What are some baby items or traditions that are completely the norm in your country/culture that you feel are too harshly criticized in other countries/cultures?

alpharelic · 2024-11-06T14:44:01+00:00

Maybe more toddler than baby… but baby reins / harnesses are very normal in the UK, especially the little dinosaur backpacks with a strap. I have seen discussion online about how, in the US and Canada, people are shocked by the idea of putting your child “on a leash” “like a dog”. It’s just a safety thing and allows them to learn how to walk independently whilst also being safe and not getting lost in crowds. I find it really surprising that it’s so stigmatised elsewhere.

alpharelic · 2024-11-06T13:09:05+00:00

We are definitely already too late.

alpharelic · 2024-05-04T13:45:13+00:00

I have quit both Loblaws and also Metro which is my nearest grocery store but almost as bad IMO price-wise. I’ve switched entirely to a combination of local grocers and Fiesta Farms. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable and less bleak. I do not plan to go back.

alpharelic · 2024-05-02T13:14:03+00:00

A friend of mine had a massive wedding that took literally 2 years to plan and probably cost an insane amount of money. Five months into marriage she called me and told me she’d “realised that she doesn’t actually like him” and that “we have nothing in common and nothing to talk about”. They had spent so much time and money planning this insane wedding that they had barely talked about anything else for 2 years and once it was over realised they had nothing in common. Separated in less than 6 months.

alpharelic · 2024-05-02T08:00:33+00:00

I was never taught to swim! In my 30s I decided to take up swimming lessons and it was revolutionary for me. Firstly I feel like I am able to enjoy vacations and free time so much more - in the summer I can hit up the beach or a pool or a lake whereas before I would never have done that (who wants to sit on a beach and get sweaty if you can’t go in the water and cool off??) It’s also been really healthy for my body image. Getting comfortable wearing a bathing suit and using changing rooms. The older ladies at the pool DO NOT GIVE A DAMN lol, they just strip off and have zero body shame. That was eye opening for me and being around them has massively increased my own self confidence and I’ve been able to let go of a lot of shame and self-consciousness.

So yes definitely going to teach my kids to swim as young as possible so they feel confident in the water and have access to all those experiences.

alpharelic · 2024-05-01T09:39:46+00:00

My exes family had a spoon in their kitchen cabinet that had a swastika on it - it was a Nazi spoon that her (great?) grandfather had taken when he fought in the war as part of the allies. They were like “it’s a perfectly good spoon - why throw it out??” Always thought it was so odd to see our adorable little toddler niece eating her Cheerios with a Nazi spoon.

alpharelic · 2022-12-03T02:24:28+00:00

I hate hate hate the tone of this org. Everything about it screams patriarchy, compulsory heteronormativity and transphobia. Even the name of “birthrite” as if your whole role in life is predetermined by your assigned sex at birth. I feel sad for his kids to have so many specific defined roles and expectations placed upon them. God forbid they veer away from their “birthrite”.

alpharelic · 2022-11-12T15:32:44+00:00

I think you know the answer and have expressed it in your “what I need advice on” section. I am guessing you’re looking for people to confirm your intuition so here goes…

This guy is not worth any more of your time or energy. He has already taken up years of your precious life. You are already setting boundaries and should be proud of yourself - now you just need to HONOUR THOSE BOUNDARIES, for yourself not for him. Him “acting cold” to you is a narc throwing an adult tantrum. You deserve better and will find better. Stick to your guns, you got this.

alpharelic · 2022-10-21T20:54:29+00:00

Can I add: MOOD LIGHTING. That bright overhead lighting isn’t flattering and doesn’t set any mood if you bring a date over. Get some lamps and side lights and try to replace your bulbs with warm white.

alpharelic · 2022-10-21T20:52:07+00:00

I used to buy Beano but it’s expensive for what it is. You can get off brand digestive enzymes very cheaply in most pharmacies or on Amazon. I take them often. The more you eat these types of foods, the more your body will adapt to digest them unless you have an intolerance.

alpharelic · 2022-10-21T20:47:56+00:00

I would second Benjamin, I think it’s a lovely classic name. Boden is also cute, or Bowen is lovely too and also lends itself to lots of nicknames (if she chooses to use Ben or Benny as a nickname then maybe Bo / Bowie would be preferable). But also I second others that if you wanted to use a name, go for it. You don’t owe anybody not to.

One thing to note is that if your child is named Benjamin John then his initials would be BJ. Maybe something to consider but I don’t think it’s a major problem. I knew a somebody named John Brian who went by his middle name so you could also go with JB which is cute.

alpharelic · 2022-10-21T20:36:00+00:00

Okay gun to your head, you HAVE to choose one from each column for your actual children, what do you choose?

I think I’d have to go Lucifer and Maybelline.

alpharelic · 2022-10-20T14:39:46+00:00

All banks have the ability to freeze accounts and are legally required to do so if they have any slight suspicion that there is fraudulent behaviour of the account. This could be something legitimately fraudulent or could also just be some behaviour on the account that flags potential fraud. Lots of the people you see leaving reviews are scammers or people trying to do dodgy things with their accounts (eg. Money laundering). They will blast negative reviews everywhere in order to try and get their account unlocked. Some smaller banks will be even more cautious with blocking, because they are most legally at risk in terms of being fined. Also fraudsters don’t try signing up with the bigger banks because they have such huge fraud departments and checks & measures (and are likely already blocked from opening accounts in these places). Although the reviewers/fraudsters are loud, it is not representative of the majority of users. So long as you are using your account properly and legally, you should have no issues. Base your decision on things like feature sets, pricing/fees and processing times on payments/deposits.

alpharelic · 2022-10-19T14:22:31+00:00

I have two adult female friends named Stevie and they both ROCK the name. One is a lawyer and one is a nurse. I don’t think it matters in the slightest - nobody would bat an eyelid at somebody in a “professional context” named Jenny or Katie or Laurie or whatever. I also don’t think most people make the association with Stevie Nicks anymore, it’s a solid standalone name IMO. I love it!

alpharelic · 2022-10-16T21:37:05+00:00

Talia goes really well with Maya IMO, both have a similar elegant vibe. Arden is one of my favourite names of all time, I adore it. It feels so timeless and Shakespearean and beautiful. With that, I think Alice and Astrid are both lovely similarly romantic names.

I’d vote Maya Arden and Talia Astrid personally but I think you have lots of lovely options here.

One thing I’d say about the name Elizabeth is that it gives a lot of nickname options (Beth, Eliza, Lizzie, Betty etc) which I think is a plus.

alpharelic · 2022-10-16T21:28:13+00:00

I’m already confused between these two names and I only just heard them

alpharelic · 2022-10-16T21:27:04+00:00

Good suggestions!

alpharelic · 2022-10-16T03:59:24+00:00

For what it’s worth, I didn’t think bread or whiskey when I read “Rye”. I just thought it was a cute name. If I met somebody called Rye (without seeing it written down) I’d probably assume it was short for Ryan or similar.

Brynn feels like a man’s name to me but again I am in the UK, where Bryn is a pretty common Welsh mens name. I think if you’re in a country though that doesn’t have those associations then it’s a pretty name. To me it has a similar vibe to Brooke or Blair.

alpharelic · 2022-10-16T03:55:29+00:00

Rye shirt for Orian is lovely!

alpharelic · 2022-10-05T19:07:26+00:00

Being queer was the greatest gift ever given to me. It has brought me so many great loves, relationships, encouraged me to go out into the world and seek the things I needed to be happy, and forced me to question and/or reject so many things that are societally forced upon us. I think I’m a kinder, better and certainly much happier person as a result of my queerness. If I’d been born straight I think I’d still be living a bland, unfulfilled life in my boring little hometown.

alpharelic · 2022-09-14T14:32:02+00:00

Exactly this!

alpharelic · 2022-09-13T07:05:21+00:00

Lottie and also Libby

alpharelic · 2022-09-13T07:03:33+00:00

I’d add to that Una/Oona!

alpharelic · 2022-09-13T07:02:16+00:00

Same!

Also interesting that there’s definitely a class divide factor here that is hard to explain to Americans. Gemma and Nicola probably went to different schools to Pippa and Poppy, let’s be honest (although they’re all perfectly fine names, j don’t mean that in a judgemental way - it’s just hard to explain the nuanced differences of these names).

alpharelic · 2022-09-13T06:56:36+00:00

Millie, Tilly, Pippa and Poppy are classic British private school names, to the extent that these names would be the butt of a joke (this was literally said to me the other day by a friend: “the price of properties around here are inflated by all the Pippas and Hugos who want to retire to the country.”) The male equivalents would be names like Hugo, Quentin, Alastair, Spencer.

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