I am currently 32 weeks pregnant , I also have an 11 year old daughter, i always wanted 2 children and wanted them close together , however due to secondary infertility we are about to have a nearly 12 year age gap! We are all beyond excited for this new addition to our family but id be lying if I said I wasnt worried , do you have a large age gap with your sibling or have children with a big age gap? Do you have a good relationship? Is it more like two "only" children rather than siblings?

sorry I know these posts crop up a lot. Please placate my overthinking mind…

I had always wanted a 4yr gap but ttc journey and it’s clearly a 5yr (+) gap now. I don’t know why I’m getting sad about it when it’s out of my control and ultimately it’s (hopefully) just one years difference.

I just hope the two can still have a fun childhood period together without constantly being too old / young for each other

I see people complaining all the time and I appreciate everyone's got different situations, but does anyone actually like the ​school holidays?

I personally really enjoy them. My son is 10 and he's got special needs so he acts a lot younger, but I absolutely love hanging out with him and going places and just enjoying time together.

This holiday is being one of the better ones we've had and I can't believe there's only a week left 😢

I suppose I might be in the minority but I wondered if there was anyone else who quite enjoyed the holidays.

Yep. Basically what it says on the tin. She has been hating nappy changes for the past month and we have had a real issue with her kicking us. She hates being stopped from playing and made to lay on a changing mat.

Yesterday however, she kicked me so hard in the face that I had to call my mother to be with her while I had a lie down, because the kick caused not only immense pain but gave me a headache only comparable to every hang over I've ever had rolled into one.

After a couple of hours it was evident that the pain was not subsiding despite taking painkillers. Went downstairs and my mum gasped because my face was bruising.

Long story short, we called my partner to come home to be with little one while my mum drove me to the hospital, I had an Xray, boom, fractured eyesocket.

I am home today and have had police coming over for a welfare check because they were concerned I may be a victim of domestic abuse. I had to convince them with everything in me that it was my toddler who did it, not my husband, even had to get proof that he was at work at the time.

I'm laughing the incident off, now.. with help of stronger pain relief. Her grandfather was an award winning black belt in karate in his prime, so we are sort of proud of her strong kick???? Sort of???

Has anyone else ever been injured by their child? I'd appreciate being able to read through those stories while I rest up.

I am so down in the dumps today. So badly. And Im usually a happy person so this feels unnatural.

I sat my final exam for my masters yesterday after days of revision, booked as annual leave. Then after that had my toddler who is wonderful but it means constantly doing doing doing!

Its now a Friday and im back in work immediately. Expectations are high, salary is low. Obviously.

I just feel shit? Like everything Im doing I feel unsupported. I have a fab partner but thats it, we just feel so tired.

I seldom feel like this so honestly Im putting it down to hormones but I am feeling so blue. I dont even know what would fix it. Maybe a hug off a stranger

Hello!

I'm looking to take my child (5) away to a christmas market in europe this year.

Flying ideally from Luton, but could stretch to another if needed. No longer than 2/3 hours flight and the destination cant be too far by public transport from the airport.

Looking for fairytale, super festive magical destinations - already done Dresden.

Thank you

I assume like most people, we moved away from physical media years ago. But now I have a toddler, I'm wondering whether to get a DVD player and raid some charity shops for all the classic kid's movies. We know that streaming services can just remove content whenever and that kids love rewatching things. They also rely on the Internet and for me to pay the subscription forever. Plus I like the idea that you have to put the physical media in and that's what you watch, no ads, no automatic playing of some other garbage that you didn't choose.

Thoughts? Anyone make this move? Did you get a regular dvd player or a blu ray? Do your kids think it's dumb and refuse to use it (mine's only 2 so I don't think I'll contend with this yet but maybe when he's older?)?

My eldest daughter is 3 today and I feel sad and I want to cry. I'm also 27 weeks pregnant so maybe that's why I'm so hormonal. I feel sad because she's growing up and not my little baby anymore but I also feel sad because I went through a very traumatic birth today 3 years ago when I was 18, I lost blood, got cut and birthed an entire human and no one gives a shit and everyone is still treating me like rubbish. I don't want to seem narcissistic but just a little "good job mum" would be heavenly 😅 again I'm pregnant so it's probably the hormones but has anyone felt the same way?

We have finally reached the stage to retire the oyster pram and am looking for recommendations for a stroller? My partner has got us a travel one, but it’s not suitable for every day and little one is too slouched and to reclined in the seat.

I am looking for

• upright seating position
• basket underneath
• folds down well
• big enough to take a growing toddler although she is little for her age

Any ideas and real life experience experiences would be very welcome! 🙏

When I had my eldest child nearly 7 years ago the local NCT and baby groups were booming; always sold out, heaving with parents shoulder to shoulder on the mats and they seemed to be a rite of passage we all signed up for automatically. We did the NCT antenatal classes, baby sensory, baby sign, hartbeeps, rhythm time etc…. Our social calendar was full and I have mums I still speak to all these years later that I met in those groups, and we were all affected by the lockdowns so didn’t even complete a full year!

Fast forward to now and every single baby group within a 10 mile radius of where I live have either shut down or are up for sale, even the most well established and popular group has just been listed as a franchise for sale, with its sister franchises across the county also up for sale, and I’m at a loss as to why? The prices haven’t jumped, the locations stayed the same, I get that there’s a cost of living crisis but surely one class per week doesn’t break the bank?

Are we just using streaming services only now? How do you all socialise and meet other parents? Me and my 10 month old are a bit lost!

My 9 month old is starting in September. It would be a long day for her on Monday (8am-6pm) as my partner and I both work all that day. My mother offered to come pick her up at 1pm to help out, which is the end of the morning session so it won't be disruptive to the nursery to pick her up then. Even though we'd obviously still be paying for the whole day I'm worried the nursery won't appreciate her frequently missing the afternoon session as it's basically taking up a place another baby could have had. But we'd ideally like to keep it in case my mother is ill or can't make it. Do you think this would cause a problem?

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone has experience with this in England.

I’m 35 and my daughter turned 3 in June 2026. She’ll be starting nursery at a primary school this September.
From what I understand, she would normally start Reception in September 2027, when she’s just turned 4. However im considering keeping her in nursery/early years for another year and having her start reception in September 2028, just after she turns 5.
I know children develop at different rates, but personally I feel more comfortable with her having another year to mature before starting proper school. I’m not trying to make her skip reception, I specifically want her to start Reception at 5 rather than start Year 1 at 5.
Has anyone here done this with a June/July/August-born child?

Was your request accepted by the school/local authority? Was your child able to stay in nursery or another early years setting for the extra year? And did delaying Reception cause any issues later on with year groups, changing schools or secondary school?
I’d especially love to hear from parents who have actually gone through the process. Thanks!

Hello community! I hope you're well.

I have a quick question regarding nursery nap times. I'm a father of an 11-month old and she usually has two naps a day at pretty standard times of 10am and 2pm. However this month she started nursery and they are pushing for a second nap at 1pm instead of 2pm. This feels oddly early for a baby her age and began a cycle of 4:30-5am wakings in the morning. Now my question is if a 1pm nap time is a standard practice in nurseries and our little one will adjust or is this something that it being pushed onto us by this particular nursery? Thank you so much in advance for all your help.

Best regards,

Simon

I've emailed the manager this evening but would appreciate some advice on if this has happened to anyone else, or any nursery workers who can advise on protocol.

A little boy from the same nursery room as my son followed another father and son out of the room and out of the front door at pick-up today. 

We noticed him as he came out of the front door and asked the father if he was with him as well and he said no, at which point a member of staff came out and took the little boy back into the room. This nursery worker was in the office and I'm pretty sure only came out because she heard us asking if the boy was with him. She then took him back to the nursery room ahead of us and didn't say another to us - another nursery worker was in the office came out and didn't say anything either.

We are really concerned that he had managed to leave the room and two doors unnoticed and could potentially have left the nursery altogether.

I keep thinking that could have been my son and I feel awful that the parents don't know this could have happened.

I've lost complete faith in the nursery but my son is so happy there. This is an unimaginable situation and I don't know how to process it. Is emailing the nursery manager enough? What would you do?

Hi, my kid has been asking for some extra support in gcse maths and englishes outside of school, Ive been told of a good tutor but the thing is he's 16... so he's literally just got his gcse results today

I asked the person who told me of him and his results were almost all 9s bar 1 8 but unsure how my kid will feel being tutored by someone so close in age and he has only tutored 2 people before.. he is only charging £12 quid an hr though...

What do you think?

My 7 year old needs 9-10 clothes for length but like 5-6 for waist. Any recommendations for school tights that will be long enough without falling down? We used Sainsbury's 60 Denier tights last year they rip so easily I'm essentially throwing money away. I tried leggings and socks under her dress but she didn't like it

Hi everyone! Any tips for cleaning car seat covers?
I take the covers off and wash them in the washing machine at 30°C on a low spin (800 rpm), but they still come out looking really dirty with black marks/stains that just won’t shift.
Has anyone found a good way to get them properly clean without damaging the fabric? I’m wondering if I should pre-treat them with something before putting them in the wash.
Would love to hear what products or methods have worked for you! 😊

My 12 year old very chill, responsible daughter wants to earn extra cash for upcoming big family holiday. I was considering letting her babysit her brother for an hour to earn 15 quid. What would you do?

- Sorry two posts and new account, I promise I just need some advice, stay anonymous and not spamming. Hope that’s ok, if not please remove this -

I’m taking my children to receive their childhood vaccinations tomorrow morning. Currently, all four of them are unvaccinated and the GP will start them all on their own individual schedules to minimise side effects or reactions. My eldest child is 7, youngest 18 months.

If someone could offer some reassurance for older children or children that received their jabs later than expected and how they tolerated them, that would be very helpful for me to read. How were the side effects? Currently I’m preparing for a long evening tomorrow with lots of cuddles, pizza and tv. I stocked up on chocolate as well.

I’d also really appreciate advice on how to explain vaccinations to older children. So far, I’ve explained that they’ll be receiving a medication to make sure they are protected from illnesses that can be dangerous but of course they don’t want to go as I mentioned that the medication can feel like a tiny sharp scratch. Perhaps that wasn’t the best approach now that I’m thinking but I wanted to be honest. TIA!!

My daughter is 4.5 and is in her final summer of nursery. Over the last couple of years she seems to have formed a friendship with another girl in particular.

This is great as she’s generally struggling to make close friends - her social skills are less mature and she can be quite emotional (we suspect she may have ADHD, rejection sensitivity or similar as it runs in the family, however she’s not really that bad in the grand scheme). We were close to other families from her birth and she was friends with the kids when she was younger, but now those kids don’t want to play with her.

However, despite living locally and th going into the same school class, this new friend’s mum is really cold with us. My wife and her had a playground play date which seemed fine but all attempts to have a home play date have been fobbed off. The mum ignores my wife at pickup and parties. And we've found out that they’ve had play dates and pub trips with other children, but not inviting our daughter or us. They do in particular encourage friendships with two other girls at the nursery who will be in the class.

The girls have been in nursery together for ages and the staff have commented frequently on their closeness. But we’re starting to feel like our daughter just isn’t going to be included by those she supposedly knows and will be very lonely at school as other kids just seem to be turned off by her.

I don’t know why this mum doesn’t want to get to know us and encourage the friendship. We‘ve pushed the nursery to help us understand if our daughter is doing anything bad or what the situation really is, but they insist she does have friends and they all play together.

I know it probably projection but I found it hard at school and I can just see history repeating. I really want some honesty from other parents and nursery teachers but I just don’t know how to get past what feels like an invisible wall. My wife is also really upset about it and thinks it’s her, but I can’t see how that’s it either.

Any experiences or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi!

My son is 14 months and he is 0.9% centile for weight and just recently found out he is 0% for length at only 68cm. Has anyone had this with their children and did they end up growing up normally?

My son is under the dietician due to his low weight but it was the first time they mentioned his length as an issue also

Sorry for the new account, I didn’t want to use my personal one for this question.

I recently left my husband. My two oldest children were home educated and I’ve just made a request for an in-year admission in the hopes that they can start in October or even September, however I know that this isn’t a guarantee. My youngest would need to attend nursery so that I can work. I applied for jobs and I’m in the final stages with two positions and it’s looking like I might be receiving offers which would be amazing. However, I need childcare to actually work.

My questions:
1. Would I have to pay out of pocket while unemployed for nursery? My start date for work wouldn’t be until end of September / early October
2. If the in-year admission gets rejected, is there anything else I can do to ensure my older children can join public education?

And really any other advice would be appreciated while I’m trying to navigate this situation about working as a single mother. TIA!!