u/P-u-m-p-t-i-n-i

I have 2 toddlers, a daughter who is 3 later this month and a son who is 18 months. They both share a room and once they're both asleep (for the most part) they sleep through.

The issue is, before our son was born we were able to teach our daughter to fall asleep independently. Of course it didn't happen straight away but eventually the penny dropped and she's been able to do so since and goes to bed at 7.30-8pm.

Because the kids share a room, we get our son to bed in our room at 8pm and then transfer him over to his cot at around 8.30pm and then that's them done for the night.

Does anybody have any advice as to how on earth we can get our son to fall asleep independently without disturbing his sister especially as she goes to sleep earlier than him.

Thanks!!

I have 2 kids, a 1.5 year old and a nearly 3 year old. Every morning no matter what time they wake up, we bring them into our bed with a few toys and books then we just chat, play and sing a few songs etc.

If it's the weekends we watch some kids shows like the Teletubbies, Mr Tumble or The Wiggles as a treat and have a lazy morning until we have breakfast at around 9ish. The only time we don't do that is if they've slept later than usual so we wake them up.

I seen a Tik Tok of an influencer whose child was up at 5.30am and they both went downstairs into the living room. Maybe it's just me but I love staying in bed as long as possible so going into the living room that early sounds hellish to me 😅 Just out of pure curiosity, what does everybody else do?

This season I have never seen an audience so divided in their opinions between Janet and Jason vs Nia and Danny. Of course everybody thinks their opinion is right but it really seems that you're either firmly in Janet's corner or you're firmly in Nia's corner.

Following the news that Nia and Danny aren't returning the comments for hatred towards Janet have been wild. Can anyone else remember a storyline/situation that had the fanbase so divided??

Hi everyone, I would love it if anyone could share advice on what to do and how to approach my daughter's upcoming birthday in October. I have never thrown a kids party before and feeling very out of my depth - it doesn't help that I'm a huge over-thinker too.

My daughter has asked or spoken about having a birthday party at soft play pretty much everyday for the past 3-4 months. We've said yes and she's picked which soft play she wants to go to and the minimum for the party is 15 kids and the maximum is 20 kids. Between family, family friends and a small group of nursery friends we've hit a guest list of 24.

Here are my questions that I would love opinions on:

Should I invite all 24 in the next few weeks (mid September) and hope that 4 kids say no or am I best inviting in batches (eg family first and then so on)?

With the party being at soft play where the kids will be fed, would you as a parent expect food and drinks too? Is it cheeky/stingy to only feed the kids and not the adults? I don't mind either way but not sure what the standard/expectation is. Soft play say they do adult platters.

My daughter's birthday actually falls on a Friday which is a nursery day, is it wrong to send her in on her birthday despite her birthday party being the next day? The last two birthdays I've taken the day off work and we've done something as a family but I was thinking of sending her in as normal and send in cake for her friends.

Finally even though she's spoken about having a party at soft play I'm a bit worried that she won't actually enjoy having a party. She is an introverted, shy and reserved little girl who does not like loads of attention. She's amazing with her family and friends and so loud and bubbly in "safe spaces" but when there's loads of people around she goes quite quiet. I'm just conscious about bringing so many different groups of people together in one space it might be a bit overwhelming for her. We didn't throw a party for her 1st or 2nd birthday as we knew she would've hated it. She's grown in confidence so much in the past few months but I obviously want her to have the best day but half of me is wondering if we as a family (her, brother and grandparents) go to soft play and bring a cake and call that a party instead.

Sorry for the long post but any advice on this would be great.

Edit - the formatting went all weird

If anyone has been on maternity leave recently, my tax calculations for the year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 have been calculated and I've overpaid for the year.

Ive just submitted my refund and should have £200 in my account in the next 5 working days. Make sure you check yours!!

I have a 2.5 year old daughter and a 1 year old son and I've just gone back to work about 5 or 6 weeks ago following my second maternity leave ending.

I feel like the first few weeks back in work was just a novelty and we were getting into the swing of things but now it's like reality has set in and it's just so fucking hard. I feel like I never stop and I don't know when it'll ever let up. I do 4 days a week (2 days at home and 2 days in the office) but those days feel like the closest I have to a break compared to the 3 days at home.

My daughter can throw a tantrum at the drop of a hat. Before she's even asked for something she already starts crying and screaming and can take a while to even get to the bottom of what she's asking for. My son just doesn't keep still. He needs constant monitoring and supervision, you turn your back for 3 seconds and he's climbing the walls, it's absolutely exhausting.

During the week their time is split between nursery, my mum and in laws. I try and confide in them about their behaviour but all I get is confusion and vacant looks as none of them have even seen a tantrum or a fight or a toe out of place. It's like all of their acting out is reserved for home. On Saturday (I'm not even exaggerating) but all they did was scream and shout and cry from the moment they woke up until they went to bed. I went to bed myself in tears because I just can't handle the behaviour. I want to be the best mum I can be but it's just so hard sometimes.

The pair of them don't stop fighting. They bicker and argue and fight over anything and everything, by the time they go to bed I feel like I've been run over and have nothing left. On the days we're at home I try to balance our time between activities and down time but it feels like nothing is ever right. We try and chill at home and they both act like Tasmanian devils but when we go out there's always an issue when it comes to leaving/ending the activity.

I know it's all a phase and they'll grow out of it but it's still just so hard in the moment. I am just exhausted. Also to add my husband is right with me going through this so it's not like it's all down to me. We're both shattered 🤣

I have 2 kids, a daughter who's 2.5 years old and a son who has just turned 1 year old. In every sense they are polar opposite.

From newborn until around 10 months, my son was the most calm and chill little boy. He was so content and just was happy. As soon as he started walking at 11 months it's like his whole personality has flipped. I love him dearly but he can only be described as having the personality of Godzilla.

From the moment he wakes up, he does not stop for a single second. He doesn't want to be held, he just wants to go. If you take your eye off of him for less than 3 seconds, you'll find him climbing up the curtains or trying to swing off the doors. I feel more tired than when he was a newborn just constantly trying to keep up with him.

He has 1 x 30 minute nap a day and that's it. He wakes up at 6.30am and is non-stop until 7.30pm when he sleeps. The only time he's ever quiet is when he's being fed and then he screams bloody murder when his food is done.

I don't want to say my daughter is an angel as we've definitely been going through it with the terrible two tantrums but in comparison she's just so calm and still 😅 when she was 1 we could happily go for coffee and she'd have the time of her life, if I took my son he'd be diving head first over the counter!

Anyone who has children with a similar temperament, do they ever start to chill out a little bit or is this it now until he moves out?