My youngest asks - then starts to scream “cuddle me” and just wants to be held all the time.

I love that I’m their person and that they have this level of trust in me that I can be the person they go to no matter what - but I also just need more than 5 minutes with nobody touching me or talking to me. I can’t remember the last time I went to the bathroom alone, or took a shower without someone outside the shower talking at me.

There might be more, but I keep getting interrupted while writing this and I’ve sort of lost track of where I was 😅. Thanks for listening.

My ex bought a property while we were married In her name only….I recently found this out from her blabbing her mouth..She claims it was a gift and never disclosed it on the papers when we were divorced…. She claims her mother gave her the money to buy it…She is getting rent from it as we speak..If it was a gift can I still get Something from it or the rents/income it produces?? Her mom has since passed away and I highly doubt there’s a notirized gift letter stating it was a gift….We live in RI….Also,should someone had paid taxes on that “so called gift of 40,000??? Really want to know if I have a leg to stand on with this..

I'm probably not raising serial killers, right?

We’ve always tried to avoid mealtime battles with our picky eater. He’s not a fan of certain textures, heat, or strong flavors, so introducing new foods has always been tricky. After lots of trial and error and frustration, we decided to try something totally different: offering him a small allowance every time he tried a new food. No pressure, no strings attached—just a simple reward for his effort.

To make it a family affair, we gave his sibling the same amount whenever this happened. This created a really fun dynamic where his brother became his biggest cheerleader, encouraging him to explore new foods. To our surprise, it worked better than we could’ve imagined.

In just two months, our picky eater has tried more new foods than he had in the previous two years. Even more exciting, he’s actually started enjoying the process! He comes home from school eager to tell us about new foods he’s tasted, and he’s proud of himself. It’s a huge turnaround from where we started.

I know this approach might not be for everyone, and I get that there are different opinions on the topic of “rewards.” But for us, it’s turned mealtime into something positive and fun instead of stressful. If you’ve tried everything else, maybe this could be something to consider. Parenting is one big experiment anyway, right?

Hi dads. I need to make sure I’m not overreacting or making a big deal about this because I do tend to be extremely protective, as I’m sure many of us are.

So my daughter has been at this daycare about 18 months. It’s the “best” one in the city. They have an ok quality webcam you can see part of each room in if you’re a parent of the child. My daughter is a little over 2 now. They all have their own classroom but throughout the day they may be moved around or combined as kids come and go and shifts change.

Anyways, I’ve noticed that some of the “teachers” in rooms will occasionally be yelling at infants or toddlers as we enter the room for pickup or drop off or we see it as we are walking by a classroom. I know it’s not easy to deal with kids but wasn’t always a great feeling. We are friends with a former teacher from the center who left about 6 months ago. She posted something on facebook though that made us concerned and we chatted with her about what she was alluding to in her post.

She said she was let go because she had done some mandatory reports to CPS for behaviors from other teachers in classrooms. Things like yanking kids or yelling at them or one person was just spraying a kid in the face while they cried cause they wouldn’t listen. Then she said another classroom teacher (who for a few hours a day swaps into my daughter’s classroom) confided that she’s always so happy in the afternoons because she goes to get high on lunch. I did also tell my wife previously that the teacher always seemed so smiley and stuff which I naively thought meant she was just nice.

Then my daughter’s original infant teacher was recently fired for her behavior with the infants but she didn’t know too much more besides that being the reasoning. The center director is now also leaving her role there as of next week.

I do check the online reports and see that they have gotten a fair amount of “uncorrected actions” for things like notifying parents of events such as mistreatment or abuse and previously last year for leaving children without adequate supervision. The former employee said that was because the teachers took the whole class outside but left a child in the room by herself while they were out there for half an hour and someone noticed on camera and obviously freaked out.

Then finally, there is one male teacher there and my daughter was supposed to be put into his class originally when moving up to the toddler age group, and I told the director I don’t care what happens but she is not going into that classroom because I’ve had family deal with sexual assault when they were younger and I’m not doing that. They said there was nothing to worry about and moved my daughter. Now this former employee told me that 3 young boys “came forward” (as best as they could as toddlers) and said when the boys were going potty he asked if they wanted to see his private parts too in the bathroom.

I’ve noticed the female teacher in her classroom a couple of times in the past week around naptime getting really in a kids face and ripping toys out of her hand and just looking like she is so pissed and I know my daughter can be energetic at nap time so I hope it’s never directed at her.

Im just distraught and stressed. We pay $1,700 a month and I know it’s not a ton of money for the daycare center but I want to at least feel okay with leaving her there 6-8 hours a day while we both work. The center seems like it’s falling apart but maybe this is all normal stuff that comes with childcare?? If we go the nanny route it’ll take probably a month to find someone and then we’ll pay $3,000+ a month I’m guessing.

Need some help and outside perspective. How off of my rocker am I if I just pull her without a plan lined up for my own sanity and peace of mind? Anyone dealt with something like this?

Bought my daughter the Bluey car for Christmas and she LOVES it. But she's outgrowing it fast.

I want to get her something for her upcoming birthday that she can bomb around outside in this summer.

A few things I need:

• She's 4, so needs to be remote controlled.
• She's about 3.5ft tall, needs some room for her (ideally able to last for a few years if possible)
• She WILL drive the hell out of it. So battery life is important.
• It's a bit hilly around here, so 4-wheel drive is preferred but not necessary.

I'm strongly considering this one, but opinion seems to be divided:

https://a.co/d/5rVkmTk

Anyone have any good recommendations?

I have a 1 month old baby boy and feel nothing towards him. My wife is really happy and says she loves him so much and has really deep feelings of love towards him, unfortunately I feel nothing. Am i being a jerk or is this normal?

My partner (F31) and I (M35) are having a baby — she's four months pregnant. I'm honestly really happy about it. We tried a lot! We do want a baby! Im ready to be a father, we are in a ten year relationship. I'm taking care of her and I truly hope everything goes well.

But there's this thought that keeps haunting me terribly: I'm scared I won’t love my child enough when born — especially during those newborn months. Newborns kind of freak me out... they’re so fragile, not exactly cute (at least to me), and I just feel completely out of my depth.

The thing is, I really like kids once they start walking around, smiling, showing a bit of personality. It’s just that first phase of life that terrifies me.

I do believe I’m capable of loving someone deeply, like a child. We have a little two-yo poodle, and I love her to bits — like, completely. That gives me some comfort, knowing I can feel that kind of love. But at the same time, I’m scared I won’t feel it the same way for my own child.

I’ve been really anxious about this, and tbh it makes me feel like a very shit person. Thanks for letting me share my post!

I have two daughters. They have friends in their grade that are also sisters. While trying to set up a play date, the other parents don’t want to leave their two girls with me and my two girls because my wife is at work. I mean, I get it, but I’m going to protect their kids better than they could. They don’t want to leave their two daughters at my house because my wife isn’t home. I get it. They don’t know me. I’m a dude. Totally understand as a father to two girls but seriously, it hurts.

That’s it. That’s the post. I guess I’m mad that all dads are presumed guilty before innocent. I’m sad that’s where we are at as society.

It’s really great to see so many dads come together to navigate this incredible journey of fatherhood. All of our wisdom, encouragement, and humor are invaluable when we’re put together.

I never had the best set of role models. My father spent most of my life in prison, and my mother has struggled with addiction for as long as I can remember. So, I was raised by my grandmother. She showed me how to be a man, and she raised me to be the person I am today.

With all that being said, after saving for a couple of years, I was able to take my daughter to Disneyland. We saved all our change until we filled up a cheese ball tub. When it was finally full, I cashed it in, and we took the trip. Nothing could have prepared me for her reaction. As we walked in, a parade had just started, and she was ecstatic. Taking her to meet the princesses and seeing the look on her face — I could have died then and there and been happy.

Nothing about parenthood is truly known, but the one thing I’ve learned along the way is that the memories we create with our kids are worth far more than any material thing. The laughter, the trips, the small moments — they all build the foundation of a beautiful childhood. So, if you’ve got the chance, I encourage you to invest in those memories. Time spent with your kids is priceless, and the memories you create together will be something they carry with them forever.

Thank you, Daddit, for being such an awesome community. Let's keep making those memories count!

First off I've been lurking for a little while now and I'm so happy I've found this sub. So many posts have come up with other people feeling and going through the same stuff I'm going through. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Everyone is super supportive here which is amazing.

I have a 4 month old and she is like a perfect baby. She sleeps very well at night. Maybe gets up once or twice in the middle of the night with the occasional every 1-2 hours kind of nights. But I'm still exhausted. There's not enough time in the day to do everything. Between work and taking care of the baby I have very little time for myself which I've accepted but it still stinks.

My wife has been pumping this whole time and she went back to work a month ago and her supply has gone down which she's taking super hard and it's sad to see. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her. That I'm so greatful that our daughter was even able to get breast milk. We talk about it every single day. Shes just taken it so personally and I'll never truly understand how it feels but I try to help and be there to talk to.

My wife and I are fighting so much which isn't like us. We've been together for over ten years and it's never been like this. We both hate it. We're both working on it ( we're both in therapy and have been for awhile and we're fixing our communication which we've never had to work on). Couples therapy isn't off the table but we want to try and fix it together first. It's gotten a lot better. Like a lot. But the love just doesn't feel like it's there. We both know we love each other but I just can't feel it.

I feel like I'm stressed all the time. The only thing that makes it better is seeing my daughter smile at me. Legit the best thing in the world. I hate waking up during the night but the second I walk in and she smiles at me I'm melted butter.

I know things will get better with time but man is it hard. I feel like crying all the time. Like from happiness or being sad or being overwhelmed or being stressed. Theres nothing I love more then my family. It's everything I could ever ask or wish for. But like I said man it's hard.

This season of life, particularly this last week have been really hard. I guess I’m just looking to vent and see if I’m not the only one.

I have a 5 year old daughter who I think the world of. I’d like to say I give her every ounce that I have. This last week, she’s been temperamental, and waking up extremely early, refusing to get back to sleep… I’ve chalked it up as average 5 year old development and defiance. No biggie, just talk it out with her. No frustration really, just being a tired parent.

Yesterday, I decided to break up the ick. She slept a bit more that morning, so we had a great breakfast, went to a jump park, the mall, and bought a new scooter.

After all that, we came home, rode the scooter and visited family… best day ever!

Today on the other hand, she woke up choosing violence. Cranky as could be… bossy, demanding, entitled. Wouldn’t redirect or give a single second of down time to either me nor my wife.

Had to go to swim class, which has always caused a bit of anxiety for her, but she had been doing so good! The first 40 minutes of the class were spent WAILING and disrupting the class… several times I went over to offer encouragement, patience, reassurance, and a reward of ice cream after if she did well. Nothing worked. After 40 minutes of tears, she hopped out to use the restroom, and I reminded her there would be no ice cream if she didn’t try the class, instead of just crying.

She got back in after the threat of no ice cream, and barely participated, but did JUST enough to appease the swim instructor.

When she got out, she said “did I do really good?”

Sorry sweetheart, but I think you tried a little bit at the end, but I’m not sure about ice cream as a reward today…

“YOU MEAN YOU DONT LOVE ME?!?!?”

I brought her home after a lengthy car discussion of how I do love her so much that I would encourage, support and spend as much time with her needed to lift her spirits… but this wasn’t about love, this was about her having every chance to regulate, and not doing so.

Took a drive and my nerves are shot. I feel guilty for not getting her ice cream for trying for the last 10 minutes… but she almost always gets a reward, rain or shine… I get the feeling she is spoiled and entitled because we constantly shower her with affection (not usually gifts, but honestly just doting on her with love and praise). Dreading the return home from a grocery store trip….

I’m not the only one am I?

I was 10 years old at the time and I went out with my friends. My father warned me that at eight o'clock in the evening we were leaving for my grandmother's house. Don't be late, the car will leave the house at 8:00 sharp.

I was playing with the boys as usual. In summer it's not the latest time for a walk, especially in a big and friendly group. I saw that there were five minutes left and walked towards home. Our house was on a rather long street. At 19:58 I already saw my house, the car and my father, mother and my brother getting into it. I was walking towards it, thinking that everything was OK, now they would wait for me and we would go.

I had just a few minutes to go, but at exactly 20:00 the car started and drove off. I first thought it was a joke and that they would stop and wait for me. But what was my surprise when the car only picked up speed and then disappeared around the corner. I got home, still thinking it was a joke and they were coming back.

But I sat on the porch until 11:30.

When they came back, I asked my father in tears why he had done that.

He said: "We agreed that the car would leave the house at 20:00. You were late.

Maybe it was harsh, but since then I don't remember being late for anything. An experience I'll remember for the rest of my life. Did your parents have any unconventional parenting techniques?

It was a hot summer when we went on vacation. That day we went to the beach to sunbathe a little and enjoy the warm water. My son as it is supposed to take with him the whole arsenal of toys and settled down near us.

After a while we heard a child crying, he was probably about four years old, a year or two younger than my child.

I noticed that my son stopped playing and began to stare at the child and how his mother was calming him down. Her actions were unsuccessful. At one point my child looked around at his toys picked up a car and went to this boy.

He came over and said: "Take this car, I'm giving it to you, and come and play with me." It worked instantly, the boy was surprised and then happy.

And that's when I realized we were doing the right thing. It's nice to see a kid who cares about strangers and is willing to sacrifice.

It's worth it.

I just need to vent dads. This winter I learned my wife was expecting #2. We have been renting but are/have been unhappy with our landlord (slow and rude when communicating, slow to address maintenance). Wife was pretty adamant that she couldn't deal with another year of this especially with a newborn on the way this fall. I agreed 100%. We decided we'd try to buy a house (always have rented and happen to have a nice nest egg saved up). I told her I'd take the lead, got pre-approval and a realtor asap. We started looking for houses in February and our lease is up May 31. Tight timeline but not impossible. Right?!

Well, just like the rest of 2025, our plan has been shit. Wasted all of March in a purchase agreement that fell through due to a very low appraisal. Had to tell the landlord whether we wanted to renew by 4/1. We said no thanks. Ugh maybe bad call? Put in another offer 1.5 weeks ago and rescinded it yday after the seller ghosted us. Ugh WTF is up with this market?! Went on a tour today but didn't see any we want to make an offer on. Pregnant wife broke down in the car and said she regrets giving me the OK to not renew the lease and said she wants to call the landlord and ask if he'd take us back (he's already scheduling tours). We have two (less than desirable) places/options with family we could move to if we get to May 31 and still don't have a house. So we have a safety net so to speak (my words). Wife just told me she hates the idea of moving twice (i do too!!) And she hates the idea of crashing somewhere shorterm (free) or paying for extended stay or short term leases (expensive). She's beyond frustrated.

Anyone who's bought a house knows what an emotional rollercoaster it is. We wanted to move when she was pregnant with our first but opted not to because it would cause too much stress. We took a big risk by trying to buy in this sellers market, but it was a risk we both felt good about (since the upside was more stability for our growing family). Now I'm feeling/getting blamed for the lack of success and the squeeze we're in.

I could use some words of wisdom or encouragement. Either for being a good partner when both ppl are frustrated (and scared). OR encouragement for a first time aspiring homebuyer who may need to pivot sooner than later. (Should we ask the landlord to stay? Crash with family? Rent somewhere else?)

Thanks!!!

My wife and I have son and daughter.. and we’re expecting another girl (yay!) but my question is, any dads do anything special for the soon to be ex-only girl/future middle child? We think she’s very ready for her future little sister but didn’t know if there was anything else besides giving her plenty of time and affection.

Hey everyone, I’ve been working offshore for years, but recently I’ve been learning how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to build freedom for me and my family.

After using hundreds of prompts for writing, productivity, business, and side hustles, I pulled together the 50 most effective ones that helped me: Launch faster

Write smarter

Think clearer

And even start building my first digital income stream

If you’re into AI and you want to save time, boost creativity, or launch a hustle, this pack might help.

Here’s what’s inside:

Prompts for business planning, social content, time management, coding help, and even health/wellness

Everything’s plug-and-play—just copy, paste, and go

I just made it available here if you want to check it out: https://brettbuilds.gumroad.com/l/motpds

Not trying to spam—just genuinely proud of how far I’ve come learning AI and wanted to share something I built. Would love any feedback or prompt ideas to add to the next version too.