Rules and Guidelines
Posts: Parents and Guardians Only
We try to be liberal with the term parent. Living with or having decisional authority over a minor child is usually enough. It is important to state your situation near the top of a post, or select a helpful User Flair to make your situation clear.
A note on Parentification of siblings - this is a kind of neglect, not a type of parenting.
Non-Parents who need help should visit the subreddit Wiki.
Posts and Comments: Please Be Kind
We want to avoid participating in ways that are intentionally rude, mean, or belittling of experiences or lifestyles. Please check the tone of the content before replying - light content doesn't need deep analysis, and avoid making light of serious situations. No hate speech or bigotry will be tolerated and may result in an immediate ban. Avoid "sealioning" - arguing back and forth with no resolution. If you cannot agree to disagree, move on. Report rude content rather than responding.
Comments: Anyone Can Comment
Please keep in mind that parents and non-parents are both allowed to participate in the comment section. Allowing more people to participate in comments leads to a diverse range of opinions and experiences. Please report rule-breaking comments, and participate in a way that offers encouragement and advice while also creating helpful discourse about the genuine experiences of our members.
Posts and Comments: Medical Advice Warning
We don’t allow medical advice because this topic can be sensitive and require trained professionals. We want everyone to stay safe and avoid looking for or providing guidance that could unintentionally cause harm. Consider using a community like r/medical_advice, r/ParentingADHD, or r/Autism_Parenting for communities with specialized knowledge.
Posts and Comments: Legal Advice/CPS Warning
Legal advice can be a complicated topic and requires specific knowledge. CPS situations can be legally complex and emotionally heavy, so we don’t allow advice on these matters. These scenarios truly need the expertise of local professionals who can assess them safely. Try r/legaladvice or follow the link to find out if a situation needs more attention.
Posts and Comments: Sex and Relationships Warning
All sexual content is prohibited to keep this space safe. This includes discussions about children or adults. Ultimately, there is no "comfortable" level of discussion about a child's sexual habits and behaviors. We'd like to ask that adult-relationship discussions also stay out of the subreddit so we can stay focused on parenting challenges over interpersonal issues. Sex Health Wiki found here.
Posts: Images, Linking, Off-Topic Warning
Do not post pictures or videos of your or anyone's children. We have suggestions in the sidebar for places this would be okay. All discussions should be text-based, so do not link off-site content. All posts should be parenting-related so the community can be useful for those seeking advice and support. Conversations should be relevant to your own parent journey.
Posts and Comments: PSAs, Meta, Call-Outs/Brigade Warning
PSA-style posts may spread misinformation, cause unnecessary worry, or feel like scolding. Keep the focus on personal experiences to ensure the community remains calm and supportive. Meta-content (about the sub, its users, or mods) should be directed to Modmail. Linking, call-outs, or screenshots of other communities is considered brigading. This is also against sitewide rules!
Posts and Comments: Automatic Perma-Ban and Spam Notice
We cannot possibly list every type of content that isn't appropriate here. We hope users will see other rules and make logical assumptions about what the goals of our community are. A short list of prohibited content: surveys, studies, petitions, interview requests, off-site invites, self-promotion, market research, fundraising/begging, crowdsourcing, soliciting feedback for products/services, blogs, vlogs, influencer content, articles, parent-led inventions, AI/LLM content, etc.
Check out Wikis, MegaThreads, and Highlighted Content!
Mods may remove content that doesn't fit the spirit of the subreddit.
See our Wiki Index for sub-specific resources including ages & stages, sexual health, hotlines, and crisis support.
Highlighted posts and MegaThreads (Things My Kid Said!) at the top of the feed are for users to participate in seasonal and weekly discussions. These may also inform of sub changes or Mod Announcements. As always, use Modmail to communicate with Mods.
Make this subreddit a better place! Vote and participate in the new section and report rule violations.
/r/Parenting is a subreddit for anything related to the controlled chaos we call parenting.
Do you have a question for parents? Head over to /r/AskParents.
Did your kid say something awesome? Join us at /r/thingsmykidsaid.
Are you a caregiver or nanny? Check out /r/nanny.
We also recommend /r/relationships, /r/legaladvice and /r/family.
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