I relate to the ‘just go to sleep’ part. It’s 10:00 and we let the kids stay later tonight so that we’ll not wake up at 8:00 tomorrow but really they should just have gone to bed at 8. They’re screaming and making a mess of the living room because they’re ‘happy’. Just go to sleep and let me relax.
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My toddler has never had his hair cut. It is long and curly and glorious, but it’s getting to be too much to handle. I’m considering snipping off a few curls. What nice keepsake-y thing can I do with the cut locks?
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Locket or other piece of jewelry with the hair incorporated?
Do you keep a baby/toddler scrapbook?
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I do have a very poorly updated baby notebook. I could tape some of the hair in there.
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I’m giving what feels like a butt-ton of clothing to our neighbors who have a toddler who is conveniently younger than Kiddo. Would including the underwear be weird? They’re both boys, all the underwear is stain-free and clean.
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Depends on the person I’d say. Are they fairly open or do they seem the more reserved type? I’d go based on that personally. 
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I’d take it
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OK I scrolled through my contacts to remember neighbor’s name and texted her, she said she’d take em. Yay!
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At what age, developmentally, do kids “need” (slash really benefit from) having peers/similarly aged friends?
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I was part of a parent group from the time my kiddo was 2 through middle school, so he had regular interactions with kids of varying ages before he was in school and then separate from classmates.
This is my opinion as a mom, not based on anything neurodevelopmental, and it probably varies from kid to kid - but for my son 3.5-4.5 was the timeframe where it was really obvious he gained skills from interacting with other kids that he wasn’t developing as noticeably in other ways. Before that, he didn’t show any measurable difference in emotional skills interacting with kids vs our pets - most of his empathy and “sharing” practice was more obvious with his cat, honestly.
He has always been sure of who he is and what his interests are, so he’s never been someone who frequently looks to peers for internal guidance, if that makes sense. If he was wired differently he might have benefited earlier from peer interactions.
After about 4.5 it became more about healthy relationship building separate from family, but IMO that isn’t a time sensitive skill (for him, anyway- I think this can depend a lot on relationships and conflict resolution already modelled).
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We’ve asked Baby E’s OT about this - we are worried about her not socializing with anyone besides us. She acknowledged that no one knows how this is going to eventually impact social development but she said at this age it isn’t a really big deal that she isn’t socializing with other kids. She said lots of kids with stay at home parents only interact with their family members until 2 or 3 or even older and are perfectly ok.
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Thank you guys! I’ve just been feeling guilty- my SIL got Latte a stuffed bunny for her bday, and she’s been giving it big hugs, and carrying it around “talking” to it and showing it her toys, and I’m just like 
do you need a friend?!
She does occasionally see my neighbors boys (1 and 3 years old) at the playground, but that’s like… once per month maybe? But each time she’s had an explosion of mobility skills just by mimicking them.
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Awwww that’s so cute 
I bet even if Latte had five kids around every day she’d still be talking to her bunny. A lot of kids her age will even interact with the bunny and ignore other kids, anyway.
I think since human babies are predisposed to learning through mimicry it totally makes sense they practice new skills when they see other kids doing something. I don’t feel it’s at all detrimental for them not to be exposed to frequent “playground culture”, though! There are sooo many things that are possible to learn in a lifetime and from everything I’ve read on the biomechanics of developing humans, walking outdoors and climbing normal obstacles around the house and yard are the base for all the rest.
My kid also sometimes preferred his imaginary friends to his visiting kid friends which resulted in overhearing some hilarious conversations as he parroted things we’d told him about hosting guests 
I personally think the biggest key to healthy social-emotional development is seeing a healthy relationship in daily action, and in that regard Latte is golden
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Treating stuffies like friends is an important developmental step actually! My kiddo goes to daycare and still has lots of stuffy friends.
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thank you
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What age do you stop showering with your kids? Opposite sex vs. same sex?
(Also- I know this will vary a lot. When C. was a baby we talked about how I would hold her in the shower and my husband would bath her, and I don’t even know how it came up, but my friend said something about us wearing swimsuits when doing that…um, no… So let me clarify, I am not wearing a swimsuit when showering with my child.)
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My understanding is that it’s when one party is uncomfortable with it. I think I stopped showering with my mom in middle school? I still shower with my five year old son but we kind of have the opposite problem where we still need to remind him not to whip out his penis if he wants to pee in the front yard because it’s easier than going into the house to use the toilet. 
Which reminds me I need to look up some kids books on privacy…
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My sister’s 10 year old boys will pee outside instead of going to the toilet… But they have an OUTSIDE bathroom in their pool area. So literally they just like doing it and won’t walk 3 feet.
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What are good diaper covers for chubby legged giant babies? He’s in 18 month clothes, so it needs to fit through 2T and maybe 3T. All of his are good to 35lbs but he’s on the last snaps/I’ve snipped elastic and he’s 20ish
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I got distracted swooning at my mental picture of your baby and forgot the question
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