Without getting in to all the details, my husband will be working second shift next week. This will leave me to the cooking for our daughter and myself. Ugh…world’s worst cook! I can’t even make Minute Rice! (No, really…I’m a great baker, but I can’t cook. I burn the pan, I burn the food, I under cook….) Anything in the oven is easy enough, but a quick "whip something up and throw it on the stove" terrifies me!

So, parents, any advice? Ideas? Recipes?

Also, considering I’m going to be alone with a curious and FAST toddler whilst cooking … advice on keeping her safe and out of the way while still entertaining her? (She just won’t sit still!)
Why do you have to submit the question 47 times to get it to post? I’ve not posted questions after hitting "submit" with the proper category because I forget the next page is another "are you sure you really, really, REALLY want to submit this?" Ugh. Good thing I didn’t go back to my profile before heading back to Parenting…would’ve lost another question!

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"jobs Americans won’t do" farmed out to low wage, THIRD PARTY STRANGERS? Are many jobs really worth more than your children or your family?

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Hi~

Do any of you have a suggestion for a "read a-loud" story and activity for a second grade class?

My husband has been invited to be a "mystery reader" but..we don’t know what to have him read….*smile*.

Thanks for your help!

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…it’s a good thing they’re much better than "We" were when we their age, or Planet Earth would be in a lot more serious trouble than it is right now?

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My fiance and I were chatting about what we would do when we have a child one day. (We’re both atheists but were raised Christian). We had a friendly disagreement on what to do:

I said I wanted to raise them free from lies ie. as atheists free to make their own choices.
He said we should raise them with a belief in God so that we can basically scare them into being good. And when they’re old enough we tell them the truth. But he would then want us to pretend to believe in God too otherwise the kids won’t buy it. He said he felt guilt as a kid when doing something wrong without his parents knowledge because he thought "God knew".
I said to him I didn’t fear "God". I feared that my parents would find out and reject me for it.

Although we decided to deal with this issue when we get there, I’m just curious as to how atheists get their kids to behave and be good and feel remorse when they don’t believe in a God.

Also how do you deal with your child coming back from school saying the other kids says there’s a god? Or if other children mock them for not believing in God? And if someone dies, a Christian parent can easlisy say "They went to heaven and they’re in a better place" But I wouldn’t want to lie to my child or contradict my own beliefs – that after death there’s nothing. Wouldn’t a child be upset if you told them that for instance "Granny died and she’s just dead and gone forever"
I’m truly puzzled as to how to get around these things.
I promise you I’m not trolling. I hate trolls. Besides – I was against lying to kids – my fiance was for it. He said it’s like lying about Santa or the Tooth fairy – same concept.

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I love my boyfriend like crazy and we have been together for over a year. Everything about him is perfect. The only problem is that he’s a conservative christian and I’m an atheist. He told me he doesn’t want to have kids with me if we get married because he doesn’t want them to be raised without religion. I don’t want my kids believing in some imaginary "sky daddy" or some "amusement park in the sky" when they die. I think that would be child abuse because to me the bible is repulsive. I love my boyfriend so much though, we never talk about religion and everyone says we are great together. I can’t imagine having kids with anyone else Does anyone have any advice for me?? I’ve always wanted to be a mother and I’m not going to forfeit having children (even if he is willing to do that, I’m not) I really want to compromise somehow because he has my heart and I don’t want to ever love another man. Please help

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Hi,

I am with this boy, and let me start off by saying that I have my challenges- this plays a part in this story. I am a physically handicapped teenager who is 16. I was born with a disability called Cerebral Palsy- I can’t walk.

Secondly, the relationship I have with this boy is approved by absolutely no one. My circumstances, are more common than I may think, but to me they just stand out. I live with my two elderly grandparents.(66 years old). My grandfather has heart disease and is a diabetic. My biological parents are divorced, my Dad is out of state for work. He has a girlfriend and they have a son on the way, and I am very happy for him. It seems at times that life isn’t always fair for my grandparents. As Thanksgiving approaches, I am very thankful for them, and for my family.

However, this boy and I are teenagers. We met when I was 7. He’s 15. At age 12 he made the mistake of putting his hands on me out of frustration, and trust me, he learned his lesson rather fast. We haven’t done things in the past that prove responsibility, but we’re teens right? Bound to screw up with some things. Once, we got caught kissing on the front porch. My Dad was rather frustrated, he drove to my house, but he can’t punish his little girl. I ended up getting a new cell out of it all and a lecture.

Recently, I’ve had trouble in school with some issues that I’d rather not go into. I was confiding in this boy about it for a very long time, and not telling my family because I feel as if I can’t talk to my grandparents because they have a lot on their plate. However, in the process of dealing with this issue something arose where my text messages needed read, and the texts from him were found.

All we talked about was making out and about how much we love each other- but at that time I was in a really vulnerable spot, and I was reaching out to him, so of course I wanted to hear an "I love you." or two. I admit, I was wrong. I apologized. But, now I’m not allowed to text him until further notice, and neither he or I think it’s fair, and we think my grandparents are overeating. My grandmother is persistent, and consist, on insisting we are not "together" when we have been for a little over a month now, and we’re going to be.

The bond hasn’t been something that has developed overnight though- he was there when my Dad took ill with cancer, and when my parents were going through their own struggles. We really love each other A LOT, and no one seems to see that? How can we help them realize that our love is true, and that I should be allowed to text him? I mean I know everyday the choices I make tell what I am and who, but when do you draw the line? I am an honor’s student with great and well maintained grades.

Shouldn’t I be allowed a little freedom?
Belle
Please excuse my spelling and grammar errors, I hope that they’re not too bad.
My Dad doesn’t wanna get in the middle because he doesn’t live with me.

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I am constantly seeing questions and editorials from parents of adult children. Most of them start with "What is wrong with parents these days?". Most of them end with "I never allowed my children to do that." or "My child NEVER behaved inappropriately in public because I taught him better." I think they are full of it. I have three small children and I am around a lot of kids. I personally have NEVER met a perfect one, regarless of how wonderful the parent is. My mother-n-law is full of advice on how to raise children. In private her kids tell of how she abused them and constantly berated them. Funny, she never mentioned those tactics in all of her wonderful lectures. Whew, I feel better.
Sorry Gods Child of Life.

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We have an almost 11 month old boy. He’s breastfed and we co-sleep. I don’t see us changing either anytime soon. He does eat some solid food. Looking for advice from parents who do the same.

He wakes several times during the night. On average 4-5 times, but sometimes more and he usually wants to comfort nurse. Sometimes he takes a pacifier, sometimes not. Husband is not involved in getting him back to sleep at all. I’m working on a consistent nape schedule for him during the day and I hope once that’s in place, it will help with nighttime sleep.

I’m looking for any suggestions. As you can imagine, I’m pretty exhausted, but I do feel breastfeeding is best for him right now and will not consider formula "to fill him up". I may consider moving him into a crib in a few months.

Help!

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It is like women compete to have a "I’m a martyr and you’re not" or "I’m the best mother" award. I find men FAR less judgmental than women when it comes to matters dealing with women’s bodies and personal lifestyle choices. Women always have some judgment to make about what decisions another woman makes about her body, what clothes she wears, how she expresses her sexuality, if she has children or if she is childfree, etc. Feminists seem to be the worst of all, they think of themselves as more intelligent and enlightened than other women. They believe that they have the moral authority to tell women how to live their lives, under the guise of it being "choice". They only allow you to pick choices that they agree with.

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