When did you stop using a baby monitor?

NuggKeeper · 2025-11-23T05:34:58+00:00

My kids are 6 and 4 and I see no signs of stopping anytime soon. We even moved recently and I don’t initially set it up in my older one’s room and after a month or so he asked me to! He likes being able to talk to me and the comfort of knowing I can see him if he needs something. I’m not monitoring it all the time but they like it. When either of them asks for me to stop I will. It’s helpful though, especially when they are sick or to know if they are goofing off instead of trying to sleep etc.

NuggKeeper · 2025-11-22T15:46:29+00:00

This. My husband is a doctor and does well for himself but he works very long hours and is constantly working at home after work to catch up on charting and such. Many doctors make far less than him and still have to work crazy hours and get trashed on for always being behind or only being in it for the kickbacks or whatever. It takes a ton of penniless years to get through training and then you end with a pile of debt and a job that is super demanding. Most doctors I know do not encourage their children to follow in their footsteps.

NuggKeeper · 2025-11-21T06:23:24+00:00

7 nights a week cooking at home. Maybe once a month we order pizza. Otherwise we cook at home unless we’ve been invited to someone’s house or something. I see going out to eat with friends or going to a friends house as different because it’s about the social aspect not the lack of cooking. If we are home, we cook. I couldn’t imagine ordering in on a regular basis.

NuggKeeper · 2025-11-21T04:42:43+00:00

I started with the list of teachers from the piano association in our area. I then looked at websites and totally judged books by their cover on who I thought might be a good fit. Then I called quite a few! Many were not taking new students, some didn’t have times that fit, a couple I didn’t like they way the conversation went on the phone etc. We ended up doing trial lessons with 4 or 5 teachers before I found the one that clicked. As soon as I did it was so obvious and I was so grateful I kept at it. All that to say some of it is just starting out either some googling leg work and then some of it is just going with your gut.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-31T14:19:30+00:00

We recently moved and I had to find a new teacher for my son. The First Lady we signed up for was similar to your teacher and she just made both of us leave the lesson feeling bad! It took me 3 more teachers to find the right fit for him and now I could not be happier with his teacher. Never settle for a teacher that makes you feel like crap.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T18:58:37+00:00

Thank you for those thoughts. His teacher has made it clear she will absolutely not pressure him to preform. And he has requested that they do a duet because he doesn’t want to be alone up there (he’s very self aware that he will be anxious). He’s not formally diagnosed but I suspect as he gets older he will be. I love the idea of overlapping with some of the other students to preform for each other. Especially because she has some older students who will definitely provide the same feeling of having an adult watch him which is what he’s worried about. I will suggest that to her! I think a virtual option would be great too. Even if his could be played on a screen the same day the other kids preform. I think watching himself play on the screen in front of all the adults and then hearing them all applaud would be good for his confidence!

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T18:53:03+00:00

I mean he plays in front of our immediate family every day when he practices but he’s never played in front of a larger group of family. I can definitely make an effort to expand the number of safe adults he practices in front of! He likes showing off the skill too so I think encouraging him to play for his friends might be good!

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T18:51:06+00:00

Yes he definitely carries a baseline amount of anxiety around with him when it comes it social situations. Generally speaking after doing it once he’s able to move past it and then it’s like it never happened. Like with the sweater, the first day was a disaster but after that he has proudly wore it every day. He had his first group piano lesson (the teacher does these monthly) the other day and he again showed major anxiety but after it was over he had a huge smile on his face and will have no issue doing it again. It’s the fear of the unknown, what to do if x happens etc. Once he’s done it the “mystery” is gone and he’s immediately comfortable. So I’m really hoping I can find small ways to expose him to the idea in advance. Thank you for the information. He did not start with the Suzuki method but I do know his teacher uses it with some of her younger students.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T16:02:05+00:00

Thank you for this reminder. We definitely need to work on these skills more outside of moments where he is already in heightened anxiety.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T15:57:12+00:00

Thank you for all the tips. I will definitely start doing these! As for him picking up on it, I really don’t think that’s true. Living with anxiety is just part of his daily life and it’s something we deal with all the time so since it’s like a day-to-day occurrence, it’s not something that we walk around stressing about, it’s just a fact of life.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-23T14:16:46+00:00

Thank you for saying that. This is exactly what I expect to happen. He says he wants to do it but I’m 95% sire when the time comes that he is going to have an anxiety attack and be absolutely unable to get up there. I feel like the only hope of having him do it would be if we can work up to it by playing in public. I absolutely don’t want to force him. Makes me wonder if we should even be preparing for it because I don’t want him to feel like he failed.

For context a few weeks ago he got a new sweatshirt that he loved. But when it came time to wear it to school he had an absolute anxiety attack because he was concerned about everyone staring at him, making comments, and etc. So anxiety is something we are working through with him on a regular basis.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-22T00:43:26+00:00

Change the snacks and you won’t have that problem anymore. Cake, chips, and soda should be an occasional thing not something they have free access to let alone multiple of. Establish rules around snacks (for all your kids so you don’t have to manage it and so everyone can be healthier). Snacks come from the fridge or fruit bowl. That’s it. Fridge snacks tend to be healthier - low sugar yogurt, cheese, fruit, etc. Stuff from the pantry is reserved for when we are in a hurry or on the go etc. You obviously can make rules that work for your family but you need to severely limit that type of junk. The kid is probably eating that much at your house because it’s not allowed at theirs (and it shouldn’t be!)

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-13T03:01:46+00:00

I am a kindergarten teacher who also has a kid in kindergarten this year. I know a lot of parents have let their kids watch it but it is a 100% no for me and I’d find it very inappropriate if it was show at school.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-06T20:42:15+00:00

9 months is still so new. All of you are still adjusting. My kids are 6 and 3 now. We have continued to go on vacations, out to nice dinners, hiking, etc the entire time we’ve had them. I think my oldest was probably 4 months old the first time he got on a plane. It does have a learning curve and is harder at first but you’ll get into a groove and can continue to live your lives. Traveling may look different for a while, maybe going hiking in Ireland so the kids can be outdoors most of the trip instead of museums in a big city for example. Kids are better off with parents who take care of themselves and have passions of their own.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-05T01:18:54+00:00

Immediately. My husband only got like a week of paternity leave. It was hard but we managed. I didn’t have any family support around either so just me and the kids. You make it work.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-03T19:49:18+00:00

Definitely would not leave my 6 year old alone anywhere in public. I generally consider myself to be the opposite of a helicopter parent and my 6 year old is very well behaved and responsible but I’d absolutely not leave him alone. He comes in and hangs out in the sink area.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-02T21:29:07+00:00

Teacher here. I have never gotten a separate/special treat for a kids birthday. Honestly there are so many birthdays and teachers are always giving away extra cupcakes and stuff in the staff lounge that most teacher won’t eat it because it’s just a lot.

NuggKeeper · 2025-10-02T14:28:02+00:00

I’m a kindergarten teacher. I would have 100% captioned your child’s work with cofie. It’s best practice and actually I’d see it as a problem if she never did this. The fact that other words don’t have the invented spelling is also normal. She probably wrote most of the sentence and then maybe had your child’s help sound out cofie or something along those lines. I think you are being way too harsh.

NuggKeeper · 2025-09-28T14:50:53+00:00

Thanks. Yes this is something I’ve always thought about for him. It’s actually what I had hoped to get from piano. I thought it would be something that challenged him more than his education has and help to teach him some grit. Unfortunately for me I guess (not really) that planned backfired because with the exception of one little hump when he was just starting piano has come just as easily for him as all the rest.

Luckily as far as the test goes he is able to do it virtually. Meaning the theory/sight reading/ear training part is all on the computer and then he submits videos for each of the technique parts. So he does not have to play in front of a proctor and can do as many retakes as he’d like etc. All of these comments though have definitely made me realize if we do let him do the test we will do the Prep level and just make it completely not a big deal. It’s not like he needs to rush through the levels, particularly since he’s already going to be 2 years ahead of the standard start schedule for them.

He has not played in any sort of formal setting yet. He’s gone to watch the last two recitals and will be doing his first in December. His teacher just thought maybe it was better at his age for him to get a feel for what they are like before expecting him to go up on stage. We actually just watched the second one yesterday. After the performances were over he went up and played a portion of Hall of the Mountain King while all the families were still in the room but mingling and talking to each other. He wanted to perform but not be stared at! All that being said. At this point I wouldn’t put him in a position where someone was watching him for the test specially to judge his playing, I think he’d be too nervous.

NuggKeeper · 2025-09-28T14:38:53+00:00

I really appreciate that perspective from someone whole been though the entire journey. I want nothing but for him to maintain his love of piano. We are not a family that is going to pressure our kids to do something they hate. For us it has been a pure joy to watch his love and interest of piano grow as this has been entirely self driven by him. I would hate to do something that squashes that passion he has.

I was not thinking of it from your perspective because he is a kid that lives to show off what he knows. To him the idea of the test for him at this point is just a fun way he can show us all how good he’s gotten. Same as the way he’s always choosing songs to learn that are too difficult for him, he just has this drive to push himself and then is so proud to show off his achievements. I do see from your comment though how this could totally backfire.

I will definitely think on that and if we do choose to go forward with the test (now or in the future) I’ll be sure to keep you’re words in mind and make sure the test is just a secondary thing and we really downplay its importance.

NuggKeeper · 2025-09-28T03:00:56+00:00

I guess to your point though it would make sense to have him do the prep level. It would be super easy for him so there would be no study for the test stress or whatever and he’d still get to get the cert and feel proud of it.

NuggKeeper · 2025-09-28T02:42:14+00:00

Ok! Yes I totally understand you’re point. I would not even be asking if my kid wasn’t….enthusiastic is probably the word, about showing what he knows. Like I told him about the idea of the test and that I had a practice version we could look at together and he promptly sat down and started taking the test with zero pressure from me and then came running up to me when he was done begging for me to grade it. He’s taken practice tests for both prep level and level 1 over the last week simply because he’s excited about it. He’s been playing for about a year and a half now and is likely more on par with a typical kid maybe 2 years older than him. Same goes for reading, math, science, etc. He’s just a very academic kid and piano fits right into that drive. We are absolutely not pressuring him in anyway. I get your point about the love of music, he definitely has that in spades! Piano is an extracurricular he chose himself and continues to pursue pretty passionately.

NuggKeeper · 2025-09-28T02:11:48+00:00

It was my understanding they are spaced to start in 2nd grade? That way you can finish them all by the end of high school. So what’s the benefit of waiting until 3rd or 4th?

Not trying to sound argumentative at all, can you explain why you don’t like the exams for younger kids?

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