Parenting

Parenting

1. What would you change, if anything, about our experience growing up? 2. What do you admire most about Mom and/or Dad? 3. In what ways did Mom or Dad let you down? 4. What's something you wish you could have told me when we were kids? Why didn't you tell me then? 5. How could I have been a better sibling to you when we were growing up? 6. What's your favorite childhood memory of us?

Tom insists that Cyrus is a "toxic male influence" on the boys. I can't tell if this is as big an issue as he claims, and I don't know what's right. Cyrus and I have been together for three years. He's loving but more conventional. We share the same core values and votes. He's kind and generous: he'll stop for a stranger with a flat on the freeway, he'll break up a homophobic incident in a bar.

Apartment Therapy received compensation for this post, which was written and edited independently by our editorial team. As a mom of two young kids, I understand the sheer volume of baby essentials needed - especially during those first few months. That's why I've curated a selection of the best deals on mom-approved baby gear from Babylist - perfect for both new and experienced parents.

I've spent the last year working a full-time corporate job in Human Resources for a Fortune 500 company while caring for my one year old son simultaneously. No sitter, no help. We can't afford daycare, and this is the only way it's been possible for me to remain the primary breadwinner because my husband works outside the house and we don't have family nearby.

To the surprise of no one with internet access, surely, we're still in a birthrate crisis. What with ecological collapse, incipient fascism, geopolitical instability, the lack of support for new parents, childcare costs and more, bringing new life into the world requires a radical act of hope. And who's feeling that these days? Plus, even if you do want children, pregnancy feels kind of risky at the moment.

Nick Pompa, founder of Lootlock - an app that prevents kids from running up unauthorized gaming bills on their parents' credit cards - is an avid gamer and software developer working in fintech. As a dad of two under two, he's looking forward to sharing his passion for gaming with his kids when they grow old enough to play. He started gaming at age 6, he told TechCrunch.

It's Sunday night. Before kids, this was the time to nurse a mimosa hangover and zone out to The Sopranos. Now? It's a very different playbook. Sunday evenings feel less like a gentle exhale from the weekend and more like staging a Broadway play with a cast that hasn't rehearsed and refuses to put on pants. You are simultaneously the chef, chauffeur, hairdresser, homework coach, and emotional support animal.

The secret (according to me) is to anticipate the unexpected, which is why a "just in case" bag is a must-have. From dead phone batteries to cranky kids who refuse to sleep, I've curated 10 carry-on "just in case" items that have proven their worth on countless trips. Whether facing a delayed flight, a forgotten essential, or the general chaos that comes with traveling as a family, these picks will help make traveling with kids easier-not perfect, but easier.

Growing up in a world that is home to multiple languages, values, and traditions, children often find themselves navigating cultural barriers that influence their development. Differences in parenting styles and changing societal expectations make this process even more challenging for children in multicultural family settings or communities. They need to balance their internal conflict with how the environment expects them to act, all while forming their own identity.

Instead of rushing off right after graduation, we got bonus dinners, family time together, and the kind of unplanned conversations you can't schedule on FaceTime. When he finally did move, it wasn't so bad. New York is only a three-and-a-half-hour train ride away. I knew I could hop up for a weekend visit if I missed him too much. The distance was manageable - just far enough for him to be independent, but close enough to comfort me.

I even got to lead a Poynter seminar on child welfare reporting that motivated me as much as it did the reporters in the room. They came from 25 news organizations - print, broadcast, digital. And they got it: foster care isn't a niche story. It's a $10 billion federal line item - with additional billions spent locally - tied to youth homelessness, incarceration, school failure, and a litany of medical issues, all bearing their own economic and societal costs.

Empathy for whom the mother or the child? Mature parents do not slap their children across the face for acting up. They take the kid out of the store until they calm down. If this happens in public, one can only imagine what goes on in private. If I had seen it, I would have snapped a picture of the three of them, as well as the license plate of the mother's car. Then I would report the woman to child protective services so they could investigate.

My husband and I both grew up in the same small town in Southern Illinois. I distinctly remember visiting relatives in the Chicago suburbs and dreaming of when I could live somewhere with so much to see and do. Though I did enjoy my childhood, growing up in the country and spending hours outside, I craved something different for my own children.

Miscommunication Should Not Lead to Punishment Adults often perceive a cry for help from a neurodivergent kid as misbehavior. Whether it's a meltdown in the store, struggling to move onto another task, or shutting down when overwhelmed, neurodivergent kids are frequently labeled "disrespectful," "defiant," or "difficult." In reality, these behaviors are often a neurodivergent brain's way of asking for support. Neurodivergent kids aren't being difficult on purpose.

"My daughter's dad and I really pride ourselves in the fact that we have not fought in front of her since she was like six months old. She's almost five now, and we don't talk crap on the other parent in front of her," TikTok mom, angelehlers_, explained. "So, she has no idea why we wouldn't be friends, why we wouldn't all hang out. Like she just genuinely just thinks like we're all just like friends, like her best friends,"

My in-laws are obscenely cheap and often keep food that has expired well beyond the "best by" date. I wouldn't care about this, except my kids go over there after school, and I never know how fresh the food they are being served is. We rely heavily on my in-laws to watch our kids during the school year while we are at work.

During my childhood, my mom and her friends and family members saved a lot of money by passing on used baby gear and outgrown clothing. My daughter is an only child, and she doesn't have any older cousins or anyone else who passes things on to her. As a result, we have purchased most items new or in good used condition, and they often are still in great shape once we are done with them.

He's my best friend!

Parenting a toddler is basically a high-stakes negotiation with a tiny, emotionally unstable roommate who doesn't understand logic. But when it comes to chaos? Lord have mercy. I'm shaking just thinking about it. One wrong move, and you're in a full-blown crisis over the color of a cup or the fact that you dared to peel their banana "the wrong way."

I had unbelievable nausea my first trimester of pregnancy. As I opened the fridge and experienced the gut punch that was a wave of nausea in response to the smell of food, I hurled over and said, "This sucks. I can't wait until I am out of this first trimester." "Just wait. You will miss just having nausea when you experience all of the pain of your third trimester."

We are creating a new idea of masculinity. A new model for what it means to be a man and a dad, he told the several hundred attendees on Tuesday, who were joined by another 2,000 online. In the face of increased far-right rhetoric, and some businesses rolling back D&I [diversity and inclusion] initiatives, and demanding their employees come back into the office full time our voices need to be louder.

A few weeks before my daughter's fourth birthday, I stumbled across an AI party planner called CelebrateAlly. "Looking to plan a themed party, a surprise bash, or just a relaxed get-together?" read a banner on its website, which promised that the app would take care of "all the details-themes, activities, and decorations." It also offered to write birthday cards, "capturing your heartfelt sentiments beautifully!"

I'm a dad to two boys (13 and 11), and I just divorced their mother a couple of months ago. We're currently all still living in the same house together, but I'm going to move out at the end of the calendar year. I'm writing because I know that my ex-wife has poisoned the mind of my oldest son to the point where he barely talks to me and meanwhile gushes over his mom.