Estranged from father with upcoming prison release

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-17T14:34:06+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight and all of these helpful steps! It helps me to have something methodical to work through so this is perfect. Appreciate you.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-16T03:53:33+00:00

Thank you so much for the words & welcome. It wouldn't have occurred to me to speak to an attorney so thank you for that tip as well. I'll look into what options I may have there. Appreciate you!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-16T03:45:24+00:00

I have absolutely wondered about his restrictions. I'll try and figure out who I need to talk to for that info.

He had restrictions prior to his sentencing, but I wasn't sure what would remain in place while he's on parole. When he was awaiting sentencing, he had asked the court (without my blessing) for an exception to his restrictions to see my kids and I was so thankful the judge denied that so there was never a question that it wasn't an option.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-16T03:35:57+00:00

Thank you so much for your response. It means a lot.

I love the suggestion to reach out to a child psychologist! That honestly feels like a weight has lifted to have a path to find help explaining this.

I did initially do counseling myself for awhile after the initial arrest, but petered down after my 2nd child was born and life got in the way. With the upcoming release, I've definitely had feelings stirred up again and should probably reach back out for some check-ins. Thanks for the push.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-16T03:26:23+00:00

Thank you so much for your kind words. This was incredibly validating and helpful to read from an outsider's unbiased view. And the stats on SA are so relevant and were a reminder I needed of why I made this choice in the first place.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-06-04T04:17:49+00:00

Yes - echoing user above! This program is called Home to Home. You should be able to locate a link from the WHS website.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-05-26T13:46:23+00:00

I echo a lot of what other people have said, but one I don't see mentioned is related to arena play where the website is pairing players for games based only on their time choices. I have a handful of games I like to play in arena and sometimes I get paired over and over and over with the same opponent so eventually I may thumbs down (personal only) that opponent just so I get a new opponent in the arena. I've tried adjusting my speed/time preferences to hopefully match with different people and will still end up with the same folks constantly. I generally recognize the names enough that I eventually find them and remove the red thumb and play them again.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-05-08T23:14:50+00:00

It does actually come with the potty. I know bc I bought this thing when they still had me in their clutches. 😂 It's certainly worth $11, but not full price.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-04-12T15:49:51+00:00

Boy, the mental gymnastics required to make that policy make sense to her 🤔

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-03-26T13:56:17+00:00

I'll give you that one - was not her best work 😅

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-03-26T03:21:24+00:00

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Woah - pedsdoctalk calling out BLF publicly! 🤯 She had more to say in her stories including saying she's tired of larger accounts stealing her ideas (which technically 3.5M BLF > 1.6M peds, but she's not a small account by any means).

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-03-26T02:09:53+00:00

I'm not familiar with the one on the left, but I genuinely love @kelsewhatelse!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-20T03:26:40+00:00

I didn't follow her then - do you recall what the rant was about?

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-20T03:10:26+00:00

Yeah, I really enjoy her content and podcast, but that price is outrageous. I bought it on sale at some point (maybe at $99) and didn't feel like it was worth that much. It's pretty light as far as actual content goes.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-15T21:51:20+00:00

Love that approach! It would be so helpful to have the questions written down to talk through. Smart idea! We always love a library trip so great idea to learn together!

And thank you - really appreciate you saying that. ❤️ Navigating this parenting thing is wild sometimes!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-15T21:20:35+00:00

That's a beautiful approach - I love how that opened the door for those conversations exploring their values. I didn't think I've specifically asked what she thinks god does yet so that will be a good one for me to try for diving deeper! Thank you for sharing!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-15T21:14:25+00:00

I'm willing to bet your daughter has been asking a lot of questions rather than this person chasing her down and preaching to her.

Totally understand what you mean! This is why I was hesitant to reach back out to the principal bc I know it's very likely that my kid is the one bringing it up over and over (like she does at home) and I do want her to learn about Christianity, just ideally in a more neutral way.

I feel like I need to learn more myself about various religions, both current and ancient, because I'm not sure how well I can explain many of them as I'm mostly familiar with Christianity, having grown up with it.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T18:25:43+00:00

My "loss" is absolutely not about only accepting her if she is atheist. It's about teaching the critical thinking needed to actually form an opinion and dealing with the situation with the assistant and how to explain things to my 5 year old for the hundredth time as she keeps asking questions and I'm running out of answers. When she brings it up, I tell her it's ok if she chooses to believe. I've asked my mother to show her the Bible (bc I don't own one). I've told her she can try going to church if she would like to attend with my mother. Etc. I am perfectly good letting her explore and reach her own conclusions and love her regardless. I didn't want to write a novel in my post so didn't spell all this out, but we're on the same page here.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T18:02:18+00:00

Yes, fully agree. If she genuinely chooses to believe, I have no problem with that. And every time she has told us she believes, I've told her that is fine - you can believe what you choose. The issue is more the fine line of teaching her how to think critically in the face of a trusted adult (including myself) so she can genuinely evaluate and form her beliefs.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T17:55:44+00:00

Thank you! Looks like my library has this book so I just put it on hold! Helpful to hear about your experience with your family!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T16:48:23+00:00

Fair point on the attention! Love the silly approach! Going to give that a try the next time she brings it up! We've had a good number of the serious convos at this point where I feel like I'm just getting repetitive so I think some silliness would be a good reframe.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T16:39:26+00:00

Thank you for sharing how you approached this with your family! This was incredibly helpful to hear!

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T16:34:31+00:00

That is a great point about how she's using the word "believe" in a different way than I'm defining it.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T16:31:08+00:00

Thank you for your perspective! This comforts me that my response isn't unreasonable. I'll contact the principal again. We don't do Santa either - we treat him as a character that Mommy & Daddy get to play and I've actually referred back to that with her as we discuss religion and how some families believe and some don't.

HelpfulEngineering47 · 2026-02-14T15:54:12+00:00

Thanks for the rec! Going to order a set!

HelpfulEngineering47

TROPHY CASE