We're leaving daycare, she's half asleep in the carseat, just goes "I love you Daddy" all drowsy and sweet. And my brain was somewhere else (thinking about work deadlines like an idiot) and I just said "thanks buddy" and kept driving. Didn't click until I was at a red light what I'd done. How do I f...

Took my 6yo to what everyone on here raved about—"perfect for families, only 2 miles!" Spoiler alert: he complained the entire time about his legs hurting at mile 0.5. Then he found a stick and wanted to carry it the whole way. And of course it rained on the way back. We were soaking wet and miserab...

My wife thinks TikTok is fine if we limit it, I think it's specifically designed to be addictive and possibly bad for developing brains. Our 13yo obviously wants it. We're in an impasse and I'm curious what other families actually decided. Are you allowing TikTok? What's your reasoning? (Asking genu...

Got so caught up in work emails that I completely lost track. He was in his room playing on his iPad and I just... didn't check in. Found him at 6pm still on the same game. Now I'm second-guessing everything about my screen time boundaries. Did I mess up? He's not glued to it normally, this was just...

My 10yo just discovered Fortnite through school friends and suddenly that's ALL he wants to talk about. I let him play for maybe 45 mins a day on weekends. The thing is... it's not a terrible game? He's not getting toxic, he's actually learning strategy and teamwork. But omg the DESIRE to play more ...

We want to raise kids who genuinely care about serving their community not just check a box for a merit badge or whatever. We've been doing some stuff with our church but I want to know what's actually making a difference in your families. Are you volunteering together? How do you make it meaningful...

UPDATE: My 12yo spent $47 on Robux without asking me. FORTY SEVEN DOLLARS. On virtual currency for a game. I had my card saved to his account for "emergencies" which apparently includes limited-time avatar skins. I've now removed the card, turned on purchase restrictions, and he's doing chores to ...

We drove up to Asheville with the kids (ages 6, 8, 11) last weekend on like 48 hours notice. Usually road trips are a nightmare but something just clicked this time. Downloaded a bunch of podcasts, stopped at weird little roadside attractions, let them each pick one lunch spot. The Biltmore is expen...

My 11yo had his mic on in a squad match last week and I overheard a grown man drop several F-bombs and some genuinely disturbing stuff. I thought the game had built-in filters but apparently not with crossplay? Anyway, he's on party chat only now with just his friends from school. Just a heads up to...

Before kids I was getting up at 5am hitting the gym regularly, always trying to PR. Now my workout is chasing my toddler around the backyard for an hour and then carrying his 35lb self up two flights of stairs five times a day. Don't get me wrong I'm probably in better functional shape but my six pa...

Remember that treehouse post from like 2 months ago? Yeah, I went ahead and did it. Spent like $300 in materials, used a design from this YouTube channel (can't remember the name but search 'simple treehouse build kids'). It's not fancy. It's literally a platform with railings and a rope ladder. Bu...

No agenda, no plan. Just sat on the living room floor with my daughter for like 4 hours doing a 500-piece puzzle. She organized pieces by color, I did edges, we bullshitted about random stuff, no screens, no nagging about cleaning up toys. When did these simple afternoons become so rare? She's alrea...

This is probably debated a million times but I'm curious about this community's take. My kids are 9 and 11 and I keep getting pressured to sign them up for team sports because "that's what kids do." They're more interested in individual stuff - skateboarding, rock climbing, art classes. Should I be ...

Had a conversation with my wife about whether I should pursue the director-level role that's opening up (would require more hours, likely more travel) or stay where I am and keep things stable for the family. She said "you have to decide what matters more to you." Which feels unfair because the answ...

Looking for good state parks or national forests in Wisconsin/Minnesota area for car camping with 3 kids (ages 4-10). Preferably places with decent hiking nearby and not too crowded. We usually go in July/August. Any recommendations? Tried Wisconsin Dells area last year and it was packed.