Parents Wrestle with Child's Social Development

“I’m sure this question has been asked before, ngl- I didn’t search. My 15 y.o. Wants an IG account. I’m a pretty firm ‘no’, but wondering why or why not other parents so or don’t allow. If you do, which platform? What parameters? What age? If you don’t, why? submitted by /u/New_Back4483 [link] [comments]”

“My 7 year old asked to have a sleepover with a boy from her class so they could play Minecraft. They're both innocent kids. My husband and I were fine with it since they're so young, and I have adequate sleeping areas (pullout couch in a separate room/trundle), but I did have a discussion with his mom about it. As expected she said "No", and we arranged a playdate instead. Totally fine by me. I tried and failed to explain when asked by my daughter why he couldn't stay the n”

“My 11 year old son has been less interested in attending his extra curricular activities. We use to have him in soccer and martial arts. He asked to be out of soccer. Fine. And now recently he wants out of martial arts. He has no interest in attending anything else. He says he just wants to hang out with his friends and play at the park. Which isn’t so bad. Growing up, our parents never put us in anything. So I know that he will be fine. At the same time, I can see a lot of benefits of him being”

“From your experience, which stage would be parenting the hardest? I am just curious because I now have a pre-teen and handling him has been a little harder for me. At 9yo, he dropped the bomb when he said, "You are destroying my life!" all because I grounded him for disrespecting an elder. So yeah, I am curious. To fellow parents who now have older kids, how did you manage? Any tips? submitted by /u/shewolf_268 [link] [comments]”

“I need help. My kid will be turning 5 soon and is wanting a big friend birthday party. Problem is that she wants to invite this one girl. They have a bunch of mutual friends, they go to the same activities (staying general here on purpose), and her parents are also well connected to these other families as well. HOWEVER I’ve watched how they act. This other girl doesn’t play with my kid. She ignores her most of the time, wants to assert “dominance” in the friendship with mutual friends, and does”

“Hey my 4 year old is really excited for her baby brother but she’s started to show jealousy about things being brought for him etc I’m worried that when he’s born she’ll be really jealous of ‘extra’ attention he’ll get as he’s a newborn. How can I help this? submitted by /u/shabbagonk [link] [comments]”

“Hey guys, my 4.5 year old is truly the sweetest, kindest little boy at heart - he melts my heart all the time being such a caring boy. However, as of late, it seems he’s upset with anything I say or do. It’s like an argument from the second we wake up and it’s all day long. He listens to my husband no problem, and I follow the exact same disciplining as he does, but when it comes to me - it’s still a full on meltdown. For example, I had to go out to the barn today and stop by a friends house to”

“My son is 15, so is his girlfriend. She was over last night hanging out and she stayed for dinner. We allow them to be in his room just with the door open. I went to get them for dinner and as I rounded the corner I noticed my son’s girlfriend pulling her hand out of his pants real quick. At least I’m 95% sure that’s what I saw. It happened so fast, I have some doubt. But I feel they had a bit of a guilty look on their faces. In the moment I said nothing but that dinner was ready and pretended I”

“I have a good friend who has similar aged kids to me, and our youngest go to kindy together. This friend of mine is absolutely gorgeous- extremely kind, intelligent, wholesome, caring. I really value our friendship. We have developed a great system where we mind each other's kids when in a pickle, and it's been a real saviour at times. However through babysitting her youngest and watching her play with my daughter for whole days at a time, I've observed her daughter is actually quite”

“My mums friends daughter said I was cute? M17 F18/19? My mums friend came round the other day.She said her daughter thought I was cute.I have only seem her once which was a month ago,She had a boyfriend at the time but I don’t know is she still does,I don’t go to school (4 years) so I have never really had a friend,I don’t know how she said or what she was implying,When she told her mum?I am just curious. see.My mum works with her,When she said that her daughter said I was “cute” mum was agreein”

“How did you manage the jealousy of the bigger sibling? I have a 5 year old boy and now a 1 month old girl and he’s so horrible with me (not with her somehow). He won’t accept a “no” as an anwear from me for anything he’s demanding, he gets angry and then trying to manipulate that I am always angry at him since the sister came. I just don’t know how to be anymore. Before I gave birth, we had such a good connection. He would listen to me, respect me. I feel like there is a gap between us and I don”

“Hi guys, My daughter is almost 4 and at the cusp of the age where she goes down to play in our community, make friends, etc a lot more independently. Till now, it’s been great. She’s a little moody when it comes to kids, especially those who are not her regular friends, but overall, she’s does well socially. Unfortunately today she was the target of a mean kid and didn’t get to play with the kid she wanted to play with since the mean kid was playing with him. The mean kid also kept telling her s”

“Got engaged over spring break. Grade 2 children ask about new ring on hand, I briefly explain that I got engaged to my partner. One week later, child is standing at the top of the slide during outdoor time and says very calmly, ‘Ms. ______, when are you going to get married? And have babies? And have s_x?’ Completely straight faced 😂 lovingly and calmly said ‘my dear your question was pretty personal’ while trying not to laugh to which child responds ‘oh. The third one, huh? I’m sorry’ and runs”

“My kiddo wants a birthday party. Generally, we don't do parties because it's a pain, people don't RSVP, and we have had a very bad experience where for one of them, nobody came. I want to avoid that again at all costs which is why I stopped trying to make it happen and just do alternate celebrations. Well my 3rd grader really wants a birthday party this year. However, kiddo has no friends. Their birthday is right at the start of school so there realistically isn't any time to mak”

“My daughter (9) has a few different groups of friends. A year ago, one friend (Juana) moved out of the country pretty suddenly and we didn’t get to say goodbye. We have been able to send messages online occasionally . Since then my daughter is obsessed with this friend. (“I’m going to make a mii that looks like Juana.” “Can we buy a doll that looks like Juana?”) At first we sympathized, talked about how sudden it was etc. It sounds mean but at this point I feel like it is dramatic and performati”

“Well it finally happened. My 11 year old wanted to ride their bike around the neighborhood alone rather than with me. Obviously part of me is happy that their taking on more of their independence but another part of me is sad to see the end of our time living under the same roof is rapidly coming to an end (my older kid is 14 and starts high school next month). Anyway, that's all preamble to my actual question: What kinds of memories do you cherish the most with your father (especially if yo”

“Hi! My 6 yo son does not have a lot of friends but somehow thinks I can conjure up some for his birthday. Over the past 2 weeks he has made 2 new camp friends that I would invite but I don't want it to look like a gift grab. I could say no gifts but I can't see my son loving that. Is there a type of party where I could give gifts to the guests for my son? Yes. I sound nuts but I'm at a loss. Advice is welcomed. submitted by /u/LadyCraftsALot [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I just want advice on how to navigate this. I have 4 kids. 3 boys and 1 girl. My daughter is 7 and my boys are 9, 5 and 4 My 4 year old always says he’s a girl and will frequently wear my daughter’s clothes. He LOVES Elsa and Rumi from k pop demon hunters. He’s asked me to buy him girl hair and wants to wear skirts and dresses. He does have a short typical little boy haircut His father and I have never told him that he can’t or shouldn’t do these things but I’m not sure if I should be encour”

“Alright, I’ve seen a BUNCH of stuff on this. My Daughter is like 4. My S/O wants us to do this. I’m fine with it. I figure it is just going to be my daughter dancing and maybe we’ll get some ice cream somewhere and she may make some new friends. I’m not religious and purity balls weird me out. This looks like a dance. If it is a religious thing I’m leaving. Are any of them normal or are they only religious? EDIT: thanks for the feedback. It seems like it is just a dad/daughter event. I’ve read s”

“Bit of back story, my partners 10 year old decided she wanted to spend the summer at her Dad's. She was told by both parents that she can come home when she decided to. This came about because she wanted to be away from us. She wouldn't have responsibility, her dad's is the fun place, do what she wants, stay up as late as she wants and such, pretty much zero rules in place. We've had endless arguments with her over the past few years where she never gives up the argument, always”

“Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a 4 year old son, who clams up immediately when there's a big gathering of any sort. He will either cling to me, or his mom, and will take FOREVER to start playing with any other kids. Does not matter if it's family, or friends. He's at a bday party with his mom, while I'm home working (WFH), and he clung onto her for the first hour or so. He's just now starting to interact with the other children (5 of which are his friends from ou”

“For background info I adopted my son when he was 12 and he is now 15. He’s in high school now. The only thing he does in high school is he is on the varsity swim team. I’m very proud of him for finding something he likes to do after being in such a horrible foster care and home situation before. I officially adopted him and he moved in full time with me July of 2023. He started at our local jr high school in 7th grade and I thought it would take him a little bit to acclimatize and make friends.”

“I'm struggling with something... Kids, ages 9 and 11. Girl and boy. We all get along well in daily life, especially after this last year when I started using a CPAP and having a lot more energy and patience. They've actually begun smiling and telling me they love me when I tuck them in, which is big, for me. I've been a lot happier since the CPAP. It feels like they automatically dislike anything that I suggest or like to watch or do or try, even if (and especially if) it's somet”

“Edit: I’m a single dad and mom isn’t around. I’m a man of few words and I’ve never been big on small talk so I can accept that it’s my fault for feelings this way. I don’t know if 11/12 girls talk this much normally. My daughter talks so much as if she can’t stop herself. She just talks about everything and nothing all the time and I can not keep pretending to be interested in the random, pointless things she’s says. She asks the most ridiculous and useless questions. She wants me to answer rand”

“My 4 year old son loves to wrestle and do all the things- completely normal. But, I have adoptive neices that live with me (trust them wholeheartedly), and they have people come over. They are really nice people, but my son will not leave them be. I dont know if anyone has advice on having a little kid and a teen in the same house. Any would be appreciated. I have to physically separate them- but I also want to keep a distant eye on the teens boyfriend when he is over. submitted by /”

“My kid is generally great. Very social and well liked at school. I just want to continue to build more on his initiative and the amount of effort put into things that aren’t fun or have an immediate pay off. He’s not bad or anything like that. I just want him to continue growing in the right areas. submitted by /u/basicmarcus [link] [comments]”

“My oldest is 7 now and is really anxious and clingy. Is this a phase? Mom and I have been fighting a fair bit, which she sees. Kids also has a best friend at school who has become a very anxious young kid (the friend became so anxious that Mom had to take short term disability to be with her child more). My kid doesn't want to be dropped off at a drop-off party. She doesn't let Mom and I to go out on date night without some crying. She gets angry and crying whenever Mom has a business tr”

“Our son has his 4th birthday party this weekend, his first party with friends. He had a tiff with a friend "Josh" at kinder yesterday. My son was absolutely INCONSOLABLE ALL DAY. Literally for hours and hours. I got a call from kinder to pick him up because he was so upset. He cried and cried at home and only calmed down when my mum came over and started talking about how he has so many best friends and people who love him. My son said this morning that Josh wouldn't let him play w”

“My daughter (14) is struggling a lot this year at school. She comes home crying but finds it hard to articulate what the actual issue is. I recently found out some girls were talking about her, this was relayed to her from a so-called close friend. It's an all-girls school and has only just opened this year. In her previous schools she also struggled, teachers were "mean" kids were "mean" now we're having the same issue at this school. Her dad and I separated before s”

“my son (12) has had this friend (11yoM) online for 2 years now and they want to meet in person at my sons birthday party. I feel iffy about it but they have been asking for weeks. so I caved and asked for the child’s parents numbers. I spoke to the mother and she seems nice and kind. so I sent her the invitation because they said they lived im hesperia CA which is 1 hour away from us. i was not wanting to give out my address like that to a stranger but I did it for the kids only for me to be tol”

“Would you let your 16 year old daughter get I to a car with a boy -also 16- that you’ve never met before? My daughter has a habit of liking boys from other schools. This boy wants to take her to the movies. We say they drive separately but she’s obviously upset. Am I being overbearing? submitted by /u/Cottagecheeseisbae [link] [comments]”

“Context: My toddler and I were at the zoo yesterday in the play area. She was being really fun and silly so I scooped her up and told her that I love her AND I like her. A dad there commented that it's hard to like kids sometimes and it was cute that I told my girl that I liked her. It made me wonder if other parents tell their kids that they like them. I make a point to tell my girl that I love her and I like her pretty regularly. It's usually some variation of "I looove you, and I”

“A mom grief came up for me today that I hadn’t anticipated. My son (2.5) has a friend at school where the mom and I had just started getting friendly and trying to organize play dates outside of school. My son calls this little boy his “best friend” at school. The mom let me know today that they are moving to a different preschool next month that has different hours that better fit their schedule. She did say she still wants to organize a play date but we all know how that can go with our busy s”

“My son is only 2.5 and he'll have a baby sister coming in a few weeks, so this isn't immediately pertinent, but last night I got to thinking about my son being a little bit older and wanting to make sure he has friends and that those friendships are maintained over time. I'm a real homebody and have very few friends, and the ones I have I rarely talk to. My groomsmen were my brothers, my wife's brothers, and my old boss from my college job who I hung out with outside work a few t”

“I was just thinking about my kids’ age gap (son is about to turn 1 and daughter will be 4 in November) and just sort of wondering what their interactions and overlap will be like. I have sisters who are 15 months and 34 months younger than me (respectively) so I have a general lens into it, just curious what kind of experience yall have with your kids’ interactions! submitted by /u/johnmduggan [link] [comments]”

“I have two sons, a 15 year old who has always been respectful and a 13 year old who never has. I guess that’s the way of things … But today was next level. I was talking to him about school expectations, earning phone privileges by doing his school work (we literally expect passing grades only and nothing else) etc and he looks at me, calls me a bitch, then walked away. I was stunned. I’m not sure what to do to be honest. submitted by /u/MouseRude5663 [link] [comments]”

“My question is for parents of children in their late teens and early 20s, so very young adults. How much do you socialize with the parents of their boyfriends and girlfriends? We have cordial relationships with them and will socialize when there is a relevant event and the dating children are present. This would include proms, relevant birthdays, minor holidays. It’s come to our attention (through the grapevine) that we are not socializing to the level that one set of parents is happy with. I th”

“My son is 6 years old and has made friends with some 8 year olds on our street. My son has a bunch of super hero costumes and we push him to play with toys instead of being on a tablet or phone. His friends were making fun of him when he suggested they play superheros. They left and he started crying and told me he wants to play with kids his age. We are moving into a new neighborhood in a week and school is starting in a few days so I guess it wont matter for long. Just sucks that kids dont hav”

“Recently my 4 year old has become more aware of all her friends having grandparents that are involved with their lives and pick up/drop off at preschool. She has recently started crying about wanting grandma/grandpa. How do I handle it? My parent lives in another country but video calls with her every weekend, which she absolutely loves and my husbands parents choose not to be involved outside of their 1 hour visit every other month when they "have the time". I try to tell her that gra”

“My son had a friend over this weekend and at some point he asked me why none of my friends ever come over. I told him adults usually meet somewhere else, which is technically true. Then I started thinking about it and realized I haven't actually seen most of my friends in months. We text. We send each other dumb videos. Every few weeks somebody says we should all grab a beer, everyone agrees, and then nobody picks a date. Between work, kids, house stuff, and being tired, it just keeps gettin”

“I stopped my 4 year old from eating a spoon of butter while we were at a restaurant. She proceeded to tell me I’m mean, I’m not her best friend anymore and she only likes mommy… submitted by /u/rnm632 [link] [comments]”

“My eldest is 3.5 and I have not really made any other friends with other parents. He only just started at preschool this year and we have been invited to one his classmates birthday party at the end of this month. I want to try and strike up a conversation with some other dads and I am also planning on attending a field trip with the class in a couple weeks. So there should be plenty of opportunity to meet other parents. I have always lacked a bit of confidence, I struggle with comparing myself”

“My preteen had a hard time with friend groups last school year. The group that he’d been a part of since early elementary school dissolved after a lot of drama. A new friend who we thought was a good friend hasn’t contacted him this summer. And through all this, one kid has stuck by his side. And my child is unfortunately not that into this kid. He says the kid is boring, that he can be annoying, and he’s started not wanting to hang out with him. That’s his choice and there’s no reason for them”

“Hi all, longtime lurker, first time poster. I'm looking for ideas and resources to support my daughter, who just turned 10. She is sweet, kind, deeply feeling, playful, intelligent, and loves to learn and explore. I wouldn't trade her personality for anything, but she struggles socially, and the gap seems to be widening as she gets older. For most of her life, she has seemed about a year behind her others her age developmentally (a gap that is slightly increasing with age). She appears t”

“Hi parents, looking for experiences, advice, please be kind I am struggling. I am having a very hard time w my 19yr old daughter. She has had a quite strong and often difficult personality since middle.school, a lot of lies that I have discovered then and continuing now. We used to try grounding, taking away privileges, didn't work. She never backed down, always acting like she was right and we were wrongly accususing her. Hardly ever apologizes. Still attacks me with yelling bad language an”

“EDIT: My son is not asking for a phone and I'm not remotely tempted to give him one at this young age. Just curious about the future and mostly wondering how your kid schedules seeing friends. Basically just the question. If it truly seems like your kid(s) friends all have phones, what decisions have you made? Whether your child has a phone or you are holding off, what does that look like for you? How does your child make plans, etc? My son is 9 and some of his friends have started getting p”

“My daughter (May) is 10 and chose the wrong friend group. There is a queen bee who loves drama, e.g.: "I don't want you to talk with that girl. She isnt my bestie so she can't hang with us today." "Pleeeeaaasse sit with me on the bus for the field trip!" And then she refuses to say a word to her seatmate. "You can't be my friend if you are going to be nice to Sally and Martha. You are MY friend, not theirs." It is disgusting. I don't think it is all”

“Hi everyone! My 11yo is the funniest sweetest kid. He loves science, geography, and video games. He is not a big sports person. He does do some as extracurricular (Swimming) but he does not in the slightest enjoy soccer/basketball/floor hockey things of this nature. His best friend is just like him and they will just hang out at lunch and talk about games or YouTube stuff. Well today we got word that best friend is moving away. My son is sad but not as bothered as I am! I remember last year ther”

“So my friend, Fany and her 8yo son Freddie and me and my 3yo son went to the trampoline park. My three-year-old adores Freddie. Freddie likes him too. Anyway, they were in the corner and I watched my 3yo was trying to play with Freddie and other kids who are older, obviously the older kids are having their own game and my son is just kind of hanging around them. My son managed to pick up a ball, and Fred goes after him and kind of forces the ball away from him, which hurt his nose. Not so much b”

“My 10 year old daughter had a sleepover at my parents house last night, and stayed with them while I was at work today. My dad decided to take my daughter and one of her friends to the trampoline park. Dad paid $100 for them to jump for 2 hours. 10 minutes into their session, my daughter’s friend starts moping and says her side hurts, her back hurts, she just wants to play Xbox. She wants dip n dots but doesn’t want to jump anymore. Dad was going to let my daughter continue jumping, but there wa”

“First time posting here. I have a daughter who has been in contact with 4 years older male. This started when she was 13 and continued for the past year without my knowledge. At first we thought she's just talking with friends on phone but now it's starting to get scary. He's apparently wanting to meet her somewhere near our house and he keeps telling her he wants to hold her and cuddle. He is also inviting her for a date and calling her regularly. This is going on on Snapchat so I c”

“My kid is 8, almost 9, and has level 1 AuDHD. (Like me.) My ex and I split 6 years ago, but remained in the same house because finances just wouldn't allow for two households. That whole time we have had age appropriate positive, gentle conversations with my kid about how eventually they will have two houses and all the ways in which that will be awesome. My ex moved in with their most recent boyfriend in May. Originally the plan had been that she'd spend a few days a week there, and a f”

“Background: we live in a reasonably affluent neighborhood. Not like hollywood crazy, but nice houses/cars, very social. My kid's friends are mostly ok, but a lot of the parents just seem to refuse to do any actual parenting. Some examples: My kid was, no kidding, the only kid in her >20-person group of friends who didn't have a phone. We conceded and got her one at age 12 (a year late, apparently, per everybody's else definition). We agreed it was only for text and video chat with”

“TL;DR: My almost-6-year-old told me she does whatever her best friend says because she’s scared of losing the friendship. I calmly spoke to the other girl’s lovely mum, who was incredibly receptive and had a conversation with her daughter. Did I handle this well, or should I have left it alone? My daughter (almost 6) is a kind, sensitive little girl but definitely a people-pleaser. We were talking about her upcoming birthday party when she admitted she’d been telling some classmates they weren’t”

“Hello, my 5 year old is experiencing many new feelings. She has her first crush on a boy in her class and along with that she is have strong feelings of jealousy when this boy gives attention to her best friend. It is really kind of consuming her at times and she talks about these two just so much at home. I know all of this is totally normal, though slightly earlier than we expected. I also know I just need to let her navigate and figure it out. But what I am wondering is, if there are any good”

“Girl mums vs boy mums. Parents of boys can you please let me know if it’s not only my toddler boy who is clingy af. He cannot do anything unless I’m with him. Whereas friends who have girls just roam off not needed their parents at all. Is it only my child or other boy mums/dads having the same issue? submitted by /u/Common-Macaron6124 [link] [comments]”

“My daughter graduated this past May. She never made friends in high school. Now her life consists of sleeping most of the day away and then talking with online friends. I ask her yesterday if she wanted to get out and live. She said she wants to get a job but only for money. She has no desire for a life outside her room. submitted by /u/Capable-Vast8275 [link] [comments]”

“My wife and I are the parents of a 14-year-old daughter, and we'd appreciate some outside perspective on a situation that's become more complicated than we expected. Our daughter recently had a falling out with one of her closest friends. Around the same time, she became close with another girl she met while volunteering at our church's Vacation Bible School. Within days of becoming friends, the new friend invited her over and immediately started asking about a sleepover. My wife and”

“Hey fellow dads, I'm just looking for a little feedback from you all on this situation. My daughter is about to turn 13 and this spring she started "dating" the brother of one of her best friends. For a little context, we live in a small town and go to a small school. The school is so small that they have shared classrooms. 1st and 2nd grade, 3rd and 4th grade, etc., up to 7th & 8th. My daughter and her friend are in the same grade and have been best friends along with another”