u/QuiltedBaker25

I'm thinking to try a new strategy with my kids where I have CLEAR, OUTLINED, written and posted (with images bc they're too young to read) rules for our home that if you break them you get consequences (time-out, lose screen time, something). We've always given consequences when our kids cross the line but I feel like maybe to them it has seemed out of the blue occasionally, like they couldn't understand why they're in trouble. And while we follow the version of timeout where you start it with a quick "you did xyz so you're in timeout for x minutes" and end it with a discussion and future action plan, I feel like if they knew EXACTLY all the things we would give them timeout for that maybe it would happen less often. They're amazing kids but our home hasn't always been the best with consistency and clear boundaries. Obviously, this whole thing is an ongoing discussion between my husband and I, but I want y'alls input too.

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What are some basic household rules you have in your home or you've heard of from others that seem like a good idea?

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The only obvious one I can think of that we'll be having is gentle hands/feet/mouths. And something about staying inside the gates.

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This is coming up because we are approaching summer vacation and I will be home alone with my 4mo, 4yr and 5yr kids all summer. I'm looking to add more structure to our home to manage them being home so much more, so we can enjoy our time together instead of just survive it.

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Update: thank you to everyone who commented so far. Lots of you reminded me that encouraging positive behavior works a lot better than discouraging negative behavior! I know my child has been flourishing in that structure at school and I have no idea why that wasn't the first thing I thought to implement 🤦🏻‍♀️

Additionally, thanks to everyone who reminded me kids will always find the loophole.

I have a 5 year old boy who is very active and sometimes aggressive. I obviously want to teach him to not hurt people and to use his words, not his hands. The problem is that I have trouble modeling this when I get hurt.

This morning he deliberately smacked my smoothie cup and the straw cut my lip. Immediately, without thinking, my hand went out and hit him. It wasn't hard (thank Gd) but when he moved back he tripped over something and fell. I felt absolutely AWFUL AND TERRIBLE. I comforted him and apologized and we hugged it out. But this isn't the kind of parent I want to be, not the kind of actions and reactions I want to model for him.

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How can I stop myself from immediately reacting when I get hurt so that I can model using words instead of hurting back?

So my baby boy is 4 months old and I love him to pieces. I'm worried I am not doing enough to help support his development. Like do parents out here actually play with their baby at this age?

Normally I will rest and hold him while he naps, since he is not always willing to sleep independently. When he does sleep by himself or when he is awake is when I will attend to the chores and the house.

I set him on his play mat or swing (depending on his reaction when I try to put him on the floor, that's almost always my first try unless he seems like he has to poop) and try to set up some toys near him that he can reach for. He likes to be on his stomach, since then he can watch me do my thing in the kitchen with cleaning or cooking by lifting his head up. I try to talk to him about what I'm doing and what we will do next in the day while I'm doing things and he's pretty chill until he's tired or hungry. I do hold him or give him kisses and sillyness when I change his diaper or just randomly through the day and very occasionally play peek-a-boo.

Then when the big kids get home, he watches all that chaos or naps.

My question is should I be doing more while he's awake? Should I be like actually playing with him? If so, how?

He's not my first, but I don't remember ever playing with my other kids as babies either but it was a long time ago maybe I did.

My 3 year old (4 in July) has been basically in the process of potty training since last summer when she was turning 3. We took a few breaks when it seemed like we were having more accidents than successes but we've at the point now where I would basically consider her potty trained...sort of. She still has an accident almost every day. Sometimes they're on the way to the bathroom, or while she's trying to pull down her pants to get on the toilet. But sometimes it's just anywhere. So my question is how can we help her make it to the toilet and not have as many accidents? I've tried talking to her about going as soon as she first feels like maybe she needs the toilet instead of waiting until it's urgent but I'm not sure just explaining that is helping.

Hi all! Asking for recs/ideas: Although my stash is pretty full, I'm finding that I need more covers, bc the 4 mo EF poop gets on the cover pretty much every time. My favorite covers are Nicki's but they're not around anymore. Does anyone have any recs for covers they found very similar in size/shape/snap locations? I also have some petite crown I like but they're a little bigger than Nicki's but that would be my second choice I guess

To all those who recommend skipping GMD prefold size small and going straight from newborn to medium... These are huge!! They're basically the same size as my one size stash, which in retrospect makes sense. Just praying they will shrink a LOT when I prep them... Really considering returning and getting small though, bc my one size stash is pretty full...

I'm seeing all over YouTube different people starting to get whole wheat berries and grinding their own flour themselves. While this seems appealing to me, it also seems a little out there. So I'm wondering if my for you page is just that corner of the Internet or if this is becoming more and more common.

ETA: if you're voting that I'm in the wrong sub, could you please tell me why?

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