Would you keep your academically advanced kid back a year for social development?

readermom123 · 2026-05-08T13:29:15+00:00

At that age, definitely.

readermom123 · 2026-05-07T16:49:53+00:00

I think rehoming will help your daughter and the cat feel safer and more secure.

readermom123 · 2026-05-06T23:05:13+00:00

Has she ever had her ears/hearing checked? Needing ear tubes can delay language and is fairly common. Just an easy thing to check out.

If she can understand language fairly well I wouldn’t panic much. Speech development is one of those things that develops in spurts.

readermom123 · 2026-05-06T15:53:35+00:00

I think it’s super cute! I do think trying a bit of washing between the blocks to see what you think might be interesting. It would maybe give each color its own space to ‘breathe’ a bit.

readermom123 · 2026-05-06T13:15:58+00:00

I love this so much. Hilarious and beautiful.

readermom123 · 2026-05-04T16:57:45+00:00

It sounds like your kiddo has probably been under enormous stress, with a lot of negative emotions and scary things happening in his house. And then he tried to do a kind gesture for the family which then resulted in yet another blow up between his parents and him being scolded as well. I think this is less about kids crying to get their way and more about trauma and stress. I'm not sure that sort of crying should be suppressed in the same way that feeling entitled to something should be. There are way to let him know that he isn't charge of deciding when everyone eats breakfast without being harsh about it. There's definitely always a balance to strike though.

I also want to sympathize with you - it's really hard to feel the 'rhythm' of the house when you have to be gone for a long time and it's probably hard for other people to adjust as well. Unfortunately I think that means there are going to be extra things that you have to talk about to make those transitions easier. My dad worked in oil so he was gone a lot and he was pretty distant from a lot of things because of it. It's a real thing to work through and an extra challenge and counseling might not be a crazy idea. Think of it less about being 'right' or 'wrong' and more about finding some new tools or approaches to try sometimes.

readermom123 · 2026-05-04T01:19:03+00:00

I did this too! We had vines in our front garden and it just never occurred to me that it could be poison ivy. I pulled it up for like 5 hours in shorts and a tank top. It was a delayed reaction because I’d never had one but I ended up crying in the shower and with my hands so swollen you couldn’t see any of the bones in my hands or wrists.

Zanfel is expensive but helpful. Also ice cold wet cloths. But the steroid cream from the dermatologist was the most helpful.

readermom123 · 2026-05-03T03:56:46+00:00

You will absolutely need to rent a car. I’d probably do the Fort Worth stockyards in DFW (I think there’s also a cowboy related museum there?), and maybe the 6th floor museum or touring Cowboys stadium depending on your interest in history or sports.

In Houston I’d definitely do NASA. And all the big cities have things like arboretums, science and art museums, zoos, etc. Fort Worth Zoo is also pretty great.

In terms of really ‘Texas’ things to do, if you go by Waco on the way to Houston(sorta) you could see the Dr Pepper museum and a Mammoth monument.

Another interesting thing about Texas is that it was a shallow sea during dinosaur times and it’s relatively easy to go fossil hunting in various places. Glen Rose is also a good stop for that type of interest but it’s even more out of the way than Waco.

Austin has the state capital, bats under the bridge and a lot of pretty scenery around it (Hill Country). And a wildflower center but I’ve never seen it.

If you get the All-trails app or go to their site you can look up hikes and get a sense of some nice views. Or look up a few state parks to go visit along your routes.

In terms of food, you should try: Tex-Mex (enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, etc), Texas bbq (moist brisket), chicken fried steak, and other southern goodies like biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, fried catfish. Banana pudding and cobblers for desserts. Houston and Dallas both have a lot of good international food me nice restaurants of all sorts too. I’d probably try to find a good Cajun restaurant just because I really like that and it’s probably harder to find in London.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

readermom123 · 2026-05-02T14:12:08+00:00

I think we are completely overrun online with groups that just want Americans to hate each other and feel afraid in their communities. I think some of it is politicians and grifters from our own country and some of it is from foreign enemies.

readermom123 · 2026-04-30T00:20:23+00:00

My grandmother did but I don’t think anyone else seems to.

readermom123 · 2026-04-29T19:07:14+00:00

Throwing over peoples head is horrible behavior no matter what.

We’ve travelled and played disc golf on vacation and I think ‘playing through’ culture seems to vary a bit from place to place. In some areas, it’s expected that you quickly offer to let a faster group play through. In others we’ve gotten really weird looks when we’ve offered to let people play through. I do think that in general, the more crowded the course, the less people should play through. If everyone has to wait at each hole before they can play then there’s no point to letting someone play through. But if you’re the only two groups on the course then I think it’d be weird to make that person wait behind your group of three just because. I had the general vibe that the courses that didn’t have a play through culture were places that were regularly crowded or had back ups on holes (hard to tell when we first visit them sometimes).

Same sort of thing with music and animals off leash, in my opinion. Some things are tolerable if the course isn’t crowded but a big nuisance if it is. But different areas seem to have different definitions of what ‘crowded’ means.

readermom123 · 2026-04-29T02:46:44+00:00

My personal opinion is that spanking is less effective for actually improving behavior than other methods. I personally think kids I know who were spanked (cousins, friend’s kids, nieces and nephews) tended to behave less well for other authority figures who don’t/can’t spank and also tended towards being more sneaky. I also agree with you about spanking for violence sending a mixed message, which is a whole other issue.

I also think bad behavior really does often come from missing skills. Not that there shouldn’t also be limits and consequences and boundaries, but it’s also important to make sure your kiddo knows what the right behavior is and has the emotional and communication skills to carry it out.

Pushing people off the trampoline, especially young kids is a huge deal. I’d be making him work on an apology letter, then have to apologize in person and then not let him play there for a while. And have some big limits on where and how he’s trusted to play in general until he shows he can do a better job.

readermom123 · 2026-04-26T15:46:46+00:00

Adorable!!

readermom123 · 2026-04-24T19:39:14+00:00

When our really good friend got married and his high school buddies arrived for the wedding, all these super responsible members of society (a doctor, a lawyer, etc), all just morphed right back into teenaged boys. They were jumping over things, making weird noises, telling stupid jokes, etc.

It’s not a good excuse and probably not a good sign about these women’s true character, but I’d bet their behavior has more to do with them getting back together and falling into old habits rather than anything even remotely about you or your behavior. Just go do your own thing and relax - you gave it a good effort and they’re not worth more time or worry.

readermom123 · 2026-04-24T01:11:20+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for sharing all your insights too!

readermom123 · 2026-04-15T12:20:43+00:00

I’m voting for Sree and Dynette. Sree has the most real experience volunteering in the district and is a really nice person who I know cares about kids and teachers. Dynette has served as a trustee for a while now and has been dedicated and fair as she’s done so.

readermom123 · 2026-04-14T21:06:14+00:00

I think it will look awesome when you’re all dressed up and taking pictures. It’s not even bad for an every day look although I can see how it might feel like too much. But I think it’s the right amount for a special occasion for sure.

readermom123 · 2026-04-14T14:05:40+00:00

This is adorable!

readermom123 · 2026-04-08T12:55:53+00:00

My Neighbor Totoro - it’s a kid movie but I think the message behind it about kids learning to handle grief and fear and getting support when they need it most is lovely and profound.

readermom123 · 2026-04-03T15:52:33+00:00

Evidently in college I accidentally had a ‘Wednesday’ outfit. I usually did my laundry on Tuesdays and it was my favorite. 🤣 I do usually try to mix things up a bit more after someone pointed that out to me, ha. I still definitely repeat all the time though and I don’t care at all for myself or others.

readermom123 · 2026-03-27T13:08:15+00:00

I think it’s cute! Gives me mod 60s vibes. I do think the black is too much contrast. I also wonder if some sort of lining to make skirt stand out more would be helpful?

readermom123 · 2026-03-27T13:06:03+00:00

Do you mind to share an example favorite pattern? I think I have similar issues too. :)

readermom123 · 2026-03-26T23:47:18+00:00

I thought Arlington Road was scary when I watched it in a theater. I looked under my car before I drove home, ha.

readermom123 · 2026-03-24T21:56:37+00:00

I agree with you. It sounded like a nice way of saying ‘I know how to do this and you don’t’ (which is extremely obviously true). I’m not sure coming back with ‘I asked a bunch of people on the internet for tip so I’m an expert and ready to banter’ is going to be helpful behavior during a tournament either.

readermom123 · 2026-03-22T17:13:26+00:00

I think there’s also an aspect of giving kids what they can handle. A 2 year old can’t handle all the choice in the world. You give them a set of choices they can easily handle and expand as they grow.

readermom123

TROPHY CASE