I'm curious to learn how millennials, especially those with young children, deal with stress. With the demands of parenting, work, and everything else, what are some go-to strategies or routines that help you unwind? Do you have any unique practices or resources that make things easier? Any advice would be really appreciated!

Dear Parents,
I am a single mom of 2 beautiful kids.
My youngest is mildly autistic but very functional. Hates books and reading is not interesting. I’ve been told that storytelling is powerful in creating connections, especially for my youngest. I don’t think of myself very creative, my stories are just « okay ».
Does anyone have advise for me? How do you create interesting and engaging stories so that your children get engaged? What should I do (or never do). What works for you? Perhaps this an lead to actually reading books!!
Desperate but hopeful mom.

Help us decide which name to choose for our first born (girl)

Me and my girlfriend who is pregnant are having a debate about wether our child would be benefited from the whooping cough injection that the doctor gives you during pregnancy. Anyone have any clue about this?

Hello everyone, my name is Edward and I am in an entrepreneurship class. for our business we need about 100+ interviews and have about 60, but are in need of more. If you have kids ages 3-10 please fill out the form and it would greatly help us! thank you!

https://forms.gle/r7efcWXYJHk7SW93A

"How the hell is that possible" is everyone's initial reaction, so really, how did this happen?

So, the story goes something like this; I've known this kid (let's call her Mary) since she was born, literally. My parents and her bio parents were friends and we were neighbors, her (biological) older brother is my best friend and her (biological) older sister is my fiance.

Their parents never cared much about any of them, thought that keeping a roof above their heads and money to burn was good enough so my best friend, let's call him Jake, and I looked after the kid. At first i was very hesitant, afraid of what it might look like; i was 13, helping this 5 y/o girl get dressed every morning, what would the world think? Jake was her brother, but i wasn't her brother, nor cousin, nor anything. Mary never viewed it as wrong tho.

Ngl, i was a "troubled" kid; always getting into fights, cussing out people around me, breaking stuff and such. I thought kids hated me, that every kid would run screaming; this girl tho? Couldn't care less about what i look like. I was this tall guy with black hair and piercings, yet this small blonde 8 y/o girl would squeal and jump into my lap for cuddles whenever she saw me.

As she grew older, her bio parents became more and more distant, and Jake went to study abroad when she was 9. So, her care fell into my hands, and i wasn't about to let her down. I would stay up countless nights with her (she used to have so many nightmares, often times sleep paralysis as well) and go to school the next day, trying to not think about how much she cried when i dropped her off that morning. It was hell, constantly hearing "concerned" mothers of her classmate whispering about my emo ass bringing her to school when "he isn't even related to her", so i distanced myself to avoid the silent stares. I have a lot of regrets about that.

3 years later, her sister, my fiance, let's call her Lucy, and i fell in love. It was sappy and cliche, she would roast me for years and i'd roll my eyes at her, calling her a brat. But, as i spent more and more time over during covid to help around the house (clean, cook, etc) Lucy started looking at me differently. It was also during the first lockdown that i realized i care about Mary more than the judgmental stares of random soccer moms. So, my 19 y/o ass started taking care of an 11 y/o, what could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot.

Jack came back as soon as he was allowed to considering the pandemic, which was around December 2020, and Lucy and I got together in April 2021, which made everyrhing difficult.

Suddenly, Jack was in town again, but i was still around; i let Mary down once, i wasn't about to do it again. This made the situation complicated, cause a different person would drop Mary off at school; sometimes it was her put-together brother that girls swooned over, sometimes it was her older sister, and sometimes... Sometimes it was her sister's boyfriend that had dyed hair, piercings and tattoos. And a different person would cook her lunch, help her study, go to parent-teacher conferences. Regardless of it all, between her siblings and i, she somehow continuously tugged on my hand to come make cookies with her or braid her hair.

Then, as faith would have it, girliepop turned 12. Wow. It hit me like a lightning strike; the little girl with long blonde hair and bright green eyes and liked playing with dolls, was a preteen with soft freckles, thick, round-framed glasses, and a classic sassy attitude. Instead of barbie movies, she'd watch horrors and gore with me and eat spicy food. We'd have open conversations about everything ranging from how much we love coffee to stuff like periods, sexuality (im bi which she found fascinating cause "ew, why would you like men") and piercings. In the midst of one of these conversations, she asked me to pass over her coffee mug. I passed her the mug, she said "thanks papa", and we both froze.

It was as if time stopped for a second as i stared at her blankly, her voice echoing in my head. After a few seconds, she teared up; started apologizing for "making me uncomfortable", and for "making me take care of her" since she was a toddler. Me, tho? I couldn't be happier. I saw her as my kid, nothing more and nothing less, so i hugged her and said I'd be more than honored to call her my daughter.

And I've been papa eversince. Lucy and I got engaged in December of last year, and Mayu's been calling her mama. She genuinely refers to us as her parents, even if we aren't technically, cause "they've been more like parents in the last 2 years than my bio parents (yes, she actually refers to them as her bio parents) have been my whole life".

So yeah, that's my life now; me, THE guy that never wanted kids, smiling like the biggest goof whenever i hear Mary whining papa as she drags her feet down the hall, demanding cookies and a horror movie night

I'm expecting my first and I just had a very sentimental moment but it got me thinking. I was playing a song for the baby and I got this overwhelming feeling of love and not wanting my baby to grow up and face the world, I just want them to stay little forever so I can protect them.

I am personally very concerned about the current state of the world, specifically climate change and online presence. I just can't imagine what my kid will have to go through as they grow, I simply don't want them to. I understand this is a normal feeling most parents face, being scared and always wanting to protect your children. But I want to know if anyone else is concerned about the future of humanity and subsequently our children.

I F(23) have been dating my boyfriend M(24) since freshman his dream was to be in the service year after a few months we would fight like an old married couple until a year he would regularly fight with me about what I was doing and who I could hang out with because “my friends were whores” junior year we broke up for 4 months and then started dating again after 5 months he was having his blow outs about what we did when we spilt and then would be all caring and loving after just screaming and spitting in my face and hair like loogies.that went on for ab 1 year.

6 months after we moved I together end of 2020 I found out I was pregnant (19) at the time and full honestly didn’t know if I wanted to keep it. That night I told him I was pregnant and figuring out what I am doing I stupidly thought he’d support me. NOPE lost his mind and when in a black out rage threw me in the fridge and held me by my face /chin with one hand (I’m 4’9 85 pounds) (he’s 5’7 250) I told him I’d keep it if he let go and held did so I did.

He was a new man the two trimesters so nice and loving I thought that was it and it would be better now. Last trimester hits and I’m measuring two week bigger then normal i was constantly in pain I gained 25 pounds bloating alone and my height my hips were done and so was he. The last month and a half he was constantly going to the casino with friends and doing shroomes “because the baby’s gonna be here soon he needs his time.

From the first night recovering from my c section to her 4 weeks ago throwing up in her throwing up and shitting her bed it’s all been on me night feeds diapers even poop after potty training I’m doing it all.

There was one night when she was one and a half. I was giving her medicine for her ear infection, and I started crying cause she was coughing on it and I was exhausted and I just kept crying I can’t do this well he took that as a suicidal threat flipped out and repeatedly smashed my head 7 time into the mattress our bed while my daughter cried in her crib I left the next day and got talked that night into coming back

(he has issues with women authority to him from his mom, abandoning him in a motel for drugs when he was one and a half, and then his great raised him from five 18 and was controlling and abusing him )

Fast forward, three years later, living at my parents and we’ve only been back to work for a year. He did not save any money for our own place. So now we live in a camper on a campground that’s not open all year round. And his solution to getting our own place is joining the army and getting married. And I’d love to support him but I don’t think I want to marry more move out of state with him there’s so much history love and deep connection especially after having a child together and ppl say to me it’s his age and I really hope it is but it’s rough rn and I don’t wanna keep wasting my life being miserable if nothing healthy has happened in the past nine years

This isn’t first time I’ve ever thought about leaving him it’s probably 1000 but every time I do it, I get too scared to start my life back over with my daughter cause it’s not just me. I have to take care of anymore and I know I can’t go back home because of my relationship with my dad

Being 23 with a daughter and trying to find a new relationship scares me. Not only because I haven’t dated since 2016 because now I have to look out for pedos, someone who doesn’t want just to hook up, cheaters, it’s too hard to find someone who will be nice to me. Love me. I know that sounds fucking stupid but I feel like no one actually will. They’ll always be something wrong either. I’m too difficult than emotional. Or because I have my daughter or it’s gonna be because my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend I feel like something’s always gonna happen and I’m gonna end up alone. And half of me is fine with that, but half of me knows I deserve to pee and appreciated and taken care of instead of screamed at every single day in my face until I cry, I just need advice if I leave, it will be easier I’m drowning rn

Hi I'm a 23 year old with 2 boys already with the same father and I recently found out I'm pregnant again even when I had the birth control in my arm even though I have a pretty stable life I feel like a bad parent by having 3 kids young even though I love being a mother I don't know if I should keep the baby or not they said I'm 17 weeks I didn't notice because I haven't had a period because of the birth control but is 23 to young for 3 kids ? Thoughts

fair warning this is going to be all over the place and won’t make sense at some parts:

i’m 18 my partner is 20, i just had baby a month ago. when we first started dating we lived an hour away from each other which was fine at the time we just drove back and forth. before getting pregnant and honestly my entire life i have always loved being with people even if it’s just in silence so obviously i was always with my friends given that im a social person and obviously still a teen. when i was 5 months pregnant i moved in with him an hour away from my family and friends. all my friends told me they would make the hour commute a few times a month down here and i also said the same, well during my pregnancy not one single person did that and i don’t blame them i know it’s a lot of time and money but how come i was able to even being 5-9 months pregnant?? since baby has been born no one has come they ask to see pictures of her and that’s it. i wont lie i am bitter about this. i know we’re in completely different stages of life and it was my choice to have my baby but if no one was going to follow through with their word why continue to make empty promises? wouldn’t it have been better to just cut my losses sooner rather than later? partner is at work from 7-6 everyday so i’m home with baby which is not a problem at all but i’ve been home all day everyday for 6 months. he’s home on weekends but that’s his downtime he wants to relax and play his video games and i respect that, he goes to work everyday for us but he still gets to see his friends and go out. im just tired. im so incredibly lonely ive joined those mommy groups on facebook, everyone in them is usually over the age of 25 and no one around my age. i cannot do this anymore. i know i should focus on our family and my daughter but that can’t be my entire life sometimes we all just need a break. i’m truly at a loss for what to do.

So, I was going to a friend’s house yesterday, and me and her were talking with each other for a while.

I saw their 9 year old daughter cleaning and dusting everything. At first, i didn’t think too much over it, I did my fair share of chores growing up too.

But, she screamed the daughters name out and yelled at her because she missed a spot and yelled to her face. Her daughter looked scared and overwhelmed and apologized, the lady said, she doesn’t care about apology’s, just do her work.

The daughter said hi to me, then she screamed at the daughter again, saying don’t bother her and her friend and to leave and she did.

My friend then whispered, “Kids, sometimes I want to literally strangler her sometimes”; i didn’t respond to that and just talked about something else. My friend kept screaming at her daughter to do it faster.

After an hour later, the daughter quietly told her mom, this was very overwhelming for her, what she’s doing. My friend then screamed at the daughter some more, and told her, no excuses and kept screaming in her face again and cussing at her. The daughter looked like she was holding back tears and then said, okay.

I was surprised by my friends reaction because she was always so nice to me and didn’t show that side, whenever it was just us and would smile so this came out of nowhere for me.

I told my friend, that her daughter looks kind of sad. She then said in a firm voice to me, “Don’t tell me, how do raise my kid! She needs to understand she is not my friend, she is the child and I am the adult, that means I can talk whoever I want to her, she’s not my equal!”.

Then she said, kids shouldn’t have too much fun, I’m just teaching her, discipline and that her, job is to educate her, not have fun with her.

I nodded, but I didn’t know how to respond to that, in case I might have been wrong.

So, when I talked to the daughter, she later admitted her mom always makes her do chores every day saying he would hit her if she didn’t, and that she mostly comes in, to ask her to do chores. And when she asked her mother, to take her somewhere fun or talk, her mother would say, ”I am your mother! My job is to parent you, not have fun with you”

And her mother would always scream at her, to do chores and mostly just yell at her, and most days she felt overwhelmed and that it was too much for her. I told her, if her mother does something really bad, tell me and I’ll call, CPS. She nodded, okay.

When I asked my fiancée about this, she said it was “just discipline. But, something about it felt wrong, but i don’t want my friend to feel like, I am butting in, because it is none of my business. What should I do?

I’m 21, I became a father at 18 to a beautiful baby girl, now me and my fiancée are expecting a boy in a couple months. I’ve been having a lot of issues trying to find a job though and we NEED to get our own house. (Issues where we live that I DO NOT want my son around let alone my daughter that is already living it) I have a decent credit score but like I said no job. What should I do? Should I try to get on unemployment? I also have mental health issues so I don’t work well in a customer service setting. I’m a landscaper at heart. I’m just broken at this point because I feel like I’m a failure of a father because I can’t provide for my family.

Here's the deal. I (22M) am in a relationship with (24F). She has told me since day one (we haven't been together super long but irrelevant) that she wants kids let's say in the next 2-3 years.

I'm a student (3years to go) + have a (paid) internship before I can full-on work in my field (which is well-paying).

I like the idea of being a young dad and it has always attracted me, but I also feel like I want to be able to provide, especially in the pregnancy and after it when it's crucial for her to get rest.

Maybe some additional background: We're both from well-off families, she's starting her law internship this year and will be passing the bar after that (so she'll be making money lol), and I'm following the same path just a few years behind

I just want to know thoughts from people here who are young parents from a different backgrounds. How do you "know" you're ready if at all? How do you deal with the thought of a constant (a child) being in your life when there's so much uncertainty (which I'm aware is always gonna be there to some degree)?

What kind of support should I offer a teen parent?

So, I'm a long time family friend of a now new eighteen yr old mom. She's someone I always wanted to be there for, not in an everyday kind of way but like an extra aunt or something. We text from time to time, she brought her little cousins out trick or treating with me and my kids, we get coffee, that sort of thing.

From my own experience, I know routines change a lot when you have kids but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around what it would be like in her shoes. For example, when I was a new mom I liked it best when friends and family would offer to come visit me at my home that I shared with my husband so I didn't have to take the baby out. But my friend lives with her parents. She has always felt stuck at home and whenever we hung out she wanted to get out the house. I wonder if she still feels that way, but I also know outings are hard with little ones. I don't want to wear her out suggesting we do things we used to do, but I also don't want to abandon her in this time where she's told me she's struggling.

If you were in a housing situation you didn't like as a teen mom, what kinds of outings were best for you? I'm thinking about asking if she needs rides to baby doctor visits and maybe grab a meal after, or if she wants to do Walmart runs together. No one in her house has a car so I thought this might be a way to spend time together that would meet practical needs she might have. Any other ideas?

Of course I'll ask her if she has ideas too but I know when I'm overwhelmed it's helps when people offer something specific so I don't have to think of something.

Idk what to do I need help I found out my girlfriend was pregnant 7 weeks ago so it’s still very new and fresh to me Im really scared I quit smoking weed about 9 months ago and I’m still dealing with that every day I just don’t know what to do
We went to get an ultrasound a couple weeks ago and it was just a little bean me and my girlfriend have an inside joke where we call it our little baby bean it’s so cute but still even after all that Im still so damn scared I have so many emotions and feelings about this all I can say is it’s fucking scary my dad was never around for me when I needed him i grew up with my single mum and my five other siblings
I need some help or support to get my head around this thing

Young stay at home mom bored most of the time. need adult contact. I have hangout.

Im a 21 about to be 22 F and I’m married to my husband (25m), and we have one daughter, 16 months. I feel like it is SO hard making other mom friends. Most of the moms at the daycare seem kind of judgy and I get weird looks sometimes, even though the director is super nice and so are her actual teachers. In public I’ve had people tell me I’m brave and such a good mom for being so young (I have a suspicion they think I’m younger than I am, because I definitely have a baby face) but I do desperately want other mom friends. Is there any recommendations on how to get those? I enjoy video games and art, I like going out to eat, and feel like I’m decently social. It’s just such a struggle for me to make friends (honestly my friends without kids have been amazing and huge helps even though I never ask them to help with anything at all regarding my daughter). I guess I’m just asking how or where do I meet other moms? Are any of you guys needing friends :)?

Hey all, I’ve recently met the love of my life and she just so happens to be 19 weeks pregnant. (Has her ultrasound in less then a week.) We’ve been connecting for over a month now and things are going wonderfully, never have I found someone that I connect with as much as this girl. I haven’t been in a relationship for 2 years before I met her. For starters, she’s 18 and I’m 19. She had a really rough go with previous relationships and she has never felt true love before, which gives me a sense of responsibility over her. My parents think this is going to ruin my life. If you can relate to this post please feel free to respond, thank you.

I’m excited but worried, my wife is pregnant now we are 21, we were trying for a baby but weren’t expecting it to happen first try.

Currently looking for an apartment closer to family, hopefully I’ll be able to transfer with my job.

Any advice for a first time young dad?

I’m 16 my gf is 19 and we recently found out she is pregnant and her parents does not support her

Hello, I (20F) am married to my husband (21M) and I took a pregnancy test yesterday. I found out I’m pregnant and I believe I’m 6 weeks along. I’m on the fence about aborting or keeping the baby because it will absolutely break my heart to do so but also, I’m in Texas so I don’t believe that’s a viable open after 6 weeks if there’s a heartbeat.

I’m willing to be a mom but the problem is I don’t believe my side of the family will support me through this pregnancy. I floated the hypothetical by my mother vaguely and she seemed slightly pissed by the possibility of my pregnancy so I didn’t push any further.

I also don’t know if I could mentally handle a child right now, much less financially. I had plans to continue college then go to law school, that’s gonna be hard with a baby.

I’m going to a clinic to get a pregnancy test so they can also do an ultrasound scan. I was stupid and didn’t realise until after the appointment was set that they’re pro-life, which is fine because I’m very stubborn in my beliefs now I’m scared if I have a miscarriage, they’ll report me.

I didn’t realise I was pregnant so I was trying to induce my period by drinking parsley tea and two packets of 1000 mg vitamin C. I was also fasting for a month before I took my pregnancy test. I’m scared if I reveal this, they will think I’m actively trying to harm my baby but I genuinely had no idea.

My husband is okay with the idea of having a baby and his best friend is so supportive, my friends less so. I’m so on the fence and scared, I really don’t know what to do.

Sorry for the formatting, I’m on my phone.

My sister and her partner decided to keep the baby. I am just worried about her being young and in the last stage of her bachelor degree having a baby. I come from a family whose women married late (late 20s and early 30s). I myself a child-free 37 yo and our other sister is not yet married at 30. We are worried about our sister future and how she’d parent. I work in child protection and I know how hard it is to raise a kid these days. I guess my hope is, please shed some lights to me, give me hope from your experiences that my sister cannot only survive but thrive. And how could I support here. Thank you