Struggling with decision on whether to become a father or not. Advice

My partner(F32) of 2 years wants to know if I (M38) want kids soon - I'm really struggling with the decision.ConsI love my alone time, am easily upset if I can't control my environment and have spent much time and effort getting my job into a position where i can take downtime whenever I need to.I'm less keen still on the idea of getting married. But maybe we live in modern times and this isn't a deal breaker.I was looking forward to semi-retiring early, but having a kid would put quite a dent in these plans.I don't find natural enjoyment from family, be it christmas or time with nephews. I'd much rather just be independent. I find spending time with nephews etc quite difficult.I don't like the idea of a child feeling a burdon of responsibility in my old age.There is a history of ADHD and mild Schizophrenia in the family. I worry about heritabilty, and my ability to cope with learning disabilites in the child I think would be probably below average.ProsI feel like I will be missing out on a huge part of life and connection to humanity that will deprive me of a richer life experience.by choice I’m super introverted and a home body. Don’t socialise much, so I have the time.i feel like I have been quite successful in eliminating stress and responsibility from my daily life, to the extent that I feel that perhaps I have some capacity to take a bit of extra suffering on board.I don't have any alternative plans for what to do with the time. I would just drift and watch life go by.I don't feel like it is very likely i will have this opportunity again.i do find raising puppies fun and find toddlers pretty funny. Teenagers scare the life out of me though.Any comments of any kind most appreciated. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2EwTB9v

Parents who limit screen time: How and why?

I'm a newish mother. My son will be one this weekend. My husband and I grew up with TVs constantly running and the background and unlimited access to technology. My use of technology was a little greater than his. I got my first computer at 3, owned every game system and didn't go outside until I was in middle. Our TV is on 24/7. My son has few little interest in TV. He'll look at it once every 30 minutes or so for a minute, but I worry about the constant simulation. He often gets very overwhelmed to point were I have to take him into a fairly empty room and place one toy in front of him until he calms down. My husband and I want to cut back on mindless media consumption but I have no idea where to start. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2Ewbrte

What do you do when your child hates the family dog...

My daughter really is a loving child. She loves all animals and especially loves other peoples dogs. But when it comes to ours, she hates her. She constantly locks her in her kennel. She’ll tell her to go in her kennel when we’re not around and when we ask her why she’s picked up it’s always ‘she was being bad’. And our dog always listens. She’s a great dog but she listens to our daughter more than me sometimes.Now our dog came before the child and when we brought our daughter home the dog was....indifferent. It took awhile but then Stella (the dog) loved being around my daughter. And is so sweet to her. But my daughter is such a butt. She’ll lock her up in the kennel, hit her when she won’t leave her alone, pull her tail to get the dog to leave, yell at her, give her food then cry and pick her up.We’ve tried to make her see that Stella’s apart of our family and we treat everyone the same but she wants nothing of it. And it’s ONLY our pup. We went to my grandmothers this passed weekend and my daughter played with their pup and had so much fun. But when I mention Stella back home she said ‘I no like Stella’ and walked away.I dont want to get rid of Stella. But it’s becoming more of an issue and I don’t know what I should do to get my daughter to be nice. She truly is a loving child. Anyone else’s pets she’s so nice and gentle. Ours got the short end of the stick. I should also add she was a rescue and has been skittish since day one. If my fiancé walks to her with boots on she freaks out. Or if I go to pet her she bows down in defense. It’s something shes never outgrown and probably has gotten a little worse since my daughter learned to walk. Any advice is appreciated. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2rXYoy3

How to discuss parent on life support to pre-teen and teen daughters

R/parenting, I need your help... My wife has had a serious illness for 10+ years and is periodically hospitalized. When talking with our daughters, she’s always brushed off her hospital visits so our daughters don’t worry much about the next one. Well she’s in the hospital again but it’s much more serious this time. She’s currently unresponsive and on life support - lack of O2 to the brain for an extended time. We’re still waiting for more info from the doctors, but the test results look very bad. Every conversation with the hospital staff starts with questions about her wishes re: resuscitation and whether to pursue quality of life (pain meds) vs life extension. Palliative and hospice staff keep checking in.Our daughters (16 and 9) haven’t been to the hospital to see her yet (they know she has the flu and needs to rest in the hospital). I want to take them to see her today, but I need to prep them for what they will see (eg, ventilator) and explain that she’s still “sleeping”. I don’t think I will share the prognosis yet as there’s still a lot of uncertainty and it will create a lot of worry and stress. I would really appreciate advice from people who have been through something similar (or have relevant training). Good and bad experiences (what to do and not to do) will be helpful.Because the doctors keep raising the question about life support and life saving measures, I would also appreciate advice on how/when to discuss with our daughters their mom’s wishes for no extraordinary life saving measures and, if the time comes, removal of life support.Thank you all so much. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2GDxuPa

Opening a Parent focused coffeeshop with baby area

I Had A Baby At 40 And It Was Awesome

This is a story that I wrote about having had a baby at 40. I hope it brings hope or a new perspective to anyone out there who is thinking of having a baby in your later years. A doctor called me a "Geriatric mother"--it's a real term!http://ift.tt/2GCJWPt via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2rZbATi

Sometimes its best to let things play out

Figured i'd share a funny story that occurred a while ago. While we were at my inlaws holiday party the adults were chatting and the kids were playing and my 6 month old daughter was in the bouncer gnawing on her giraffe. My niece (~2yo) decided she wanted to take the giraffe from my daughter (my niece seems to think of my daughter like a doll) , as i keep having to play "mean uncle" throughout the day i figured i'd watch this play out and hope her parents would step in or i would if it got bad. So my niece decides to start pulling it away but my daughter has it clamped in her hand and wont let go. The niece keeps pulling and pulling and putting her weight into it while my daughter gives her a look of "why the heck do you want it?". Then i swear my daughter gets a devilish look, and you could see the thought pop into her head of "if you really want it that badly" and just as my niece leans back to pull she lets go of it sending my niece falling backwards onto her butt. Which of course got her parents attention who wound up asking her why she took the giraffe.i kept myself from laughing but at home the wife and i had a good laugh out of it. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2EuapOk