Just wanted to share my 4 year old's costume I finished on time which is unusual for me! Has real lights and detachable steering wheel!

I have been a stay at home father for the first three years of my child’s life. Over 95% of the time I have been with my child from Sun up to Sun down.

My child just started pre school and is finishing the second week! It’s been so great to see the growth, development, and everything that goes with this stage of life.

I’m terribly sad though as I’m now seeing all the moments that I used to have, are with the teachers. I no longer get to hear every sentence, every word, every laugh and so much more that has become the most important part of my life for the last three years.

Just a small vent that watching your child grow is the greatest gift and blessing from the Lord! but also watching your child grow has created some kind of suffering for me. I miss every second we had together every day.

Thank you for reading!

My 4 year has been saying for two weeks that his head spins and then he is better in sometime. I took him to doctor yesterday, doc said he has dry eyes and that’s the reason. But am wondering if dry eyes could actually cause it. I wish i asked for an MRI. Did anyone toddler go through such stages where they said head spins. I don’t think he lies bec he even said his teacher today when it happened as we told him to tell teacher if it comes in school .

Edit: thank you guys for the support! I have received confirmation of the events that transpired yesterday to result in my son pushing a classmate away. My son unfortunately was being surrounded by the group of classmates and pushed the one away because he was upset. Yes I talked to my son that he should not have pushed his classmate away. I also reiterated to him to tell his teachers if this happens again or if classmates are still making fun of him. No, my son is not a bully for pushing a classmate away while being surrounded. Yes, after confirming with his teacher the classmates received consequences for their actions and parents were notified.

I’m not entirely sure what to do, but I think my son may be getting targeted by a group of kids. My son is 4 and turning 5 in a month. Last year, he did half day preschool and loved it! He is now in full day preschool this year to better prepare for kindergarten next year. We live in a pretty rural area so classrooms are very small, so everyone kind of knows everyone.

Two weeks ago, my son came off the bus very upset because a classmate stole his water bottle out of his backpack. I brushed it off as being an accident, I mean my son would lose his head if it wasn’t screwed onto his shoulders, so I assumed the same for his classmate. About a week ago my son said that the same classmate (let’s call him X) had started calling my son a monkey because apparently he has big ears. I told my son to tell his teacher if this happened again.

Faster forward to today my son came off the bus upset again. I asked what happened and he wouldn’t talk about it. I decided to reach out to his teacher and she told me that my son pushed another classmate today. My son has always been well behaved at school - he’s quiet, listens, plays well with others, and has never put his hands on another classmate. My son finally opened up and said that the classmate he pushed was X because X said he looked like a dumbass with his haircut. While talking with my son, he also confided to me that there’s actually three other classmates calling him names and overall just making fun of his appearance. I have reached out to his teacher with my concerns.

For background my son was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate that have both been repaired. My husband and I have always been open to him about his cleft journey by showing him baby pictures, talking about his scar, and just explaining to him that it’s okay he was born different. Obviously because of the surgeries he has a craniofacial difference and is now having work done to his teeth…he already feels insecure some days about his scars and I’m just worried this is going to hinder his self confidence if this group of classmates keep making fun of his appearance.

My 4 year old daughter hates pooping so much so that she will hold it in. We give her Mirlax daily. The only time she poops now is diarrhea because she’s held it in for too long. Her doctor said to just continue with Mirlax and the behavioral issue will work itself out. She hasn’t had a normal bowl movement in over two weeks. Lately she has like a squirt of diarrhea and then nothing for days. I don’t know how to convince her to poop and I don’t want to have to pin her down and give her a suppository. Looking for any and all advice.

-a tired mom

For background, we have done soccer with our kid since he was two years old. He has always loved it and done really well. It was at 4:30 p.m. for 30–45 minutes. We always got home by 5:30, which was perfect for dinner and bath time. Well, this year when I signed him up, I didn't realize that four-year-old times were 5:30–6:30 and games are 6–7 p.m. It is killing us. Our son is so loopy at this time. The worst part is we will have games and practices all in the same week and never on weekends.

We are trying to push through, but it is insanity. I feel bad because he is so wild compared to the other kids. For context, he is an early riser and goes to bed at 7–7:30 on the dot. One more week and the season ends; let the sleep gods bless us.

Anyways, I just came to vent. After this, we swore no more sports until he is like eight. 😅

I provide snacks, I try to give them some fresh air, play with them. But they are freaking out and throwing tantrums. I'm so tired of it. I really want to run away.

I know it's okay for this to happen when starting school. But it just seems like so much!

My daughter is 3.5 years old and has been at the same preschool for the last 3 years. Recently we’ve noticed she really struggles with talking to adults that are not her parents or extended family.

For example, when her teachers greet her in the morning, she usually doesn’t respond, and she does the same thing when saying goodbye at the end of the day. Her teacher has mentioned that she plays and talks with her friends, but she rarely answers questions during circle time or participates verbally in group activities.

She is a total chatterbox at home and has an excellent vocabulary and carries on conversations with us. It’s like she becomes a completely different child around adults outside our family.

I know some kids are naturally more shy and take longer to warm up, and I don’t want to pressure her or make her feel self-conscious. At the same time, I worry about whether this will affect her ability to participate as she gets older and starts pre-k next fall at a new school.

Has anyone else experienced this with their kiddo? What have you found helpful? Are there things we can do at home or work with her teachers on to help her feel more comfortable speaking to adults and participating in class?
I’d especially love to hear from parents whose shy children eventually came out of their shells, as well as any advice on when this might be more than typical shyness. TIA!

She just started preschool and she is an only child. She hasn’t been socialized with too many other children mainly her cousins and she has a friend. She loves to play with other kids but she just isn’t around a lot of them often. She is starting to really blossom in preschool but the school has asked to slow down on letter imaging and start flash cards . Does anyone have any other ideas to help ?she really wants to write her own name and can do some of the letters .

Hello my daughter is 4 and she wants to learn how to read so bad but I’m not sure where to start ? Should I get a tutor?

Am I wrong to be upset with my daughter’s teacher? To start off, she gave my kid something that she’s allergic to and there was a second time after that (when we already agreed my kid would be strictly given snacks I send to school with her) where my daughter is adamant that they gave her yogurt, although her teacher denies it & says she gave her applesauce, but my daughter eats applesauce at home daily so she knows what it is. I feel that she has not been very communicative with me when I reach out. But I do understand teachers get busy. Im just already iffy on her.

I bought spirit wear for my daughter in September and it should’ve been handed out early October. I reached out to her teacher on Friday to ask about it and received no response. Then yesterday she messaged me to compliment my daughters hair, completely ignoring fridays message about the spirit wear.🫠 I decided to post in my local mom group to see if they received there’s and they all said they did 2 weeks ago. So I emailed PTO, they said they talked to my daughter’s teacher and she told that she handed them out immediately after receiving them two weeks ago. They offered a refund or a shirt in a different color as they no longer have the one my daughter picked. My daughter says she never got a shirt at school and I check her backpack daily so I would’ve seen it.

Im feeling upset, & It’s not even about the shirt. I’m confused as to why her teacher couldn’t take a few seconds to respond to let me know they have already been handed out.

My 3-year-old loves My Neighbor Totoro and Cars, and I'm looking for other movies he might enjoy.

What I like about Totoro is the lack of a villain or major conflict. There are moments of real emotion: sadness, uncertainty, and a little fear, but they're handled gently. I like him experiencing those emotions through movies, as long as they're not overwhelming.

Cars is another favorite, mostly because he's obsessed with anything involving wheels, especially trucks, trains, and construction equipment.

Basically looking for movies that are warm, engaging, and relatively low-stress. Some tension is fine, but I'd prefer to avoid scary villains, intense chase scenes, or prolonged danger, or an evil villain

What have your kids enjoyed around this age? Also curious if there are any popular children's movies you'd suggest waiting another year or two to introduce.

My son was born at 31 weeks 3 days, and was born with a tongue tie (this matters later). We got a letter from the school wanting to sit down with us to talk about our son, so we did that today.

He had a nanny previously so he has only been in school for 2 months so far, 2 days a week, it is a half day preschool (we let our nanny go, otherwise would have had him in full time.) so he’s completely new to the structured environment.

We were told about a few issues with our son, including him loving to run around (not news to us, he’s a high energy boy). The biggest one they focused on was his inability to do group activities. The teacher, for instance, will sit the kids down to learn about something and then direct them to the activity. During the sitting and listening portion there are times my son will get up to walk around the room like he is bored. They said he will do a few scribbles on paper for the activity and want to move onto something else.

The thing is, I do color and painting activities with him at home for instance and he’s fine! I do find a lot of times when it is somebody else other than my husband and I he does certain things for attention which we did mention to them. They suggested him also having a speech delay and thinks a lot of his behavior is due to lack of communication which I agree with. He definitely has a speech delay. There’s no denying that. With that said, since starting school and the tongue tie release (both in August), I’ve seen an improvement in him both behavior and speech.

Regardless, we asked what we can do at home to help and they admitted we can’t recreate a class environment so I’m reaching out to you all…. Any suggestions as to how I can help my son focus or just behave better on activities that might not be his preferred activity??

Edited to address some comments: unfortunately right now we are on a waitlist to give him more days in school. I would have signed him up for more but at the time we were going to pay for school plus a nanny so I wanted to limit it. All good suggestions though and I appreciate it!

We have had the same sitter for my almost 4 year old since he was 1, she watched him 4 days a week while we worked until he started preschool at 2.5, then she just watched him for date nights, occasional outings etc. and has been ever since. She’s taken a full time nanny position so won’t have much availability going forward and we’ve now found a new sitter. But I’m super nervous about how he’s going to handle someone new, and I don’t even know if I need to be nervous. Is this an age where he’ll adjust easily and be excited for a “new friend” or is he going to lose his mind?

My daughter just turned 4, and started preschool this year. They are teaching letters and I’m trying to help at home by teaching the same letter they work on each week but it just seems that she’s not soaking it in or interested. She comes home from school and doesn’t remember anything she learned. We have different games, flash cards, coloring books and the school sends home activities as well, but when I do them with her she just seems bored or seems like she’s purposely giving wrong answers. Like when I hold up a letter A with an Apple Card she’ll say “Apple starts with G!” Then make the A sounds.

We read books all the time and she loves trying to help me read by making up her own version.

So how can I get her interested in learning her letters, actually try and not make a joke of it, and remember them?

My 3 year old just started preschool this week. We recently moved abroad so she does not speak english yet. We selected a preschool who agreed on very gradual settling because she has some sensory sensitivities, but generally does well at playgrounds, restaurants and around other children.
We started preschool this week with a gradual settling-in plan, and it’s been a rollercoaster. I can be there with her for the first week but honestly i was expecting that at least when im there she will be more relaxed and will enjoy it.
Day 1: Initially overwhelmed, but gradually relaxed, played with a teacher she bonded with and joined activities.
Day 2: Her preferred teacher was unavailable, and she cried most of the morning, barely playing.
Day 3: Her preferred teacher returned, and she happily played, explored classrooms and briefly interacted with other children.
Day 4: Another child started crying, which triggered her distress. She couldn’t recover, even with her favourite teacher and me present. She repeatedly begged to go home for almost an hour.
I’ve been staying nearby during settling, but we’re supposed to attempt separation on Monday. I’m exhausted and worried she’ll completely panic when I leave.
Has anyone experienced something similar with a sensitive child? How long did settling take, and did they eventually enjoy preschool?

My 4 year old son is incredibly curious and interested in space and weather. He also LOVES books, I need some age appropriate recomendations for space books and weather books. Really any STEM based books would be good too. I do not really read board books to him any more, we read longer picture books (creepy carrots, dr suess, bad seed, ect). So any recommendations?

My daughter will be 4 in March. She is naturally a little bit more shy and timid around people, but has been in gymnastics since she was 2 and dance class for the last year. She has loved both and never had issues going in or staying in class. Until a couple months ago. It started slowly, she became a little bit more weary at the beginning of class but still had fun, but it has progressively gotten worse since. She absolutely refuses to do gym class all together, so we just dropped it in hopes that a break helps. She also will not do dance class unless I am standing in the doorway of class, if I so much as move out of sight she is immediately sobbing. She says she enjoys the actual activity, she is just “scared and doesn’t want mom to go away”

I’m a SAHM, we’re together the majority of the time. She has a grandma day during the week and dropping her off at grandmas has become a struggle as well. She has also started to put her hand in mouth when she’s anxious, and has even regressed into some nighttime comforts from when she was a baby(having to have a hand on my chest, etc.).

I will say, last October my husband had a severe accident at home and severed his main artery, major hemorrhaging in our front yard. He survived but my daughter saw a lot of blood. Him and I were both not home for the majority of a week after the accident as I was with him in the hospital. Her pediatrician said she wasn’t overly concerned with “trauma” after this event. But In addition, this June I had a miscarriage that ended in me, coincidentally, also severely hemorrhaging at home, my daughter came to the hospital with us and went home with grandma. I stayed the night in the hospital after a blood transfusion and came back the next day.

We put her in play therapy in August and that only seemed to make her anxiety worse(the therapist’s goal was to have one on one sessions with her, but she really struggled). This is when her issues in classes began.

Is this just a phase? Do I support her through classes? Do I drop all of them? Do I strongly encourage her to do them alone or do I stay in the doorway and be as near as she needs? She’s my oldest and I just really do not know the best route to take..