We started talking to our kids about why grocery stores throw away so much perfectly good food and they were shocked. my 7 year old asked why stores do not just give it to people who need it and honestly i did not have good answer beyond company policy which feels pretty hollow.

now when we shop they point out discount sections and want to rescue food that is close to expiry. they have stopped complaining about bruised fruit because they understand it tastes same. we have been buying marked down items more often and our grocery bill has dropped noticeably but more importantly they are learning to think about waste and value differently.

it has been interesting watching them apply this to other things too, like they are more careful about not wasting food at dinner now and my oldest has been asking questions about where our food comes from and how it gets to store. was not expecting conversation about food waste to turn into broader discussions about environment and supply chains but here we are. anyone else having these kinds of conversations with their kids? i am curious how other families are approaching this stuff because it feels important but also complicated to explain at their age.

Parents with young kids, do you stay up after putting kids down? Me and my wife struggle so hard to stay up. Any recommendations for finding time?

my husband only speaks english meanwhile i speak english and arabic, and its so important to me that our daughter speaks arabic. we also live in an arabic speaking country but its super multicultural heavily expat based and everyone predominantly speaks english in our community

i already know the basics like speaking to her in arabic, making sure i encourage that she speaks back to me in arabic, reading to her in arabic and making sure i stay consistent with it

what worries me is the later years because nowadays a lot of kids lose their arabic skills once they start school since they end up speaking english with classmates and friends and realistically she will hear me and her dad speaking english to each other at home too

so im wondering what helps kids stay interested in their second language and actually maintain it as they get older?

did anyone do things like reading books in their second language in exchange for money or privileges or getting a weekly private tutor or anything else that may have worked?

if youve successfully raised older children who speak your native language in a bilingual/mixed household id love to hear your tips please this is so important to me and i see so many parents around me struggling to keep the language alive even in arabic families because of how dominant english has become in our community :((

My neighbor's child was reading something off my phone the other day. The text is not complicated, any child should be able to read it. But he was mouthing a lot of the words and still couldn't really tell me what it meant after. He's 12

It got me thinking because I've noticed it with a few kids his age - a few of my son's classmates included who are around 12-13...

Is this something other parents are dealing with? What does it actually look like in your house?

This is a long one. I apologize. I like to make context. I have a 3 kids (6,4,1 years old). I really need some advice/tips/ suggestions on how to build strong relationships with them so they end up not feeling the way I have for years. This thought hit me hard after my daughter was born. The reason being is my oldest two are full on daddies boys. They are like little adventurers following their leader (daddy). Here is some context on why I am asking for advice.

My spouse and I grew up in very different households. Without going into very many details, my spouse grew up in a very chaotic, narcissistic household and I grew up extremely sheltered quiet home. We have both come a long way in changing bad habits that we have developed over the years. I will say that now that we are parents, we realize the cons to their parenting but no not hate them for anything. He has distanced himself from his family by his own choice due to some more recent issues around our children when they were little. My spouse is working on the issues formed from his childhood. And I am doing the same. Our kids have no idea of any struggles we have went through to get to the place of peace we are currently in.

The one thing I am struggling with lately is making sure I have a close relationship with my kids. They are extremely young yet but I want a close relationship with our kids. My parents are great people but I will admit the closeness of our relationship is just not there. I am not a person who calls my mom when exciting things happen or talks to their sibling a lot. It’s just not something I had with my family. It does deeply bother me. I have noticed as I get older that my parents like to show off, talk about the latest gossip, or drool over people who are picture perfect. I am not that by any means. I try not to gossip or judge others for who they are or what is going on in their life. I am not a showy person. I could care less about making sure my house decorated perfectly (I am saying my house to extremely clean and organized but I could care less if I have decor everywhere) or making sure I am dressed up all day everyday. I am what people call an “alternative mom/biker chick” I listen to alternative rock, I wear my band tees, covered in tattoos and I wear my Harley boots like they are a wedding ring. I am quiet but I will say my feelings in a non asshole way because I don’t believe on lying or being two faced. I feel overly judged by my parents. My brother doesn’t care so much but with my parents I can feel it this.

Back to my point, I want my kids to always feel comfortable with me. Be who they are and never feel the way I feel. My parents are much different towards my kids then when they were raising me. My parents are very adventurous now and are my kids favorite family members. Grandma and Papa always have the fun old school toys and are always planning fun things inside and outside their home. I don’t see the way I grew up effecting their relationship. My parents are the best grandparents.

I just want advice on how to keep a healthy balance of raising my kids to be close with us without lacking discipline. I know that sometimes when people are close with their kids, they lack being able to discipline their kids. I feel like this should come naturally to parents but it isn’t with me. When something is wrong like being sick or they get hurt, they always come to me. If they want to have fun, they go to dad. My daughter is a bit young yet to judge. My boys are very open with me when it comes to something being wrong and they don’t lie about things like “shhhh… we got daddy an extra surprise for his birthday. Don’t tell him” they will not keep that from their dad. That’s how honest they are. This part does make me feel like I’m doing something right. I want to know what you out there have done when it comes to parenting that keep a good healthy line between rules and being close with your children.

I have asked my husband about this. How I want to be close with my kids so that when they have anything exciting in their life, they call or they don’t hide things from us. When I was younger, I didn’t tell my parents for 3 years I had a bf in middle school/ early high school due to the fear of what they would say. The possible judgement was the scary thing, I wasn’t scared due to being yelled at. I have a lot of self confidence issues and I may think it may have to do with my upbringing. My husband said when he was younger, he could talk about medical things no problem but anything personal like relationships or big news. It wasn’t something he talked about due to possible being used against him or made fun of. Once he got older, he came to the realization that he was taken advantage of for his kindness and the unconditional love and respect wasn’t there. That’s why he cut ties besides a very small few that do love him/our family like their own.

Any suggestion helps

When should they take the Psats? I just got an email from guidance counselor about my 10th grader sitting for the exam in OCTOBER. Why so soon?

My son is 9 and used to like kids books but over the last year he has basically chosen Roblox, YouTube and his tablet every single time. I want him to build better reading habits and enjoy book reading again not treat it like homework. So please can you tell me what worked for your kids' reading routines?

My 9 year old really likes dagronopa and she said her favorite is toko. She told me a bit, it's a school and they have to kill and if they're caught they're executed. It doesn't surprise me she likes it, she played doki doki literature club and you guys told me it wasn't a kids game.

My toddler is starting school but he’s too young for a phone, what’s the best way to track them from your experience. Don’t comment if you’re against it lol I want to know where my kids is at all times the world is too scary out there

Edit- I’m literally not even reading the comments that aren’t helpful so don’t even bother writing them 🤣