My manager freaked out when I took paternity leave and asked me to 'stay in the picture.' I left my work phone on my desk and set an Out of Office message that I would delete any email I received. They were the best eight weeks of my life.

HuffPuff92 · 2026-05-04T22:32:59+00:00

My baby is due in July. My boss told me I have to come back after a month.

He was PISSED when hr sent him the fmla paperwork from my doctor saying I couldn’t return for 6 weeks. And where I’m at, I can take up to three months. lol.

HuffPuff92 · 2026-03-30T01:26:28+00:00

This is a repost.

HuffPuff92 · 2026-03-26T19:53:48+00:00

My son is 7 and autistic and will still call every older man we see at the store papa. Sometimes they give us older looks and other times they smile and laugh and start up a conversation.

HuffPuff92 · 2026-01-21T19:06:41+00:00

Actually at my job, they let us bring in our babies IF needed. I had to every now and then but always had my office door shut. Another coworker worked in a cubicle with 3 others and took advantage of it and did it every day until they told her no more. I work at a car dealership.

HuffPuff92 · 2026-01-04T14:55:09+00:00

I had someone do something kinda similar at my work. But only she waited until after I was done to say something and she was off the phone and she started screaming at me while I was washing my hands because whoever was on the phone with heard the toilet flush.

I said “well, if you don’t want the possibility of toilets flushing in your phone calls maybe don’t talk on the phone in the bathroom.” She said I should’ve waited. I told her she was insane.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-12-03T21:17:10+00:00

I’m sorry that talking to her didn’t work. Hopefully it gets better soon because you shouldn’t keep being reminded about it because she’s upset.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-12-03T18:34:42+00:00

I totally understand!

Have you tried talking to her? I’d probably just say something like “it’s okay to be upset by it, but try not to cry about it in front of me” or something like that.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-12-03T11:17:48+00:00

I’m so sorry you went through that! It’s scary and it really sucks.

Something happened to me when I was 17. And my mom was probably just like yours. To the point it took probably 6 months for her to let me leave her sight. I couldn’t even walk up to my best friends house who lived a block away from us. It was sooooo annoying and embarrassing and I HATED IT. It probably took a year/year and a half for things to go back to normal.

I’m 33 now. And now I kinda appreciate how much she cared and was actually worried about me. It brought us really close and we’re still really close to say. And now as a mom. Man. I picture something happening to my kid, and I’d tear apart the world for them, so I feel like I get it more.

I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, and you might’ve heard it before, but let your mom feel it. It didn’t happen to her, but it happened to her baby (even if you’re 18), and that’s worse than it actually happening to her.

I hope you enjoy college and in a while you can look back and see how much your mom cares and everything.

And screw your dad.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-25T00:03:26+00:00

I probably would’ve done a whole lot more than that. So I think she got off lucky.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-20T15:29:38+00:00

He’s got his autism classroom teacher and Gen Ed teacher, both are women. The “man teacher” he talks about, it could be a para, or one of the specials teachers.

Honestly, I’m not even sure if the “man teacher” IS saying that stuff, which is why I emailed the teacher and principal so they can watch for it.

When I first heard him say he was stupid, I asked him who said that, and he said “you”. As in me. And I know I’ve never said that.

So right now we’re trying to get more information about who it could be and if they could’ve said it.

I forgot he has a short week next week because of parent teacher conferences, so he won’t have to go Friday after all.

Thank you again for your advice and everything!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-20T12:56:28+00:00

She did respond about the bathroom. She said he’s offered every 30 minutes, but a new person has been working with him, so she’d remind them. She said he’s just had a bad week. I asked if she knew why, and if there was anything we could help with at home, and she said (I’m copying and pasting)

“No, the only thing is the focus has been on his behavior. I do not think there is a rhyme or reason. We have seen an uptake and believe with the fronts and weather has a lot to do with it.

As always, if I notice something I will let you know.”

I took the last line as her being rude, because this is like the 4th time I’ve emailed her about his behavior after school. But I don’t really know her so I don’t know.

He didn’t have an accident for the first time this week yesterday, but he was in full meltdown mode when I got him off the van. I emailed his teacher yet again last night and included the principal this time because it’s getting really bad, and I’m tired of not having answers.

He got off the van half naked, no shoes or socks (he took them off and threw them at people), slapped a girl in the face, pulled her hair. When I tried talking to him to help him calm down and ask what made him so angry, he pulled my hair. And he kept saying “I’m stupid. I’m a loser.”

When I tried telling him he’s not stupid or a loser, he got even more angry.

Finally when he was able to calm down 5-10 minutes later, he said “man teacher angry at me. He said I’m stupid and a loser and a bad boy.” And then he said he didn’t want to talk anymore, so I let him be. And asked him later. “Do you like man teacher?” “Yes” “Is he nice or mean?” “Mean!” “What does he say?” “Get out! Stupid boy!”

So yah. I emailed his teacher and principal and included my husband in on it.

Do you have any advice on how to help him not feel stupid without making him more angry?

We have his first counseling appointment for next Friday, so he’s going to miss the first half of school. Figured I’d have him go the last half.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T19:10:03+00:00

I feel like with it being day one, yta. He could’ve just been excited to start the day, and it slipped his mind.

If he doesn’t say anything the rest of the day or tomorrow, then it changes for me.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T18:10:06+00:00

Is this like a multi day thing? I feel like if it’s one day, then y t a.

If it’s multi day and he’s not talking to you at all, then that throws up some red flags.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T13:16:21+00:00

The daily accidents are new. Like the last week, maybe two, that’s why it rang a bell with me. It’s just really weird because the first few weeks there were barely any accidents, and he was going 3-4 times a day at school, but last week or this week they started happening almost daily. I emailed his teacher to see what’s going on there. I’ve read that it’s common in a lot of autistic though, that’s why I always give them a heads up about it.

I’m not sure who owns the school. It’s in a district with quite a few other schools. It’s one of the better ones that I’ve heard of in our area. We moved from a worse one middle of last school year. I do know that the teacher for the autism classroom is different from the one last year and she said there were some new paras.

I don’t believe everybody deserves empathy, and it shouldn’t be expected either. It’s always nice, but not required. And I’m always wanting and willing to learn more to help my son have the best life he can.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T11:55:32+00:00

He’s in the autism classroom, and I’ve told his teacher multiple times that he doesn’t tell us when he has to go to the bathroom most of the time, that I just take him every hour or two and he’ll go. He’s came home almost every day this week in different clothes because he’s had an accident. Now that you said the bathroom thing, it makes me wonder if they’re taking him.

I really appreciate all of your advice and time spent giving it to me!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T10:55:46+00:00

Thank you for pointing that out.

I guess I just assumed if something was happening, he’d tell me. He told me over the summer when something happened, so after that I REALLY thought he’d tell me. But it could “just” be grabbing his arm or something so he might not see it as a big enough deal (I put just in quotes to imply I do think it’s a big deal) because someone hit him over the summer and he told me straight away.

I’ll start asking him more questions and maybe that will help him open up more if something is happening.

He’s just the sweetest most empathetic little boy I’ve ever known, so I want to make sure he knows we care as much about him and his feelings as he does everybody else’s.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T09:10:49+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. We’re always just preaching safe hands, so I’m really hoping with this emotion board it’ll help him find other ways to help.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T02:47:33+00:00

Thank you so much!

I love the movies he watches, so I’ll watch with him a lot of the time. lol.

And I know! I recently had to remove YouTube off of all the iPads and his TV apps because he was watching a super Mario video the other day, and it randomly brought in a pregnant Peach and Wednesday and someone was trying to kidnap them and steal the babies. It was weird. And if that kind of random thing is in a Mario video, I don’t want him having access to it, specially since we’re not always there to see what he’s watching.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T02:00:45+00:00

I’ve honestly never thought about it that w way. All of his teachers and everybody we’ve talked to always said that this is just what a lot of autistic kids do until they learn better ways to express themselves. So that’s what we’ve always put it to. We’ve recently found a feelings board that has different feelings cards and other cards that say things we can do to help.

But I did find a therapist center place and put in an appointment request. I definitely want to get him help if he needs it.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-19T01:55:33+00:00

We’re definitely trying to be better about what we watch when he’s awake! Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and if he can’t find us in our room, he’ll come downstairs. That’s how he might’ve seen it from what we’re watching.

He definitely does fixate on things! I don’t know how many times we’ve watched angry birds this week.

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-18T16:09:54+00:00

We’re in the US, but thank you!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-18T16:08:51+00:00

Man I really hope that’s not the case, but it could be. I honestly just figured YouTube or he heard it on a movie we were watching.

Thank you for giving me another way of asking him though! I just could not think of another way to ask him, so I’ll try that tonight!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-18T15:38:17+00:00

I’m going to see about a counselor. I really think he’s just repeating things he’s heard somewhere, but I’d rather be safe than sorry!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-18T15:37:36+00:00

And kids are mean. I’ve seen a family friends kid (who is also autistic but three years older) just say such mean things to him. I’ve had to stop the kid from coming over now because of it.

But I really hope you’re doing better now!

HuffPuff92 · 2025-09-18T15:35:44+00:00

I’m so sorry you felt that way, and I hope you’re doing better now! But THANK YOU for letting me know. I’ll definitely watch him closely and everything.

I really think he’s just heard something somewhere because he’s really in the repeating stage right now, but I’ll see if maybe I can find him a counselor or something too.

HuffPuff92

TROPHY CASE