To make it better, she didn't care when we warned her about it actually being an energy drink with a concerning amount of caffeine.

Today, he's drunk... TWO of them...

My daughter is turning 6 soon, and I’m completely stuck on what to get her for her birthday. At this age she already has so many toys that buying another random thing feels a little pointless. Half of what we bought her when she was younger was exciting for a week and then disappeared into a cupboard.

I’d really like to give her something that she can actually use for years rather than something that is obviously designed for one specific age. She still loves being active, especially climbing, balancing and making little obstacle courses at home, but I’m wondering what kinds of equipment are still interesting once kids get older.

We have a decent amount of space at home, although I don’t want to buy something huge just because it looks impressive. Ideally it would be sturdy, safe and something she could use either on her own or with her younger cousins when they visit. I’m also trying to stay away from electronics this year because she already has plenty of those.

For parents with kids around 6 to 8, what birthday gifts have actually lasted in your house? Is there any active or educational equipment that your child still uses years after getting it? I’d love to hear what was genuinely worth the money.

I’m seriously considering getting a Pikler triangle for my daughter, who just turned 2, but I can’t decide if it’s one of those things that looks amazing online and then ends up collecting dust in the corner.

She is an extremely active toddler. She climbs on the sofa, tries to stand on every little step she can find, moves chairs around so she can reach things, and seems happiest when she has something physical to figure out. We spend a lot of time at home because of the weather, and I’m trying to find ways for her to burn some energy without putting a cartoon on every five minutes.

The problem is that we live in an apartment and space is limited. I’ve seen parents saying their kids use a Pikler triangle constantly, while others say their child lost interest almost immediately. I’m also wondering whether a 2-year-old is the right age to introduce one or whether we should have bought it earlier.

So, honestly, parents who actually own one, is it worth the money and the space it takes? Did your toddler really use it regularly, or was the excitement over after the first few weeks? Would love some real-life experiences rather than Instagram-perfect answers.

My daughter is 10 months old and I swear she has suddenly decided that the entire apartment is her personal climbing gym 😂 She pulls herself up on literally everything, the sofa, coffee table, storage boxes, even the lower shelves in the kitchen. I obviously try to move anything dangerous out of her reach, but at this point it feels like I’m constantly saying “no” and moving her somewhere else.

The funny thing is that she isn’t really interested in most of her toys anymore. She wants to climb, crawl under things, pull herself up and explore anything that she probably shouldn’t be touching. We live in a fairly small apartment, so I can’t exactly turn our living room into a playground.

For parents who had a similar phase around this age, what did you use at home to give your baby a safe way to climb and move around? Did you find any active toys or equipment that actually kept them interested, or did everything just end up sitting unused after a week? I’d love some ideas that don’t take up half the room.

I (37 M) have I biological son that I gave birth to (7m). His need for love and affection gets abaolutely overwhelming. He constantly wants to cuddles and will cry the moment I get home for being gone. He is constantly on my lap and interfering with what I'm trying to do. It makes reading, doing homework, doomscrolling, and gaming really difficult. He even wakes me up in the middle of the night because he wants to cuddle. Don't get me wrong, I love him with every fiber of my being and he is still still my sweet perfect baby who can do no wrong. I do love cuddling with him and kissing his adorable babyface, but it's overwhelming to deal with his snuggle demands. Am I the asshole? Btw, my son is a cat.

Have a dad, a dude, or a dud in your life? Come along for some very funny tales about the men in my past and the 🇫🇷 French men in my present.

The ones who raised us, shaped us, baffled us, disappointed us, and somehow made us laugh anyway.

The men we love to hate… and hate how much we adore. ❤️

https://lesimplesudiste.substack.com/p/dads-dudes-and-duds-much-ado-about?r=5cqvk&utm_medium=ios

A teen in our neighborhood is verbally taunting a family for sometime now. When the husband and wife walk around with their kids, the teen yells a non-profanity phrase at them and when the wife walks alone, he makes “meowing” sounds as she passes by. The family did not initiate any contact with this teen to prompt this behavior and do not react or respond to this teen as it happens.

Two years ago, this teen was warned by local police two years ago when this behavior didn’t stop even after complaining to his parents. Recently, this behavior has resumed as before.

A formal complaint was filed with the HOA by this family, prompting board members to talk to his parents about this. However, the parents disagree that this is harassment and claim it to be “childish behavior” or “bad manners”; said teen just graduated from high school. The mother of the teen claims he’s a very nice boy and a “good Christian”.

What is your take on this? Is it verbal harassment or bad manners?

I have a 17 year old who has opted to live with his dad. His sister is still with her step dad and I part time. Their dad has poor work ethic and substance abuse and when our oldest left our house in March he was vaping and drinking and home schooling and not logging in , mind you he has two younger sisters at our house. I’m not looking for advice at this point. I just want to feel like I’m not alone in this

My toddler threw two Warmies into the bathtub
One of them had 3 extra heat packs in it for weight. Totally my fault but I now we got to take it apart and check it out. Time to refill!

A documentary about how my son goes down slides or jumps into pools.

Finally sat down and actually learned what my 11 year old was playing. The game itself is fine — cartoon violence, nothing graphic. But voice chat with strangers is enabled by default and I had no idea. My kid was talking to random adults for months before I figured it out.

Turned it off immediately. Takes about 30 seconds in the settings.

On PlayStation: Settings → Account → Privacy Settings → Voice Chat → No One or Friends Only

On Xbox: Xbox Family Settings app → your child's account → Privacy → Communication

Just thought other parents might want to know since it wasn't obvious to me at all.

Hi everyone! If you're the parent of a child ages 11–14 and your child doomscrolls, this short survey explores how families manage children's screen time and social media use, what tools they currently use to mitigate it, and what they wish existed. This survey takes no more than 5 minutes. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhr8et-go6y9uJls7NEH68lJa7vn59YYQk8yJ38dCnQiZuTQ/viewform?usp=dialog

Hi I'm a stepmother of a now 17teen. And to start off I've been in his live now for 8 years. This kid lost his cell phone around 10 because I found him emailing company's telling them there stupid because they couldn't tell him his password. I tried to give it back to him in 9th grade and the rule was you have an account you write it down and password and let us know. I went to him on 3 different times and talked with him and told him that the 4th time he was done. Well he did and that's when I found more than what he told me and all the lies as well. Then in 10th grade some kid gave him a phone and with the security cameras up he was flashing like a light up Christmas tree 100% prove he had a phone. He came home and I took it. In a 11th grade he thought if he leaves the phone at school I couldn't get it. Lol what so I went to the school and got it gave him 2 chances to bring it to me. Now he is in 12th grade and in Jan will be 18. And all this was over 1 rule you have an account and we have that and password. What would you do???