@ki1244 For me, it's pretty easy to tell when someone is just being friendly vs. having way too much interest in my kid. So I'm sure that people can tell you're not a creeper. IMO, people who focus on only one of my kids and ignore the other (creepy guy who was obsessed with DD and ignored DS at the grocery store) or people who don't include me or only interact when I'm distracted, are the ones I don't want talking to my kids. But a friendly conversation while standing in line with someone who is not in our personal space or touching my kids, is fine.
@nmbrcrnchr1, yaassss! So much yes. Ultrasounds are super personal - I don’t understand the allure of just showing it off the a bunch of people you don’t know or have any connection with. I’m all for US with a group of friends (which is what this group is supposed to evolve into), but whhyyyyy do you want to just show off a picture of your uterus to strangers and call it a day??
Married 25 May, 2013 William Alexander born 18 September, 2015 Harper Grace born 9 June, 2017 Colton Miles born 9 June, 2017 Bowen James due 19 June, 2019
@ruby696 I started kinda late but I think starting at 2 is a good age. I have also started talking a lot about body safety with my kids. I have 2 girls and statistically 1 in every 3 girls will get molested. So I stress a lot about not keeping secrets from mommy and to tell me if anyone asks you to keep a secret from me.
Another thing I heard once is to teach your kid to scream, "this is not my mommy/daddy," if someone is taking them out of a store. That is because, we carry our kids out kicking and screaming all the time. People wouldn't think anything about that.
I also stress with my kids to not go up to anyone with a pet. I always tell them they could bite you and to ask mommy or daddy. This will help keep someone from luring your kids from a park.
@nmbrcrnchr1 I am annoyed with all the comments on the sex announcement thread. We are going to have to sift through a lot just to see everyone's announcements.
We haven’t started stranger talk yet. DD won’t be 2 until February.
But as far as her interactions with people we know..we are very adamant that if she says no to something involving her body, we listen. If she says no to a kiss or a hug we listen and we require family to listen as well. As long as she is polite and says thank you for gifts, we never ever make her go “give a hug to say thank you”. I have also already bought a lot of books that I plan to start reading with her around 3 years old. Titles like “my body is my own”..stuff like that. Teaches her what is appropriate (the doctor, etc.) and what is not. I also found a sign that we will have in the kids/guest bathrooms that say something like “in this house: we know about our bodies and we don’t keep secrets” (I think it says other stuff too but I can’t seem to find it right now). I read that if predators know a kid is well educated about all of this, they are less likely to be chosen as victims.
I know most people would think our parenting style is over the top, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to my kids. In no way do I plan to make their whole life about this stuff, nor do I intend to scare them at all. I do however plan to scare the living hell out of any predator that may enter my home or our social circle.
@srscott3 Same. We use the correct terms for body parts and bodily functions. We don't make our kids hug anyone, including grandparents. They can give a hug, a high five, or a thumbs up. Kids can't be expected to submit to unwanted touching by family members and then assert themselves when other people touch them. Its confusing and sends mixed messages.
@ruby696 I think this is SO important. My niece and nephew are just about 2 and I've been VERY careful to say "Can I have a kiss/hug/high five?" instead of command language "Give me a ___". And if they don't, it's OK! Usually, though, they are at the gate when I'm leaving blowing kisses (:
@ohheyitsb My in-laws are the worst. They try to demand hugs and then won't let them go if they submit. It's a huge issue and makes me ragey. And then they wonder why the kids take so long to warm up to them.
@emeraldcity603 I just pulled out my board police badge in that thread, I couldnt take it anymore!!! I swear I’m not really all that uptight people but just read things! Maybe I should take a break from the bump today 😂
@nmbrcrnchr1 I don’t love tit the US that I don’t recognize people from the daily threads. Don’t know you, meh, don’t care. I see a lot of you also operate the same way.
@srscott3 our parenting styles sound very similar. It’s hard because certain family members expect hugs from DD when saying goodbye or greeting. I also don’t force her to do it. Her body, her choice. But I agree, she should be polite and say thank you, but at 2, I am lucky if I can get her to focus on anything for more than 2 seconds. 😆
I would like to pin a post to the top of the board specifically for all the knotties. Why are they even trying to participate with those names? It makes my brain hurt everytime I see it.
@emeraldcity603 I think Knotties forget they can change their name lol. But I’m curious, does this mean everyone on the Knot participates in their boards with those Knottie12234555&:&:&:$2!:$;; screen names?
@emeraldcity603 I see some boards have a post for knotties to show them how to change their screen name but in my experience the ones who actually stick around ask in a thread somewhere, the ones who only P&G would never read the actual thread!
@ki1244 I would say you don't sound like you need to worry about people thinking you are creeping on their kids. People, with or without kids, talk to DS in the check out line at the grocery all the time. Especially if they can tell he is getting antsy waiting. It's a nice distraction for him from just sitting in the cart and waiting. It only crossed the line to me when he was offered candy from a stranger. That was way different.
A stranger wanted a high five from DS in a store once and I also thought that was weird. I was less anxious about that though because DH was right there with him. However, DH encouraged DS to give the high five even when it was clear he didn't want to. It really frustrated me. How does a toddler differentiate between it's ok to give a high five if dad is there but not if he isn't? So I had a talk with DH about it and he won't be encouraging that again. I don't like forced touching at all. DS freely gives hugs if he knows you. But if he doesn't know you he's not interested. I don't blame him. @srscott3 I like how you parent regarding physical interaction. I just need to get DH on the same page as me. He has a very small town everyone is safe mentality that drives me crazy.
whoa that woman is intense I truly hope she found help because she sounds like more than just a troll! She has serious problems!
Back to the stranger danger I'm also a crazy mama bear I don't mind polite conversations that include us all but don't touch my kid or offer them anything. I thankfully have a 4 yr old who is very standoffish. She never says hi and is almost rude when a stranger or someone she just isn't comfortable with talks to her but I also have a preteen and that's a whole different kind of stranger danger we're facing. At home it's fine because I control everything she sees and does but at school they have internet access and I cant be with her. So far she seems really good about following the school and our rules but there's a lot of crazies on the cyber net (as we see above) and that terrifies me!
I grew up in a small town where people wave meeting on a side road and everyone knows everyones business. Not sure how I feel about raising a kid in this crazy world of ours!
I have been drinking so much water. I'm so scared I am going to dehydrate in the higher altitude. Plus we are headed to Winter Park Friday which is even higher altitude. I keep getting headaches and then I chug more water. I just don't want to put my body under anymore stress. Plus I'm BF and I'm barely holding onto my milk supply and I don't want it to dry up while I'm on this trip.
Omg I finally caught up in the TTGP thread and saw that someone found the SM for the person who learned she was pregnant from the voices. I checked out some of her posts and it’s truly sad guys. I hope she is able to get her meds adjusted and stays safe (and far away from us).
I don’t know if pregnancy hormones have gotten to me or I am just getting sappy as I get older but these are my randoms:
I bought my daughter the polar express book and it came with a jingle bell. Even though she is four this is the first year she really gets Christmas. That little jingle bell has become her most prized possession. She sings, dances and plays with it all day and anywhere she goes, I can hear it jingling. I feel like Christmas was reborn for me.
I was playing with my 1 year old, picking him up and bringing him down quick to make him laugh. We were having a blast. My 3 year old wanted a turn so I did. I could barely do it, he was too heavy. All of a sudden I started thinking about that stupid post going around about how you will pick up your child for the last time and not know it... I feel like I can see it in the distance now, I can’t hold him for long and definitely not playing games like we used too. I know I still have time to hold and carry him for a few years, but not being able to play around with him like we used to really hurt.
@emeraldcity603 I’m at a higher altitude for this week too (in Denver) and I’ve been struggling to drink enough water. It seems like all I’m thinking about is how many ounces I’m getting.
@kjr9519 I'm in Longmont, right outside of Denver. 😊 I swear I have just drank 3 bottles of water and my head is still hurting. I sent my mom to the store to get 2 more cases of water. I will need as much water as possible once we go up the mountain. If it's this bad down here it will be way worse even higher.
@emeraldcity603 I was in Longmont yesterday. I grew up in Denver and all my family is here. I was up running some errands for my mom there. Yeah, the higher altitude will definitely make it worse. And it’s so freaking dry here this time of year. I get dry skin sometimes, and within one day of being here my hands were so dry they were bright red.
If i want to talk to a small child, I tend to address the adult first, ask if it’s okay to interact with their child (some kids have sensory issues to be careful with) and if it’s okay to give them something if the situation allows it because allergies and dietary concerns. I’m not gonna give a vegan gummy bears or something, you know? I’d rather be 100000% safe than 1% not for the kiddo
@ncm1919 I know! We were doing so well avoiding the crazies and the SS people then all of sudden they found the board. I just refuse to engage and hope they’ll go away.
Re: Weekly randoms 11/19
William Alexander born 18 September, 2015
Harper Grace born 9 June, 2017
Colton Miles born 9 June, 2017
Bowen James due 19 June, 2019
Another thing I heard once is to teach your kid to scream, "this is not my mommy/daddy," if someone is taking them out of a store. That is because, we carry our kids out kicking and screaming all the time. People wouldn't think anything about that.
I also stress with my kids to not go up to anyone with a pet. I always tell them they could bite you and to ask mommy or daddy. This will help keep someone from luring your kids from a park.
But as far as her interactions with people we know..we are very adamant that if she says no to something involving her body, we listen. If she says no to a kiss or a hug we listen and we require family to listen as well. As long as she is polite and says thank you for gifts, we never ever make her go “give a hug to say thank you”. I have also already bought a lot of books that I plan to start reading with her around 3 years old. Titles like “my body is my own”..stuff like that. Teaches her what is appropriate (the doctor, etc.) and what is not. I also found a sign that we will have in the kids/guest bathrooms that say something like “in this house: we know about our bodies and we don’t keep secrets” (I think it says other stuff too but I can’t seem to find it right now). I read that if predators know a kid is well educated about all of this, they are less likely to be chosen as victims.
I know most people would think our parenting style is over the top, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to my kids. In no way do I plan to make their whole life about this stuff, nor do I intend to scare them at all. I do however plan to scare the living hell out of any predator that may enter my home or our social circle.
ETA: words
DS: March 2014
DD: May 2015
BFP: 12/24/17 CP: 1/2/18 @ 4w 3d
BFP: 1/26/18 CP: 2/2/18 @ 4w 4d
BFP: 5/16/18 MMC: 6/15/18 @ 7w 5d
BFP: 9/25/18! EDD: 6/9/19 TEAM GREEN
I don’t love tit the US that I don’t recognize people from the daily threads. Don’t know you, meh, don’t care. I see a lot of you also operate the same way.
@srscott3
our parenting styles sound very similar. It’s hard because certain family members expect hugs from DD when saying goodbye or greeting. I also don’t force her to do it. Her body, her choice. But I agree, she should be polite and say thank you, but at 2, I am lucky if I can get her to focus on anything for more than 2 seconds. 😆
go check out TTGP, their November randoms thread. They found some good stuff on our ghost mom pregnant with twins.
And I just checked out the TTGP November Random thread... and wow, just wow. This is golden. Her record name is "Schizo 4 God"
A stranger wanted a high five from DS in a store once and I also thought that was weird. I was less anxious about that though because DH was right there with him. However, DH encouraged DS to give the high five even when it was clear he didn't want to. It really frustrated me. How does a toddler differentiate between it's ok to give a high five if dad is there but not if he isn't? So I had a talk with DH about it and he won't be encouraging that again. I don't like forced touching at all. DS freely gives hugs if he knows you. But if he doesn't know you he's not interested. I don't blame him.
@srscott3 I like how you parent regarding physical interaction. I just need to get DH on the same page as me. He has a very small town everyone is safe mentality that drives me crazy.
edit: words
Back to the stranger danger I'm also a crazy mama bear I don't mind polite conversations that include us all but don't touch my kid or offer them anything. I thankfully have a 4 yr old who is very standoffish. She never says hi and is almost rude when a stranger or someone she just isn't comfortable with talks to her but I also have a preteen and that's a whole different kind of stranger danger we're facing. At home it's fine because I control everything she sees and does but at school they have internet access and I cant be with her. So far she seems really good about following the school and our rules but there's a lot of crazies on the cyber net (as we see above) and that terrifies me!
I bought my daughter the polar express book and it came with a jingle bell. Even though she is four this is the first year she really gets Christmas. That little jingle bell has become her most prized possession. She sings, dances and plays with it all day and anywhere she goes, I can hear it jingling. I feel like Christmas was reborn for me.
I was playing with my 1 year old, picking him up and bringing him down quick to make him laugh. We were having a blast. My 3 year old wanted a turn so I did. I could barely do it, he was too heavy. All of a sudden I started thinking about that stupid post going around about how you will pick up your child for the last time and not know it... I feel like I can see it in the distance now, I can’t hold him for long and definitely not playing games like we used too. I know I still have time to hold and carry him for a few years, but not being able to play around with him like we used to really hurt.