Been working on this since last year. This morning he just... did it. Both shoes. Didn't ask me once. I literally teared up a little bit. He's been refusing to wear velcro shoes specifically so he could learn the "adult way." Worth every frustrated moment.
So I decided to make a raised garden bed this weekend with my son. Watched a YouTube video, seemed simple enough. Grabbed some 2x6 boards from Home Depot, got a drill, thought we'd be done in like an hour. Two hours later, my kid has a 'splinter crisis' every 30 seconds, I've drilled like 6 pilot h...
Took me 6 weekends but we got it done. The first afternoon after we finished, my 8yo and 10yo basically lived back there. They're out there right now building some kind of obstacle course with the leftover materials. Worth every blister and back pain. Might be the best dad project investment I've ma...
Planning a long weekend trip this summer with the fam (kids are 5, 8, and 10). Looking for something that's not gonna cost me a kidney but also has basic amenities - like actual bathrooms, not just a hole in the ground lol. We've done Echo Lake before but want to try somewhere new. Any recommendatio...
My 7-year-old won't stop watching these weird animated toilet videos and now he's drawing toilets everywhere. Like, I get that kids like silly stuff, but this is next level bizarre. His teacher asked why he's sketching bathroom fixtures during math time. I'm not even sure what's happening in these v...
Quick question - my 10yo spent like $8 of his birthday money on one of those 'free' online games and now keeps asking for more. I thought I had purchase restrictions on but apparently I didn't set it right. He's not understanding that the game isn't actually free. How do you even explain predatory m...
I didn't even ask for it. Just woke up Saturday morning and she was like "we're taking them to her mom's for the day, you're staying home." I honestly didn't know what to do with myself at first. Ended up sleeping in until 9 (which felt insane), made a big breakfast without anyone yelling at me, pla...
Built one with PVC pipes, old tires, and pool noodles last month. Cost me maybe $35 in materials I didn't have. The kids have been running it constantly. Pro tip: make it adjustable so different ages can do it without modifications. My 4yo can do the "toddler" version and my 9yo does the harder rout...
Switched companies in October and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it's been 3 months and people actually... log off? My Slack doesn't blow up at 9pm? Took a small pay cut (maybe 8%) but having actual evenings with the kids has been worth it already. The guilt I felt before was insan...
After we had the talk about not talking to strangers online, he literally asked if "bad guys live in the internet." Now he's nervous about watching videos. I was trying to protect him but maybe I scared him too much? How do you balance teaching them to be safe without making them paranoid?
Everyone at school pickup talks about how bad screens are but tbh during the winter in Minnesota? My kids are inside anyway. They do their iPad time in the morning before school, do their homework, play outside after. It's not an all-or-nothing thing for us and they're turning out fine. Maybe I'm ju...
Bought one on a whim during a Walmart trip with the kids (4 and 7) and honestly it's been a game-changer for those hot summer afternoons. You just freeze juice or smoothies in the containers and it makes actual sorbet/slushi texture. Costs like $35-40 but it's kept my kids entertained on the porch w...
Not even because the coach said to. She ASKED. We did drills in the driveway for 30 mins and she was so focused. Totally different energy than when I suggest stuff. Now she's asking if we can do it again tomorrow. Might finally understand what people mean when they say 'intrinsic motivation' lol. Al...
Quick question - is Discord okay for like a 12yo? My son wants to join a server for his Minecraft stuff and I'm trying to figure out if I'm being paranoid or if there are legit concerns. Can you actually monitor what he's doing on there or is it pretty private? Not trying to spy on him but want to k...
My wife and I are at like year 4 of having kids and we're kind of ships passing in the night lately. We're both exhausted, we don't talk about anything real anymore, it's all logistics and stress. Nobody tells you that having kids might wreck your relationship. We're trying to get a sitter once a mo...