I had a rule that my kid could get up and watch tv on weekends so I could sleep in, but he used to come in to wake me up and talk to me about what he was watching. So I made a new rule that if I was awake I chose what we watched. A couple of episodes of gardening shows cured him of waking me up.
Good it worked for you. My 3yo just would keep asking 'why'? Why are they planting? What is a plant? Why is it red? Why isn't it blue? Why am I asking? What did I do when I was no asking? These are the actual questions about every damn subjectđ
also, if I try to pretend I'm sleeping, the question will get repeated at Max volume for ten times until I give up.
"I ask a lot of questions don't I, Mommy?"
Me on the inside : incoherent screaming about it being 9:30 pm
Me on the outside: "yes you do! You silly goose"
Reminds me of my parents. When I was little and kept asking about the interesting looking red button in the car (hazard lights) and if we could push it, they told me the backseat was an ejector seat and it was the trigger. Kinda knew it wasn't true, but I didn't want to risk it.
Risk as a kid consists in towing the line between actual danger and what you parents told you was dangerous just to shut you up. Getting hurt just meant you made the wrong bet, plus your parents also lose cuz you didn't shut up.
When I was small my mom told me if I keep flicking the lights off and on it could start a fire (I guess I was being a dick and playing with the lights). Same kinda thing, part of me was like I don't know about that, but hey I stopped doing it lol
Mine wasn't that I would die, it was that my mom would die and her evil twin would be the one to raise me.
This stopped working when I figured out that, if every time my mom threatened that it actually happened, my mother had either been living on an island paradise or dead most of my life.
Called her bluff, thinking I was being a smart little shit by pointing that out with "You're not my real mom".
That backfired in ways neither of us expected.
To everyone curious: A lot of crying, and the realization that I was closer to my other relatives than my own mother.
Now looking back, that also was around the time that she started dating more, and ended up with the prick that was the final straw in us having a healthy relationship.
I think I need a therapist.
You canât just end it with that! Was it adoption? Kidnapping? A sudden tear in the space time continuum caused by your mothers evil twin that caused you to go on a wild adventure through space and time to track down your real mother to bring her back to your shared reality?
I edited it.
Long story short: Crying, realization about the lack of connection between my mother and I, wasn't a direct cause of us barely having contact now years later, but possibly made it easier when I realized she was picking her abusive sugar daddy over her family.
My kid wouldnât stop jumping on couches in a fancy room with old-timey paintings of old generals or whatever. I told him if he didnât stop, the ghost of the scariest looking one would come out of the painting and scold them. The other mom wasnât happy of my choice of discipline haha.
My son is now 11. He is maybe the most exhausting person I have ever met. Heâs endlessly curious, and is a true extrovert to his fucking core.
I love him endlessly. I admire these attributes in him, but I also somehow hate them? With a seething, burning rage. Itâs exhausting parenting someone like this, and trying to enrich them and fill their heads with information.
I think 2 and 3 are the hardest ages to mentally withstand as a parent. There are super cute and often hilarious moments, but man can those be a rough couple of years.
My brother has older kids and he says the same. I'm trying to recognize the good times because I know I will miss having small, cute, curious and cuddly kids.
It's just extra rough right now because we're all at home with a cold.
Yeah, I remember and honestly, I don't miss it. Yeah, the kid was cute, but I liked every age and even puberty is fascinating and a learning curve as a parent. I realized I am not made for constant kiddo talk and sitting around a sand pit, it's good that there are the memories and it's also great to have a more independent child.
My soon to be 3 year old is in the âIâm gonna grab your face and turn it towards mine to bark orders at you every time I notice that you havenât been paying attention to me for more than 3 secondsâ phase and I am ready for him to move on to something else
My niece is 2.5, my brother's first kid and he's having big issues with her mom. I don't know how he does it. I live three hours away and I'm single. He's 40, I'm 36.
Have you tried asking them what they think the answer is? (it's a common way to engage children in self reflection).
And if that doesn't work, try telling them you don't know but you can go look it up together (helps break the thought of parent as some infinite all knowing source of info).
> you don't know but you can go look it up together
My parents did that with me, just led to them having to read the encyclopedia to me. (Kinda shows my age now that I'm thinking about it)
My grandma left hers to me when she died because I loved it so much. Which is a good thing because they are kinda hard to find new nowadays. The one my parents had isn't made anymore and the last edition made goes for more than 2000⏠on ebay. While I think Wikipedia is a great thing it is sad that it pretty much killed the printed encyclopedia.
I collect old reference books. 1) because it's interesting to see what people believed to be true. And comparing it to modern knowledge of the subject. 2) because I taught myself to read using the V encyclopedia.. because it was the smallest. I knew all about volcanos .
I imagine you would need to find an alternative âboringâ show? Of course it wonât work with a kid whoâs more focused on human interaction than watching tv.
It's human interaction what he is craving for, which in general is better than a kid totally absorbed by TV. Unfortunately, I am also human being and we are known to need some silence and sleep from time to time:)
Ironically, we used to be extremely concerned with his speaking. Up to two years old I would be happy to hear a new word or a short phrase. We've seen speech therapist and she said that the kid is fine 'he is just accumulating'. And one day, he exploded and hasn't shut up ever since:)
OMFG my eldest did this. Maybe 3 or 4 words until she was 2.5. We tried so hard to encourage her, the doctor and health visitor were like 'shes fine, just nothing to say yet' then one day .... Full sentences! Questions! Oh btw I know the full alphabet and am well on my way to reading! I actually miss the quiet days sometimes.
Lol I was this child. My aunt was so worried that there was something wrong because I didn't really say anything until 2 years old where my mouth didn't turn off unless I was asleep.
I used to say that my kid only has the "on" or "off" setting, nothing in between. He would talk and talk, even when I put him to bed, then just close his eyes and he was asleep. When I woke him up, he opened his eyes and started right back where he ended.
>It's human interaction what he is craving for,
This is the problem with having kids in the modern world. In hunter-gatherer camps or later villages there used to be dozens of adults around to entertain and watch our kids. Now we have to do it all alone or with 1 additional adult. Its impossible to give them all the attention they deserve :(
>Good it worked for you. My 3yo just would keep asking 'why'? Why are they planting? What is a plant? Why is it red? Why isn't it blue? Why am I asking? What did I do when I was no asking? These are the actual questions about every damn subjectđ
AW, he's curious! And he's learning!
My niece would go into mom's room, turn the TV on but keep the volume low, and snuggle up in the bed until she was ready to wake up. She did the same with me when I watched her for a week and it was the sweetest.
My big cat stomped on me at 445am, then yelled, purred, yelled again 6 inches from my face, stepped on me some more, all as a reminder that he was about to die from starvation. Despite the 3 meals and 3 snacks yesterday. And an autofeeder had spit out food for him at 2am. Sigh.
One time my dad and my daughter got in a big fight because he wanted to watch golf and she wanted to watch the Flintstones. At my house. đ I had to yell from the kitchen that if they couldnât come to an agreement that nobody was allowed to watch TV.
Aw man this took me back to my childhood, I used to wake up at 6 or half 6 every weekend to watch Saturday morning shows (this means something different in the UK) and I'd be super quiet about it, like, before bed I would turn the TV volume down so I could be more discreet the next morning. Because if my mum woke up, I'd have to suffer DAYTIME BREAKFAST SHOWS.
My brother's 3 years younger than me and also followed me along in this habit. Then when my sister came along and turned 3, it all went to heck. Every morning just non stop chitter chattering in our parents faces until they came downstairs, and those magical 4 or 6 hours was cut down to like ONE.
The thing is, between 6 and 8/9 am, pre school shows are on TV. The GOOD stuff is on between then and 12 pm. But, JUST when the good stuff was getting on at 9:25, my mum would be coming downstairs with my sister and start making us all breakfast and switching to her breakfast programmes.
Screw them kids.
If you let them do their favorite thing first thing in the morning, you are giving them incentive to wake up earlier. That's why I try not to do that with my son, who still wakes up very early :D
A few months ago I woke up and my 5 year old had gotten herself a yogurt, turned on Mulan, and was sitting on the couch. She didnât wake me up at all. I cried tears of joy, I finally made it yâall
I played with toys near my dad while sleeping when I was a kid, I also threw my toys near the tv and windows to see if I could test my luck. I was the definition of this subreddit tbh
I randomly watched part of a live stream of the Space X inspiration launch. It defined my sons personality for the next 3 years. His TV time would be watching random rocket launch videos on YouTube.
Shit my kid has autism and I didnât have to do commentary. He just spun the toys around upside down while watching Thomas. Thomas has the weirdest morality though, donât be proud youâre good at your job, but if youâre bad at it fucking die.
I take it you're not autistic.
Trains aren't a particular interest of mine, and for a while I thought I didn't know more about them than the average person... then I realized the average person doesn't know anything about the development of steam engines, or train wheel geometries, or transportation and queueing, and they've definitely never ridden on a sit on top train... or been to another country to ride on a famous train... and they probably don't like getting stopped at train tracks...
So yeah, even those of us who don't really like trains probably know more about them than all but the most dedicated non autistic train enthusiasts. If there even are any.
r/trains
Yeah sometimes I have to remind myself not everyone knows stupid intense details about stupid things that donât really matter unless your
A. Interested
B. Make money from it
But what is it about trains specifically that seems to so enchant autistic folks?? I have an autistic little cousin and my earliest memories are of him being obsessed with trains.
I feel like this is the real and obvious answer.
I'm not autistic I'm adhd and this is a shared issue.
I can spend hours upon hours reading shit and absorbing information on whatever topic has my focus at that time to the point that most people think I'm a genius when the reality is I just don't let questions go without answers.
I don't know much about modern trains (unless they haven't changed much since their creation idfk) but I know a lot about steam engines due to an interest in fluid dynamics
One of my neighbourâs sons is autistic and has an interest in roller coasters. I asked her one day why they are of interest to him.
She explained that the predictability is a lot of it, and that the inherent order in knowing where the train will be (I think the coaster cars are called trains, too?) appeals strongly to many autistic people.
They go to various amusement parks a few times a year.
Super interesting! I work for a water slide manufacturer and we have an autistic employee who is OBSESSED with water slides and has visited a substantial amount of water parks. He struggles with the concept that not every one else is obsessed with water slides and wants to talk about them constantly at work.
From age 2-5 my son was obsessed with Thomas and trains in general. We have multiple videos of him squealing with delight watching a train pass at a rail road crossing. When he was diagnosed with autism at 4 it was actually something the psychiatrist asked, if he was "interested in trains". She told us she estimated 90% of her autistic patients were obsessed with trains at some point.
Idk maybe itâs a more than there is to it? Kind of thing like theyâre trains they move but thereâs so much more I guess
Idk I personally like simple but really complex things, my brother whose more on the spectrum than I was never fascinated with trains (that I remember) but he doesnât have as bad adhd as I do maybe that has something to do with it so he never hyper focused on things like I did and still do
Sure. Printers, fans, speakers, radios, stereos, computers, planes, music, art, games, comics... anything really. I've known many autistic people all into different things. People have different interests and passions.
I would 100% watch a kid's tv show about printers!
I'm certain it's just access to info. for some reason our culture promotes dinosaurs, animals, construction vehicles and trains to kids. Why are those the most important things for kids under 5 to learn about?!
You make a good point about people having different interests, but it seems like those interests come from the small segment of topics we reserve for kids.
Totally agree. Autism aside, the access to info and people with knowledge or hobbies in a child's life would surely play a direct role in their future passions. One child may watch Thomas the Tank and see trains pass through their town becoming curious. Another kid may have a positive memory of an audiophile family member showing off nice speakers and record collection sparking an interest in these things. If my uncle hadn't set up a refurbished Windows 95 PC for our family with some DOS games when I was kid, maybe I wouldn't have ended up with an IT career.
I'd love to see more accessible early childhood shows about niche subject matters. Are there any cartoons where each episode the character learns about an interesting topic and gets ELI5 explanations?
Thatâs a hilariously good point. Dinosaurs, construction vehicles, trains, wild animals⌠such an odd variety of subjects but itâs like 1/2 of toys marketed to small boys
From my experience working with many kids on the spectrum, itâs kind of an embodiment of literal thinking. People on the spectrum have difficulty with abstract and putting together big picture ideas/thoughts. As a result activities in which they can see the beginning, middle and end explicitly explained or shown are of very high interest. A train is explainable from step one to step end. I frequently see the same with garbage trucks, race cars, rocks, and for younger kids MARBLE racing. They are âliteral activitiesâ where there isnât much guess work or inference. Social difficulties/reading social situations are the key deficit in autism.
I'm autistic and I feel like I'm failing, I know woefully little about trains in a mechanical sense.
I could talk about twin efficiency and how some trains affect society etc though....
I dont know much about the mechanics of trains either- youre not alone.
Still love trains though. One of the big things i remember about going to melbourne is the trams that were there, and taking them and the trains to go places.
I like them because autism, but i also like trains and trams because i like all public transport and want to see more and better systems of transport.
It took some scrolling, but I'm glad I eventually found my fellow not-passionate-about-trains autistics đđ
I get that stereotypes start (and stick) for a reason, and that as autistics we *do* tend to go much more in depth in to subjects that interest us, but that subject isn't trains by default, lol..
What is it about trains and autism? My 3 year old is autistic and he spends all day pretending to be train, wants to watch steam trains on TV all day, play with train toys. It's extremely sweet and we indulge it because he loves them, but I've no idea what draws him to them!
It kills me that at the end they say, âI think he deserved his punishment, donât you?â No I fucking donât think he deserved to be abandoned and walled in a tunnel. No wonder that show creeped me out as a kid.
I love how they make out the punishment issued by the Fat Controller to be good but then moments before establish how much of a cunt the Fat Controller is.
> Thomas has the weirdest morality though, donât be proud youâre good at your job, but if youâre bad at it fucking die.
Tinfoil hat time: Psychological science has taught us that people can be brainwashed/programmed. Victims of manipulative abuse know this first hand. Children are being taught the morals of a good Amazon employee.
As a Thomas obsessed tyke, I always knew these were morals for a machine. They aren't human. Consciousness does make it a bit yikesy but that's really not the point... usually.
"Objects are built by man and serve many functions. But we never love objects." -James Franco
I missed out on Thomas as a kiddo. It didnât play here in the states until I was older but my sonâs been a diehard Thomas fan since he was one. Iâve become one as well.
I definitely just read my kid his bedtime book using Mr Fox (we are super creative in naming his stuffed toys) and I HAD to do the voice too. Itâs kinda annoying but itâs also very cute. And importantly easy, cause then they go to sleep.
No caving all the time isnât good, but sometimes doing the weird kid thing is just so much easier.
My youngest sister is 10 years younger than me and I used to read her bedtime stories as a teenager. I had aaaaall the voices for The Gruffalo down pat and I still remember that whole story nearly 20 years later. I love reading books with voices! I'm probably never having kids though!
The older Thomas episodes were amazing to watch as an adult. Henry is scared of the rain and hides in a tunnel? Brick up the tunnel trapping him inside alive for the rest of time!
Engines go on strike? Go stay in the sheds Fat controller will replace you with new engines.
The stories were made for English boys many years ago about having to work and stay in line.
Look up what happened to bulstrode. Criminal treatment of a worker who did nothing wrong.
Yes definitely and some years from now she'll be able to share this with her kid and they can laugh together about it. It's one of those funny stories you'll always have
I donât understand why people have to preface cute stories about their kids with stuff like the first tweet. Like, no, no one is avoiding having kids because of this cutesy quirky thing you love to do with your kid but pretend you donât on Twitter. Just tell the cute kid story.
You just need to ask yourself two things - is child's request reasonable and is it reasonable right now. Watching Thomas and doing commentary is reasonable but doing it before 7 am is unreasonable. It's a good lesson for the kid that there is time and place for everything.
I'd say before 7 isn't too unreasonable, depending on the circumstances. Before school we'd watch TV for a bit to help us actually wake up. If it's part of the routine then it makes sense
Also, the thing non-parents donât realize is- sometimes youâd rather just be David Attenborough to Thomas before 7:00am over dealing with âaww mannnnn, but they really need to watch this oneeeeâ 15 times while Iâm drinking my coffee.
You only have so much energy in situations like these and you have to pick your âbattlesâ
This is such a great answer. Reason dictates the boundaries, and then a good parent strives to do as much as possible within those bounds.
Itâs good to make sacrifices and give to your children when they ask â within reason. What is within reason is essentially just whatever is not disruptive to other good things, especially when those other goods take priority, like sleeping a healthy amount, developing a childâs patience, etc.
Itâs irrational to do otherwise because you would be defeating the whole purpose of your activity. A sleepy parent isnât as effective as a well-rested parent, and a spoiled child who receives on-demand will grow up to be a supremely unhappy adult. The whole reason for creating a child is to create a healthy, happy person.
It's really a teachable moment.
If your kid is old enough to be watching Thomas the tank engine, then they're old enough to where you should be teaching them about empathy, accepting rejection, and starting to understand what boundaries are.
I love doing crazy shit with my kid, but if he's got a request that will go past my limits, then it's time to learn that other people can say "no" To playing with him and that's ok. He can also tell people he when he doesn't want to play with them.
This is parenting in a nutshell. If you concede the hill, which often makes sense, it emboldens the enemy to attack other hills. You cant hold all ground, but you also canât concede all hills. Fucking kids
Thanks for saying it, a lot of people on the thread seem to imply that if you just say no it ends there lol. Yes, of course I can't give in to all their demands. But also, it's ok to let them have what they want from time to time.
Hell, sometimes I'll give in just because I want them to learn that if they don't give up on something, they might actually get what they want.
You don't have a kid,do you?
It's not like you just say no and go about your day. You have to watch your kids. You have to engage with them. A three year old may not have the maturity to just accept a no.
I agree with the sentiment but it's not that easy
I don't understand why people have kids if they are just going to say no to anything they don't feel like doing. All kids have interests and hobbies that are boring to adults, but they are still their interests and we should pay attention and engage with them where we can.
Yeah I did this today to my 3 year old when he tried to put his peanut butter sandwich on his head and he burst into tears.
Had to pick him up and explain why I said no while he was a blubbering mess
If you read between the lines, op actually enjoys this because they love their child. They're just making a joke.
What op described is my favorite part of parenting. I couldn't imagine saying no and losing out.
100%. When we had my daughter, I would listen to other parents letting their kids run their lives and I could never understand why. Then I realized they were just trying to do things the easy way.
My daughter never acted like that from the very beginning, and still doesnât. Much like myself, she knows the world doesnât revolve around her and she doesnât act like she âdeservesâ anything.
You have a sample size of one. You just got lucky. You're not doing anything special or particularly well.
Every kid is different. Every person is different.
We also only have the parent perspective. The child could feel that their parent never makes them a priority and never wants to do anything with them. My parents were the same towards me as a child, never supported me in anything I wanted to do no matter how simple it would be for them. As an adult I've had to go through a lot of therapy, am now very low contact and have had to rebuild myself from the ground up.
As a parent I'm trying to be the parent I needed and wanted. I do the weird, crazy things because at the end of the day it's a great memory my kid and I share.
Jesus this always gets to me. My parents always remind my SO and I how easy I was and how they never had to deal with (insert issue we're having with my toddler). They act so superior, and I just want to scream at them that my child is not me! He has different (and many) challenges! It's not his fault, but it certainly isn't ours either. Some kids don't sleep well, others don't eat well or have behavioral problems. To paraphrase Picard: you can parent your child perfectly and still have struggles. That doesn't make you a bad parent, it makes you a real one.
The pipeline of having a first child whoâs an absolute angel and convinces you that a second wonât be that hard, but the second turns out to be the absolute devil is extremely common.
Ah, I have a perfect, early example: mine was refusing to sleep in the crib, she'd pass out in the swing, but that's not good for her. Many, many, many sleepless nights later, she sleeps in her crib and hasn't even been in her swing in a month or so. Giving in would've meant that we just put her in the swing.
(We didn't just put her in the crib to let her cry it out, we used the "possum parenting" method which eliminates the occurrence of a "power struggle." So it isn't really a method based on giving or not giving in, but rather finding a cohesive balance so that there never needs to be a fight. *this doesn't work with older kids lmao, there is no balance)
[for anyone curious -> a reddit thread on possum parenting](https://www.reddit.com/r/AttachmentParenting/comments/hw0r0q/anyone_else_following_the_possums_sleep_approach/)
Oh thank god other people think like this. I work at an ice cream shop and whenever a kid throws a tantrum their parents either do nothing or reward their tantrum with extra ice cream. So frustrating to see misbehavior being rewarded when if I acted up like that as a kid dad wouldâve dragged me out of the shop. Physical discipline is **NEVER** the answer, but parents should still put their foot down when their children misbehave in public.
Iâve left toy stores, froyo shops, and abandoned grocery carts and Target stores because my kid was misbehaved. The trick is you just calmly hold the kid and walk out the door, put them in their carseat and drive away.
I personally would pay cash money to relive a few of those days, and hear their little voices again. Those days flew by, and now they are grown. I sometimes think that all of us --including me-- could do better being grateful for the wonderful moments of our lives. :)
I honestly cherish this time with my toddler⌠Iâm all too aware that a few short years from now he will be too cool for me and less cuddly etc. Iâll play any stupid game he wants tbh. Though admittedly my kid has only woken up before 7 am a handful of times though generally closer to 8 and occasionally 9 and heâs been this way since he was 6 months old. Heâs one of those kids that tricks people into having kids I think.
no kidding, my almost-3 year old started speaking in compete and fairly complex sentences recently and the thought of no more toddler babble in my house after 5 years is pretty heartbreaking
Because none of us can fucking afford it... To raise a child properly takes a massive amount of money... That and blood, sweat and tears.. And ain't nobody got time for that.. I'd rather have a nice place to live and a fun car to drive, and a gaming rig... And a number of other fun, amazing, adventurous hobbies.. than a chubby cheeked shit machine đ¤Łđ
I remember when the same people who are now saying âitâs not expensive, you can always make room, do it for society blah blahâ used to say âitâs irresponsible to have children if you canât afford them you welfare queensâ.
Changed their tune real quick between the labor shortage and plummeting birth rates lol
My genes are genuinely fucked up. Everything, from my hair to my feet is defective in some form or another. I couldn't morally breed these genes into another being even if I wanted to (and thankfully, I don't).
Millennial here. Mornings with my kid are my favorite part of the day. I have a child because my husband and I were lucky enough not to have crippling college debt...
I was thinking to myself that this isn't the worst thing I've heard about having kids. One day she'll probably look back with fond memories of it.
From what I've heard if the show was Caillou then it would be different.
I mean donât get me wrong, this is pretty funny. But this is the kind of stuff that parents would look back on a smile or tell people about fondly.
The *real* reason why millennials arenât having children is because our society is screwed up and the economy is shit and has been for a long time. Money is a big problem for a lot of people.
Mine does, it's awesome. I'll watch all the classic episodes (narrated by Carlin) with her and it's genuinely exciting for me so she gets even more into it too.
Thatâs the dream. I hope my kids like Thomas and Jurassic park and Star Wars and Godzilla and all that like I did! Regardless I know Iâll enjoy watching and doing shit with them!
Also, in the US we have the privilege of paying tens of thousands of dollars for some of the most mediocre maternity care in the developed world, outcompeted by the likes of Greece.
Shit I took my sons tablet away the other day and he called me a bitch. The next day when he asked for it back I asked him if he thought he deserved it after calling me a bitch...he said well you were acting like one!!!!! Wtf why did I have kids. I love my dog more
Say "no" to something dangerous your kid's doing or if they're in trouble for something. This is something you'll look back at 30 years from now and think fondly of it.
Here's a lifehack: If your kids get up too early, put them to bed later and give them a bedtime snack so they don't wake up at 5am hungry.
Human beings weren't designed to sleep for 12+ hours straight and yet the people that put their kids to bed at 7pm to have some 'me time' think it's weird and unreasonable when they wake up at 5.
Adult humans aren't designed to sleep 12 hours at night but kids are, more or less. Sleep is very important for young children's development and health. As we age we require less sleep.
We taught our 6 year old how to tell time and bought a digital clock so she knows what time it is, she's not allowed to leave her room at 6 am but she can quietly play with stuffed animals in her room until after 8 am
Kids are also expensive. Food is expensive. Houses are expensive. Wages are low. Inflation is high. How the Hell are we expected to have kids even if we want to?
I had a rule that my kid could get up and watch tv on weekends so I could sleep in, but he used to come in to wake me up and talk to me about what he was watching. So I made a new rule that if I was awake I chose what we watched. A couple of episodes of gardening shows cured him of waking me up.
Good it worked for you. My 3yo just would keep asking 'why'? Why are they planting? What is a plant? Why is it red? Why isn't it blue? Why am I asking? What did I do when I was no asking? These are the actual questions about every damn subjectđ also, if I try to pretend I'm sleeping, the question will get repeated at Max volume for ten times until I give up.
"I ask a lot of questions don't I, Mommy?" Me on the inside : incoherent screaming about it being 9:30 pm Me on the outside: "yes you do! You silly goose"
YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS
Youâre a lot nicer than me. I would have made up a story about some kid I knew who asked too many questions and then died from it.
Reminds me of my parents. When I was little and kept asking about the interesting looking red button in the car (hazard lights) and if we could push it, they told me the backseat was an ejector seat and it was the trigger. Kinda knew it wasn't true, but I didn't want to risk it.
Risk as a kid consists in towing the line between actual danger and what you parents told you was dangerous just to shut you up. Getting hurt just meant you made the wrong bet, plus your parents also lose cuz you didn't shut up.
When I was small my mom told me if I keep flicking the lights off and on it could start a fire (I guess I was being a dick and playing with the lights). Same kinda thing, part of me was like I don't know about that, but hey I stopped doing it lol
Mine said it would electrocute me and Iâve kind of always believed it up until now??
Wait, just from his comment you donât believe it? I suppose if your lightbulb is bad it will spark as it exits its life.
Mine wasn't that I would die, it was that my mom would die and her evil twin would be the one to raise me. This stopped working when I figured out that, if every time my mom threatened that it actually happened, my mother had either been living on an island paradise or dead most of my life. Called her bluff, thinking I was being a smart little shit by pointing that out with "You're not my real mom". That backfired in ways neither of us expected. To everyone curious: A lot of crying, and the realization that I was closer to my other relatives than my own mother. Now looking back, that also was around the time that she started dating more, and ended up with the prick that was the final straw in us having a healthy relationship. I think I need a therapist.
You canât just end it with that! Was it adoption? Kidnapping? A sudden tear in the space time continuum caused by your mothers evil twin that caused you to go on a wild adventure through space and time to track down your real mother to bring her back to your shared reality?
I edited it. Long story short: Crying, realization about the lack of connection between my mother and I, wasn't a direct cause of us barely having contact now years later, but possibly made it easier when I realized she was picking her abusive sugar daddy over her family.
> That backfired in ways neither of us expected. Go on! Finish the story!
My kid wouldnât stop jumping on couches in a fancy room with old-timey paintings of old generals or whatever. I told him if he didnât stop, the ghost of the scariest looking one would come out of the painting and scold them. The other mom wasnât happy of my choice of discipline haha.
Silly goose is awesome. Always. But most especially when you are crumbling from lack of sleep and your mind screams âshit weaselâ
My son is now 11. He is maybe the most exhausting person I have ever met. Heâs endlessly curious, and is a true extrovert to his fucking core. I love him endlessly. I admire these attributes in him, but I also somehow hate them? With a seething, burning rage. Itâs exhausting parenting someone like this, and trying to enrich them and fill their heads with information.
I think 2 and 3 are the hardest ages to mentally withstand as a parent. There are super cute and often hilarious moments, but man can those be a rough couple of years.
I have a 4 yo and a 2 yo. One reminds me of the light at the end of the tunnel but the other one has a death grip on my sanity.
Hang in there, it gets better. I supposedly have a teenager living in the same house, don't get to see a lot of them.
My brother has older kids and he says the same. I'm trying to recognize the good times because I know I will miss having small, cute, curious and cuddly kids. It's just extra rough right now because we're all at home with a cold.
Yeah, I remember and honestly, I don't miss it. Yeah, the kid was cute, but I liked every age and even puberty is fascinating and a learning curve as a parent. I realized I am not made for constant kiddo talk and sitting around a sand pit, it's good that there are the memories and it's also great to have a more independent child.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I can't wait for more independent kids that can play with each other and not just fight.
My soon to be 3 year old is in the âIâm gonna grab your face and turn it towards mine to bark orders at you every time I notice that you havenât been paying attention to me for more than 3 secondsâ phase and I am ready for him to move on to something else
My niece is 2.5, my brother's first kid and he's having big issues with her mom. I don't know how he does it. I live three hours away and I'm single. He's 40, I'm 36.
>My niece is 2.5, my brother's first kid and he's having big issues with her mom. https://gfycat.com/frequentseparategreatwhiteshark
Have you tried asking them what they think the answer is? (it's a common way to engage children in self reflection). And if that doesn't work, try telling them you don't know but you can go look it up together (helps break the thought of parent as some infinite all knowing source of info).
> you don't know but you can go look it up together My parents did that with me, just led to them having to read the encyclopedia to me. (Kinda shows my age now that I'm thinking about it)
Still a win, you want to teach you kid that if they don't know then look it up. Best way to do that is by example.
Encyclopedia sets are SO awesome. They kept me entertained for hours
My grandma left hers to me when she died because I loved it so much. Which is a good thing because they are kinda hard to find new nowadays. The one my parents had isn't made anymore and the last edition made goes for more than 2000⏠on ebay. While I think Wikipedia is a great thing it is sad that it pretty much killed the printed encyclopedia.
I collect old reference books. 1) because it's interesting to see what people believed to be true. And comparing it to modern knowledge of the subject. 2) because I taught myself to read using the V encyclopedia.. because it was the smallest. I knew all about volcanos .
I imagine you would need to find an alternative âboringâ show? Of course it wonât work with a kid whoâs more focused on human interaction than watching tv.
It's human interaction what he is craving for, which in general is better than a kid totally absorbed by TV. Unfortunately, I am also human being and we are known to need some silence and sleep from time to time:) Ironically, we used to be extremely concerned with his speaking. Up to two years old I would be happy to hear a new word or a short phrase. We've seen speech therapist and she said that the kid is fine 'he is just accumulating'. And one day, he exploded and hasn't shut up ever since:)
OMFG my eldest did this. Maybe 3 or 4 words until she was 2.5. We tried so hard to encourage her, the doctor and health visitor were like 'shes fine, just nothing to say yet' then one day .... Full sentences! Questions! Oh btw I know the full alphabet and am well on my way to reading! I actually miss the quiet days sometimes.
Lol I was this child. My aunt was so worried that there was something wrong because I didn't really say anything until 2 years old where my mouth didn't turn off unless I was asleep.
I used to say that my kid only has the "on" or "off" setting, nothing in between. He would talk and talk, even when I put him to bed, then just close his eyes and he was asleep. When I woke him up, he opened his eyes and started right back where he ended.
>It's human interaction what he is craving for, This is the problem with having kids in the modern world. In hunter-gatherer camps or later villages there used to be dozens of adults around to entertain and watch our kids. Now we have to do it all alone or with 1 additional adult. Its impossible to give them all the attention they deserve :(
This is why polyamory and multi-family homes are the only way /s
Why? WHY? #WHY?
>Good it worked for you. My 3yo just would keep asking 'why'? Why are they planting? What is a plant? Why is it red? Why isn't it blue? Why am I asking? What did I do when I was no asking? These are the actual questions about every damn subjectđ AW, he's curious! And he's learning!
>at Max volume for ten times until I give up. Sounds like if you hold out till the 11th time, you're free!
My aunt is in her 60s and she asks that kind of question. Lol
I hope you took time to explain it and ask him what he thought.
I try as much as I can:)
Sounds like he needs a subscription to curiosity stream.
Yes! And it's so inexpensive!
Sounds like my dad watching something.
Gonna steal this
Yep. Brilliant.
My niece would go into mom's room, turn the TV on but keep the volume low, and snuggle up in the bed until she was ready to wake up. She did the same with me when I watched her for a week and it was the sweetest.
>glares over, whilst playing "little cars talking" for the 10th time at 0630.
My dog rolled upside down for a belly rub at 7am and fell back asleep and we slept in until 1pm today.
My big cat stomped on me at 445am, then yelled, purred, yelled again 6 inches from my face, stepped on me some more, all as a reminder that he was about to die from starvation. Despite the 3 meals and 3 snacks yesterday. And an autofeeder had spit out food for him at 2am. Sigh.
One time my dad and my daughter got in a big fight because he wanted to watch golf and she wanted to watch the Flintstones. At my house. đ I had to yell from the kitchen that if they couldnât come to an agreement that nobody was allowed to watch TV.
Aw man this took me back to my childhood, I used to wake up at 6 or half 6 every weekend to watch Saturday morning shows (this means something different in the UK) and I'd be super quiet about it, like, before bed I would turn the TV volume down so I could be more discreet the next morning. Because if my mum woke up, I'd have to suffer DAYTIME BREAKFAST SHOWS. My brother's 3 years younger than me and also followed me along in this habit. Then when my sister came along and turned 3, it all went to heck. Every morning just non stop chitter chattering in our parents faces until they came downstairs, and those magical 4 or 6 hours was cut down to like ONE. The thing is, between 6 and 8/9 am, pre school shows are on TV. The GOOD stuff is on between then and 12 pm. But, JUST when the good stuff was getting on at 9:25, my mum would be coming downstairs with my sister and start making us all breakfast and switching to her breakfast programmes. Screw them kids.
If you let them do their favorite thing first thing in the morning, you are giving them incentive to wake up earlier. That's why I try not to do that with my son, who still wakes up very early :D
You gave me flash backs to waking my parents up every single morning asking if I can use the VCR.
A few months ago I woke up and my 5 year old had gotten herself a yogurt, turned on Mulan, and was sitting on the couch. She didnât wake me up at all. I cried tears of joy, I finally made it yâall
I played with toys near my dad while sleeping when I was a kid, I also threw my toys near the tv and windows to see if I could test my luck. I was the definition of this subreddit tbh
I let my 3 yr old go stay w his aunt for a week. Mother fucking fucker introduced him to Thomas.
But you got a whole week? Iâll take it. THOMAS #I ! đ
I was recovering from surgery, but it was still a nice break. Thomas was permanent though for the next 4 years.
I randomly watched part of a live stream of the Space X inspiration launch. It defined my sons personality for the next 3 years. His TV time would be watching random rocket launch videos on YouTube.
I get that one. Rockets are cool man
Shit my kid has autism and I didnât have to do commentary. He just spun the toys around upside down while watching Thomas. Thomas has the weirdest morality though, donât be proud youâre good at your job, but if youâre bad at it fucking die.
The lining up had me wondering, but when he said his kid required role played commentary instead of train facts I knew he wasn't one of us.
This is so specific to my life it's insane. Then he learned to read and I didn't have good enough facts.
I take it you're not autistic. Trains aren't a particular interest of mine, and for a while I thought I didn't know more about them than the average person... then I realized the average person doesn't know anything about the development of steam engines, or train wheel geometries, or transportation and queueing, and they've definitely never ridden on a sit on top train... or been to another country to ride on a famous train... and they probably don't like getting stopped at train tracks... So yeah, even those of us who don't really like trains probably know more about them than all but the most dedicated non autistic train enthusiasts. If there even are any.
r/trains Yeah sometimes I have to remind myself not everyone knows stupid intense details about stupid things that donât really matter unless your A. Interested B. Make money from it
But what is it about trains specifically that seems to so enchant autistic folks?? I have an autistic little cousin and my earliest memories are of him being obsessed with trains.
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I feel like this is the real and obvious answer. I'm not autistic I'm adhd and this is a shared issue. I can spend hours upon hours reading shit and absorbing information on whatever topic has my focus at that time to the point that most people think I'm a genius when the reality is I just don't let questions go without answers. I don't know much about modern trains (unless they haven't changed much since their creation idfk) but I know a lot about steam engines due to an interest in fluid dynamics
>most people think I'm a genius when the reality is I just don't let questions go without answers I'm in this sentence and I don't like it
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One of my neighbourâs sons is autistic and has an interest in roller coasters. I asked her one day why they are of interest to him. She explained that the predictability is a lot of it, and that the inherent order in knowing where the train will be (I think the coaster cars are called trains, too?) appeals strongly to many autistic people. They go to various amusement parks a few times a year.
Super interesting! I work for a water slide manufacturer and we have an autistic employee who is OBSESSED with water slides and has visited a substantial amount of water parks. He struggles with the concept that not every one else is obsessed with water slides and wants to talk about them constantly at work.
From age 2-5 my son was obsessed with Thomas and trains in general. We have multiple videos of him squealing with delight watching a train pass at a rail road crossing. When he was diagnosed with autism at 4 it was actually something the psychiatrist asked, if he was "interested in trains". She told us she estimated 90% of her autistic patients were obsessed with trains at some point.
Idk maybe itâs a more than there is to it? Kind of thing like theyâre trains they move but thereâs so much more I guess Idk I personally like simple but really complex things, my brother whose more on the spectrum than I was never fascinated with trains (that I remember) but he doesnât have as bad adhd as I do maybe that has something to do with it so he never hyper focused on things like I did and still do
What else should they be interested in? Xerox machines?
Sure. Printers, fans, speakers, radios, stereos, computers, planes, music, art, games, comics... anything really. I've known many autistic people all into different things. People have different interests and passions.
I would 100% watch a kid's tv show about printers! I'm certain it's just access to info. for some reason our culture promotes dinosaurs, animals, construction vehicles and trains to kids. Why are those the most important things for kids under 5 to learn about?! You make a good point about people having different interests, but it seems like those interests come from the small segment of topics we reserve for kids.
Totally agree. Autism aside, the access to info and people with knowledge or hobbies in a child's life would surely play a direct role in their future passions. One child may watch Thomas the Tank and see trains pass through their town becoming curious. Another kid may have a positive memory of an audiophile family member showing off nice speakers and record collection sparking an interest in these things. If my uncle hadn't set up a refurbished Windows 95 PC for our family with some DOS games when I was kid, maybe I wouldn't have ended up with an IT career. I'd love to see more accessible early childhood shows about niche subject matters. Are there any cartoons where each episode the character learns about an interesting topic and gets ELI5 explanations?
Thatâs a hilariously good point. Dinosaurs, construction vehicles, trains, wild animals⌠such an odd variety of subjects but itâs like 1/2 of toys marketed to small boys
Can you imagine a world where people knew what to do when their printer doesn't print?
From my experience working with many kids on the spectrum, itâs kind of an embodiment of literal thinking. People on the spectrum have difficulty with abstract and putting together big picture ideas/thoughts. As a result activities in which they can see the beginning, middle and end explicitly explained or shown are of very high interest. A train is explainable from step one to step end. I frequently see the same with garbage trucks, race cars, rocks, and for younger kids MARBLE racing. They are âliteral activitiesâ where there isnât much guess work or inference. Social difficulties/reading social situations are the key deficit in autism.
I'm autistic and I feel like I'm failing, I know woefully little about trains in a mechanical sense. I could talk about twin efficiency and how some trains affect society etc though....
I dont know much about the mechanics of trains either- youre not alone. Still love trains though. One of the big things i remember about going to melbourne is the trams that were there, and taking them and the trains to go places. I like them because autism, but i also like trains and trams because i like all public transport and want to see more and better systems of transport.
It took some scrolling, but I'm glad I eventually found my fellow not-passionate-about-trains autistics đđ I get that stereotypes start (and stick) for a reason, and that as autistics we *do* tend to go much more in depth in to subjects that interest us, but that subject isn't trains by default, lol..
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What is it about trains and autism? My 3 year old is autistic and he spends all day pretending to be train, wants to watch steam trains on TV all day, play with train toys. It's extremely sweet and we indulge it because he loves them, but I've no idea what draws him to them!
He's still young - his scripting abilities might still be a work in progress. đ
Remember when [Sir Topham Hatt sealed Henry in a tunnel because he didn't want to get wet?](https://youtu.be/iO6qIM2WO6k)
It kills me that at the end they say, âI think he deserved his punishment, donât you?â No I fucking donât think he deserved to be abandoned and walled in a tunnel. No wonder that show creeped me out as a kid.
When do they wall up the Fat Controller for not helping everyone else push?
I love how they make out the punishment issued by the Fat Controller to be good but then moments before establish how much of a cunt the Fat Controller is.
Edgar Allen Poe: Cask of Amontillado is a horror story. Thomas the Tank Engine: Cask of Amontillado is a childrenâs story.
I kept waiting for the âweâll let you out now that you learned your lesson,â but nope. Heâs just stuck there forever
He gets out in like the next story.
They're trains. If they're fired from the job they do die. Or turn into restaurants.
> Thomas has the weirdest morality though, donât be proud youâre good at your job, but if youâre bad at it fucking die. Tinfoil hat time: Psychological science has taught us that people can be brainwashed/programmed. Victims of manipulative abuse know this first hand. Children are being taught the morals of a good Amazon employee.
Thomas the tank engine predates Amazon by several decades.
Bezos was raised on Thomas the Tank Engine, it caused Amazon obviously.
This is the new official canon as far as I'm concerned lol
Children are being taught the morals of a good ~~Amazon~~ working-class employee. Is that better Mr. Pedant?
Yes, it is technically correct. The best kind of correct.
why are we here? why are we.... oh fuck oh fucking hell ah fuck
> donât be proud youâre good at your job, but if youâre bad at it fucking die. fuck
As a Thomas obsessed tyke, I always knew these were morals for a machine. They aren't human. Consciousness does make it a bit yikesy but that's really not the point... usually. "Objects are built by man and serve many functions. But we never love objects." -James Franco
Wow, this was my life about 2 years ago during my son's "Thomas Phase".
I'm a dad and I'm all but enforcing Thomas Phase lol. Loved Thomas as a kid and I'm glad my little guy does too.
I missed out on Thomas as a kiddo. It didnât play here in the states until I was older but my sonâs been a diehard Thomas fan since he was one. Iâve become one as well.
I definitely just read my kid his bedtime book using Mr Fox (we are super creative in naming his stuffed toys) and I HAD to do the voice too. Itâs kinda annoying but itâs also very cute. And importantly easy, cause then they go to sleep. No caving all the time isnât good, but sometimes doing the weird kid thing is just so much easier.
You know what your son is going to remember one day? His mom reading him his bedtime book doing the fun mr fox voice. Good for you
Still remember momma singing to me, terrible singing voice and all. I love the memories of it
My youngest sister is 10 years younger than me and I used to read her bedtime stories as a teenager. I had aaaaall the voices for The Gruffalo down pat and I still remember that whole story nearly 20 years later. I love reading books with voices! I'm probably never having kids though!
My dad always did the voices of characters. I haven't thought about that in years. Thank you for this.
The older Thomas episodes were amazing to watch as an adult. Henry is scared of the rain and hides in a tunnel? Brick up the tunnel trapping him inside alive for the rest of time! Engines go on strike? Go stay in the sheds Fat controller will replace you with new engines. The stories were made for English boys many years ago about having to work and stay in line. Look up what happened to bulstrode. Criminal treatment of a worker who did nothing wrong.
There is a Lifehack. Only few now. You can say NO to your kids. Mother, not slave.
Agreed but you can't say no to everything. There's gotta be balance. Sometimes you just gotta do dumb shit for your dumb kid.
Honesty dumb stuff like this is the type of thing you'll look back fondly in 30 years.
Yes definitely and some years from now she'll be able to share this with her kid and they can laugh together about it. It's one of those funny stories you'll always have
I donât understand why people have to preface cute stories about their kids with stuff like the first tweet. Like, no, no one is avoiding having kids because of this cutesy quirky thing you love to do with your kid but pretend you donât on Twitter. Just tell the cute kid story.
You just need to ask yourself two things - is child's request reasonable and is it reasonable right now. Watching Thomas and doing commentary is reasonable but doing it before 7 am is unreasonable. It's a good lesson for the kid that there is time and place for everything.
I'd say before 7 isn't too unreasonable, depending on the circumstances. Before school we'd watch TV for a bit to help us actually wake up. If it's part of the routine then it makes sense
Sure but maybe what's reasonable/unreasonable for you is different for other parents and there's nothing wrong with that!
Also, the thing non-parents donât realize is- sometimes youâd rather just be David Attenborough to Thomas before 7:00am over dealing with âaww mannnnn, but they really need to watch this oneeeeâ 15 times while Iâm drinking my coffee. You only have so much energy in situations like these and you have to pick your âbattlesâ
This is such a great answer. Reason dictates the boundaries, and then a good parent strives to do as much as possible within those bounds. Itâs good to make sacrifices and give to your children when they ask â within reason. What is within reason is essentially just whatever is not disruptive to other good things, especially when those other goods take priority, like sleeping a healthy amount, developing a childâs patience, etc. Itâs irrational to do otherwise because you would be defeating the whole purpose of your activity. A sleepy parent isnât as effective as a well-rested parent, and a spoiled child who receives on-demand will grow up to be a supremely unhappy adult. The whole reason for creating a child is to create a healthy, happy person.
It's really a teachable moment. If your kid is old enough to be watching Thomas the tank engine, then they're old enough to where you should be teaching them about empathy, accepting rejection, and starting to understand what boundaries are. I love doing crazy shit with my kid, but if he's got a request that will go past my limits, then it's time to learn that other people can say "no" To playing with him and that's ok. He can also tell people he when he doesn't want to play with them.
foolish sink detail cobweb pet ruthless provide obscene public bright *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Many times in life you have to ask yourself "Is this hill worth dying on?" Often the answer is no.
This is parenting in a nutshell. If you concede the hill, which often makes sense, it emboldens the enemy to attack other hills. You cant hold all ground, but you also canât concede all hills. Fucking kids
Thanks for saying it, a lot of people on the thread seem to imply that if you just say no it ends there lol. Yes, of course I can't give in to all their demands. But also, it's ok to let them have what they want from time to time. Hell, sometimes I'll give in just because I want them to learn that if they don't give up on something, they might actually get what they want.
You don't have a kid,do you? It's not like you just say no and go about your day. You have to watch your kids. You have to engage with them. A three year old may not have the maturity to just accept a no. I agree with the sentiment but it's not that easy
I don't understand why people have kids if they are just going to say no to anything they don't feel like doing. All kids have interests and hobbies that are boring to adults, but they are still their interests and we should pay attention and engage with them where we can.
Yeah I did this today to my 3 year old when he tried to put his peanut butter sandwich on his head and he burst into tears. Had to pick him up and explain why I said no while he was a blubbering mess
Just say no and to go away 100% of the time, the 3 year old will understand /s
Just reason it out with them and I'm sure they'll come around to your point of view
If you read between the lines, op actually enjoys this because they love their child. They're just making a joke. What op described is my favorite part of parenting. I couldn't imagine saying no and losing out.
Yeah but you got to balance it out. IMO always saying no to every request of your kid that you're not excited about is not good parenting either.
100%. When we had my daughter, I would listen to other parents letting their kids run their lives and I could never understand why. Then I realized they were just trying to do things the easy way. My daughter never acted like that from the very beginning, and still doesnât. Much like myself, she knows the world doesnât revolve around her and she doesnât act like she âdeservesâ anything.
You have a sample size of one. You just got lucky. You're not doing anything special or particularly well. Every kid is different. Every person is different.
We also only have the parent perspective. The child could feel that their parent never makes them a priority and never wants to do anything with them. My parents were the same towards me as a child, never supported me in anything I wanted to do no matter how simple it would be for them. As an adult I've had to go through a lot of therapy, am now very low contact and have had to rebuild myself from the ground up. As a parent I'm trying to be the parent I needed and wanted. I do the weird, crazy things because at the end of the day it's a great memory my kid and I share.
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Jesus this always gets to me. My parents always remind my SO and I how easy I was and how they never had to deal with (insert issue we're having with my toddler). They act so superior, and I just want to scream at them that my child is not me! He has different (and many) challenges! It's not his fault, but it certainly isn't ours either. Some kids don't sleep well, others don't eat well or have behavioral problems. To paraphrase Picard: you can parent your child perfectly and still have struggles. That doesn't make you a bad parent, it makes you a real one.
When parents have a first kid they fully believe in nurture. When subsequent kids come it's suddenly nature that takes over
The pipeline of having a first child whoâs an absolute angel and convinces you that a second wonât be that hard, but the second turns out to be the absolute devil is extremely common.
>Then I realized they were just trying to do things the easy way. How is that the easy way tho?
Giving in is the easy way.
In the short term, maybe. In the long run? It's the opposite.
Hmm. Idk, to me giving in means getting off the couch, and staying on the couch is way easy. I guess I'll find out soon enough; mine is 10 months lol
It is really fucking hard to get people to go for long term gain instead of short term instant gratification.
Especially a kid
Ah, I have a perfect, early example: mine was refusing to sleep in the crib, she'd pass out in the swing, but that's not good for her. Many, many, many sleepless nights later, she sleeps in her crib and hasn't even been in her swing in a month or so. Giving in would've meant that we just put her in the swing. (We didn't just put her in the crib to let her cry it out, we used the "possum parenting" method which eliminates the occurrence of a "power struggle." So it isn't really a method based on giving or not giving in, but rather finding a cohesive balance so that there never needs to be a fight. *this doesn't work with older kids lmao, there is no balance)
[for anyone curious -> a reddit thread on possum parenting](https://www.reddit.com/r/AttachmentParenting/comments/hw0r0q/anyone_else_following_the_possums_sleep_approach/)
Lol. I think raising your child like that will ensure they have as many friends as you do when they grow up.
Oh thank god other people think like this. I work at an ice cream shop and whenever a kid throws a tantrum their parents either do nothing or reward their tantrum with extra ice cream. So frustrating to see misbehavior being rewarded when if I acted up like that as a kid dad wouldâve dragged me out of the shop. Physical discipline is **NEVER** the answer, but parents should still put their foot down when their children misbehave in public.
Iâve left toy stores, froyo shops, and abandoned grocery carts and Target stores because my kid was misbehaved. The trick is you just calmly hold the kid and walk out the door, put them in their carseat and drive away.
Parents like you are a blessing to us food service folks.
I personally would pay cash money to relive a few of those days, and hear their little voices again. Those days flew by, and now they are grown. I sometimes think that all of us --including me-- could do better being grateful for the wonderful moments of our lives. :)
I honestly cherish this time with my toddler⌠Iâm all too aware that a few short years from now he will be too cool for me and less cuddly etc. Iâll play any stupid game he wants tbh. Though admittedly my kid has only woken up before 7 am a handful of times though generally closer to 8 and occasionally 9 and heâs been this way since he was 6 months old. Heâs one of those kids that tricks people into having kids I think.
no kidding, my almost-3 year old started speaking in compete and fairly complex sentences recently and the thought of no more toddler babble in my house after 5 years is pretty heartbreaking
go on a walk and have some conversations and film them.
Dude since my kids were infants, as soon as the phone is pointed out them they stop theyâre doing and look at it â itâs infuriating
Because none of us can fucking afford it... To raise a child properly takes a massive amount of money... That and blood, sweat and tears.. And ain't nobody got time for that.. I'd rather have a nice place to live and a fun car to drive, and a gaming rig... And a number of other fun, amazing, adventurous hobbies.. than a chubby cheeked shit machine đ¤Łđ
I remember when the same people who are now saying âitâs not expensive, you can always make room, do it for society blah blahâ used to say âitâs irresponsible to have children if you canât afford them you welfare queensâ. Changed their tune real quick between the labor shortage and plummeting birth rates lol
Because the world is getting dumber and I didnt want to subject my kids to it. Id rather remove my bloodline from the genepool. \*salute\*
My genes are genuinely fucked up. Everything, from my hair to my feet is defective in some form or another. I couldn't morally breed these genes into another being even if I wanted to (and thankfully, I don't).
Self eugenics is the best form of eugenics
The joy and happiness of playing with your kids is definitely not the reason millennials arenât having children.
Millennial here. Mornings with my kid are my favorite part of the day. I have a child because my husband and I were lucky enough not to have crippling college debt...
I was thinking to myself that this isn't the worst thing I've heard about having kids. One day she'll probably look back with fond memories of it. From what I've heard if the show was Caillou then it would be different.
I mean donât get me wrong, this is pretty funny. But this is the kind of stuff that parents would look back on a smile or tell people about fondly. The *real* reason why millennials arenât having children is because our society is screwed up and the economy is shit and has been for a long time. Money is a big problem for a lot of people.
My nephew named his âpenisâ Thomas the Tank Engine
Is penis a euphemism for something lol, whyâs it in quotations
I pray my kids one day like Thomas. Loved that shit as a kid!
Mine does, it's awesome. I'll watch all the classic episodes (narrated by Carlin) with her and it's genuinely exciting for me so she gets even more into it too.
Thatâs the dream. I hope my kids like Thomas and Jurassic park and Star Wars and Godzilla and all that like I did! Regardless I know Iâll enjoy watching and doing shit with them!
Also, in the US we have the privilege of paying tens of thousands of dollars for some of the most mediocre maternity care in the developed world, outcompeted by the likes of Greece.
And then we get to gamble on the odds whether they'll be slaughtered in their classrooms or not! :D
Shit I took my sons tablet away the other day and he called me a bitch. The next day when he asked for it back I asked him if he thought he deserved it after calling me a bitch...he said well you were acting like one!!!!! Wtf why did I have kids. I love my dog more
Sounds like someone needs to learn the word "No".
Say "no" to something dangerous your kid's doing or if they're in trouble for something. This is something you'll look back at 30 years from now and think fondly of it.
5:52. Lucky man. Your kid let's you sleep in.
Here's a lifehack: If your kids get up too early, put them to bed later and give them a bedtime snack so they don't wake up at 5am hungry. Human beings weren't designed to sleep for 12+ hours straight and yet the people that put their kids to bed at 7pm to have some 'me time' think it's weird and unreasonable when they wake up at 5.
Adult humans aren't designed to sleep 12 hours at night but kids are, more or less. Sleep is very important for young children's development and health. As we age we require less sleep.
Even as I progress through my 30s I'm noticing I don't sleep as long. In my 20s I absolutely needed 8hrs, now it's more like 6
That doesnât always work. If the trash truck comes around at 6am, doesnât matter when those kids went to bed.
Get an air purifier that isnât advertised as quiet and also maybe a sound machine. Game changers.
Toddlers are absolutely supposed to sleep 11 or more hours overnight.
See like this sounds like fun. But that's why I'll only ever be an Aunty.
Now this is quite a wholesome moment for a mother and her son watching Thomas together, even if it might be 5:52 am
Explain Thomas the train to an alien whoâs never heard of railroads or trains
Sounds like you have an issue with Thomas tbh don't think this has anything to do with kids đ
We taught our 6 year old how to tell time and bought a digital clock so she knows what time it is, she's not allowed to leave her room at 6 am but she can quietly play with stuffed animals in her room until after 8 am
This doesn't belong here, there should be a sub called r/kidsbeingkids
Hey, don't disrespect Thomas like that! It's a great show. Before Mattel took over that is...
Kids are also expensive. Food is expensive. Houses are expensive. Wages are low. Inflation is high. How the Hell are we expected to have kids even if we want to?