Caution: Rant

First off, let me preface this diatribe by suggesting my target audience might better be found in r/childfree. Anyway, I have a 6month old. In the last week I have had two conversations with two different people, which neither one has children. Both times my conversations (1 phone and 1 in-person) and/or timing have worn out my 6 month old's patience/hunger/nap time/ whatever - he's done. He starts getting fussy. Because I'm his mom and although I like having an adult conversation, I also know what's coming down the pike if I push my luck.So I politely say, "El Niño is getting fussy- I'll have to talk to you later". They keep talking. Son starts getting louder and more insistent. They keep talking. I say, "So and So, I've really got to go." They keep talking. By this time my kid is screaming and trying his best impersonation of a gymnastic backflip out of my arms.The first time I just walked out and earlier just hung up. I know they can hear/see him. Am I crazy? I feel like the onus of social consideration is on them if I've tried to politely excuse myself. Maybe they're not bothered by a screaming kid, but I am. Especially when the little stinker is my screaming kid. I have a 4yo who I expect a little better modicum of patience, but this little guy is only 6 months old. What the hell? Before I had kids I was more considerate than this. Because who's seriously ok watching a child flip out when there's no critical reason to do so?Ok. Rant over. Phew. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2c1P684

Religion and In-Laws

My mother-in-law and her husband are fantastic grandparents, and take our two and a half year old son for overnights about once a month. It's wonderful for us, and our son loves visiting them. They also respect us as parents, but like all grandparents, they don't always ask first about everything we might have an opinion on. I've decided to let things like flavored milk and ice cream at lunch go. But I'm having a hard time deciding how to handle this bigger issue.My in-laws' life is focused on their church. My husband and I are not religious - I'm half Jewish (culturally!) with no religious experience in my upbringing, and my husband went to church some growing up but doesn't believe in God. Church is something my MIL came to after her divorce, and her community is almost entirely church-centered. But she's never been pushy about her religion, her beliefs, or asked about our son's religious upbringing. So I was somewhat taken aback when I picked my son up on a Sunday and my MIL started gushing about how cute the ladies at the church nursery thought he was, and how much he loved playing with the toys there.There's two issues here:1) I am uncomfortable with my son being supervised by people I haven't met when I thought he was being cared for by his grandparents. 2) I am uncomfortable with his grandparents taking him to church without asking us about it.I'm not anti-church, and I know that ultimately, my son will make his own choices in life when it comes to religion and spirituality. But I worry that it's a slippery slope to have him default tag along with his grandparents on a Sunday. I worry he'll be indoctrinated into a belief system that conflicts with our own before he's equipped to ask the larger questions. The scary thing has been that it's so hard to articulate why I don't want him to go, and my husband doesn't necessarily see anything wrong with it. He sees and agrees with my perspective, but he's not going to be the one to talk to his mom about it.We just had another Saturday overnight (having forgotten this issue and excited for a date night, I guess?) and again, my MIL gushed about the cuteness present in church this week. I brought up that I was uncomfortable with not having met or vetted the childcare providers - just as I would be if she hired a babysitter for my son and went out without letting me know (not that she would ever do that). I told her that if she and her husband both wanted to go to church, I would pick him up before they went. She said okay, but I realized during that conversation that the bigger religion talk was something I didn't even want to broach.Long story, but really looking for thoughts, advice, and experience from parents who are accepting of religion but not religious themselves. What's your action and reasoning when it comes to family, and how do you articulate your position to them? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2bvA2Dm

How do I (21F) make friends at a new college in a new town when I have a daughter(1F)?

*I posted this in relationships but they removed it and told me to post here.I recently moved to a new city to transfer to a new college. I came specifically for a sports team. School has only been in session for a week, but it's obvious to see that the girls on the team are already forming cliques and making friends with each other. There is one girl on my team that went to high school with me in another state, so I thought she would want to hang out but it seems she's more interested in hanging out with the other girls.I'm assuming this has to do with the fact that I have a one-year-old daughter, however I have a very reliable daycare that allows me to drop her off at any time even with short notice, so it's not like I can't go out.An example is yesterday our school had its first football game. I asked the girl from my high school if she wanted to go together and she said she would probably be there. When I arrived she was sitting with five of our teammates that I didn't know would be there. I ended up sitting with them, and when we all left at halftime, they walked in a very obvious group leaving me behind with my stroller. I also heard them talking to each other about getting ice cream and I was not invited.My high school friend also posted a Snapchat today of a group of them playing the sport together for fun.I am pretty shy but I do try my best to engage in conversation. I ask questions rather than focusing on myself. I'm almost to the point of tears writing this because I feel so lonely. At my last school when I got pregnant, almost every single one of my friends stopped hanging out with me.I just want someone to practice with and hang out with. How do I make friends?TL;DR: I transferred to a new school and the girls on my team don't seem to ever want to hang out. I think it's because I have a daughter, even though I can drop her at daycare whenever. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2bvIq1b

There are things no one can prepare you for

Like our 2yo's teeth brushing compulsion. We have to hide the tooth brushes because she will run the water and chew her tooth brush until the sink floods. If she can find a way to plug it, she will.Earlier she was given 3 minutes to brush her teeth, and within 30 seconds jammed her toes under the drain plug (the kind that theoretically goes up and down with the lever behind the faucet, except that's been broken since before we moved in), so I pulled it out to free her toes. When I pulled it out, it was caked in a hairball, and in the time it took me to throw that in the trash 3 feet away, kiddo managed to "drop" her toothbrush down the drain. It's one of the bigger handled ones for little kids, so it successfully clogged the whole drain.It took about 15 minutes and some ingenuity to get it out, but we did. Just kinda surprising the things you have to find out as you go. It'll be much funnier once she stops crying about her toothbrush getting thrown away. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2ckD6TJ

Daughter wants to change instruments

My daughter has been playing piano since she was 7. Although there were times when she hated it, we encouraged her to continue and she enjoyed it. She is taught by a family friend.Now she's 14 and she seems disinterested. Her sister plays guitar enthusiastically and has been teaching chords to the older. My elder daughter barely plays piano anymore except to play songs by her favorite band or to play around. Her teacher is urging her to play the classical pieces in class but my daughter doesn't want to put in the effort.She has since come up to me and said she wanted to learn how to play bass guitar. I'm thinking she won't stick with it but she is insisting. My other daughter also wants to pick up bass. I think that my elder is doing it to get more attention from dad, who has more in common with my younger daughter (likes rock music, plays a "cool" instrument) whereas my older has been into "emo" music and played piano.I think my younger daughter would be better at picking up bass because she already plays guitar while my older doesn't even know what a lot of chords are. I think my older daughter should stop trying to play an instrument that isn't for her and stick to her original instrument (which she has already been playing for half of her life!!)Any thoughts, reddit? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2bYQgCN

Anyone recognize these markings?

Not sure if this is ok for the sub, but I just wanted to ask other parents out of some minor concern. Our two sons, 8 and 6, have developed these markings.They presented about 3-4 days after we returned from a recent trip to Pennsylvania. Bumps are itchy.They they slept on two old mattresses while we were away, so we started to panic (hard) about bed bugs, but the more it progresses the more it looks like contact with poison ivy or something similar.We'll monitor and contact their pediatrician, but I wanted to get sense if this sort of marking is familiar to anyone.Any thoughts on these?Thanks via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2buX48I

I'd like to hear how different families handle sharing of toys across large age gaps...

I'm having a conflict between myself and another family regarding the way that our children interact with each other.I'll leave out too many specifics of our situation-- I'll just mention that there are an almost-3-year old and an 11-year-old involved. Conflict arises almost every time our kids are together and it's centered around toys that the toddler plays with, then briefly puts down-- then the older kid starts playing with-- then toddler immediately wants the toy back, but the older kid says no and toddler is immediately heartbroken and sobbing. It's becoming a source of tension between us because I hate seeing my child getting upset over something that (in my opinion) is an unnecessary power struggle instigated by the older child.The other parents side with their child. They think it's fine that their child does this and then won't give it back to the toddler unless she "asks nicely." I see their child as behaving like a bully on a power trip, because he doesn't have interest in any of these toys until the toddler does. They see my child as behaving like an entitled, demanding brat because she cries and gets very upset when she can't have the toy back.I don't know what to do. It's putting a strain on the relationship between the other parents and myself, and I feel awful for my child too because she gets genuinely upset and very sad about all this every time it happens. I just feel like we're almost putting her in a situation where she is destined to lose, and I hate seeing her hurt.Advice? Suggestions? Anecdotes? What are reasonable expectations for a 3 year old and 11 year old as far as sharing is concerned? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2bt9Uam