r/Dads

My dad is a talking machine

There hasn’t been an hour he’s kept quiet he talks NON STOP for HOURS AND HOURS ABOUT MONEY AND MONEU AND WORK AND JOB AND IM TIRED. I literally feel like crying because he won’t shut up for a min I get headaches. He doesn’t care if I’m eating or drinking or literally doing anything he will talk and talk and talk and talk forever I’m SICK OF IT. It’s suffocating me HOW DO I DEAL WITH HIM. I literally started isolating myself in my room because I can’t even drink a cup of coffee without him going on for hours I can’t watch tv I can’t chew my food because he stops me mid eating I can’t do anything he won’t shut up I don’t wanna tell him to shut up i don’t wanna hurt him but this is INSANE HE WONT SHUT UP FOR A MIN HES GOT ENDLESS WORDS I DONT GET PEACE UNLESS I LOCK MYSELF IN MY ROOM .

My son went to the county fair and came back with one of those huge prize stuffed animals and we just don’t have the space for it in our house. He’s not particularly attached to it. I don’t know how to begin getting rid of this thing, no donation centers will take it, no one wants it, how do I even dispose of it? I thought I’d ask here because this has to be a relatively common issue with how annoying those things are.

I am having a hard time connecting with my teenage daughter. I was not really present in her life early on, but now I have full custody of her and I am trying to build a relationship. The problem is, I do not really know how to connect with her, and I feel lost about what to do next. I care about her deeply and want to be there for her, but it has been difficult finding common ground and rebuilding that bond.

Hey guys,

I’ve been struggling with a lot of guilt and regret lately and I don’t really have anyone to talk to about it.. so here I am.

Long story short, I have 2 children, a daughter that is recently married and lives several states away with her husband (he’s a great guy so no complaints there) and a son who is in high school. I am still happily married to their mom.

I have always traveled a lot for work because it paid well and I was good at it. Now, as they are getting older and have their own lives, I am fighting a lot of regret for having sacrificed so much time with them. I always justified it as “it’s what I have to do make sure they never go without,” but now it feels like I put a price tag on something that shouldn’t have been for sale, and can’t be bought back… if that makes sense.

I don’t know what I’m really looking for, but if anyone has any experience dealing with this or any advice, I would appreciate it.

Need advice one-on-one if a dad is open to talking about career, relationships, etc. I don’t have a father or father figure to go to.

I'm a dad of 4 and my oldest is about to graduate elementary and is about to start going to middle school. Honestly it scares the crap out of me, i know he has to grow up and that the innocence he has now is going to fade off but damn i just want to be prepared for those next few years of him changing and want to make sure he makes right decisions y'know. You guys have any tips or recommendations for this ?

I’m currently pregnant and honestly feel so connected and emotional about my baby already. Sometimes I get emotional even imagining finally meeting my child.

I know for some women the feelings after birth are complicated, and not everyone instantly connects with their baby, even after physically carrying them for months. So I’ve been wondering from a male partner’s perspective, especially since you haven’t had that same physical connection throughout the pregnancy, how did it feel seeing your newborn for the first time? Did you instantly feel connected to your child? Did it immediately register like “wow, this is my baby”? Or did it take time for the feelings to sink in and feel real and connected to your child?

Please do share your honest and raw experiences, even if they weren’t magical or immediate.

So my situation is a bit specific. My now ex girlfriend split up with me around a month after she got pregnant (October last year). We’re still civil and get on well, but for most of the pregnancy, I would be lucky if I heard from her more than once a week (we still went to all scans together).

Our baby boy came last Monday and yesterday is the only day so far that I haven’t seen him as she said she was overwhelmed and wanted the day to herself, which I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. She won’t stay with me on a night, doesn’t allow me to stay there on a night and I have to wait for the text message in a morning to say that I can come. Then when I’ve tried to come up with a compromise, like having a baby monitor so I can still see him on a night (virtually), I just get shot down and everything has to be her way or no way. I get that her hormones will be all over the place, but at what point do my feelings matter or should I just keep my mouth shut and deal with it?

I was always concerned with how little we spoke and how little I was part of the whole pregnancy (scans aside), that I would struggle to find that connection. It’s like, in my head I know he’s my son and I’m a dad, but in my heart, it just doesn’t feel like it.

I don’t know if I’m overthinking everything, being impatient or if my feelings are valid, but I just needed to get this off my chest.

Hi dads,

I’ve been trying to collect responses for a parenting/child safety survey for my project, but barely anyone around me is taking it seriously, so I thought I’d ask here instead.

The survey is very short (around 2 minutes), and I genuinely need real parents’ perspectives to make the project meaningful.

Even if your children are older now, you can still answer based on your experiences when they were younger.

I’d really appreciate anyone willing to help.

Survey link: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwgFEwIWgzyvBHNJLCJD0UA\_V2qSudMvdJqmSHeHHuuXJr2g/viewform?usp=publish-editor\]

Thank you :)

How do you stay consistent with energy as a dad?

I’ve got two young kids, and most days are a full cycle of getting them ready, working, pickups, dinner, bedtime, then making lunches and meal prep. I love my family and our life - no question there. But a couple nights a week, I’m just completely drained after the kids go down. Not unhappy, just out of energy. My wife sometimes takes that as me being checked out or unhappy, which has been tough.

I’ve realized I do best waking up early for the gym or quiet time - it helps me get in the right mental state for the day but it also means I’m pretty spent by the evenings don’t have a lot of energy left for her. I’m naturally a morning person, she’s more of a night owl too. How do you guys handle this? Stay consistent even when you’re on empty? Navigate different energy schedules with your spouse? Just trying to show up well without burning out.

I always wanted my son circumcised but I wanted to let him choose and not do it at birth. My wife and I promised each other we would support him if he chose to do it in the future. It’s a really long story but now he wants to do it for religious reasons and insurance won’t cover it and it’s going to be thousands of dollars and I’m not sure what to do. I support his decision and I always said I would but now I feel like if I don’t pay for it then I’m reneging on a promise we made long ago and that we always told him we supported if he chose. Has anyone had any luck getting a work around for insurance to cover things like this?

Edit: to give context, we live in America where circumcision is incredibly common.

“Some people deserve the title “dad” more than others.

My little sister’s father used to try to get my older brother, older sister, and me to call him dad too. Even as kids, something in me rejected it. I couldn’t explain it back then, but I knew he wasn’t safe.

Years later, it turns out that instinct wasn’t wrong.

He’s now facing charges involving his wife’s oldest daughter. She’s technically an adult, but mentally vulnerable, and he knew exactly that. He preyed on it.

What messes with me the most is realizing kids can sometimes feel evil in a person long before they can explain it out loud.

I just remember thinking:
‘No. You are not my dad.’”

My son has been “healthy on paper” his whole life but something always felt off to me. He ate healthy, seemed mostly okay but never gained weight properly and was always exhausted and everyone kept brushing it off as him just being hyperactive. Turns out his iron levels were extremely low. I’m tired of being told “everything is fine” when my instincts were telling me otherwise, so dads please recommend the best iron supplement you’ve given your child that you actually saw results with and seriously always trust your instincts.

I’m highly preppy and responsibility weights very heavy on my chest.

About to be a dad how do you guys let things roll off your shoulder and not over worry about everything. Mortgage house finance job security duty to wife and family kids etc etc

Any tips? I see some people just worry less but it’s not my personality

Hey, I don’t know anything about licor but I’d like to give something to my dad. Better if that’s something local since he lives out of the state. Any suggestions for a present?

He likes whiskey but tequila is a good option too. Budget (60-80 bucks)

Dropped a new episode of Dad's Dollar Deals — this week it's Risk of Rain 2.

I rate every game across 5 dad-specific categories: Session Fit, Onboarding Difficulty, Replayability, Fun Per Hour, and Overall Rating. The only question that matters is whether it's worth our limited, constantly-interrupted dad time.

Final Dad Score: 3/5

Verdict: "Incredible game. Not built for dads — but dads will play it anyway."

🎮 https://youtu.be/cdSheWsnUt4?si=XMURGdMbCEgrQ0VW

If you want to catch these live, I stream Mon–Thu 5–6am ET on Twitch & Kick at **4kids1hour**. Yes, 5am. It's the only hour I've got.

Drop your game suggestions below — always looking for the next Dad's Dollar Deal. 👇

Need advice one-on-one if a dad is open to talking about career, relationships, etc. I don’t have a father or father figure to go to.

My husband is a (mostly) loving husband to me and our daughter. It’s been a learning curve for him to catch up to the great deal of responsibility that comes with parenting and running our household as a family, but he’s trying. Baby is almost 2 and we now switch of caring for baby in the mornings so the other one can sleep in, we switch bath time responsibilities and he does some dishes and trash without being asked though not much else. However I have had a lot of resentment from the earlier period of pregnancy and postpartum when he was still really behind on what was required.

What I want to know is…is my past resentment in the way of me receiving what support my partner is providing now or is it falling short compared to some really active, enthusiastic and supportive partners? Are men capable of truly making the same amount of effort towards parenting and household tasks as women in a system of patriarchy? If you are or have an amazing partner, what things did you do during pregnancy/postpartum? How did you show support and understanding of how difficult life is for moms? What do you do for you kids or household?

I don’t know why I’m writing this. I have so much to say but nobody would understand.

I’m a 43 year old dad of 4 to a 17F, 16M, 13M, 4F

Their mum lives in Scotland which is a 12 hour drive from me, (not including stops) with the 3 younger ones.

We divorced 2 years ago and it just doesn’t get easier. My eldest daughter lives with me as she is autistic, always been a daddy’s girl and has a v bad relationship with her mum. They are the same person so tensions arise. We cannot move to Scotland as her special needs provisions are in Cornwall with me. We couldn’t remove her from this easily.

I thought with time it would get easier but it’s not. I’m in Scotland for the last week as their mum went on holiday with her partner and I’ve loved every single second. I’ve loved picking them up from school, picking my youngest up from Nursery, I’ve loved getting their uniform ready, feeding them, watching TV with them, picking up the toys and food wrappers at the end of the day.

I’m crying now as I go home tomorrow. I have a gf there with 2 step children but it’s not the same. She says to concentrate on my new family but I can’t just kiss their foreheads or hug them as they walk past. When we watch a movie they both snuggle up to their mum on one end of the couch and I’m alone at the other. She doesn’t understand.

How long has it taken other dads to get over this and find a routine because I’ve had the absolute worst thoughts and it just gets worse every month that goes by. Does it get better?

Wife and I are 31 and been married 8 years and have 3.5 year old and 10 month old. Since our 10 month old, I’ve gone into a bad place. Idk what’s going on and want advice or if any other dads dealt with this because I feel like a bad dad.

We are financially sound I work 2 jobs wife stays home we have our dream house everything we need and a lot of what we want. From the outside, our family looks perfect and I look perfectly happy - but I feel like I’m dying inside. Since our girl being born 10 months ago and having a 3.5 year old, I feel like I can’t enjoy anything, I hate to say it but I don’t enjoy the season of life we are in and it panics me that everyone tells me, “enjoy this time it’s the best” and all I want is for these times to be over.

My house is total chaos, it’s constant screams, constant bribing, tantrums, late nights trying to get kids asleep. I’m over worked, burnt out, I’m tired, I’m not enjoying anything (I mean that), I snap at my kids and wife, and the worst thing is I feel hopeless because I used to love every day, love my jobs, love my life, love the weekends, and now every weekend just starts a new week of the same exact numb draining things. There’s no break in any of it ever. It’s just constant survive mode. I dont want to go out and eat with the family, I don’t want to go on vacation, I just want to sit at home because it’s just all too much of a hassle. I can’t get motivation to do anything (nobody knows this because from the outside, I look like I’m doing everything I’m supposed to and happy and healthy)

My wife and I just went through a bad spell after we had our last one 10 months ago because there was no intimacy for months and I was going week after week after week feeling like I am pouring my soul into everyone in my family for my cup to be left completely empty and dry night after night after night. I talked to my wife about the lack of intimacy and she’s working on finding that libido again, but I feel like I’ve lost the love of my life and my wife as a lover to her just being in mom mode constantly. It sounds so selfish to say. Idk how to not feel that way.

It’s been the most emptying lonely dead inside feeling for the last 10 months of my life and I’m struggling.

Please tell me im not the only one in this boat? I’m terrified I’m missing the best days of my life and I just want them to be over.

My wife doesn’t know I’m hanging by a thread. She knows I’m heavy with life and she will periodically ask me if I’m ok but I can’t burden her with this. We have 2 littles I can’t have her worrying about me too