u/MainSea3985

My wife and I have a 4-year-old daughter and we've decided we're not going to have another child. There are a few reasons, but ultimately we know that one child is what we can manage and what is right for our family.

Neither of us are only children ourselves. We both have siblings, although interestingly neither of us is particularly close with them, so we're very aware that having a sibling doesn't automatically mean having a lifelong best friend. Still, every once in a while I wonder about our daughter.

Today was one of those days. It was raining, my wife and I were exhausted, and our daughter really wanted someone to play with. She seemed bored, and I found myself thinking about how different that moment might have been if she had a sibling around.

She has friends and plenty of opportunities to socialize, so I'm not worried about her growing up without other kids around.

If you grew up as an only child, did you wish you'd had a sibling? Did you ever resent your parents for not having another child? And now that you're an adult, how do you feel about being an only child?

I was by the Wendy's in North Oshawa and noticed this "We're hiring" notice on their door. Unfortunately, there are no details on how to apply, but maybe just walking in with a resume will work? Wanted to post this regardless since I know it might help someone looking for work.

It's in the same plaza as Canadian Brewhouse - 2640 Simcoe Street North.

https://preview.redd.it/qg9v8uyfk7ih1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e55aec964a0317c3f108c52563ce12d231d867f

If you're a dad in Durham and want to come out to a playground + splash pad meetup with your kid(s) this Sunday morning, a few of us are meeting at Folkstone Park in Whitby at 9:30am.

This is our second playground meetup after our first one back in June. We had 5 dads come out to that one, and hopefully a few more this time.

If you're free, come by and say hi!

Hi everyone,

I'm a complete car noob, so I'd really appreciate some advice.

I have a 2021 Toyota RAV4 with about 80,000 km on it. I took it to the Toyota dealership for routine service today, and they recommended replacing all four brakes. The inspection report says the front brakes are at 3 mm and the rear are at 2 mm, and they quoted me $1,417 CAD + tax.

A few questions:

• Does the recommendation sound reasonable based on the measurements?
• Is $1,417 + tax a fair price, or is that typical dealership pricing?
• What would you expect an independent shop to charge for the same work?

I'm planning to get a couple of quotes from local mechanics, but I wanted to get some opinions first.

Thanks!

EDIT: Added pic of report for more context

https://preview.redd.it/b3xbz71mlshh1.jpg?width=493&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f9c0ce3144cd5f1ee6c83234c3ba4c1642b7d48

I love those songs. My favourites are Martha my Dear and Honey Pie.

Hi everyone.

I want to start swimming again and am looking for options. I looked up pools in community centers but it looks like there are only specific times you can swim there, so I'm leaning towards getting a gym membership and just using the pool.

Are there any gyms you'd recommend for this, or are they all pretty much the same? I live in North Oshawa, so preferably looking for something in Oshawa or Whitby. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

My wife and I didn't grow up in Canada, so we're not really sure what the norm is here.

Our daughter is 4 and will be starting Junior Kindergarten in September. Every couple of years we travel back to our home country during the winter to visit her grandparents and the rest of our family. This time, though, going in February would mean she'd miss almost a full month of school.

Would that generally be considered a big issue? I'm wondering both from the school's perspective and whether missing that much JK could affect her development or make it harder for her socially or academically.

For parents who've been through JK, what would you recommend?

Hi everyone and happy Sunday!

As some of you know, I run Durham Dads Club, a community for dads across Durham Region. We've hosted a mix of dads-only events and dad & kid meetups over the past few months.

I wanted to let you all know that Brews & Braids is back on Saturday, August 29 (6:00–9:00 PM) at Tilted Glass Brewing Co. in Bowmanville, hosted in collaboration with Mommy Connections Durham!

The idea is simple: get a bunch of dads together in a relaxed setting, have a beer, meet other local dads, and learn some basic hairstyling skills on mannequins. Whether you're a girl dad or a boy dad, everyone's welcome. 🙂

Your ticket includes:

• 🍽️ Catered food
• 💇 Hands-on hairstyling instruction from professional stylists
• 👨‍👧 Practice on mannequins
• 🍻 A fun evening with other local dads

We had 40 dads at the first event in May, and we're hoping to see some familiar faces along with plenty of new ones. We also took feedback from the first event, so this time we've booked a private venue and will have more mannequins so everyone gets more hands-on practice.

Link to register is here, I'm happy to answer any questions! https://mommyconnections.ca/durham/product/dads-night-out-brews-braids-saturday-august-29-6pm-9pm-tilted-brewing-co/

If you'd like to follow us on Instagram, you can do that here https://www.instagram.com/durhamdadsclub/

Hi everyone! Looks like Country Collective Market in Courtice is hiring Community Ambassadors (ages 14+).

I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but I know there are quite a few local teens (and parents of teens) in this community, so I thought I'd share in case it's helpful.

More details here https://www.instagram.com/p/DbeUiiExOio/

Hi everyone,

I dislocated my shoulder about 6 months ago and did physio for a few weeks, but stopped once I started feeling better. I’d now like to get back into it since I stopped too quickly in hindsight.

I’m a bit embarrassed to return to the same physiotherapist after disappearing, so I’m looking for recommendations for someone in Oshawa or Whitby. Would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a dad to a 4 year-old girl in Oshawa, and I started Durham Dads Club about two months ago as a way for local fathers to connect through things like playground meetups, coffee, family-friendly activities, and social activities just for dads around Durham.

My wife is part of a couple of mom groups, and I always wondered why there wasn’t something similar for dads, so I decided to start it myself.

There has been some early interest. We have a WhatsApp group with around 40 people and an Instagram account with around 200 followers. We also ran a Brews and Braids event in late May, which was a hairstyling session for dads inspired by the Pints and Ponytails event in the UK. I’m also planning a playground meetup this Saturday at McKinney Park, and there is an indoor soccer event for dads and kids in the works for mid-July with Mini Mavericks in Pickering.

The part I’m finding harder is building consistent momentum and getting more dads actively involved. I’m good at coming up with ideas, organizing, planning, and getting things started, but I think this would work better with another local dad helping shape it because I’ve realized I’m not the strongest person for every part of it.

I’m especially looking for someone who is stronger on the people side of things. Someone who enjoys promoting events, talking to people, getting people interested, helping run events with me, and making it feel easier for other dads to show up and get involved.

Just to be clear, this is not a business and I am not trying to make money from it. I just think it would be good to have a simple way for local dads to connect.

If you’re a dad in Durham and this sounds interesting, send me a message or comment here and I can reach out.

Hi everyone, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there :)

My 4 year-old daughter is interested in skating, and I'm looking to put her in lessons. I don't know where to start though- I only moved to Canada as an adult in my late 20s, don't know how to skate (yet) and not sure how it all works.

First, is she too young to start? What kind of program should she join? I'm not sure if she just wants to skate for now, or eventually play hockey, but I imagine that is not important at this stage. Should she start on synthetic ice first? And of course, are there any centers/schools you'd recommend? Looking anywhere between Pickering-Oshawa.

I know there were a lot of questions in there, so I apologize haha. Just want to make sure I get things right. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I'm helping organize an event with Mini Mavericks in Pickering for an event called Kickin’ It With Dad on Sunday, July 12 from 3–5 PM.

It’s for dads and kids ages 3–8 and will include:

• A coached indoor soccer session
• Soccer-themed arts and crafts
• Pizza
• Time for dads to meet and connect

Location: Mini Mavericks, 1735 Bayly St #13, Pickering
Cost: $25 per dad + child, plus $15 for each additional sibling

Registration link: https://app.minimavericks.ca/programs/cbdb1004-b931-4361-b804-d15b1a7df3bf

Happy to answer any questions!

Hi everyone.

I posted last week about a dad and kids playground meetup on June 14 (tomorrow) in Whitby. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is calling for rain tomorrow morning, so this event is now postponed.

I will reschedule this, likely for the weekend of June 27, but will post once I have a new date ready. Thank you!

As the title says, I'm looking for tennis lessons in Durham for the summer. I'm 37 years old and played a lot as a child, right up until about 15 years ago. I've restarted in the past 3-4 years, but I'm terrible and seem to have lost all my form and skills.

Seen a lot of tennis lessons about for children, but are there any specifically for adults? I'd also be willing to pay more for 1-1 lessons. Just looking for some help to get back to a reasonably adequate level.

Thanks!

Bit of an ironic question from me since I've been trying to organize dads' meetups across Durham, yet here I am wondering how people actually make friends with the families living right next door.

We live in a townhouse complex in North Oshawa and there are probably 10+ households around us with kids. My daughter is 4. Some of the kids seem a bit older (7-8ish), but there are definitely a few around her age too.

Everyone seems nice enough and we do the usual wave and small talk, but we've never really gotten beyond that. I'd love for my daughter to have some neighbourhood friends she can just knock on the door and play with, the way a lot of us did growing up.

For those of you who have managed to make friends with other families in your neighbourhood, how did it happen?

Did you just introduce yourselves? Invite people over? Organize something for the kids? Would it be weird to host a small summer get-together and invite a few families?

Curious to hear what's worked for others.