parenting

Does anybody here have any experience with the T-Mobile syncup watch 2? Any dos/donts/tips/tricks/lessons learned with regards to kids smartwatches? Please share your thoughts.

My child wanted to watch an animated green lantern series recently so we checked it out. Of course the main character who is the human green lantern is a fighter pilot who does a bunch of sweet fighter pilot flight maneuvers in the opening sequence. I told my child that shows like this often show the military being cool and doing cool stuff, but that in real life what fighter pilots actually do is drop bombs on children. I'm only human, I also enjoy (some) military action movies, but I know it's cotton candy brain poison too.

I hate how many children's shows have pro military pro cop propaganda. How do others talk to their kids about it to inoculate them against brainworms? I usually describe the military and the cops as being like a gang of bullies - they do things to make themselves look cool but really they just exist to hurt people and take their shit.

Well I've posted a few things about my family here, I don't really have a place to post elsewhere. My step son is special needs, and as a result has been developing at a slower pace than other children. This means that he's been pretty much completely uninterested in candy until this year. We'd go trick or treating because he enjoys walking around, but he never actually did anything with the candy. He was walking around just to say hi to the neighbors. But this year, he'll actually get to enjoy the candy collecting because he cares about it this year!

Also, an update to my mutual aid post yesterday. We got the drug tests covered for court, and realized he didn't have a Halloween costume. We went to the store and got him a costume from an anime he likes for $15. We wanted to make sure he didn't feel left out. We have two happy boys ready for Halloween this year, we really appreciate the help. He's adjusting really well so far.

Just wanted to say real quick, fuuuuck Pampers and Huggies. They're decent and I've been buying them ever since trying a couple worse-than-useless cheaper brands (one was Hello Bello, idk the other) scared me back into their greedy arms, but it turns out they're almost triple the price of other decent ones

If you have an Aldi near you, I'd recommend at least comparing diaper prices online, because mine carries actual diapers that absorb piss and shit unlike the worse-than-useless ones, but they're the same price as the worse-than-useless ones

Anyone who gives my kid a mini bricks model needs to be kicked in the dick. How the hell are these things popular?

The pieces are minuscule and all 500 come together in a single bag. Then the instructions are shit so you have to sit there and try to decipher what the fuck goes where, then find the tiny little fucking piece you need which will take an eternity unless you spend 40 mins sorting them. Then when you go to put it together they’re so damn small it’s impossible not to break the model unless you are an adult in a baby body. Who the fuck designed these, Benjamin Button?

By Allah whoever designed these abominations must be put to the sword. Fuck mini bricks and anyone who buys them and ESPECIALLY fuck anyone who gives one to my kid.

If so, how / why? Do you have any regrets?

My toddler is a lovely child. I spend a lot of time with them, I lovingly refer to them as my permanent companion. I cannot step outside for a cigarette without them coming out with me. No problem, but at some point I'd like to transition them to their own bed. They sleep in ours every single night, and generally sleep much better in there and for longer.

Has anyone transitioned a kid to their own bed after a long time of co sleeping? They don't fall asleep on their own yet and I lay with them until they fall asleep, but if I try in their room it's tears until we're back in the big bed.

Yesterday was supposed to be my step kiddo's first day of school, but he got a tad sick yesterday so we decided to keep him home. We sent him in for his first day of second grade today though! He's 7 and hasn't spoken yet, but he's made so much progress the past few months. He's finally figured out how to put on his own shoes and pants, he has a tablet that he watches Sarah and Duck on 24/7 (he does not watch any other show, except Nathan for you, he loves Nathan for you every once in a while for some reason) and he's recently started playing sound clips through tapping certain parts of the play bar. When he needs a diaper change it's "Duck has a wet bottom" or when he's sad, he will get on his tablet and tap on the spot on the play bar to tell us he's sad. There are multiple small examples of this he'll do throughout the day and it's just so fucking amazing to see him learning to find ways to communicate so much better before he goes into school. He hasn't quite grasped the screen talking the school does with him, but he's started doing it through his show and I'm so happy he can finally advocate for himself to anybody that can hear. I just don't want him getting bulldozed by this worls because he's not able to scream "STOP" and doesn't understand the construction signs.

Other parents can chime in, this community is quite slow so feel free to comment any rants about your kid. But I'm curious if there are any other special needs parents here?

I know it doesn't compare to how he'll feel when he's older, but being the parent of a special needs child is isolating. While everybody else's kids are learning all these new books, maybe starting extra curriculars, I'm changing diapers, potty training and teaching him how to use a fork. There's nothing wrong with how long he needs to learn these things, but other parents just can't understand being on these topics for 7 years. It makes me feel like I'm alone, and it just spirals because it reminds me of how few people he has that can truly understand his experience. I'm only 22, although I was also non-verbal until I was 4-5, I have no experience on parenting, let alone parenting a child with special needs. I'm just scared that even with the extra experience I have being a nonverbal child, I won't be able to really understand enough to show him the love he deserves.

Maybe we'll be 20 years from now, and maybe he won't be able to tell me, but I'll just realize that I didn't have enough patience for him as a kid. There would be no way to know I'm actually apologizing to him, there would be no real way to tell if I was apologizing to him for him or just selfishly apologizing to make myself feel better. Like if I end up crying while apologizing to him, he will start crying. There is no way for me to know if I made his day better or worse by talking about it with him so I just never do. Anything I do with him is, for his sake, completely permanent. How do you guys handle this feeling?

Recently turned a homeschooling friend onto the Zinn Education Project and realized we probably had some folks here that might find it useful in combatting some of the trash they're trying to shove in your kids' heads.

Besides a lot of the classic children's books (goodnight moon and stuff) I'm looking to get some left leaning children's books. Stuff with like a pro-union/anti-capitalist/anti-fascist slant. I'm also queer so LGBTQ children's books recommendations would be welcome, I didn't have anything like that when I was growing up and I probably would have appreciated it.

Bluey S03E47 Cricket 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/6ZlmSZgC#spDfR10xLGB9QtKGJsDXpkfiQFWKptSiUQuQxPfjNhQ

https://void.cat/XAxDghSu91BQQG82oFCR3E -this site seems to be broken right now.

Have a good Sunday! Enjoy!

My kid just excitedly showed this to me. He’s learning real history at home, not American Exceptionalism propaganda that he gets in school.

“Where Is the Grand Canyon?” children’s book, part of the WhoHQ series of Who? What? Where?

Some of these books in that series are fairly open to presenting radical history. We’ve also got the Che, Nikola Tesla, The Underground Railroad books.

Bluey S03E46 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/eB1mHJiR#nPYbnRfKmcEJGDLOY4ETWcIPv80ndW_X4aUciPOJ4W0

https://void.cat/HaYWPjJXpRd9zSJWY5mUpF

Happy Sunday, Comrades! Enjoy!

See title.

Bluey S03E45 TV Shop 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/rRUSETJZ#7JuDe76LihDrpy6ACbPYII94z2vkC3pp6Pkaj4Y4mEI

https://void.cat/Jofu68S9bpk8f4ivASKuKC

This one is particularly cute. Happy Sunday! :duck-dance:

Bluey S03E44 Wild Girls 720p WEB-EN.mp4

https://mega.nz/file/dnYTCTjK#DBBQH8vswtgCYbOkDhKNLlzFUAKNrVjRIu-9jP_eLag

https://void.cat/4stYKzpK5oyhePqFSXPiyP

Happy Sunday! Enjoy!

Bluey S03E43 Dragon 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/kuIQUaJb#Q5Kl5INThWMwIrgHqKPmCcjq3j7lMrvgWSUX3efxp-s

https://void.cat/2jn6xU6AYPiuSNsPofep4a

Happy Sunday, enjoy!

Everyone is really nice to me when I have my kid(s) alone. The guy at the corner store where I get my beer almost always gives a free candy bar, middle-aged women touch my arm and say "good job, dad".

My wife seemingly gets none of this, and if anything maybe some subtle judgement. Is this a universal experience?

https://mega.nz/file/6J9D3bxC#XFX92BqX5AfUESMqh8UmrL_SyJ07t6Lgeg8hrIO3Wng

https://void.cat/E7GYzK4i4rX8qnxiRYv7XW

Enjoy! :stalin-heart:

Bluey S03E41 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/WcMxRaqZ#U_VZeprIoTIxckZwrz_H_VxXtpjCWcUVv7qu9WDHPfY

https://void.cat/CKAQGkfiG2jLpAW5pxFFa4

Bluey S03E40 720p WEB-EN

https://mega.nz/file/uEdnFBAa#GVx4YMM5gTr_ZZjrzdcGko6_tRtQc1shzS667S27rGs

https://void.cat/7mHyE4sXW2QgTgN3WFWWTB

I am a firm believer in teaching children to use technology in moderation. My kids have better boundaries with their tablets than most adults I know. But then shit like this happens and it’s a good reminder that capitalists are intentionally addicting children to their platforms in order to increase their profits by a fraction of a percent.

Also, if your kid is naive enough to believe that only fellow children play Roblox, they do not have the skills needed to navigate Roblox safely and they are being unknowingly exposed to pedophiles on a regular basis.

My child is AMAB but isn't even old enough to talk let alone express an identity based on societal gender norms. That being said almost everyone we meet will refer to them with she/her pronouns until they hear the name which is typically male coded. More often than not they become very apologetic even though I don't really care at all. As I say to them "he doesn't seem to mind either way" with a smile.

This has me thinking, however, about how to handle this situation in a way that, when old enough to understand, shows my child that they get to decide how to be referred to, not other people.

Any thoughts or opinions?