Parents who are concerned about COVID and CDC guidelines for school: Are you considering homeschooling? Mine go to a tuition based school, so I have to make a decision in the next couple of weeks about whether or not I will send them. On the one hand, it doesn't seem to be a threat, and one would miss his first year of band and the other his first year of "real" school. On the other, I don't want suspension bc they didn't maintain 6 feet, or having to be stuck in a mask all day, or the real possibility of dying from this. I was homeschooled, and I never wanted to do it with mine, but it's a viable option for me. I just don't know what to do.

What does she like to do? For my 4yo, i decorated for his theme, we made cupcakes together, and (bc we are blessed with a huge yard) we built him a sandbox. He still missed his friends, but he said it was the best birthday ever. Maybe yours would like to decorate, bake, and marathon her favorite movie series? Curbside pickup of her favorite food? Online shopping for a cute outfit or something for her favorite hobby?

I need some birthday ideas to do with a 12yr old. We're new to the area, we don't know anyone, we're far from family and friends, there is no pools or arcades or anything fun open due to Covid. It's just me, her, and DH.

My ex's mom was so up his ass it wasn't even funny. He was 28 when we started dating, had just bought his house that year, and she set the entire thing up for him. When we'd stop at his parents' house and he'd say I was making dinner that night, she'd do everything she could to convince him to let her cook HIM something real quick. She had a key to the house and would walk in whenever she wanted. After we moved in together, she'd sneak in while we were at work to clean and do laundry. This woman went so far as to fish my dirty panties out of the bed. After we had our baby it was worse. She went in while I was in the hospital and completely rearranged the house to her liking. We couldn't even find the effing toothpaste. And of course I couldn't do anything right with MY baby. She was a big factor in our breakup.

I have a friend who is like, creepily obsessed with her son's life. He's school-aged and her only kid, and she is a SAHM. She dotes on him constantly and I kind of wonder if she's going to be one of those meddling MILs who resents the woman who ends up marrying her son. I think it's so creepy and weird. I'm also glad my parents and DH's parents were the total opposite and wanted us out of the house and not dependent on them for anything once we were adults.

My MIL is the same way! My DH recently joined the military, she was so mad cuz he moved away and demands we move back there when he gets out (not happening lol). She constantly texts him saying he made her sad because he did/didn't do something that doesn't even affect her. She manipulates him, she's very mean to me cuz I stole her boy. I'm pretty sure he was her retirement plan and him getting married to me ruined it for her. She tried to stop our wedding. I went NC with her recently, he is LC. She throws tantrums when he doesn't reply. She said awful things to make me go NC, but she acts so innocent "I have no idea why she blocked me".

One of the main reasons we keep my husband's mother at arm's length is because she hasn't quite grasped this concept. She wants to be the only shining star in my husband's life. If he pays attention to his children or me in her presence, she will get angry and make a comment about how sad it makes her that she's being ignored by him. She's an insufferable narcissist.

Please look into some online resources that you can get for your kiddo. The earlier you help him, the easier it will be for him. NEDA's website is a good place to start to find therapists in your area. If there are no therapists in your immediate area, Skype/Facetime therapy sessions are usually available. I'm sure there are dietitians they can recommend to you as well since you mention he's got food sensitivities. I wish you the best--I wish my parents had gotten me help as soon as I started struggling with my eating disorder so it wouldn't have had time to entrench itself so much.

OOoooooooh yeah, buffets are the nastiest! I've seen people openly cough and sneeze over the food. I've seen people cough and sneeze into their hands, then use their hands to pick something out of the buffet. I've seen kids stick their fingers in the food. I've seen people taste things off a fork and then dip the fork back in the food tray. I've seen kids take a bit of something and then toss it back into the buffet area. People are GROSS.

My 10yo has an eating disorder, but I don't know how to go about getting him help. He has always been greedy about food, to the point of throwing up, even when he was first born. I think it might have to do with the fact that I didn't get to bond due to him being in the NICU alone for 2 months? I could be wrong. But he will lie, cheat, and steal, to eat anything that has been denied him. He is gluten and lactose intolerant, so I have to limit his intake of things and I have found wrappers of stuff he can't have hidden in his room. He also eats what he can't have at school, and he'll harass my 4yo(no allergies) to the point of tears to get at his food. And he resents me terribly for the limits I put on him. But we live in the South. Land of obesity. People here don't do "eating disorders". So where do I start?