Dads

My mother is having the kids, both of them.

For the first time in six years me and my sleep deprived partner are having a night away from our ~~spawn~~ kids at the same time.

Granted we've got to go to a hotel to do it, and we've got to be back before mid-day tomorrow....but one whole night baby!

We're gonna get food. We're gonna fall asleep on an uncomfortable bed and get woken up early by someone making far too much noise...but at least it won't be our kid.

Small victories and all that.

My eldest (5) recently started showing an interest in litter picking. So we grabbed her a stick and she started using it on the way home from school (with an adults supervision).

I mean don't get me wrong, she's a nightmare as soon as she gets in the door but for that brief 25 minute walk home she's making me super proud.

The eldest decided she didn't actually like the fireworks, so she cried for twenty minutes whilst we left....only to then tell us she didn't want to leave when we finally got back to the car.

Then when we got stuck in the inevitable exit traffic both kids were screaming in the car for a good 20 minutes.

Finally get home, little man goes to bed, the daughter is flirting with the idea of bedtime........and the neighbours start letting the big boys off.

I don't condone terrorism but sometimes I wonder if my life wouldn't be easier if Fawkes and his mates had actually pulled it off, the mad lads.

How's your 'Bonfire weekend' going?

What did you find harder, or perhaps 'a bigger shock to the system'. Going from zero kids to one, or going from one to two, two to three.

Sorry for the word-salad. I'd have written a shorter post, but I don't have the time.

We all stumble. We don't always have someone to talk to about it, so there's this thread. What went wrong and can you ever forgive yourself? Probably not, if you're like me. No judgment.

Had an absolutely awful night. Our 19 month old has still never slept through, and he's got a cold...and the clocks have gone back.

05:10. That's when he decided the day had begun. It's going to be a loooooooooong day.

What about you?

Posting this separate after my comment became so long…

I’m having a general panic that my 15 year old daughter does not need me at all and I do not factor into her life whatsoever. Try to speak to her and she teases me and brushes me off. Her girlfriend wrote my wife a lovely note how she and my son are so lucky to have a mother who cares about them so much. No mention or even nod to the fact that I exist. We parent as a team…the way she is raised and all of the love and support she gets is 50/50 in my opinion, although my wife has the direct conversations about relationships, sex, girl stuff because she doesn’t want to talk to me about that.

I suffered emotionally as a kid/teen and I have fought to get her therapy and medication, she went from being anxious beyond belief with suicidal ideation to pretty fucking happy nowadays…and that’s because I fought for that, based on my experience. I’ve given her the support I wish I had.

Anyway, I hope it’s just a phase and she will talk to me again someday without giggling like I’m just a weirdo. I know what it’s like to be a teenager, I have a lot of wisdom. I love the shit out of her. I hope it passes and we are super close again at some point.

Won't lie. This week has been a challenge. Work has, well been horrific. And then I come home and on top of all the other things that a working parent has to put up with, my eldest has seemingly decided to make it her personal mission to make my life a living hell.

How are you guys doing?

We're going to be flying to the US soon and it's the longest trip we've done with our child. It's an 8 hour flight entirely during daylight hours, and I am slightly (read: very) apprehensive about the chaos that could unfold. Any tips or experiences?

Never really know how to tackle Halloween. I'm one of those old farts that still find it to be a bit ....well, I don't love it.

That said, it seems like I'm one of the few remaining holdouts, and my eldest absolutely loves it.

So what does your Halloween look like?

Seriously. This thing is amazing.

My daughter is approaching 3 and my wife has suggested a tablet either as a birthday or Christmas present, and I’m a bit hesitant. It’d be great for long trips, but I think as a day-to-day thing it might be a distraction. It’d get Spidey and Friends off the telly though. How and when did you handle this?

My eldest is 5, and for the most part (tonight aside) she's pretty good at going to sleep. All of her cousins who are younger have a small TV in their room, or are allowed a tablet whilst going to bed.

I personally think she's too young. I was 10-11 when I first got a TV in my room, and that was restricted to 4 channels that really didn't have much to engage an 11 year old at 8pm.

So yeah. Thoughts?

I think the classic answers are likely to be Bluee and Duggee, with maybe a special shout-out to an old classic like Ballamory. However, for my money I don't think you can top the masterpiece that Is.....

Waffle the Wonder Dog. Great theme tune, adorable kids, occasionally funny neighbour and parents who don't have it so together that you feel bad about yourself, perfect.

What about you?

*The theme tune to Charlie and Lola is also top-tier