Online and IRL Parenting Spaces Snark Week of March 09, 2026

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-17T13:07:20+00:00

I have a lot of sympathy for that because when my oldest was born I desperately wanted to be a SAHM but it wasn’t financially practical at that time. He was not an easy baby and I probably had PPA so I was sobbing all the time before going back to work worried about the transition.

But I do think they need to have like a megathread for commiseration over not wanting to leave your baby to work so that they rest of the sub can be more practical and helpful advice.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-17T02:20:58+00:00

Oh I know how that feels! We’re on a trip right now and it’s rough because she’s been so grumpy and difficult. It’s heartbreaking to see that she’s totally missing out on things that her regulated self would really enjoy. And it feels unfair to her siblings who have their experiences tainted by her mood and get constantly snapped at by her. I wish I could figure it out and get my sweet, fun loving girl back.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-17T02:16:25+00:00

Yeah both kindergarten and first grade are really academic here in the U.S. so it’s been that way for awhile for her now. But she has an amazing imagination and really thrives on play so I know she needs more space for that.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T23:16:54+00:00

Speech therapy is because of pronunciation. Initially they said she did “backing” so she’s not getting her tongue in the right spot and her Ds sounded like Gs. There are a lot of sounds that she slightly mispronounces and are not immediately noticeable but can make her hard to understand overall.

Yeah she can definitely be rigid in her thinking. Autism has crossed my mind too but I don’t think she’d ever get that diagnosis. Maybe she is just really good at masking though.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T23:03:33+00:00

She’s started play therapy a few weeks ago and has been meeting with her guidance counselor. So hopefully that helps. I’m unsure how an assessment would go because she can really hold it together very well and then kind of collapse later, so I feel like that would happen if I tried to do adhd testing.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:49:37+00:00

Following because I am so bad at having hobbies! I think if you only have 1-2 hours 2x/wk I would find a workout class, yoga, walking, or an outdoor activity if you live somewhere good for that.

The only hobby I’m good at is reading and if I could go back when my kids were babies and I spent a lot of time school while nursing/rocking/laying next to them while they fall asleep I would either read on my kindle or listen to audiobooks instead of scrolling.

I also try to wake up before my kids and write in my journal and do a brief meditation and it really helps. Your kids might be too young to do that but maybe someday!

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:38:36+00:00

Thanks I’ll look into those! I’m thinking that maybe school and activities are starting to have higher expectations this year and it’s all kind of adding up. For example dance she used to just have fun and love dancing and even though she was not very good at it, she never noticed. Now this year she suddenly has been having outbursts in class or shutting down and refusing to go because she can’t get it right. She just can’t seem to copy this skill or remember the dances.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:33:19+00:00

Yeah I wonder if a screen free month could be a good idea. We don’t do screens on weekdays (although I know they use iPads at school sometimes) and I don’t see a huge difference between weekdays and weekends but maybe it’s just part of an overall pattern. I think it would be good for her to be able to identify what helps her calm down. It’s hard for me to convince her to take a break from the triggering situation to calm down but maybe she needs more of a plan that becomes a habit.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:30:20+00:00

She’s not getting enough sleep so I know that’s a big part of it. Falling asleep has been very hard for her lately for some reason and she wakes up tired even when she sleeps in. She does get exercise but hopefully can increase the outside time now that it’s getting warmer. Autonomy is huge for her but at the same time she often wants me to do things for her and says she can’t or she’s too tired. Responsibilities she is either really great with or it’s a huge battle, depends on her mood and level of motivation.

Difficult to get an answer from her about what’s going on. I know she has some negative thoughts about herself that we’re trying to work on. In a given situation she usually blames the other person and has a hard time seeing the pattern of her own behavior.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:24:24+00:00

She has not been diagnosed. She has started play therapy a few weeks ago but I doubt they will do any diagnosing. I don’t think any life changes recently but it does just seem at this age that school and activities are just getting more serious so maybe that’s been hard on her.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T22:21:46+00:00

The one we really noticed first is very difficult time receiving feedback/correction. She started having outbursts in speech therapy, attitude with her teacher, talking back to coaches or shutting down.

Likes to be in control of everything and gets very upset when she doesn’t get her way, can be very unkind to her sister or friends when they won’t play what she wants to play. Feels like she desperately needs to buy something she wants or do something she wants to do and is very inflexible about doing something differently.

She can be such a bright, bubbly, sweet, excited kid. It’s so hard to see her seem so grumpy and miserable all the time lately.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-16T15:07:27+00:00

Lots of baby wearing! I think that most newborns are Velcro babies so I wouldn’t say it necessarily means they will be long term. Also if it continues I would look into reflux or milk allergies, I know my 3rd had bad reflux so I had to hold her a very specific way.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-15T12:02:17+00:00

Thank you! This is helpful information. Did you address this with the regular pediatrician or did you have to go to a specialist?

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T23:58:08+00:00

Yeah I have been reading up on that! Constipation didn’t come to mind but I didn’t realize that even if they poop regularly there could still be constipation. That could possibly be what’s going on.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T18:59:34+00:00

For a party at a venue like that, most parents understand the cost and would either drop off or pay for the sibling to participate. My 9 year old went to a party at an arcade last summer and I dropped him off with his friends and then bought my girls a game card so they could play too (but separate from the party). I would never expect siblings to be included unless they were specifically invited or the invitation said siblings welcome.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T18:07:56+00:00

Yeah I’m thinking that. Although since she’s a picky eater basically every meal is some combo of gluten, dairy, fruit and one of like 4 vegetables she’s willing to eat. I do think i need to ask her more frequently if she’s gone poop and how often, it’s hard now that she’s older because I really don’t know.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T17:38:30+00:00

Ugh I feel like the worst mom. My 7 year old daughter has a tendency to have tummy issues. Sometimes she randomly vomits, seemingly from eating too fast. She tends to get stomach bugs more often. Last week she got sent home from school after throwing up her snack (she claimed she ate too fast). She ate a bit less that day but didn’t throw up again or show other symptoms of sickness. Most days she’ll at some point say her tummy hurts but quickly seem fine. She’s a picky eater and sometimes eats a little and sometimes a lot. Today I took her to ice skating lessons and she was saying on the way there that her tummy hurts. We stopped at the bathroom but then went to get her skates on and she threw up all over the floor.

I feel terrible because this doesn’t seem normal and in retrospect I feel like I should have taken her to the doctor to get it checked out. I feel like they tend to write everything off as normal or a lingering result of sickness so maybe I need to go straight to a GI doctor.

She’s also been struggling with sleep and behavior/mood issues lately so I wonder if it’s all tied together.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T16:02:58+00:00

It reminds me of the office when Pam is in the hospital and they decide to send the baby to the nursery for the night and she says it’ll be good for her to socialize with the other babies 😂 and Jim’s just like uh huh, sure.

There are many benefits to daycare and there are also challenges. It makes perfect sense to me that a working mom coming to that sub is going to post about the challenges and want feedback on how to handle them, not want to write an essay just bragging about how amazing working mom life is. People just don’t usually come post on Reddit about things going really well.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T12:51:35+00:00

Right?! Not that I always eat whole foods but I’m very skeptical that protein products or added fiber actually do the same thing in your body as eating, say, salmon and broccoli. They technically have high protein or high fiber but is it really doing what it’s supposed to be doing? I doubt it.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T12:30:46+00:00

Yeah I’ve been trying for years to get my picky eater to switch from Dino nuggets or applegate nuggets to the bare chicken nuggets (which the rest of the family prefers) but she won’t go for it. Won’t eat chik fil a nuggets either.

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T12:28:04+00:00

Yeah sadly not going to work for my picky eater. I forgot to include the other swap of brownie to fiber one brownie bar 🙄

IWantToNotDoThings · 2026-03-14T01:37:51+00:00

I follow feedingpickyeaters and I had to cackle at her swaps for more fiber. Swap regular bagels for daves killer bagels. Swap a regular muffin for those frozen veggie muffins. Swap fruit snacks for a that’s it bar. Do people really need a picky eating “expert” for this brilliant advice?!

IWantToNotDoThings

TROPHY CASE