Made a simple list: find a pinecone, a rock, something red, a leaf with holes in it, etc. My 7yo and I did it on a 30 min walk around the neighborhood and she was SO engaged. No screens, no complaining about being bored. Probably the easiest win I've had in a while. Gonna do this weekly now.
So my 4yo was doing amazing about 2 months ago. Then his little brother was born and boom - back to accidents pretty regularly. I know it's normal and he's just adjusting but man it's frustrating. Anyone else been through this? How long did it take for things to level out? We're trying to be chill a...
Insisted on getting dressed entirely by himself. Took 25 minutes. He came out wearing his Spider-Man shirt backwards, shorts on inside out, and one shoe. Did I fix it? No. Let him walk around like that all morning. Sometimes you just gotta let them fail in harmless ways. He felt proud as hell and h...
Looking for recommendations. I've tried Apple Screen Time but it's way too easy to just request "more time" and then I'm the bad guy. Tried Life360 for a bit but it felt invasive for everyone. Want something that tracks but isn't Big Brother territory. Anyone using Bark or Qustodio? Are they worth t...
Been an ongoing issue for a few months. My kids (14, 11) say they're "tired of switching" and would rather live with their mom full-time but visit me on weekends. This absolutely gutted me. I asked what I could do differently and they couldn't really articulate it. They like spending time with me w...
Our 12yo says she's doing homework on her laptop but the screen time logs show she's on YouTube. When we confront her she swears she "just had it open" or "was watching ONE video." But like... the logs don't lie lmao. It's becoming a trust issue and I'm not sure how to handle it without becoming "th...
Been on sertraline for 12 days and I feel worse than before honestly. The side effects are brutal and my anxiety is still there. Doc said to give it 4-6 weeks but I'm not sure I can white-knuckle through a month of feeling like this. Is this normal? Should I call and ask for something different or j...
My 10yo repeated something really cruel I said about their mom last week and it destroyed me. I was venting to a friend who was over, thought the kids were upstairs. They weren't. My son looked at me like I was a stranger. I apologized to him AND to his mom, which was humbling as hell. Just wanted t...
Wanted to share a win - I transitioned from full-time to a 3-day/week arrangement at my company back in January. Numbers: went from $145k to $87k, but I'm actually AHEAD financially when you factor in what we were paying for after-school care. More importantly? I'm present. Like actually present. I...
So I'm trying to figure out if I'm being an idiot or if my priorities are just different now. Got offered a job as a senior manager that pays like $30k more but it's mostly on-site and the hours are crazy. Right now I do mostly remote work with flexible hours so I can help with pickup/dropoff and bo...
See a lot of dads here raving about using their Instant Pot for meal prep on Sundays. I'm skeptical tbh but also my weeknight cooking is basically just throwing frozen chicken in a pan and hoping. The 8-quart one is on sale at Costco rn. Would I actually use this or is it gonna become another expens...
She got caught lying about where she was last weekend. I'm not trying to be the bad guy but I also can't just let this slide. How do you guys handle it when your kids break your trust? Want to do this the right way, not just be angry.
We had a fight yesterday because she said I'm "checked out" and "just going through the motions." My first instinct was to get defensive but then I thought about it and... yeah, I am kind of in zombie mode. I don't remember last week. I'm always on my phone or thinking about work stress. It's like I...
WFH dad here. Got a decent PC setup downstairs that I use for work. Was worried I'd just blend everything together but I've been pretty disciplined about closing the laptop and having a separate gaming area right next to my desk. Been playing Baldur's Gate with my buddies online a couple nights a we...
After 8 months of back and forth with lawyers, we finally signed the papers yesterday. 50/50 custody, clear schedule, everything spelled out. Honestly feels like a weight lifted. To anyone going through this right now - hang in there. It sucks but having it all documented and clear actually makes co...