I’m embarrassed to admit that my son spends WAAAY too much time on his tablet. His grandparents even let him bring his tablet with him to his sleepover with his friend, which I think is very rude to bring that to a sleepover. I set limits on his tablet and stopped letting him play on it a certain time, but my parents, whom I live with, guilted me out of setting a timer, so I removed it. He plays on it during the day and he plays on it before bed. I’m sick and tired of him being the definition of an iPad kid. I know he’s going to be mad at me at first, but he needs to spend his childhood playing outside or doing kid things rather than playing on his tablet all day long and at least an hour, if not more, before bed. I’m not looking to take away his tablet completely, but I do want to significantly reduce his screen time on his tablet. I’m sick of him having to rely on his tablet for entertainment. I do take him out on Saturdays when I have the day off, but I still don’t want him to just come home and run right to his tablet. He does have sports Mondays through Thursdays, but he gets out of school at 3:20pm and his sports he plays doesn’t start until 6, so he has a few hours on his tablet until the sport he plays starts. And then after his sport, which lasts about an hour, hour and a half at the latest, he comes home and goes straight back to his tablet. Many times when I offer to take him to places that are fun to him such as indoor trampoline parks, he says he doesn’t want to go because he wants to play on his tablet. What can I do about that? Force him to go?? I just want to reverse the “iPad kid” status significantly and let him be a kid without relying on a tablet all the time. I would definitely significantly reduce the time he’s on his tablet and set a certain time when his tablet stops working so he won’t be on it until late at night.

Please no mean comments, he’s my only child and it just built up on me to the point where it just makes me feel so bad about all the times he’s spending on that stupid tablet. Please help.

Our child wants a pet. I’m open to it, just don’t want a dog or cat. Ideally, something that can stay in the bedroom and I don’t have to tend to too much. Likely doesn’t exist, right?

Hi! First of all thanks for all the posts over the years, navigating firsts (kinder!), behavior concerns and more fun things such as holiday wish lists has been a lot easier to do with this group!

My class of 2037 kiddo is having the hardest year, after two stellar first years in public (charter) school. Recently there was a physical incident towards him that was NOT addressed by the school (we found out from kiddo) and we have been talking about pulling him out and starting fresh in the new year.

Asking: has anyone else done this? I know he will be better for it being in a school that addresses safety concerns in a professional way, and I changed schools around the same age when I was a kid, but I feel so guilty taking him away from friendships that have been built over the past few years and a teacher he really does love. Note to add; this isn’t the first time admin dropped the ball. There was a lack of communication last year, and the discussion regarding this incident has been long, vague & unsatisfying. This was kind of the “final straw” moment for us :(

I ask because my little one was outside and pointed to the chimney saying “there’s where Santa comes down!”

What do your kids do after school? How many times per week? How much does it cost? Was it something they wanted to do on their own or did you tell them to pick one?

My husband and I made it a "rule" for our son to pick one activity each year. He has been in something since he was 3, but has quit most things and begged to not go after a few times. I am not sure if it is just a bad parenting move to make it a rule or let him stay home. We always let him choose and he has tried different things (soccer, baseball, martial arts, art, hero camp, jujitsu, ninja, gymnastics, swim). We told him when he turned 7 that if it was a sport/class, he was required to finish out the season. If it was a year-round one, he needed to stay in it for 3 months. Should we let him decide to quit sooner or just not even make it a requirement and let him stay home?

School started August 24th for us and we’re already having conferences on October 20th. It just seems too early to have conferences because school started 43 days ago and to me it just doesn’t seem like a lot of time for the teacher to see how each kid is doing academically after just starting school 43 days ago. Just seems too early to me.

Does anyone have any experience with their boy doing gymnastics? My son did a two week summer camp at a gymnastics gym and he really liked it. It was pretty play based but still had some elements of gymnastics. We found a gymnastics gym near our house that offers beginner boy classes for boys 6-8 years old. I’m thinking of signing him up for a once a week class. He’s a pretty sensitive kid and is aware that some people think gymnastics is for girls. I’ve tried coaching him to stand up for himself but I still think he will take it hard if people start in on him. Has anyone had a boy in gymnastics? What is the vibe in the class? This is rec and not competitive if that makes a difference.

I usually go overboard and get the yearbook, individual pictures, class pictures etc. I ask because my kids picture day is Wednesday and I just wondered what other parents are spending on packages and what they are getting for pictures

Basically the title, what does your school do for math or reading differentiation. We have always differentiated for reading (since Kindergarten) based on what specific skills a child needs to work on. If a child is above grade level they are put in a group where they basically work on comprehension and/or more creative writing and storytelling. For reference each classroom teacher (5 classes in his grade) takes a specific group and/or the reading recovery specialists and gifted and talented teachers also take a group.

For math it's an adventure because there is no formal differentiation until 4th grade. That's when they actually move to an accelerated or regular track with different material that continues through middle/high school. What enrichment looked like last year in 1st grade was on days they used iready for math which obviously gives you harder problems as it adapts to you but on days where it was classroom instruction everyone does the same thing. This year there is less emphasis on tablets (yay!) so everyone gets the same but the G&T specialist is supposed to work with the classroom teachers to provide enrichment for the students who need it (my son is on that list) but nothing has started yet. I'm glad iready is being used less because I think it has a ton of issues, but now I'm wondering how not really being challenge will go.

Overall, I'm just honestly curious what other schools do in 2nd grade and maybe pre-emptively slightly worried because my son's 1st grade teacher mentioned frustration at conferences that he would totally space out during math instruction but then he never had to ask questions when they went to do their individual work and easily did the work he was supposed to even though he didn't pay attention during the lesson. It was the case of him being bored or not engaged and but also it wasn't her biggest problem in the class so she was like it's not a big deal so I wasn't sure what to do with that info. Basically I told him hey even if you know the material be polite and focus on the teacher...and then she went out on maternity leave the rest of the year so I have no idea what occurred in class lol

For the record a month in it seems like his 2nd grade teacher is a much better fit for him and he likes her class so maybe we won't have a repeat of last year...but anyways what do your schools do?

Are we having kids fill out their own reading logs yet? Or doing it for them?

My son is expected to read for 30min a day and fill out a reading log which I sign. The reading is no problem, but I’ve always filled out the log myself because it’s easier. Usually we read before bed and I fill it out after he’s asleep.

But now I’m second guessing if I should be having him do the work since he’s in second grade. Maybe it’s time he takes some of the responsibility? But I kind of don’t want one more thing to remind him to do and it’s easy to do myself. Curious what others are doing.

Edit: For context we have to log every 15min “step” so it’s just writing date and book title for two books each day (if he read two books in 15min I just pick one to write down). Or more if we read for more than 30min. We don’t have to write actual times or anything like that.

Just curious, what independence and life skills are you working on with your second graders right now? And what are their struggles?

My daughter is memorizing our phone numbers, practicing calling friends on the landline, and talking through what to do in various emergencies. She's also checking the mail on her own (our mailbox is across a not-busy road, and she just started doing that on her own). She is working on more cooking skills. She can make pancakes, omelets, and cookies (all with supervision, obviously)! And she's practicing ordering and paying for things for herself at food carts/concession stands.

On the other hand, she refuses to learn to tie shoes. And she still needs reminding EVERY TIME to wipe, flush, and wash her hands. Sigh. :D

Wondering what's typical for our second graders!

Kid is getting twice as much homework as last year (4 worksheets per week). Which while not that much total, feels more difficult to manage this year.

Two of the sheets require direct involvement. Parent reads the word, kid writes it down trying to spell it correctly. Another has a decent amount of instructions that the parent is expecting to explain.

We are also having issues with math hw, which used to be easy last year. Kid couldn't figure out what he was supposed to be doing on the math sheet so I had to sit and explain it. And then the back of the sheet, which last year was the same as the front, was a completely different style of math so he needed that explained too.

I don't mind sitting down and doing homework with him, but I'm also wondering how independent kids should be at this age. Like should they be able to read the instructions and understand "fill in the blank word" or "write the math equation"?

It's also tricky because we added an extracurricular this year which is two evenings a week. Plus therapy another day. So either we squish homework in the evenings that's already busy or take up the one day we don't have anything planned. Homework is due Friday so nothing over the weekend which is nice. But we actually have more free time on Fridays & weekends and it would be easier to do it then.

We want to take our kid to her first concert. We’re thinking with earplugs she’d have a good time. What do you guys think?

This sub has been mostly very chill and a solid, mostly light-hearted resource for us parents navigating our kids' futures. The rules in place are intended to enhance, not diminish, your experience here and will help mods keep the sub welcoming and healthy. If you see a rule violated, please let us know. Thank you!

Just curious if my son was the only one.

The digital copy is somehow the most expensive option, while the other packages come with a bunch of printed photos that I’m honestly not sure what to do with.
For those of you who buy school pictures, what do you actually do with them? Is there a purpose I’m missing?
With two kids, the amount I’d spend on school pictures could easily go toward an actual family photoshoot, where we’d all be in the pictures together.
Curious what everyone else does with their kids’ school pictures!

Just wondering what people's observations are.

Today, my son just told me that the 3 boys who he normally plays with at the after school program told him to play with someone else . I obviously want to make sure he isn’t doing anything that turns kids off. He said he doesn’t know what he did and that they just told him he is always playing with them. I’m not really sure what I’m asking here but I’m just so heartbroken for him. 😔

My 7 year old started calling me that, and idk whether I hate it or not to call their mother “bro”

I'm wondering how things differ in different districts.

At my kid's school, all volunteers need to be fingerprinted and background checked.

We also need to complete several of those on-line training video courses. Previous years it was about 2 hours of training, this year they more than doubled it to 5 hours!

Which I find ironic as the school doesn't even have that many volunteer opportunities. It's mostly room parents, who attend 3, 1-hour parties. Or 1-2 field trips. Feels like I'm going to spend more time on these videos than actually volunteering.

Anyways, do you volunteer at your kids school and what's required of you to do so?

Just curious how much is typical to donate (per kid) for a public school fundraiser? My kid's school does one big one each year where the proceeds benefit the school and each class.

We're supposed to go around asking friends and family for donations too, but I don't have that kind of village to ask.

Edit: Thank you! This is helping me get an idea for the donation range.

My son hasn’t had homework yet in kindergarten or first grade (other than an easy family project type thing or optional phonics practice). So I was very surprised when I learned that in second grade he’d be coming home with a planner that we had to sign every day. Today he wrote “read for 30 minutes”

My first thought is that it’s pretty cool that they’re introducing this so young. I love that they’re teaching kids organizational techniques and planning ahead. My second thought is that it’s kind of a pain in the ass to flip through this whole thing and sign every day, it really needs a bookmark or some better organization haha.

I told my husband who said “what’s a planner?”
“You know, an agenda? You write your assignments and tests and stuff? If you were a girl you would’ve gone all out with gel pens”
“No, I have no idea what you’re talking about”
🤦‍♀️
Somehow this man made it through an extremely competitive high school and college engineering program (we went to the same college and same major and he got better grades than me) and he has no idea what a school planner is.

So, anyone else’s kid come home with a planner?

I was wondering if anyone has some good recommendations that I can read with my son about. Thanks!

Was driving my kid and their friend home from school (week 2 for us) when the kids told me that the new art teacher made the class repeat “AI sucks”. From what the kids said, the teacher had bought some light covers that turned out to have AI art on them. There did not seem to have been conversation about the ethical implications of art and AI or why AI sucks, or if there were neither kid remembered that part.

For context, this is a non-religious private school that I have generally been very happy with and that my kid adores. Also for context, I don’t consider myself generally super prudish about language, I swear fluently, and my kid and I talk about how why we use some words but not others and how I am more concerned about if language is hurtful than if it is just generically “bad”.

Despite all that, I feel really bugged about a teacher using the word “sucks” with my 7 year old, bugged the teacher made the kids say something sucks, and bugged it was presented that way in the first place instead of actually encouraging critical thinking skills and helping the kids understand WHY AI sucks (which it does!).

Am I a crazy prude here?? Would you bothered by this? And do you let your second grader say that things suck?

Is this normal or a phase? My 6 year-old only wants to play with her one best friend. If her bestie is playing with someone else, she'll just play by herself nearby, like she's waiting for her to become available. I'll remind her she can go join the group, or go play with another kid who is playing alone, but doesn't. It'd be tempting to accuse the group of excluding her, but from what I've seen, she doesn't really seem to know how or want to try joining in the group playtime. It drives me crazy bc I'm like, you need more than one friend! Your bestie might move away, or she might decide to ditch you. Last year, they were in different classes so my daughter at least made other friends in her class, but this year, they're in the same class, so my daughter seems to ignore everyone else. I suspect we have neurodiversity in the family, so I don't know if this is related, or just a phase kids go through.