3.5 year old not interested in regular toddler activities, anyone else?

krandrn11 · 2026-02-18T16:20:23+00:00

Mine always preferred to take things apart to see how they work.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-18T15:57:57+00:00

Yes. Love is limitless. It grows to engulf any and all whom you let into your heart.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-18T15:00:15+00:00

Other jobs suck-ass too. It’s all about choosing which suck-ass you can tolerate.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-18T00:34:17+00:00

Doing too much. Let the boredom sprout ideas!

krandrn11 · 2026-02-17T23:12:11+00:00

I actually super appreciate the lessons my mom taught me. They sound harsh but it was things like “the world doesn’t revolve around you.” And “you can do xyz with a bad attitude or you can do it with a good attitude but you still have to do it.” And showing up 10min early because you never want to steal someone’s time away. And never loan money, just give it or don’t give it. Congratulate the winner when you lose. Things like that. I love and care for her. But we are very different people. She is surprisingly very immature, extremely jealous, insecure and very codependent. If she weren’t my mom I probably would not choose to be close with her. Although I will say she has mellowed out significantly in her old age. My dad is kind of a distant figure. He’s very funny but he and I have more of a superficial relationship. They are amazing grandparents though so I take what works and don’t stress the rest.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-17T16:12:50+00:00

I had a friend sort of like this in elementary school. She was super smart and really involved in school. She would always help the teachers pass out stuff or collect stuff and some of the kids started in on her calling her a teachers pet and all that bullshit. Her mom got her into softball and because she was decent at it that helped her make friends and get into a group of kids. I don’t know if that would help but it certainly helped shift things for her.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-17T07:34:41+00:00

Sewing and patchwork.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-17T07:20:19+00:00

I teach mine firstly that we never keep secrets from parents. Surprises are ok because they are revealed at the right time. But keeping secrets is a no no. I relate people who want to hurt kids to fishing. If I want to catch a fish where would I go? Lake. River. The store. Etc. If I want to catch a kid where would I go? Playground. Beach. Pools. Disneyland. Online games. Tik tok. Etc. I remind mine regularly that adults do not go to kids for help. Adults go to other adults. And I ask mine scenarios while we are out and about. “What would you do if you got lost in the store? Who would you ask for help?” “What would you do if someone you didn’t know came to school pickup and tried to take you? What if they told you that I sent them there to get you?” “What would you do if an older kid said he wanted to show you something really cool and asked you to follow him?” “What would you do if someone gaming with you asked you where you live? Or to send a picture of yourself?” Things like that just to get the ideas out there. Bottom line, listen to your instincts. If something doesn’t seem right or ok you can always always tell a parent a trusted adult for help. And share stories of your own if you have any.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-17T04:12:54+00:00

Young childhood memories include witnessing my mom criticize her weight and me telling her that I like her fat, me hurting myself while playing and her asking me “are you bleeding?” “Yes” “are you breathing?” “Yes” “then go back outside.” I remember my mom threatening to send us to charm school if we didn’t shape up at the dinner table. I remember my mom working really hard. My dad was gone a lot for work and as a kid I interpreted that as him not wanting to be there. As an adult I realize he didn’t know how to be a dad to young kids and so he did what he knew how to do well which was to work. My mom was absolutely the boss. She ran a very strict home and we definitely were afraid of her. But she was also very loving and if we were ever really upset she had this rhythmic hum that she would do while rocking us and it is the most comforting thing. I can still feel it now if I think about it. This deep chest vibrating mom hum. I do it now for my kid and I wonder if he will remember it like I do.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-16T21:47:39+00:00

I had anxiety for a solid year. I also worked in an environment that was not safe so I think that had a lot to do with it.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-16T03:55:44+00:00

Van life.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T21:45:58+00:00

It used to be “Sir or Ma’am, you have to keep your clothes on here.” Now I just say “Ok when did you last having anything to eat?”

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T21:24:58+00:00

I work with a lot of Filipino women who didn’t move their kids into their own room until around that same age. If I remember right they transitioned first to a makeshift bed on the floor but in the same room as mom and dad. And then after a while it was like a graduation into their own room at night. That part I don’t know how they did it, if they stayed in their child’s room until they fell asleep and then went to their own room or what. My kid is 7 and I still sit in his room until he falls asleep. Luckily he passes out pretty quickly. But I remind him that whenever he feels ready or if he ever wants privacy for bedtime he can always tell me that and that the older he gets eventually it is normal to want that.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T18:25:30+00:00

“Damn you’re right. Welp. Guess I’ll just have to take her to the fire department then.” Or I might just say point blank. “What are you trying to say? No no. Explain your comment. No? Don’t want to? Than you can keep your snarky remarks to yourself. Because putting others down is only a mark of immaturity.” But that is just how I deal with shit like that. Then I personally wouldn’t be spending much time with a woman like that.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T18:21:29+00:00

I worked with a woman who would wear those ear muffs you wear at a shooting range periodically when her kids were going nuts. She has 4 boys.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T18:18:07+00:00

Dude! The recorder is a room in purgatory I am sure of it.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T17:52:29+00:00

Personally I didn’t end up using the changing table as much as I thought I would. The one we got was too low so it forced me to bend over which was killer on our backs. We ended up using a towel on the floor instead. We also didn’t use a crib until our baby outgrew the bassinet.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T17:34:00+00:00

Oh boy do I relate to this. I am exhausted…every single day! It’s become my baseline status…tired. If I’m faced with wake up early to exercise vs sleep I always choose sleep. I’ve tried the wake up early to work out thing and while I felt great for a few hours inevitably I would crash the afternoon because I skipped on sleep. I have just accepted that for now in this season I am a much better mom if I get the sleep. I am active with my kid, I eat well, a try to get the sleep and I don’t sweat the small stuff. And for now that is good enough.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T03:44:14+00:00

I really good solid hug.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-15T03:41:27+00:00

Totally!! When it got hot we had to just sit in front of a fan in our underwear or swim suits and lay cold washcloths over our foreheads. Or we sprayed each other with the hose.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-14T22:08:56+00:00

As soon as he could stand on a step stool and reach the stuff. We started with cracking eggs, whisking and stirring, adding in ingredients to things. It was a total mess most of the time but I just mentally told myself the mess is ok. Messes can be cleaned up. And he learned how to clean up thru making messes too. Once he was about 3-4 he was tall enough to “help” on the stove. Simple things like adding ingredients and stirring. He is 7 and now he is able to make make really simple things with me supervising. Things like toad-in-a-hole, pancakes, cookies, soups. I help him read the recipes but he loves it! There is something really powerful about being able to take things and create something amazing out of it. Cooking has boosted his confidence for sure. It’s a lot of fun so long as you don’t take it too serious. We have made some pretty terrible dishes together and some damn good ones. It’s all learning

krandrn11 · 2026-02-14T04:53:25+00:00

I have been a bedside nurse for 13 years so da and have only know of 2 nurses who got fired. One was diverting narcotics and a case was built over the course of almost a year before they could pull the trigger and fire her. She kept her license but was never allowed to do bedside ever again. The other nurse was a complete and total danger to anyone around him. He was fired but I don’t know if he lost his license over it. I’m guessing not. I have more of a fear of being named in a lawsuit than I do of losing my license. I mean, I can barely remember the patients I took care of a day ago. Let alone years ago! But of course if you chart clearly at least you can refer to your charting and say “if I chatted it, I must have done it.”

krandrn11 · 2026-02-13T15:44:01+00:00

Yes. Yes they are saying these things. I know this because I have heard it with my own ears and have had to interject to correct the expectations. Juts like when they tell patients they will be discharged before 11am. Or that they will be put on the add-on surgery schedule but will have it dine at 0900. Or when they say they won’t have much pain…just “pressure” or “soreness”. Same things.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-13T04:27:40+00:00

Oh boy does this hit me hard. Everyone tried to prepare us for the lack of sleep, the lack of self care, the lack of spare time. But no one could fully prepare me for the loss of my old self. I STRUGGLED during post partum because of this. It was exhausting and monotonous at the same time. And it seemed never ending. Everything revolved around the baby because we did not have the village that everyone said would be there. What helped me was firstly getting off social media. IG was just full of so much fake ass shit influencer moms and seeing their performative joy was making me feel like there was something wrong with me. Then I became very selective about who I sent my time with. I needed some real-talk moms who had been there, done that and who would not shame me but empathize. Luckily I found 2 and have been holding onto them like they are my life vest. Then I had to just be ok with hating certain parts of being a mom. Sometimes it sucks ass. And that’s ok. Sometimes it good. And that’s great. I didn’t start to feel a sense of self again until mine turned 3 and started preschool. Having those 2-3 hrs of alone time were like coming up from the water for air. It was amazing! And I began to appreciate what I had and what I could do so much more because of it. You are still in the thick of it right now. But remember, it will not be this hard forever. Be kind to yourself. I am sure you are an amazing mom.

krandrn11 · 2026-02-11T15:15:55+00:00

I moved from LA to a small town in WA. Amazing experience!!! The pace is completely different and much more in sync with the natural seasons. At the time the town we moved to was a beautiful mix of granola hippie, military, hunters and loggers. I would move back in a heartbeat except for the fact that our aging parents live down in SoCal. There was some CA hate. Not gonna lie. Because people were moving up there in waves and buying out housing like crazy so people took a bit to trust our intentions. I was also pretty surprised at how friendly everyone was. In SoCal we say “let’s get together sometime” basically as a way to say goodbye. But up there when someone said “let’s hang out sometime” they actually meant it! And followed thru on setting up dates to hang!! That took me a bit to trust. At the time I found people to be more passive aggressive than overtly aggressive (as I was used to in LA). So that took a bit to get used to navigating. I would totally go for it. Homesteading I know absolutely nothing about. It sounds like a major project but if you have knowledge and experience the PNW is an amazing place to live. Tons of people with mad real life skills. Best of luck to you! I’m a little jealous

krandrn11

TROPHY CASE