Parenting Megathread - For Those Who Managed to Reproduce

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I have a 9 year old and a baby due in October. It's going to be interesting having them so far apart.
Extra set of hands to help out! Plus, you have a future baby sitter.

Kids tend to love babies (seriously, kids came up to my son a lot in public when he was an infant, and they were so gentle and sweet to him). I also have some friends who have siblings much older than they are and literally all of them have a really close bond. I think that's probably because being the much older sibling means that you see and vividly remember your siblings being born, needing help, and growing up and it makes you a bit more nurturing and attentive to them if that makes sense.

I even have neighbors who just had a baby girl long after having 3 much older boys. Let me tell you, those 3 boys are so protective and attentive of their baby sister whenever I see them all playing outside. It's so freakin' cute.

Congratulations!

Diapers are literally the easiest part.
Truest statement about parenthood ever.
 
This sort of brings up an interesting topic, what age would you consider to be appropriate to leave a child home alone?
I wouldn't say there's a specific age, rather a level of competency. Can you trust your older child to take good enough care of your younger one while you're away for a few hours? Can they be trusted not to burn the house down? It also depends on laws of the state, some specify an age where a child can be left at home without supervision. I think I was being left at home alone around age 12? My younger sibling is only a year and a half younger, so I wasn't really a babysitter. We also lived in a good area, so my parents weren't all that worried for a 20 minute trip to the store.
 
Remember if you don't get the gender you want, just force them to be the other one. You can sucker a kid into believing anything, including that they were born the wrong sex and it's their idea to change it.
 
Make sure you make the time to attend every school event; play, pageant, parent teacher conference, or whatever sport or activity they get into once they get older.
 
Great post with great advice.

In regards to buying cheaper things, I'll add that you should buy a ton of stuff secondhand if you can (except for carseats-- if a carseat has been in any accident, it's no longer at optimal capacity to protect your baby). Baby stuff is expensive, so make things like Facebook marketplace your friend, and look up local cosignments.
In addendum to this, buying clothes second hand is difficult during the season you need them i.e, finding shorts for summer cause others already bought em. Buy secondhand ahead of time.

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The best way to save money on clothes, second hand or new, is to buy slightly bigger clothes. Most people know to buy clothes to grow into, but sometimes kids grow faster/slower, so it's hard getting the right size. Going by weight tends to be far more accurate than age. Always go over than under and the first year will go by fast, dont go crazy buying infant clothes. It's toddler you will need more of (18 month plus) mostly because the little shits will walk around and need more than 1 change a day because they get dirty.

Also, if they get food on their clothes (ESPECIALLY FRUIT), clean their clothes the same day. Baby clothes tend to mold (don't know about carseats, ours only ever got ketchup and water on his so it was easy to clean) with food on it. If you gotta go to the cleaners and cant clean clothes everyday, you can use ur sink with some detergent to clean the clothes. Never forget toddlers can't stay still and will make a mess, food will mold if its left on carpet or clothes. Don't throw moldy clothes with other clothes in the wash, thats a mistake.
 
Congrats to OP, having kids is a true privilege and I honestly believe you’re better equipped to handle it if you’re a little bit older when you start having them.

However, I found this thread because I need PARENTAL ADVICE. And where else to find reliable advice than the farms?

The bottom line: one of my kids has extremely ugly teeth and I can’t get him to fix them. He’s a young adult just going off to college and of course he has autism (Aspergers) and just doesn’t care. But the world cares.

Money is no problem, I’d gladly pay pretty much anything to straighten/cap and/or whitening them. He has never had a cavity and brushes and flosses but they look terrible. They’re yellow and wonky. He’s a good looking kid but as soon as he smiles you go YIKES.

I’ve tried explaining that people judge others from appearances which he finds absolutely ridiculous. As users of the farms you all know what reasoning with an autist is like.

Do I slip him a mickey and wheel him off to the dentist? WHAT DO?

Thank you in advance Reddit Kiwi Farms!
 
If hes already an adult, there isn't anything you can do really. Problem is alot of people have fucked up teeth because they just don't care or don't have the money, so alot of young adults don't do dental care till it hurts cause thats what akot of people do. Yea on high end society a good smile matters alot but that ain't what most ppl saw while growing up. Its like smoking, you can't tell em to be healthy.

You can only coerce an adult to do something another adult would do, give em extra money if your desperate, tell em getting a girlfriend would be easier with better teeth, or that your teeth will hurt like hell later.

Also hes had cavities. EVERYONE has cavities, its just some peoples dont hurt till they finally hit the nerve. Usually people with painful cavities have good gums, while people without painful teeth have terrible gums. They won't know whats wrong till he finally goes to dentist. Maybe go middle ground and just go for a check up. Promise not to commit to any procedures but let that shit sit in the back of the head, that everyone literally goes to the dentist like people go to the doctor (only way to reason with an autist)
 
If hes already an adult, there isn't anything you can do really. Problem is alot of people have fucked up teeth because they just don't care or don't have the money, so alot of young adults don't do dental care till it hurts cause thats what akot of people do. Yea on high end society a good smile matters alot but that ain't what most ppl saw while growing up. Its like smoking, you can't tell em to be healthy.

You can only coerce an adult to do something another adult would do, give em extra money if your desperate, tell em getting a girlfriend would be easier with better teeth, or that your teeth will hurt like hell later.

Also hes had cavities. EVERYONE has cavities, its just some peoples dont hurt till they finally hit the nerve. Usually people with painful cavities have good gums, while people without painful teeth have terrible gums. They won't know whats wrong till he finally goes to dentist. Maybe go middle ground and just go for a check up. Promise not to commit to any procedures but let that shit sit in the back of the head, that everyone literally goes to the dentist like people go to the doctor (only way to reason with an autist)
I mean, he regularly goes to the dentist and what cavities he’s had haven’t been needing filling then, I guess. The problem isn’t getting him to the dentist, it’s that he doesn’t understand why he should have to correct his functioning teeth because they don’t look good to others…
 
I mean, he regularly goes to the dentist and what cavities he’s had haven’t been needing filling then, I guess. The problem isn’t getting him to the dentist, it’s that he doesn’t understand why he should have to correct his functioning teeth because they don’t look good to others…
Ill be honest, people dont get judged for bad teeth as much anymore. Yea it helps to have good teeth, just alot of ppl dont get bullied about it anymore. Don't know what yo tell ya.
 
I'm tired of people acting like getting pregnant is super easy. Not to mention the ever-present risk of miscarriage, or the millions of small things that can make fertilization difficult. Young couples need to be told that they aren't going to have a kid right away, so they don't jump the gun and end up doing anything stupid. I blame sex ed teachers for this.
 
This is what sort of horrifies me, I've never changed a diaper before and am sort of dreading the stench and sight of what I'll have to do when the time comes.
Your brain completely gets used to it to the point where it's like wiping your own ass.

Also never had a problem with Pampers. Huggies sucked for us.
 
This is what sort of horrifies me, I've never changed a diaper before and am sort of dreading the stench and sight of what I'll have to do when the time comes.
Before I had my baby I had never changed a nappy before now six months later I've got my kid in cloth nappies full time (doing it all myself not using one of those services) it really does become second nature.
 
I'm tired of people acting like getting pregnant is super easy. Not to mention the ever-present risk of miscarriage, or the millions of small things that can make fertilization difficult. Young couples need to be told that they aren't going to have a kid right away, so they don't jump the gun and end up doing anything stupid. I blame sex ed teachers for this.
That's rough man. It varies heavily though. My wife and I have gotten pregnant within the first month of trying every time we did without complications, so it certainly goes both ways. Honestly though it's for the best that teenagers understand pregnancy can happen very easily for a lot of them and take the necessary precautions to avoid it until they are ready. I know disappointment is a terrible thing, though and I really do send my deepest hopes and prayers to you and yours, my man
 
Your brain completely gets used to it to the point where it's like wiping your own ass.

Also never had a problem with Pampers. Huggies sucked for us.
Luvs and the WalMart brand are the two we've never had issues with. It's going to vary from kid to kid, but chubby male babies seem to with better with luvs and girls seem to be fine with anything that fits
 
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