u/HamsterBanana14

Weird title, but let me explain. My husband grew up with a hoarder who was and still is an absolute slob. I grew up with a neurotic OCD clean freak. Neither of us are a direct replica of our environment, but we do lean towards he’s messier, I’m cleaner.

I would say our home is moderately clean. There’s toys and clothes around, but I try not to let it get filthy dirty. How does everyone teach their kids to value a clean house, clean bedrooms, etc without being too over the top? We nag for them to pick up, but we also let a lot slide. What are your expectations of your children? Mine are 5 and 7 for reference.

This might sound stupid, but I truly don’t know what’s reasonable.

Edit: holy hell, some of these comments have gotten really nasty. Please be nice to each other. To clarify, we invite our neighbors over all the time. It’s not really reciprocated and that’s a bummer. I don’t especially care that they’re homeschooling, but I’m sad they don’t go to the same school as my kids. It’s a shared experience and community thing that’s just not happening, which is too bad because our kids get along and we live next door.

Our neighbors who have kids the same age as mine have chosen to homeschool. I’ll try to keep my feelings on homeschooling neutral, but damn, does it ever bum me out that our kids won’t be walking to school together, sharing the same friends, etc.

I so wish they were part of the community instead of being so insular. They seem to only do things with homeschool group and our kids don’t really play together much - just talk over the fence. I know they could be best friends if given the chance.

Just feeling sad. Thanks for listening.

We are in one of the best school districts in California and our neighborhood elementary school is unfortunately the “worst” in the bunch. Ex: every other school is a 10 and this one is rated a 6. We chose to send our kids here because it’s walking distance and they can be part of the local community. They are also exposed to more diversity.

I don’t think my kids will receive a “bad” education here, but it definitely feels weird to actively not choose the “best” thing for our kids. We could easily transfer to any other school, and it seems like lots of the ‘smarter’ kids keep leaving.

Am I being a lazy mom or do you think the community and convenience aspects are just as important?

I know many Americans flock to Florida, the Gulf Coast or Mexico for vacation and thats considered fairly affordable. Is going to Hawaii considered a luxury or an extravagant trip?

I've been to Tokyo a few times, but my next trip it's all about the kids. We are visiting the first week of August and prioritizing indoor activities like Kidzania, Teamlabs, Legoland Discovery, malls, etc (with the exception of Disney being outside).

I keep gravitating towards Odaiba and Ariake, but everything I read about those areas tells me they suck. I'd love real recommendations on an area that has easy transportation to Toyosu with minimal walking. My kids are 5 and 7 and I know the heat is going to be difficult.

Edit- why am I getting downvoted for asking for advice? Is it because of my itinerary? The kids? I said something sucked? (Direct quote from many other redditors)

I take my kids on international trips fairly regularly (3-4 times per year). My MIL and my grandmother love to make comments about the kids not getting anything out of it, what’s the point, you travel too much, etc. I laugh it off and just attribute it to their age and generation, but I’m just curious if anyone else gets judged for their vacations.

And yes, while my kids are fairly young, they learn and remember so much from our travels.

Disclaimer- before everyone gets all pissy about us being privileged, I work for an airline and our airfare ranges from free - a couple hundred bucks RT. We are very budget minded as well.

Currently traveling around the UK right now in our 3rd stop, and none of the places we’ve stayed thus far have had black out shades or at least curtains dark enough to make a room dark enough for sleep.

I’ve traveled pretty extensively in northern countries during the peak of summer and most if not all have had black out shades. What gives?

Also to add, what’s up with not providing a top sheet? Every hotel in the US offers top and bottom sheets. All we’ve been given is a bottom sheet and a hot hot hot duvet.

We let the kids go balls to the wall no limits with screen time during their downtime on vacation. Mom and dad want to sleep in? Cool, here’s an iPad. Long day out sightseeing? Watch TV until dinner.

Or kids are 5 and 7, so they can’t handle a full day out. Obviously we can’t pack our entire house, so iPads and TV fill in the gaps.

How do you manage downtime / screen time on vacation?

Edit: in our house our kids rarely get their iPads and TV is reserved for the weekend.

I’m a flight attendant coming to Reykjavik for a 24hr layover and I’m considering renting a car. How much of a pain will it be to find and pay for parking in the downtown area?

I’ve visited the city before and I just want to do some exploring within a couple of hours. Parking will be for overnight (probably 10pm to 8am)

Dealing with older folks is so hard. How do you not get frustrated when they steamroll over everything you say and continue to drone on and on, just repeating themselves over and over? My grandmother is 94 and has suddenly gotten worse over the past year. I know she’s lucky to have been so competent until now, but it’s my turn to take over some of her affairs and it’s proving to be a nightmare. She’s distrustful of lawyers, upset by the costs to amend her trust, doesn’t remember why we made an appointment, etc.

How do you stay calm when someone wont listen to you and continues to tell you they have more experience? Tack on the memory issues and Im practically steaming out the ears. And for everyone who says we should have done this earlier, you cant take control when someone wont grant you permission.

Why are people horrified when others call out bad behavior? I have no problem being politely confrontational about rudeness.

We are going to Friday Tankfest this year with our 5 and 7yo. Any tips for families? We're visiting the UK from abroad, so we won't have access to folding chairs.

Update: we scored matinee tickets to Matilda for £30 ea. Looks to be pretty good seats in the upper circle. Thank you all for your input! We are so excited to see the show.

Visiting London next month and I'd love to give my kids (5, 7) a theatre experience, but I'm not sure it'll be worth upwards of $200 USD for 4 people (IMO this is pricey as we are not hardcore "theatre people"). Parents who have taken their kids, did your children enjoy the experience? Do you recommend waiting until they are older or would you say it was worth it?

Sadly we wont be in town for Paddington or The Gruffalo, but we are eyeing My Neighbor Totoro.

I’m part of a Facebook group geared towards linking families to local nannies and the comments get out of control, nasty, entitled, just plain awful. I have never been a nanny or hired one (although we considered it at one point), so I’m curious to hear what your experience has been.

Why does it seem like there is always an accident on 85? 😖😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Update: the school ended up calling me because he still hadn’t calmed down after an hour. I went and got him because it’s not fair to the teacher nor my kid, who is a bit atypical in the emotions department. People have bad days, even kids. 🤷🏼‍♀️

My 5 year old is having a horrible morning. Woke up in a bad mood, absolutely lost it when I went to drop him off. Clinging to me, screaming, etc. The school encouraged me to leave and let them deal with it, which I agreed to.

How do we find the balance between setting boundaries - “you need to go to school and you can’t get your way by acting like this” and being empathetic to a kid having a shitty, emotional day?

This is so hard.