Been seeing a therapist since March after my wife basically sat me down and said "this isn't working." I've got two kids (8 and 11) and I was just... checked out. Drinking too much, snapping at everyone, lying in bed scrolling at 2am because sleep felt pointless. My therapist is helping me realize a...
**Setup I'm using for my 10yo's Android tablet:** - Google Family Link (free, built-in) - Screen time limits by app category - App approval queue (I have to approve new apps) - Safe Search enabled - Can remotely lock the device Better than I expected honestly. Not perfect but way better than trying...
I'm fortunate that my company lets me leave at 4 to pick up my kids from school. But every single day I get these vibes when I shut down my laptop early: - Jennifer from marketing still has her Slack status as Active - My boss sent an email at 3:55pm - There's still 3 hours of "normal" workday left ...
Okay so I'm not complaining, I adore my kids, but I'm curious what everyone else misses from before. For me it's the spontaneity. Wanted to drive 4 hours to a brewery? Done. Wanted to stay out until 2am on a weeknight? No problem. Now every single thing requires planning, backup plans, and honestly ...
Found out my 10yo has been spending 2+ hours after school gaming while telling us he's doing homework. He had tabs open on his laptop hiding Chrome so I wouldn't see. When I confronted him he said all his friends play after school and he was just trying to fit in. Now he's lost gaming privileges for...
Took 4 weeks off when my second was born and coming back to the office today. Everything changed while I was gone, new systems, new projects, different team structure. Plus I'm running on fumes because the baby has reflux and won't sleep longer than 45 minutes. How long did it take you guys to get b...
Been going to every meet for two years, seen her improve gradually but today she just crushed it. Dropped like 8 seconds off her time in the 100 free. When she got out of the pool and saw me in the stands she absolutely lost it with the biggest smile. All the early mornings, the chlorine smell in th...
Taking my two kids camping at the state park this weekend. First time doing this without my wife coming along. I'm nervous about like a million things. Do I have the tent set up right? Will the kids actually sleep in sleeping bags? What if someone gets hurt? But I also think this could be really coo...
So my wife is on this home organization kick after watching some Netflix show, and she's decided our garage needs to be converted into a craft/hobby space for her. Which, fine, I get it. But I've got my workbench setup where I actually FIX things and work on projects with my 7yo son. She's suggestin...
She lets them stay up til 10pm on her weekends. I have them bedtime at 8:30. They come back to my house wrecked, crying over everything, can't focus at school. When I mentioned it, she told me I'm "too rigid" and that kids need to "relax and have fun" with one parent. Which... okay, but then *I* ge...
In like 15 moves. Not gonna lie, I'm both proud and slightly devastated. He's been playing at school for a few months. Started teaching him some basic stuff when he asked but clearly I'm the limiting factor here. Anyway he wants to join the chess club so we're letting him. Pretty cool to watch him f...
This might sound weird but I keep comparing myself to other dads at the pediatrician's office or at the park and feeling like I'm faking it? Like these guys seem so confident and knowledgeable and here I am googling whether my son's poop color is normal. He's 9 weeks and I love him more than anythin...
My 7yo has watched every David Attenborough series twice. Now she wants to do "field research" in our backyard. She's got a journal, a net (that actually works), and a full mission to identify every insect. It's kind of amazing but also she tried to catch a bee yesterday and I almost had a heart at...
So my ex has been picking up our kids (7 and 9) whenever she feels like it, completely ignoring the Wednesday/Friday schedule we agreed on. Last week she grabbed them on a Tuesday without asking, and I had already made dinner plans. Then she keeps them an extra day 'because they want to stay.' I'm n...
This is a genuine question. I have 47 individual socks and zero matching pairs. Where do they go? I don't understand the physics of it. My wife blames the laundry but I'm starting to think my kids are just eating them or something.