I am trying to potty train my 3 year old son. My older son seemed to potty train much faster. My 3 year old is a bit resistant, because he likes being the "baby". . .I am trying to reward him. I have used cloth underwear (he still wets them). I will *not* use any "negative" reinforcement if he has an accident, so please don't suggest anything like that. Thanks! Just mostly looking for new positive ideas of what worked for you! :001_smile:

I would send my kids to private Christian school.

We can't afford for our kids to have their own rooms, and probably won't be able to anytime soon. I really don't think it bothers them. I always had to share a room growing up, and I actually liked it most of the time.

Okay, i have not read all the responses. And every child is different. . however. . . My two boys did not talk much at all (as in, not even more than a few words), until they were around 2.5 years. When they started talking, they automatically began to speak in complete, adult-sounding sentences. Why? I have no clue!

How nice for you! :)

Am I supposed to be on the 100th day??? Cuz i think we're only on the 80'th or something like that (I don't keep track exactly!).

DS (age 7) does gymnastics for an hour and a half each week. He's in the invite only boys class. I count that as his phys-ed. He also is going through a health book. Of course, he gets outside to play regularly, and did swimming lessons in the summer.

Happens all the time here. I think it's fairly normal, particularly w/ boys (and men!) :001_smile:

I have not read all the responses. I think that some people get all panicky about things like the UN Rights of the Child treaty. Not that there *isn't* cause for concern. I'm not saying that. I believe that *healthy, functional* parents should be able to raise and educate their children as they see fit, including in matters of religion. I am however, hesitant, to adopt any kind of parental rights amendment to the Constitution. My main reason for my position is that I don't think we need to make it any harder to investigate, arrest, and prosecute child abusers, many of whom already get away with their crimes all the time.

I would recommend adjustable waist pants. Or you could sew the waist in at the sides.

I just got back to this thread today. . .Anyway, as far as putting my kids at risk. . I really don't feel like i'm doing that. I do not go visit this person (for obvious reasons) when I know they are in a mood. One time (and only *one* time), the person threatened to kill themself because I accidentally gave my younger brother (age 10 at the time) something sugary to drink (and he wasn't allowed to have it). They said it in front of my younger brother and my son who was 6. I specifically said, "please never say that in front of my son again." It has not happened in front of him again. I do tend to think that showing the love of Christ means being kind to the person and trying to show love when they are in a more amiable mood. I wish I could talk the person into receiving counseling, but i know that will never happen, unfortunately.

I'm sure that everyone has different experiences w/ this, but to be honest, I had friends tell me that if your insurance covers it, private speech therapy is the way to go.

Ugh dentists. . . I had one mess up my teeth really bad last year. He said he was doing pulpotomies, and never finished them. He charged so much that i couldn't afford to go back. It's a disaster. I also have weak enamal (it's hereditary) on my teeth, and I get cavities even if I brush a million times a day. I can't control it. I need a good dentist to fix all my issues, etc. . .but . . . I also hate dentists who don't understand my situation and judge me and treat me like a child who doesn't brush their teeth.

Oh, and I want it to look "good", not like I did it. :lol:

Have you ever highlighted or colored your own hair and had it turn out decently? I usually get my hair highlighted at a salon, but w/ a cut, it comes to around $80, which is a lot (plus a tip!). I looked at some more natural hair dyes at Whole Foods this morning, and thought about trying something like that but wasn't sure. I figured, if I spent $17.99 for the dye and $10 for a haircut, I'd still be saving a ton of money. My hair isn't very gray (only a few strays), so I don't know about jumping right to complete hair dye when I've always only done highlights. . . Opinions, anyone????

I personally believe that all music should have words that do not DIShonor God. Other than that, I don't find style addressed at all in Scripture. Like others have said, by the teen years, they should have be (hopefully) excercising some discernment of their own (LOL--not that I have any teens yet, but that's my opinion now). Anyway, if the words to some of what they like are offensive or dishonoring to the Lord, it might be a good chance to sit down together and talk about why you disapprove, and look into the Bible.

Thanks, I'm googling the Borderline Personality Disorder now!

Thank you, everyone. I struggle with this a lot. I want to show this person the love of Christ, being a Christian. I want to recognize that we all have problems, and no one is perfect. I don't want to judge them, when I sin also. I also feel like when this person is acting "okay" they are nice. At those times, they can be very loving. It's just the "not-nice" times that are difficult to deal with. I have to think long and hard, I guess, about balancing out my relationship with this person. It's not an easy thing to work out.

What do you mean, exactly, by normalizing the behavior? I wouldn't have my kids in an unsafe situation purposely, ever!

The person *UTTERLY* refuses (and has for years) to seek any counseling, medication, etc. They don't think they have a problem. Ugh.

I just wanted to respond: 1. THANK YOU to everyone who responded. Lots to think on. 2. As for the suicide stuff. . I don't think it would actually happen, as this person has threatened that regularly many times a month since I was a very little girl. 3. I would not want to completely cut my children off from their grandparent. Especially since at times the person can be okay. I try to limit their contact now, only if i suspect that the person may not be in the "best" mood, so to speak. 4. As for me, unfortunately, it has affected my entire life, so it's hard to look at it or deal with it in any type of objective way (at times). . particularly since there is much more involved than what I have written. ETA: there is much more involved as far as how that person has acted/what they have done throughout the years. . none of it very positive.

I always respond on the original post (to my wall). . .but it really doesn't matter! :)

well, i was kind of hoping it was an improvement on the past, or at least something closer to a real apology. . Sigh. . . I feel horrible about cutting the person out of my life, because I love them. And when they're being nice, and they're happy with you, you feel bad about how you feel when they're mad at you (if that makes sense). And you desperately want some type of relationship with that person. Anyway, I'm rambling!

I mean, he doesn't use subject and verb. If I ask him to write what his favorite food is, he might write "candy".

I tried to edit my last response, but my computer is doing weird things. It's a parent, so i have to honor them to some extent.