When I was a kid My parents drove us to better neighborhoods for trick-or-treating, so they stopped at every street and let us out. Sometimes they just stopped at houses with their porch lights on. Curious to hear thoughts and if you do the same with your kids… or does it ruin the “magical” experience of Halloween?

I am currently pregnant with my second, and my husband and I don’t really have a village that we can depend on. I want to ask my husband’s aunt to see if she’ll fly in to watch my daughter (who will be about 16 months) when it’s time to give birth (she’s retired, so I think she’ll have the time, and she was great with my daughter when she met her when she was tiny). I want my daughter to meet her sibling at the hospital, but I don’t know if I feel comfortable having the aunt drive her there since no one has ever driven or watched our daughter aside from my husband and me. Thinking of sending my husband to pick up our daughter (assuming the aunt can come watch her) and bring her to the hospital, but the hospital is 30 minutes away one way. Still playing with ideas with the hopes his aunt will say yes, but how did you go about childcare and bringing your first to the hospital for introductions?

Attached is a recent article regarding the Millie Moon diapers. Article is from Oct. 27th, 2026.

Please be aware & be careful with these diapers. One mom on Tik Tok, Samantha Katew, stated she threw away two boxes due to the issues the brand is having. However, Millie Moon will not be recalling them.

Within the article it states, “Millie Moon commissioned an independent U.S. lab to test the diapers before and after the visual design change, the company told Consumer Reports. Across the tested samples, there was no evidence of contamination, unexpected substances, manufacturing defects or product performance issues.”

Please be careful & to those who have not encountered issues, be thankful. To those who have encountered issues, I’m sorry for your experience & hope the company addressed your concerns accordingly.

Ok so I just want to say up front I am not a parent. But I have my great nephew (16mo) for 4 days this week and we just finished our first night. He doesn't sleep like his parents did when they were babies. He seems to have no sleep schedule at all. He doesn't fuss or anything to indicate he is tired. Just randomly drops and sleeps for about 2 to 6 hours at a time.

Its noon right now. I anticipated him being awake by like 8 am but considering he didnt sleep the 10 to 12 hours I expected him to im now in a dilemma. Hes currently sleeping and has been since 6a when I was finally able to get him to be still long enough to fall asleep.

Do I have any chance to change this around while he is here? What do I do? This is no where close to the 2 hour nap halfaway through the day and 10 to 12 hours at night that his parent had no problem doing when they were small. Im lost. Clearly I can't force him to sleep but my 40yo body is tired and very much hopes for some much needed sleep tonight.

Any advice? Do I just ride the wave and crash Thursday night? Please tell me there are possible solutions.

What to do about my 5-year old picky eater - advice please

My partner and I feel like we’re at a loss on what to do with our picky eater. For example, if my 5-year old comes to the table and doesn’t like the way dinner looks they will go “EW thats disgusting!” And/or will lick the food and say the same thing.

The other huge issue is our 2-year old (who is not a picky eater) will repeat exactly what our 5-year old will do which results in both kids not eating. This is almost every night.

We do not offer extra food. They have to eat what’s on their plate. They cannot have anything else. I DO offer a safe food on the plate. And I do try to repeat dinners my kids like. But my kid does not always eat it — even if it’s a safe meal. They also have “dessert” every night (which I ABSOLUTELY hate that we started) so we have to say “no dessert” if they don’t eat their dinner. (Also dessert is like a small piece of candy or popsicle…nothing excessive)

It is a constant push and pull with my 5-year old at dinner time. Typically they will eat some of the dinner but it comes with a lot of whining.

I’m exhausted. I know I am 100% creating a bad experience for food for my kid. ESPECIALLY with rewarding or taking away sweet treats. I don’t know how to undo it. I am trying to be so conscious of it because I struggle with a ED of overeating AND food noise and I am in therapy because of it so it is constantly triggering my ED as well.

Any advice is appreciated. I’m so tired of it being a constant struggle every night.

My child takes daily oral medications that have to be delivered intravenously if he experiences vomiting or diarrhea. So, this translates to a hospital stay any time he gets a tummy bug or food poisoning. Which we have been prepared for since his diagnosis shortly after birth. Thing is, though, he's almost 3 and outside of sinus congestion, has literally NEVER been sick. We're not germaphobes, we don't sanitize anything. I'm bewildered, and the anticipation of a hospital stay is becoming (probably) worse than an actual stay.

When were your kids first sick with something gastrointestinal?

As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to manage a child's study time, playtime, screen time, and sleep schedule. I think having a daily routine is important, but it should not feel too strict or stressful for children.

A good routine could include waking up on time, eating healthy meals, going to school, completing homework, spending time outdoors, doing creative activities, and getting enough sleep.

I also feel that children need some free time to explore their interests instead of having every minute of the day planned. Some children enjoy reading or drawing, while others prefer sports, puzzles, or building things.

What works best for one child may not work for another, depending on their age and personality.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my baby. I love spending time with her, interacting with her, watching her grow, and seeing her slowly become her own little person. That part of motherhood genuinely brings me so much joy.

But everything else that comes with being a parent? I’m finding it overwhelming.

The constant family interactions, always being needed, always having something to do, and feeling (knowing?) like my time is no longer entirely my own.

I’ve never considered myself an introvert, but I’ve also never been a particularly family-oriented person. I enjoy being around people, but I’ve always valued having control over when and with whom I socialize.

Since having a baby, I feel like there’s this expectation to constantly engage with family, coordinate visits, attend gatherings, and eventually organize playdates, birthday parties, and all the other social obligations that come with raising a child.

And honestly? I dread that part.

It’s not that I don’t want my child to have meaningful relationships or a fulfilling childhood. Of course I do. I just don’t particularly enjoy the social expectations and obligations that seem to come with making that happen.

I miss being able to socialize on my own terms rather than feeling obligated to participate simply because I’m now a parent.

I guess what I’m realizing is that I love being a mother, but I don’t necessarily love the lifestyle that society expects mothers to embrace.

Does anyone else feel this way? Like you genuinely love parenting your child, but could do without so many of the expectations and obligations that come along with it?

Got this from a friend a few years ago. Image searched the box last night so I could look at getting another one for our other child and saw it was recalled. Only about 4000 devices are included in the recall, check your model, brand and manufacturer. Link to recall notice in the comments.

My brother and sister in law have just had a baby and I want to get them a gift which will hopefully make life slightly easier or just something nice for them.

I would love to go and cook some meals for them to have in the freezer but I am in Australia and they are in the UK, so ideally I’d like something that can achieve something similar that means they have a bit more time for themselves and their newborn baby, and their 2 year old

would love any ideas!!

My 10 year old was recently caught stealing in school. She took a sticker book from a classmate and didn't own up to it for 2 days while the boy was distraught. She only admitted to it in front of the teacher when another kid saw the sticker book with her. I had a long chat with her about why stealing is wrong and the inportance of being honest even when she's made a mistake.

Now 2 weeks later, she took some stickers again from another kid but this time she admitted it almost immediately when the teacher asked. I brought her home and while I appreciated that she was honest, I told her she would have consequences for the repeated stealing and that I had to cancel her birthday party because I didn't feel like she was really appreciating the value of honesty or understanding the difference between right and wrong. She was quite understandably devastated and with a little prompting she admitted to stealing several small items from other kids in the last 2 to 4 months which she never got caught for.

Now I'm really at a loss how to handle this. I've made an appointment with a therapist but it's still 2 weeks away. Any advice, tips, anything from experienced parents who have handled this situation before?

hi all. would love some advice regarding my toddler son. he is 21 months old, and a couple weeks ago he began pushing other kids around his age. it’s extremely upsetting to see him push other little kids. sometimes he make kids cry, sometimes I cry too after getting him in the car and removing him from the situation.

for context, I am a stay at home mother, and I have a 5 month old baby as well as my toddler boy. He is genuinely a sweet boy, he loves to play outside, go on hikes, go to the park, and run around. He is a bit behind verbally, but understands directions well. in the past 3 weeks or so, the pushing began. I cannot trust him in any situation with other children at this point. I try to take him to some sort of fun activity every day and the pushing has remained.

what I do: i used to socialize with other parents, which sometimes I can do, but mostly I now stay very close to him so I can try to intervene. sometimes he be playing really well, and then very suddenly push. or he will run across the room and push. i sometimes am able to redirect him, but other times I am not fast enough (usually when I am holding or wearing the baby). I try to give him three or so chances. I explain we do not hit or push, the action hurts others feelings or could hurt them. before going into a playtime, I remind him to play nicely with others and then try to remind every 5 or so minutes so he doesn’t forget. after a few chances, I remove him from the fun to show a consequence.

what have others done in their journey to help their toddler or child stop a bad behavior? do I remove him from playtimes with other children for the time being? do I take away chances and go straight to removing him for consequence? I am determined to raise a good child and respectful boy. To be clear he lives in a loving home with really no problems except maybe we are a little on the messier side and try very hard to keep a clean home, and my husband does work a lot. thanks in advance 😰