Toddler & Child

Children's Nutrition & Health Children's Activities Childcare & Education Parenting Child Development

On the blog

143 Best Baby Quotes for Every Tiny, Magical, Messy Moment

A Sara Pascoe comedy afternoon, just for parents - where the kids are sorted

31 Rainy Day Activities for Kids of All Ages

Tassia O'Callaghan

Potty Training Safety: The Thing No One Talks About (But Every Parent Should Know)

How moms are thinking about sharing their kids online

Jessica Payne

Blended Family Life: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why

Tassia O'Callaghan

109 Grandma Names That’ll Stick for Life

Tassia O'Callaghan

16 Books for Mums That Will Make You Laugh, Cry, and Feel Seen

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Capricorn Baby: What It’s Like Parenting a Tiny Grown-Up

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Pisces Baby: What to Expect From the Dreamiest Sign

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Virgo Baby: What to Expect from Your Little Earth Sign

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Libra Baby: How to Support Your Little Peacemaker

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Taurus Baby: How to Parent the Most Chill (and Most Stubborn) Sign

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Gemini Baby: Get Ready for a Whole Lot of Talking

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Cancer Baby: Big Feelings in a Tiny Package

Tassia O'Callaghan

Raising a Leo Baby: What to Expect From Your Fiery Lion

Tassia O'Callaghan

From the community

Recent discussions

I’m so pissed idk what to do I don’t want to call police

My husband has been saying is too tired to do anything and on the weekend he gets annoyed when I ask him to me and my daughter out. He always complains and when he comes home he wants time alone. It bugs me cause he hardly spend any time with our daughter.. anyways today I said we should walk to the store near by to get groceries but told him he should go alone with our daughter cause I already walked to the store earlier and been with our daughter all day. And he got so mad saying he wants me to walk with him and he wouldn’t have agreed to walking if he knew I wasn’t going to go. Anyways he slammed the door and left. I got a text saying how he’s upset and he’s taking note of this and he is going to take his time to come back home. That was at 4:45pm.. it’s now 6pm. He turned off his location. He won’t answer my texts and calls go straight to voicemail… I’m panicking… it’s getting cold and dark out.. idk where he went. His car is still here… I’m beyond pissed and if he doesn’t come home soon I’m calling the
Police. My trust is broken right now..

Hurt by my partner

I’m 17 just had my first baby. I have no fanily at all except my partners family. He’s 18 and my baby is 5 weeks old. He does nothing he doesn’t get up at night he doesn’t tidy he doesn’t clean he does nothing I’m on my own and it was him that was convincing me to keep the baby. I wouldent change this for the world now but every single week since my sons been born my partner has been out at the pub with his pals. I don’t get to go out with mine I made plans last week to go for coffee WOTH some and I was guilt tripped by him. I have a sever womb infection and bladder infection curently so I’m at his mum and dads house Bwcause I can’t cope in my own house on my own right now and I am just so upset and angry that I’ve been Left to deal on my own whilst he gets to live his best life. It’s so unfair and I know this is my own fault and I done it to myself but somebody tell me I’m not crazy and I’m not the only one. TAHTS dealing with this and these feelings

Feeling Pressure to Spend Time with Partner's Family Postpartum

I'm 3 months postpartum and my partner expects me to spend more time with his family when he's not there because he's working.
There have been comments made from his mum to him and then passed on to me that they expected me to make more of an effort with them. Honestly, it's overwhelming and added pressure and awkwardness. I get on with them fine but the relationship feels forced and they are coming to see the baby and not for me, am I wrong for not wanting this? My partner and i had a argument because he doesnt understand how its fine for my family to visit, i tried to explain the dynamics are different and as much as my family want to see the baby they come to visit to check in and give support to me! Has anyone else dealt with these expectations, and how did you handle it?
I now feel awkward, pressured and alot of guilt on my shoulders because they're 'not seeing the baby enough to bond'. Now cant get it out of my mind and want to see if I am in the wrong for not wanting them over much and prefer to keep it to when my partner is around.

am i going mad

OMG i am starting to really get annoyed with my husband. We have a 15 yr old and 12 year old (both adhd and asd) and a 13week old tomorrow. I was in a&e monday evening for 11 hrs got told to rest and not lift anything heavy. Hubby helped for a day and then everything went back to normal. Today he went to football match with the oldest child and got back at 7:30. the baby is struggling with reflux but can’t go on medication as he is also having trouble pooing and on medication for that too. hubby had tea and went on i pad. baby had a bottle, threw up all over pjs so changed him while hubby was still sitting down on ipad. then baby decided to have a very watery poo which went everywhere, hubby was still on ipad didnt offer to help. i sorted him out took nappy outside and when i came back in baby had been sick again and hubby still sitting down on ipad did nothing. i counted to 10 and picked baby up and then he responded to me how do u need help!!!! honestly getting annoyed now. sorry for the rant but this made me feel better

First food

Starting my baby on solids tomorrow, he will be 5 months. What is a good first food to try? Any suggestions?

I’m 20 years old, married to a 30-year-old man, and this is a side of my story that people don’t see. 💔

When I first met my husband, I already knew about the struggles he was having with seeing his daughter from his previous relationship. In fact, our first conversations were mainly about him, his daughter and the difficulties he was experiencing with her mum. I listened to him, understood his situation and eventually we fell in love and got married not long after meeting.

Fast forward, and we now have two beautiful daughters together. My eldest is one year old, and my youngest is a newborn, only around two and a half months old.

You would think that at 20, after becoming a wife and a mother of two, I would be spending this time recovering from childbirth, enjoying my babies and building a happy family. Instead, I find myself dealing with marriage problems that feel far bigger than anything I ever expected to experience at my age.

Our relationship has gone through so much in less than two years. Problems that some couples might not experience in thirty years. And through all of it, I have tried to keep going, even when emotionally I feel like I have nothing left.

The situation that hurts me the most is what happens every three weeks.

My husband goes to his mum’s house when his eldest daughter visits. Because of the social worker arrangements surrounding his eldest daughter, I cannot accompany him or be around her. I understand that his relationship with his daughter is important, and I have never said that he should not be a father to her.

But somewhere along the way, I feel like my own place in this family has disappeared.

Every three weeks, my one-year-old daughter would go with her dad while I stayed behind. My newborn was initially too small to go, so I would still have her with me. But now, this week, my husband has taken my newborn too.

And that has left me worrying about what happens next. Will both my girls be taken away every three weeks, leaving me completely alone in the house?

I’m not upset that he has another daughter. I’m not asking him to choose between his children. I’m asking why, in the process of making arrangements for one part of his family, it feels like nobody considers the woman who is at home recovering from childbirth, raising two babies and struggling emotionally.

What makes it harder is that when I try to express how I feel, I feel frightened that the answer will be that we cannot be together anymore.

Imagine being 20 years old, postpartum, with two children under two, trying to make your marriage work while feeling like you cannot even speak openly about your own feelings without risking the relationship.

Sometimes I question why I am still holding on. Is it because I genuinely believe things will change? Is it because I love him? Or is it because I am scared of being alone with two children and have started believing the things that make me feel like no other man would ever want me?

But why should I have to feel that way?

Why should I feel that I have to accept being unhappy just because I am a young mother? Why should I feel like having two children means I have to settle for a relationship where I don’t feel emotionally supported?

I don’t want court cases. I don’t want endless arguments or more people involved in my marriage. I don’t want to feel even more isolated than I already do. I just want peace, stability and a husband who understands that I have feelings too.

I want my daughters to grow up in a healthy environment. I want to be able to talk to their father without feeling frightened that he will leave me. I want to feel like I am part of a family, not someone who is expected to sit quietly at home while everybody else’s needs come first.

I can understand his responsibilities towards his eldest daughter and still acknowledge that I am struggling. I can respect his role as a father while asking him to respect me as his wife and the mother of his other two children.

Both things can exist at the same time.

I’m only 20. I am still learning who I am, still recovering from having a baby, still trying to understand marriage and still trying to work out what is best for my children and myself.

I don’t have all the answers. Some days, I want to fight for my marriage, and other days, I feel emotionally exhausted from trying to hold everything together.

But one thing I am slowly learning is that being a wife and a mother doesn’t mean I stop being a person. My feelings matter. My mental wellbeing matters. My happiness matters too.

I don’t want to lose my family, but I don’t want to lose myself trying to keep it together either.

Sometimes the loneliest feeling in the world is being married and still feeling like you have nobody. 💔

Failure cloud

First time SAHM mom with a wild 12m old, I really struggle to keep up with the laundry and just general tidying. I vacuum, I make every meal and clean it all up after, I keep the kitchen and dining area clean, I clean the play area every night. It’s just so hard to keep it ALL tidy, my baby still breastfeeds and most of the time contact naps. The messiness makes my husband end up frustrated and makes me feel resented with the comments he makes “I hate how messy our house is”. Which makes me feel like I’m failing. How do you moms manage it all?

Litter box

Has anyone else had an issue with getting their partner to clean the litter. I have to put on gloves and a mask/ scrub my arms after. I don’t want to risk making my baby blind. He will tell me he doesn’t think anything would happen. He says it’s a ploy by doctors to laugh at men cleaning the litter box. I’m stumped and feel as though he could do this one thing

Don’t feel like a good mom

I am a SAHM. Barely any family or support. Moved to a new town away from the little family I do have. Husband has always worked a lot. So it’s just me & my baby all day. I have no friends. Life feels unfulfilling, empty, lonely and boring. I miss being able to just get up and go. I feel like I’m always stuck at home with my baby. I love her so much but I feel like I’m not a good mom at all. I get frustrated easily. I cry almost everyday. I feel like I’m always annoyed. I get no time for myself. My baby is at an age now where she doesn’t want to nap or go to bed. I’m doing everything. I have to ask my husband to help me and he either takes too long to do something or does it but it isn’t done right. I can’t even vent to my mom because all she does is make up excuses for him and she even asked me if I even wanted to be married and have kids because I was complaining and venting about how stressed I am. She is the biggest pick me so I don’t tell her my business like that anymore. I’m trying to be the best mom I can be but it’s hard. My baby is 2 and I still have post partum depression. I’ve spoke with a therapist but it was becoming too expensive and I feel like it wasn’t really helping. I’m just tired of feeling like this. When does it get better?

Hobbies

What are some hobbies that you do for yourself??

I started sourdough middle of August and I finally perfected my first loaf after 5!! Im looking for something else to try!

What to do

Me and my bf/baby daddy just got a place together. Figuring stuff out. Like schedules and that kind of stuff. I have been trying to work my butt off unpacking, putting away laundry, cleaning laundry, doing dishes. You know.. keeping everything clean. But I always get a comment about how there are still dishes in the sink. That our daughter and I used maybe an hour or two before he got home. And I wasn’t able to clean it then and there. Or condescending remarks on how I do laundry. My system doesn’t work for him. So I ask him calmly what would work better for him. And then I explain how my system works for me. It helps me remember. Between the three of us there is a lot of laundry. He changes his clothes like crazy. And I change our daughter’s clothes accordingly. Ect. Then last night I asked him to watch her while I go to the bathroom and switch around laundry. I hear a boom and a little cry and him yelling breathe. He fell asleep on the bed and she apparently crawled right off the bed and head first into the floor. I grabbed her and tried to calm her down so I can assess her. But she doesn’t calm down til she goes to sleep. Well I try to keep her awake so I can continue assessing her. We took her to the hospital. She’s fine. They rushed her back since she was unresponsive on the way there and when we got there. They watched her for 4 hours to make sure she was good. But as we are waiting he just kept leaving the room to go out to the car. While I’m there to take care of her. Which is fine I’m her mother. She wants me most of the time especially then. But near the last two hours he decides to sleep on the floor of the room while she’s asleep and had barely gotten any sleep the night before since she’s teething really bad. And sleep regressing. Which her and I have been dealing with and battling since we moved in a few weeks ago. So while he’s making comments about me not getting a lot done. I’m battling her wanting me since it’s a new house. Knew everything for her. She’s teething and sleep regressing all at the same time. So getting stuff done during the day isn’t a breeze as you can imagine. But he thinks it’s easy work being at home all day. With a baby girl who wants to be held all the time no matter what while trying to get EVERYTHING done. So what do I do? He literally just walked out of the house after being condescending towards me and how I do laundry. I wasn’t having it and he got annoyed at me for him being a certain way to me. He sometimes helps with stuff around the house. But he never watches he for me for very long. I ask for help but when she gets fussy he’s like “shut up” to the baby. And come and grab her and tell him to stop saying that to her. She’s just a BABY. He does “do well with crying” is what he told me. It’s supposed to be a team effort of taking care of her. Not all on me and he just watches. Like at lunch. He got to eat his lunch hot. And then when he was done. (He took his sweet ass time) he said he would hold her so I could eat. His dad called and was was paying more attention to that conversation while she’s wriggling out of his arms while sitting on the table. So I just put my food away and then took her back and walked her around while he did whatever. So much for me eating I guess.

Does anyone else nurse during Mass?

I haven’t received any dirty looks or been told anything about it but to keep my 9 week old quiet I nurse. So, we don’t have to go into the cry room I nurse him with a nursing cover. I just haven’t seen anyone else nurse during Mass.

How do you be a good aunty on a low budget?! I can't spoil with gifts all the time

Idk how to be a good aunty other than really be interested and get to know my nieces and nephews, I think I'm good at that but I don't show up with gifts or money all the time. Idk. I feel bad like I'm not doing enough. I'm a single mom on low income but I still provide so much and everything for my son. I just am not showy or financially well-off and I kinda feel ashamed compared to the other aunties in the family

Annoyed with husband’s hockey addiction!

Feeling so frustrated!!! I have to do bath, bed, make sure kid is fed, clean etc. He’s busy watching hockey and he is SO into it like this game is for the cup or something. Fkn annoying. Yelling at the TV. And he wants sex?!? Like real fkn sexy I do all the work while you drink beer and yell at the TV. Who can relate?!??

Step daughters volleyball games

Sd and her mom live 5 hours away so it becomes extremely challenging to attend any of her games being that it’s usually at 4 or 2 pm during the week . I have more of a flexible work schedule whereas my husband (her dad) doesn’t . For the most part bm and I are civil even though I don’t fully trust her intentions but I’m sure if I asked to come to a game to support sd she wouldn’t decline simply because she knows it would make her look bad if she did . I’d have to request time off work to go so I’d be driving 5 hours one way then watching the game for an hour ish then driving 5 hours back . Is this doing too much ? Am I being disrespectful knowing that bm doesn’t genuinely want my presence there but my intentions are to show sd that I’m trying to be there even if her dad is stuck working ?

For funsies

What’s something (or multiple things) your mother in law has said to you that have made you cringe or left you shook?

I’ll go first, mine always says off handed remarks to me because I don’t give my son juice and I only allow sugary sweets with supervision, anyways she told me that when her boys where little, she took them off of formula and started giving them Carnation milk at 6 MONTHS old and she fed her 10 day old rice water with oatmeal because he wouldn’t sleep all night. lol

We get along and she respects my boundaries but I definitely think it’s so funny how statements like “look at them (my husband) he’s fine,” get used.

Fact-checked by experts

We work with acclaimed women’s health experts and leading voices in fertility, motherhood, and pregnancy to ensure our content is medically reviewed, expert-approved, and written with care.

Learn more