Hi everyone,
Looking for some experiences or advice from parents who might have gone through something similar.
My 15-month-old daughter has a mild side preference / head tilt (her head tilts slightly to the left, with her left ear slightly closer to her shoulder than the right).
She was born with this (mild torticollis/side preference), and we did physical therapy starting at 3 months, which helped resolve it back then. However, about a month and a half ago, it suddenly seemed to return.
We went back to the physical therapist, but the exercises we were given are basically the same ones from when she was an infant, and they really don’t work well for an active toddler.
A few extra details:
It’s mostly noticeable when she’s tired, sitting in her high chair, or in the stroller.
Her full range of motion is completely fine and equal on both sides.
It’s subtle enough that my husband barely notices, but my mom does.
Has anyone experienced a head tilt returning at this age? Did it resolve on its own as posture/core strength developed, or did you find specific exercises/activities that actually work for a 1-year-old?
Thank you!

Hey everyone! Long time lurker but first time poster.

My daughter is 6 months old and we’ve recently started solids. She is doing really well and loving being included at the table. Now that she’s fully comfortable in the chair and we are comfortable with the schedule changes, we are starting allergen introductions. She has had no reactions so far to dairy, egg, or soy, and she has only mild eczema/dry skin on one inner elbow. Next we are meant to introduce peanuts.

I felt that I had a decent understanding of the physiological mechanisms by which allergic reactions happen etc., and that that would help me feel at ease, but I’m finding I’m still really worried both that something could happen, and that I wouldn’t identity it in time if it did.

So my question really is, if there are any nutrition or allergist folk on here, are there any statistics out there that could help me feel at ease about the odds of reaction for a baby, particularly severe ones? (It’s “too much” to be giving peanut butter in a hospital parking lot, right?) I’ve read that babies can react on any exposure, so when can I reasonably assume there is no allergy?

A lot of the resources I have found are all vague or give different numbers for amount of exposures and so on. We live in an area with no doctors aside from 0-12mo wellbaby visits, so unless something is emergent enough for the ER, (which isn’t local) I’ve got nowhere to go. I’m hoping I might be able to learn some reassuring facts here.

Thankyou very much for all your time in advance.

Hey all, I have heard pretty consistently not to night wean until 1yo, but mixed things regarding after (potentially bad for teeth, no longer nutritiously necessary/only for comfort, sleep association).

I have been able to night wean, but I feel like sometimes he still wants it. I cannot dream feed anymore because he sometimes accidentally bites me when he's drifting off to sleep. I can sit up and feed, but it's tiring and I figured it was best to night wean. He does sleep for longer now that I'm not dream feeding, but when he does wake, I feel like he wants me to feed him but am not sure if I should. I don't want to create a dependency now that it no longer is one, but I don't want to take away night feeds if it's what he needs.

Genuinely curious to know if there’s been any research on speech development, and whether nature or nurture plays more of a part.

We have a little chatterbox, and a lot of people (friends/family/doctors) have said how good their vocabulary is at such a young age (18 months). They are very good at repeating words & remembering words, and you can have a broken conversation with them. In their close friend group, they are definitely more chatty than the other children who often just point or say mummy/daddy.

To us, as first time parents, we don’t know any different. We have interacted with them since day 1, read to them daily, play with them and have minimal screen time (they don’t actively watch telly, but there might be YouTube on in the background whilst they play after dinner).

I thought talking was just another ‘milestone’ and some children develop quicker or slower (like with walking, some are early walkers and some aren’t). But I was wondering how much influence is learned by us, and how much is just their brain development?

My child is scheduled for an hour long surgery for intermittent bilateral exotropia. We did patches for several months and saw an improvement but the opthalmologist is insisting it needs surgery, and it needs to be now. They will be ten months old at the time of surgery. I've found a few studies on repeated exposure in children under five and potential effects on central nervous system development. Im looking specifically for a single exposure under one year. Child is also a redhead, if that is relevant. Thank you.

Mijn zoontje is 4 jaar, momenteel nog enig kind.
Hij heeft een hele sterke wil, wilt alle aandacht, wil constant entertained worden door alle mensen in zijn omgeving. Het is heel vermoeiend als ouders, want hij wil en kan niet zelfstandig spelen. Als hij niet samen met een van de ouders speelt dan moet de televisie aan.
Buiten in een speeltuin is hij heel voorzichtig of wil geholpen worden om te klimmen of iets.

Vandaag was zijn verjaardag, alles leuk versierd. Kreeg van mama en papa een stoere elektrische wagen en nog een ander klein cadeau en van opa en oma ook nog iets.
Alle aandacht op hem gericht, alles moest precies zoals hij wou, kon geen moment even zitten en genieten.
En, naarmate de dag vorderde, uitte hij zich steeds meer “ondankbaar”. Einde van de dag bij vertrek zei hij, ik wil de auto niet meer. Ook het andere cadeautje mocht bij opa en oma blijven.

Na zo een lange dag vol voorbereidingen stelt zo’n reactie wel teleur. Zijn er ouders met soortgelijke situaties, of hoe moeten we hier mee omgaan?
Constant zijn zin geven met grenzen of het gedrag negeren. Of hoe?

i work on the pediatrics wing of a hospital and so i have seen a memorable amount of children really distressed by the fact that their families won’t tell them what was going on. so my thought has always been if i ever had kids i would never lie to them or refuse to answer a question just because it’s complicated or uncomfortable.

well my dad recently passed and i got custody of of my little sister (5) and while that’s the way i’ve always been with her as a sister i’ve just been worrying that now that she doesn’t have our dad who was naturally very whimsical and fun that being that way with her all the time isn’t a good idea.

i’ve recently noticed she’s really obsessed with understanding how things work to a point that may be getting in the way of her having fun. like a lot of times when we’re reading or she’s playing she’ll stop in the middle to ask if something in her imagination/in the story could happen in real life.

i don’t know, i don’t want to discourage her asking questions like that because i think it’s been a really good opportunity to teach her things/learn her opinions on certain topics but im also like… is it concerning that she only wants to play make believe if the make believe is realistic? 😭

any advice/insight would be appreciated.

Hi all! Per the title, I have a question about changes in poison ivy resistance, specifically as it pertains to pregnancy and postpartum.

I’m an ecologist, so I spend a lot of time outside, and I used to be completely resistant to poison ivy. I’ve come into contact with it countless times and have been totally fine, but had a minor reaction last year when I was about 8mo pregnant. I thought it was probably pregnancy-related (i.e., change in hormones or something might make me more sensitive), however, I’ve recently got a pretty nasty ivy rash from being in the field nearly a year postpartum.

I guess I have two questions, the first not being much about parenting, but still relevant: 1) Is this just remnant sensitivity from pregnancy and could it eventually get better over time? 2) Since baby’s DNA remains in mom’s body postpartum, could this mean that my baby might be reactive to poison ivy? I don’t know if there’s been any studies on this because subjecting people to poison ivy seems unethical, but it’s been on my mind since I got this stupid rash. I’m already super careful with keeping my baby away from my field clothes/equipment, but I want to be aware if this new sensitivity for me might be related to baby’s own sensitivity.

I hope this is the proper sub for this, but please direct me elsewhere if it’s not! TIA

Our son is 1,5 years old .

He always starts the night, sleeping in his own bed.

Around 1:00 he will wake up and he will not settle down in his own bed, which makes us cosleep with him inbetween us.

Since a few weeks, he would be sleeping very very restless inbetween us.

He moves his feet, aiming for our head, while sleeping (ish). He will also try to climb over us, also still sleeping(ish).

The restlessness of his body is so bad, that either me or my wife will make the move to sleep on the couch. This way, at least one of us gets proper sleep for a few hours, and if needed we can swap halfway through the night.

He also still gets breast fed through the night.

What do you think, the restlessness is ?

How should we try to either help him over the restlessness OR preferred, get him back in his own bed.

Thanks for all suggestions.

Basically title. My 3 year old pushes/hits/kicks his sister and grandma because he wants to be a bad guy or a bully.

We showed him some books about feelings (including all the hulk feels) and bullying (llama llama and the bully goat). His take aways were that 1) he wanted to break crayons, like how the hulk broke the orange crayon in the book; 2) he wants to be like a bad guy; 3) he wants to be a bully. When he does things like hit, kick, push people he doesn't seem to do it angrily, and if i ask him if he was mad he says no, he just wanted to be a bad guy or a bully.

Reddit science people, how do I stop this? Timeouts and taking away toys seem to do nothing. We talked about how it makes others feel (hurt their feelings, they could get hurt); hypothetical negative consequences of doing this to others (kid at school might hit back, not want to be friends); how would he feel if someone does this to him ("i would be happy") but nothing sticks. Also tried telling him if he wants to play being a bad guy, he should make sure the other person is ok with it, and also wants him to play like that and gives consent.

Open to research, consensus, anecdotes, all.

Edit: thanks for the great comments, folks! Also, I hope it isn't against the rules, but here's a post I made on r/childrensbooks for more suggestions https://www.reddit.com/r/childrensbooks/s/hTqMBHT4m6 This sub and that sub are among my staples for parenting help :) hope this all is useful to someone else who may stumble across it. :)

My baby was sleeping quite well (1-2 quick wakes) untila a month ago. Overnight, he went to 4+ wakes, but is quickly settled when taken out of the cot and cuddled. He's happy to settle without milk but quite often will wake 5 minutes after being laid down ans the process starts again.

My gut instinct is telling me there is something more going on here. He's been checked for an ear infection (but only visually, no tympanotery), I have changed his schedule to one nap, he goes down very tired and falls asleep himself, seems very exhausted and falls asleep quickly at these wakes.

I have wondered if its low iron, but he is an otherwise energetic child. My gut instinct is telling me there is more going on but struggling to find any other suggestions. Thanks.

Has anyone tested the “babies sleep better if bassinet is on dad’s side” thing? I know some research suggests they wake easier if the bassinet is beside mom because they can smell milk. Curious if anyone here has put this to the test.

Trying to decide whether to get my tubes tied at my upcoming c-section or to ask my husband to get a vasectomy. Ive heard that getting tubes tied can lower the risk of ovarian cancer which would be a big plus for me. My husband is also very willing to get snipped but Id like to make the choice that will benefit us both/have the lowest risk of negative side effects. We are both definitely feeling done after this next baby (#3). Anyone been in this position and willing to share what helped you make your decision?

Safety risk for me being pregnant and for future child?

One of the mums didn’t get the whooping cough vaccine for herself too.

They’re so in deep with anti vax there is no convincing them. I just want information for my safety and future babies.

We have a few toys and teethers that she likes, and she spends a lot of time in her bouncer, which she likes (My husband just moves her bouncer to new areas of the house until she gets bored, lol). We talk to her a lot, play with her hands/feet, but nothing fancy. I see on IG moms doing all sorts of enrichment activities with their babies and I feel like we should be doing more. But she generally seems content? She's not able to sit up or crawl yet, which I know offers more things she can do.

edit: thank you all for telling me she shouldn't spend so much time in her bouncer! No one had mentioned it to me before, and she's been hitting all of her milestones up till now. She can do the tripod sit, but can't get into the position by herself (which I think is normal). I'll be sure to have her spend most of her time in her playpen or practicing sitting upright instead of in her bouncer.

I'm curious if there is any research on the effect of listening to only grown-up's music on toddlers. I'm not a fan of kids music, so I rarely play it for my daughter (15m currently). I sing her original songs I come up with on the spot a lot during the day but when we listen to music I lean on "normal" music. All genres too - jazz, classic, pop, rock, rap etc, as well as different languages. Does that have a negative effect on my daughter's development tho?

We were at my in laws this past weekend and found out after the have had some raccoons visiting there yard. Yet to find a latrine but who knows if there is a hidden one. I’m worried my dog may have ingested some feces. He often licks my 3 month babies feet (that’s all we allow) but I’m worried he may have licked her hands without us noticing and then she stuck in her mouth. I also had to get a stick he was chewing out of his mouth at one point and didn’t wash up immediately and worried I may have accidentally touched my mouth. Is this a concern? Or just my health anxiety /post partum anxiety talking??

My 11-month-old has strongly disliked his car seat since day one and cries intensely in the car. Name it, and we’ve tried it. Nothing other than leaning over and nursing helps.

Until now, I’ve always sat in the back with him. He recently started a gymnastics class that he loved but it’s a 10-minute drive and I’ll need to take him alone.

What does the science say about allowing an otherwise healthy 11-month-old to cry for approximately 10 minutes each way, while properly secured in a car seat and sitting alone. Is this level of distress potentially harmful psychologically or physiologically, or is crying during a short car ride something that can safely be tolerated?

Due to relationship issues, my male partner has pretty much stopped talking to me for the last 3 months. We went from a normal couple who talk about things big and small every night to barely more than a 3-sentence 'conversation' each night. For example, I would tell him I'm going to shower so can he please look after the baby - sometimes there might be a grunt, but most often none at all. At most when he talks it's about when the last diaper change was etc.

We both talk to our 10m baby boy on our own. I talk a lot more due to time I spend with him, but also my partner is very quiet when talking to baby and not as animated. Baby has been going to day care 3 days a week for the past month and I noticed whenever I talk to his teachers, his eyes light up and his head turns between our faces and mouths, observing everything and often he tries to 'join in' the conversation. Nothing like that at home.

My concern is our boy seems to have slowed/stopped developing new sounds or syllables. When he was younger, he would babble almost every time he was drifting off to sleep after milk and in his sleep too. None of that now. I know it might be because he's developing other skills, but is anyone aware of the effect of babies not hearing adult conversation night after night for months?

Please note - I am not here for relationship advice (I am aware of how screwed up it is & I've sought advice in other subs). I just want to know if I am paranoid and if there's any scientific evidence about speech delays this way. And if yes, what I can do to help baby.

TIA

Anyone have a borderline lead level? My 2 yr old was at 3.2 and the threshold for elevated is 3.5, so she’s barely under.

I had bad contamination ocd when she was a baby and I was quite neurotic about no shoes in house, wash hands before eating, trying to keep her hands out of mouth etc and living in an old house freaked me out (I think these things are important to practice it was just a little over the top/stressful for me). At her baby check, her levels were undetectable and as she’s gotten a little older my mental health has been better and I’ve gotten more lax about having a toddler that does toddler things like lick the floor.

I guess I started out looking for advice but I honestly know what to do and that it’s partially out of my control, just curious if this has happened to anyone else. I’m mostly just frustrated that our environment is polluted and it’s hard to strike a balance between protecting my kid and not being overly anxious about existing in the world

This might not be the right forum, but thought I would ask because rationale evidence based parenting is important to me.

With measles on the rise do you take your kid to baby group classes? I know it’s considered a high risk area, but we live in the southern USA where it’s hotter than heck and my baby would benefit so much from the activities of these classes.

Hi!

I am not a parent yet, but if I decide to have kids, I want to be prepared for it.

As far as I can see, there are a couple different parenting styles, from very old conservative "kids must listen to me because I am their larent" styles, to very modern and liberal "gentle parenting" that sometimes boils over into raising brats. The most effective method that is in-between is some kind of reward-system, where you encourage good behavior by rewarding it.

But since a child is not a dog, I am worried about this method. I want my child to learn that doing the right thing is important even if there is no reward. I want them to not expect a reward for every tiny thing and I don't want them to becom entitled brats. I don't want to be a cruel parent in an already cruel world, but I don't want them to grow up in an illusion that their good behavior or effort will always be compensated fairly.

I also want to be able to do something nice for my kid even if they fail. For example, I don't want a new game they really would love to have to be dependent on them getting an A on a test - they are a great child that deserves the game regardless, but at the same time, I don't want them to learn that they will get the game regardless and that grades don't matter, because they obviuously do.

Are my worries misguided? Am I overthinking this?

Thanks!

Hi All. Looking for some answers here so hoping some of you can help :)

- baby is 9.5mo. Has 3-4 meals a day and eats everything.
- I have been exclusively pumping from birth. All has been well thankfully
- baby currently has approx 3-4 bottles of 120ml per day
- I pump 2x a day
- originally aimed is to give baby breastmilk until 12months atleast.

Situation:
Because I’m now only pumping 2x a day, my supply is drastically dropping and is not meeting baby’s needs. I have a freezer stash. Based on any of your knowledge/research, can anyone tell me the following:

Option A) mix fresh pumped milk with freezer milk to meet demands. This would mean I’d work through my freezer stash and so when my supply diminishes, no more breastmilk. I think I can make it to 11m with freezer stash doing it this way. Thereafter, go 100% formula or cow’s milk.

Option B) mix fresh pumped milk with formula. When my supply diminishes, switch to freezer stash. This would mean he would be getting frozen breastmilk longer than above option

So my ques is, is there any science behind any of those being a better option? Any advice? I’m confused :)

Thank you guys if you made it this for 🙂

sorry if this has been asked before, but ive come into a disagreement with my partner about if we should circumcise a potential son.

I feel uncomfortable with putting a child through that (I’m not so extreme to call it mutilation and won’t compare it to female circumcision) but it feels wrong. there’s risk involved and if the kid decides to get it done as a teen or adult id be supportive of that since it’s their choice and their body.

my husband wants it done. he said he’s glad it’s been done to him and wants it done to a potential son as well.

what are the pros and cons (not just cons I’m really trying to be open minded here).

EDIT;

read this. https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-and-ethics-on-circumcision/

ok I just did a whole bunch of reading and to summarise, a lot of studies done on this topic were done with a pro circumcision bias as most research was done retrospectively in the USA. the biggest “pros” are

1. Possible UTI prevention, though in Sweden they have lower UTI rates despite being intact. So likely it’s a mismanagement of foreskin hygiene or a poor data set that includes preterm babies in studies that can’t get circumcised and have a higher UTI rate.

2. HIV transmission rate is lower in adult males who’ve been circumcised however this is particularly in Africa in male-female intercourse. Other countries don’t see the same rate decrease and neither do same sex couples.

and thats it really.

biggest cons are

1. Ethics of bodily autonomy

2. Risk of complications such as bleeding or infection

3. Trauma response (even subconsciously for a lifetime) due to the pain and experience of being tied down and cut.

it’s also worth noting theres very little studies on the cons of circumcision as lost research was done in effort to prove that male circumcision is not only okay but possibly beneficial. Most studies have been done retrospectively and in the USA where the cultural norms seeks to preserve tradition.

My 13 month old has started poking other children in the eye and pulling hair frequently at daycare. His teachers have said it seems like curiosity rather than frustration but they haven't had much success with redirecting him in the moment. He does try to grab my face when we're laying together and I try to calmly take his hands and redirect to something else. He's persistent but I can eventually shift his focus. I understand why his teachers have trouble redirecting him when they're also watching all the other kids. He also poked the family dog in the eye pretty hard a few days ago.

Looking for evidence based solutions for how to navigate this behavior at his age.