Posted here about a year ago asking if I should explain divorce stuff to my kids or just keep it simple. Decided at ages 9 and 11 they deserved real talk (age-appropriate). Told them it wasn't anyone's fault, that I love them both equally, that our schedule exists so they get time with both of us. D...

We finally cracked it after like 6 months of chaos. Here's what worked: - **No screens before 8am** (even on weekends) - **1 hour max on school days** (he can choose: gaming, YouTube, whatever) - **2 hours on weekends but has to pick ONE activity** (can't jump between YouTube, TikTok, games) - **Sc...

This is the first time he's legitimately won without me letting him win. I don't know why but it hit different - like I'm officially old and slow now. He was SO proud though, which was sweet, but also now I need to figure out if I keep losing on purpose to boost his confidence or if I try to win bac...

Quick question - how do you know when a bottle-fed newborn is full? With breastfeeding I think there are cues but with the bottle I'm just... guessing? He sucks for a bit then pulls away. Does he stop when he's full or do I need to work harder to get him to eat more? He's 3 weeks old and pediatricia...

Khan Academy got boring but Duolingo has my 9yo actually learning Spanish because it's gamified to hell and she doesn't realize it's educational lol. Are there others like this? Looking for math, maybe some science stuff. We do actual school but the apps are more for making learning feel less like h...

I had my 7 and 9 year old last weekend and they came back saying 'mom said we could go to Disneyland but we can only go during her weeks so you won't get to see it.' Like... that's a pretty blatant move right? I haven't said anything to the kids about it bc I don't want to put them in the middle, bu...

Like, I love seeing my kids but the actual handoff is always awkward/tense. We usually do it at a parking lot near the school. Sometimes my ex is mad about something. Sometimes the kids are tired and cranky. Sometimes there's tension I can't even identify. I've started suggesting neutral spots or h...

Don't come at me. My son is 6 and just started and we've been to 4 games. They're just... standing around mostly? There's like 15 minutes of actual soccer happening in a 45 minute game. Half the kids are picking dandelions. The goal is tiny. Nobody's keeping score. I get why it's good for him—fresh ...

Having a kid has unlocked something in my brain. It's like a compulsion. "We're not crying, we're just leaking" when the baby spits up. "Guess you could say I'm raising the bar" when he reaches for something higher. My wife literally told me yesterday that if I make one more joke about babies being ...

Okay so we've been playing casually for like 2 years. He's been watching some YouTube channel about chess strategy (which I didn't even know). Last weekend he straight up executed like a 4-move strategy and I lost in like 15 minutes. He tried to be humble about it but I could see he was SO proud. We...

Took my 6 and 8 year old to Whole Foods yesterday because I needed specific stuff for meal prep. I was there for maybe 20 minutes. TWENTY MINUTES. I left with $180 in groceries I didn't intend to buy, my 8yo screaming at checkout about kombucha (??), and a migraine. Going back to regular grocery sto...

My kids (10, 12) are getting pretty confident on bikes and we want to find some proper trails instead of just riding around the neighborhood. We're in the Denver area. Looking for something that's not super technical but not totally flat either—like a 6-8 mile round trip would be ideal. We tried Ch...

Found a whole set of old Snap-On wrenches and screwdrivers at the estate sale last month for like 40 bucks. Been slowly restoring them because they're actually pretty nice quality. Got me thinking about collecting older tools as an actual hobby. There's something cool about using something that's be...

Just realized Thanksgiving is 8 months away and I'm already thinking about it because my ex likes to plan early (which, fine, I get it). We don't have anything officially written down for holidays beyond Christmas. Should I be the one to bring this up or wait for her? I want to make sure I get some...

Does anyone do a flexible pickup schedule? Our custody order says Friday at 5pm but sometimes my ex has to work late and sometimes I'm running behind. Should we just keep swapping the specific time or does that create problems down the road? Seems easier than being rigid but idk if flexibility witho...