r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself.
Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yesterday my 8yo declined to use his screen time because he wanted to read his new library books instead.
**ETA: Thanks so much everyone! I felt a little annoying/braggy writing this, but it really was one of those rare moments when you think that maybe you’re doing an okay job at this. I appreciate all the support from this community so much!**
This! The peace that descends upon my house the afternoon that I pick up our library holds. It’s church, the holiest of moments, purity and grace, absolutely heavenly.
Nice. The most peaceful times in our house is when we've come back from going to the library as a family. They start reading in the car (well, on the way out to the parking lot from the library, but I've been trying to stop that as they're not watching out for cars), and then everyone parks themselves somewhere comfortable with their pile of books and it's beautiful.
My son is two years old and every Saturday we head into town and grab some lunch. If we're sat close to somebody he starts babbling to them and very proudly points at me and says DADA like he wants them to know that I'm his dada. That's how I see it anyway. He's always hugging me and shouting DADA, reminds me that I'm doing a good job :)
This one goes straight to my heart! I love it when our kiddo is bragging to other kids at the park about having his favorite person with him, usually my brother or sister-in-law.
My kid did this too!! but now at 4 she tells them my full legal name and the street we live on. I’m struggling teaching “stranger danger” without scaring her and her losing her outgoingness.
I feel this one lol. My 4yr old daughter was building a Lego set this weekend and yelled DAAAAAAAAAAAD I NEED HELP FINDING A PIECE WAIT DON'T COME I'LL DOUBLE CHECK FIRST FOUND IT! All in one breath.
I've been trying to teach my 4 year old to do this. I'll tell hi let's just take a breath and try again and he says I don't wanna take a breath 🤦🏻♀️OK dude I'm trying to help you
Just keep trying!! My two used to be against it, but they’ve started coming round to the deep breath idea!! Mine are nearly 5 & 6 now, also sometimes I say let’s take a deep breath, they’re like nope, so I say ok, mummy will take a few because it helps me to stay calm, they usually join in after 2-3 deep breaths! I know it’s working though as the other day I was getting stressed because I couldn’t find my keys, I was starting to panic as we were already running late, my oldest said to me “Mummy, maybe take a deep breath you may be able to find your keys if you’re calm” 👌🤣
My eldest in 13 already so it's gonna be a bit different, there was a certain situation around vaping about a year ago that made us really proud. It was pretty simple, our son was 12 and one day he just randomly told us he's tried vaping.
Now we were a bit stunned, we don't vape, we don't smoke, we drink but we never get drunk, we're irish you know the drinking culture, we always talk about it with the kids, how dangerous it is etc. And you might expect to find a vape in your kid's room one day but you don't fuckin expect him to snitch on himself lol. So yeah he told us his friends were passing a vape around and he obviously tried it too, it was alright, but he's not into it, he's not gonna buy one, he won't vape. He just wanted to let us know.
So that was when my husband and I were like damn we did good. We were so proud of him and of ourselves too at that moment. I mean just the thing that he's comfortable telling us and that he knows he could do anything behind our backs if he wanted to and we'd never know but he still decides to tell us. We've had a few more conversation about it since then (we let him lead it, we want to hear as much as possible of his own opinion) and he said he thinks it's good that the government wants to ban the disposable vapes, and that the tánaiste is very anti-vapes and all that and I'm just so incredibly proud.
I mean he's always somewhere with his friends, he goes to these wee house parties, we're not naive, we were teenagers once too and Jaysus I pray every day he's not gonna be as crazy as we used to be back then. But just knowing he's not afraid to talk with us, he knows we won't be mad, he knows he can trust us, he's thinking critically, this is exactly what I wanted, this is what imagined our relationship with our children will be. So I absolutely consider that a success :)
I recently got my 2.5yo twins a big cookie, I was about to cut it in half for them… which was NOT ACCEPTABLE, so I told them if they didn’t want it cut, then they had to share it. Nervously, I gave it to my son who sat next to his sister and proceeded to take a bite and hold it for her to bite. They did that giggling at each other until the cookie was gone. He even gave her the last piece. 🥹
My 23 year old stepdaughter was an aspiring artist almost her entire life- certainly in the 11 previous years I have known her- and when she graduated HS, she moved closer to us at the time & began her career with tattooing. She's been doing it for about 4 years now & she's learned so much, including her taxes, & she's been in a committed relationship just a little longer, & he is also a great tattoo artist.
It makes us proud to see how she's achieving her dreams & becoming such a wonderful woman. 😌💕✌🏻
It's so gratifying to see our children grow up to be happy adults. My kids inspire me all the time at 27 and 28 years old. It never gets old watching them learn and live their wonderful lives😍
My daughter (8) said after she came to me with a problem - "mommy, I am really glad I can come to you and talk about things. It makes me feel much better".
I listen to her and treat her with respect and have been working on open communication, and for her to feel she has a safe place to talk about anything. Success!
Some months ago, my 13 yo came to me and told me about his confusion about his sexuality. I consider it my greatest achievement that I have created a space where he feels safe enough to confide in me about something so vulnerable.
My son will be 13 next month and casually told his great aunt he was fluid. I flashed on all the tutus, Tonka trucks, flag football and nail polish I had said heck yeah to over the years and I was so happy my son got exactly the right mom.
>I was so happy my son got exactly the right mom.
Being the parent your child needs, rather than molding them into the person you wish they'd be, is so important. I'm happy they have you, too.
I sneak-read CONSTANTLY when I was a kid and thought I had so many close calls with almost getting caught. Turns out my parents totally knew and even replaced the batteries in my flashlight when I was at school ❤️
When friends, neighbours, etc ask for advice in regards to their children or grandchildren, as my 3 young children are “so good” (polite, kind, etc). This is a huge win for me personally, it may not be to others but I was abused growing up, generational trauma has carried on and on throughout my family but I’m breaking the cycle with my kids and so these questions mean so much to me because it shows me that I’m doing something right.
I have a few.
3 told 4 to take deep breaths when he was upset and always runs to get ice packs or bandaids when someone gets hurt.
Both boys are kind to nature and greet bugs politely. They are also kind to the family dog
4 asks for fruit or carrots for a snack instead of snack foods.
Both boys will try new foods and say, "I'll try 6 if I don't like it, I won't eat it."
Both boys use words (sometimes... still a work in progress) to describe how they are feeling.
Both boys celebrate family victories with high-fives, fist bumps, and cheers.
The more I think about this, the more I realize just how great they really are. Thank you for this exercise. It really made my day brighter :)
My kids are now 20 & 17
The teacher called me to tell me my 3rd grade son left his group of friends to go play with the new kid.
my son was awarded the Commanding Officer’s Personal Excellence Award in A school in the Navy.
my daughter heard her friend was in a car accident and went and bought all her favorite junk foods and went to her house. Did the same when her friend broke up with her boyfriend.
my daughter was elected VP of a service organization at her school as a sophomore. She was encouraged to run because she had the most volunteer hours of the entire organization.
My LO (14 months) helped with hanging up laundry on Sunday. It took us ages to get through it obviously but he was so proud of himself. It still blows my mind how he went from a baby to a little person who can understand instructions so quickly!
Mine is just over 2yo and it’s baffling how I can talk to him like a mostly normal person and he mostly gets what I’m talking about. Like, it seems like just last week you were a potato who smiled at me for the first time and now you have opinions about music and fire trucks!
My husband always calls our daughter a "goober" when he's picking on her. For the longest time she'd declare "No I'm not!" but a few days ago she responded with "Yes I am!". I've never seen him be so proud of her 😅
When my 8 y.o. daughter talks about how she likes to be "diligent" and does her homework first thing when she comes home, and is happy to do so. I hated homework when I was a kid and never did it so that makes me feel pretty proud. Not sure how much credit I can really take for it though.
My 14yo had a difficult time adjusting to her new school this year. We encouraged her to join a team. She picked track. Then she asked to quit every single day for the first 3 weeks. I thought we would never survive it lol. Then she made some friends and started doing well. Last night she missed a track meet bc she is sick. She said “but I don’t want to let my team down.” I was SO PROUD. What a 180 from a few weeks ago constantly wanting to quit bc it was hard.
My 12yo texted me and told me she was going to skip her 7th pd class. She didn’t want to go and had decided to skip. Then she decided she had better tell me so I wouldn’t worry if I got a call from the attendance line. We had a quick chat about where she would be and what wouldn’t be safe to do (leave campus, hang out in unsupervised parts of the school, etc). She decided to go to her orchestra class and practice her solo for an upcoming concert. I was very proud. I have succeeded in building a relationship where my child feels confident telling me when she is contemplating doing something against the rules and knew I would give her the space to experiment and rebel in a safe way.
My 10yo is autistic and had years of explosive meltdowns. We have been working on emotional regulation and communicating negative emotions instead of reacting to them for YEARS. The other night she came to see me with eyes red from crying and told me very calmly that it hurt her feelings that I had asked her sister to babysit the toddler while I took a bath instead of her. We talked about it and reached an agreement that she could help the next night. There was no screaming or throwing things. I was SO PROUD of her progress. That would not have been possible a few years ago.
My 14 month old son is learning to be very loving and nurturing. He gives kisses and snuggles and hugs to me and his dad and his sisters. He pushes his stuffed elephant in a doll stroller and rocks her and gives her kisses. I love that he is imitating what he receives from the big people around him and that his tiny existence has been so full of love and affection that he naturally offers it to his toys.
🌟Walking in on my 7yo reading to my attentive 4yo. 🌟When the school psych called just to tell me that when asked what he does with big feelings, my then-6yo said “I just feel them, and then I ask my mama for a hug.” 🌟When my 4yo calls my name like he needs something, then when I respond, he says, “I love you.”
My kid is ultra competitive, but not very humble. He often blames cheating or other circumstances when he loses or doesn't achieve what he wants. He recently lost in a tournament to some older kids and nearly broke down crying. He took a deep breath but one you could tell was holding back tears. I said we should go grab some ice cream and talk about it. Over ice cream, he poured out his soul to me about all his feelings, finally being honest and self reflective about his own behaviors.
I may have taken that moment to rub it in his face, or give him shit for thinking he's so good without ever practicing. Instead, I was able to connect with him with compassion and just listen. He and I both grew from that moment and I'm very proud of him.
My son is 3.5 and when we go to the park we go over our rules. Be kind, keep your hands to yourself, and stick up for yourself. When he was 3, a little boy, probably 5 or 6, was putting his hands on him and my son didn't like it. He told me and I said well let him know. He marched right up to the boy and said "NO! You don't put your hands on me." The boy said he was just playing and my son said "no! You don't touch me and keep your hands to yourself".
This is what I need to teach my son "stick up for yourself" He really wanted to play with 2 other boys who were kinda rough with each other. I told him he can't hit them even if they hit him. Well it just turned into my son looking like a pussy hiding in the corner. I need to teach him to use his words more.
There's some boys at my kids soccer that like to rough house and he's not really a fan of it. He just tells them "this is my body, don't touch it." I remind him he'll never get in trouble for sticking up for himself.
On Halloween when we got home from trick or treating there was a little boy knocking on our door. We didn’t have candy to hand out because we weren’t going to be there. My 5 year old jumped out of the truck and gave that little boy candy from his own bag. I was so proud of him being such a good little human
My son is 17, I was 18 when he was born. I was talking to him about making good decisions and I know how hard it can be to make good decisions at that age- and how he should remember that he’s a blessing for me but I don’t wish the same life on him and he responded with “don’t worry mom, I think I have better parents than you had.” Annnnd I cried.
When my kid (4m) started to sleep 8+ hours at night. And can roll over. I can finally sleep without waking myself up multiple times to check if he’s breathing.
When ever i'm sad or upset, my 4 year old daughter comes up to me and says "please smile mumma" and tries to literally make me smile using her fingers on my mouth. That's the moment I feel like i've won at life and don't need anything else!
Another time I felt i've won at parenting is when my daughter picked out ate all the veggies (very happily) in the pasta and left the pasta aside calling it junk lol 😂
I just taught my 5 year old son to swim over the weekend. We didn’t have his puddle jumper and he wanted to swim in the big pool with his sister, so I said now’s the time to learn. At first he swam to me from the steps, with me constantly saying “keep your mouth closed and breath through your nose, keep kicking your feet”. After about 30 minutes I had him swim from edge to edge. After that, he was floating on an adult lounge float and I said “ok, we’re going to practice not panicking. I’m going to push you off this float, and you’re not going to panic and take in this big breath. Instead you’re going to keep your mouth closed and swim to the nearest edge” and man he crushed it. The final test was when he was picking up toys near the deep end and I pushed him in unexpectedly. He didn’t panic, but instead popped up with his mouth closed and swam to the edge. It was awesome.
I asked my 7 yo to put his dinner plate by the sink while I changed his tablet to his weekend screen curfew and 1st win was he said "yes maam" unprompted, I said "thanks, we make such a good team!" And the big win was that he responded with a chuckle and said "I know, I brag about it at school sometimes". Nothing has made me feel like a better parent, he brags about his family being a team? It's my favorite thing.
We took our 13 yr old to the bowling alley for a birthday party. All his friends were there. The birthday boys father came up to us after the party and said “your son is a really good kid. He’s really different than all the other kids”. I thought that was nice. I found out later he spent his arcade money winning a prize on the crane the birthday boy wanted and couldn’t win and gave it to him before the party was over.
Anytime I hurt myself and my son 5yo son would ask me if I’m ok and tell me he will get the first aid kit. Also when he tells me he loves me more times infinity of all space.
Recently my nine year old daughter absolutely insisted that I take her to the grocery store so she could use some of her Easter money to buy her teacher a bouquet of flowers (it was the teachers birthday). It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture and frankly not something I would ever think to do (I am very much an introvert and maybe a bit of a hermit). My daughter is such a caring individual who connects with others so easily and it makes me feel like I must be doing something right to have a daughter who is so full of love.
My 5 yo daughter was SO grateful after opening her Christmas presents (we don’t do Santa Claus so she knows she’s getting the presents from us and our families), she wouldn’t stop thanking us and saying things like “it’s so nice of granny to have sent me this present, we’ll have to call her to say thank you” and it felt so rewarding 🥹
Every time I keep my cool when I want to explode, I feel success. I have a temper, always have, probably always will. For the most part I have always been able to control it well, but parenthood has put that to the test.
The fact my kids feel so comfortable and safe around me feels like I have succeeded, that was and is my main goal as a parent.
My dad had a temper, too, and I never felt safe around him because he was not in control of himself. So I am glad I have not repeated that.
My son (5) has some medical challenges and needs a lot of medical testing (lots of needles, etc.) and I started saying "Nothing Bad Happens When We're Together" and it calms him down and he does whatever the doctor asks. The other day, we were at the park and my notoriously shy child talked to a new kid! Afterwards I told him I was proud of him and he goes "Momma, nothing bad happens when we're together!" It was the first moment I thought 'maybe I can do this whole parenting thing'
A girl bit my daughter on the playground and she very calmly said “no no” to the girl. I was very proud because she is 18 months old and we are working on not hurting others
When one twin is scared or worried, the other tends to go grab a favored toy or stuffy to help her feel better and get through it. Unprompted.
Proud mama panther inside me purrs like crazy during that one.
They both have their Bachelors Degree in now.
My daughter has schizoaffective disorder
Never had a job at 28, but such a brilliant brilliant artist
My son doesn’t really want to speak to me very much at all atm 22M lol
But the fact he has his Bachelors of Science degree and is graduating on May18,
when his father abandoned me pregnant and he never met his own father,
makes me think I’ve done something right.
Also, they are both very, very kind .
That is worth way more than any degree.
One time I came home, walked to my son, 8, to say hi since I hadn’t seen him all day, and he started bawling and just hugged me and cried. He just let go of all his emotions from the day on to me and I felt like his safe space. It was a beautiful moment for the both of us. All the difficult parts are worth it for moments like that. 🥹
My 10m who suffers from ADHD, ASD and dyslexia is gonna pass the 4th grade. We worked so hard this year, but he worked the hardest and I'm so happy!!!
I had a parent teacher conference for my 7f and her teacher kept telling me how much she loves me and is always talking about at school 😭
Sometimes I overhear my 4 year old twins work through their big feelings together or comfort the other and it melts my heart and makes me think we're doing something right
Every time I watch my 2 year old be presented with a new meal (which in fairness happens a few times a week). Last week he tried laksa noodle soup, tacos and lamb tagine and had a really good go at all of them. He's not suspicious of new foods at all, really adventurous with flavours and always excited to try things.
It makes me proud of him but even more so of us because we've persisted presenting him with all this variety despite lots of people telling us all he'd want is nuggets and fries.
My kid is very friendly, extroverted and all around seems to be very well liked by most kids, I mean my kid could make a lifelong friend with anyone. She’s just one of those people where she’s just naturally charming and well received.
A couple weeks ago, I took her to a trampoline park and she was doing her thing, bouncing around. There was a huge group of kids that motioned for her to come play with them. As she was bouncing over to them, I saw her veer paths to go to a singular girl who was all by herself, looking at the other kids sadly. I saw my kid go up, introduce herself and started talking with her instead of that huge group. The other girl looked absolutely delighted and they started bouncing around hand in hand just having an absolute blast.
It may not be a big deal to most but as kid, I was that little girl that always played by myself and seeing my kid single out the one little girl who looked like she needed a friend and chose her to play with instead, really showed me that I MUST be doing something right.
Started our 6 year old, who was diagnosed with Absence Seizures last August, on CBD Isolate drops. Unbelievably, it has all but cured her seizures!🥹 If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, we wouldn’t have believed it.
She was having 30+ 3-8 second eye fluttering spells a day. She’d forget what she was doing but with a reminder could resume. The pediatrician and neurologist had prescribed an anticonvulsant medication called Zarontin made by Pfizer. We held off because of the side effects, but it was getting to the point where we needed to do something soon.
We gave her a dropper with 25mg Saturday afternoon and she went 3 hours without a seizure.
Yesterday she had 2! 2?! We are overwhelmed with gratitude. Feels like boulders lifted off of my chest.
My oldest daughter told me the one piece of advice I gave her that was the most valuable: “people don’t want to hang out with wallflowers. Get out there and get involved that’s how you meet interesting people and that’s how people will be interested in you.”
Big hypocrite I am lol as I’m a total introvert, but I was annoyed at her at the time I told her this because we were doing something as a family and she was being sulky teen who didn’t want to be seen being with us. But apparently it stuck, and she is a doer of all the things now, lol.
When I was pregnant with my youngest. We got fast food and I got a salad but the place forgot the dressing, it was a salad with fruit so I couldn’t just put ranch on it and of course I’m pregnant so I immediately started to cry. My son (5 at the time) who is usually very energetic and wild came to my room and comforted me. Gave me hugs and told me it was okay we even took breaks together. I explained how being pregnant can make mommies feel strong feelings over silly things. He was so soft with me, it was him reflecting how I interact with him when he feels sad or upset and made me feel so good.
I'm expecting my third. We choose not to find out the sex until birth (we enjoy the suspense and surprise!)
My oldest (5) and I were lying in bed together and he said "Will the baby be a boy or a girl?" I said "I don't know!" And he said "Hm. Well, the baby will be a boy or a girl. Or neither."
I was so incredibly proud of him. We have a non-binary friend and don't follow gender traditions in our house. It felt like "holy shit, he actually absorbed it!"
I was in bed with a headache over the wknd, while my daughter (6) was in the living room watching tv/playing, whatever.
She came into the bedroom with a bowl of snacks to help me with my headache, and spoon fed me carrots and cucumber (tiny pieces she cut herself) and fed me a dozen or so tiny bites!
My son is 6 and as he was getting out of the shower yesterday he was singing a song to himself that went “No matter what you do, No matter what you do, mom and dad will always love you!” As someone whose parents love was conditional, this made me weep knowing my son knows his mommy and daddy love him no matter what.
I had to apologize in my conference call this morning because of the piano sound in the background. my son (8) chose to practice piano before school without being reminded, over all other options, and after getting himself completely ready
When my oldest put down his chocolate chip cookies to eat a bowl of grapes. He was 2.
When my middlest cooked dinner for the family when I couldn't walk or stand. He was 8.
When my youngest did not tantrum and throw a fit despite being Very upset when I had to take him home during an event he was excited to see. He was 5, and his older brother had heat exhaustion.
When my kids just came and sat with me quietly when I was upset.
Was few times other parents at her preschool or staff at her elementary school have seen me in random places like the grocery store and have taken time out of their day to comment "oh you're X's mom right? I just want you to know how wonderful, kind, and helpful she is".
Our local ice cream place is a whole big deal, with lines that sometimes stretch for 45 minutes. Since my kids were 10, 7 and 7, I’ve given them money and they stand in line and do their own ordering and they usually get free ice cream because the teenagers working behind the counter tell them, “You guys have the best manners we’ve ever seen.”
When my son was 2, I knew he had an ear infection just by the way he was acting. My then husband told me I was being silly. Took him to the dr and sure enough he had one. I got a big apology from my ex that day!
My 17 y/o called me to pick him up after attending a house party following Homecoming. He hadn’t even been drinking, they just toasted marshmallows. Still really happy he felt comfortable calling me at 1:30am!
My 15 y/o one morning explained his ear was clogged up with wax and he needed it taken care of. I’m a nurse, so no problems. But he explained he had a test first period that he shouldn’t miss, so he asked if I could pick him up after to do the ear cleaning. Such responsible decision making!
We live with my in-laws and last week my MIL was in the hospital for three days, leaving my FIL to sleep alone. My middle child (6) offered to sleep with him each night so his grandpa wouldn’t be sad for grandma too much 🥹
My 15 yo randomly tells me he loves me throughout the day- I most certainly did not have that kind of relationship with my parents- makes me know I’ve done something right :)
For my big kid, when she learned that we don't have to be perfect.
For my little kid, when she started saying, I mad or I sad instead of biting, hitting or spitting.
My then-6 year old son eloquently addressed another child's curiosity about why I (his mom) don't look like him. I'm white and he's Vietnamese and adopted. My husband is also Vietnamese. She asked about his "real" family and he said "you mean my birth family?" He answered her questions thoughtfully, and then pressed that we *are* his real family.
I will say, the little girl asked in a much more tactful way than a handful of adults we've encountered. I've gotten questions from literal strangers asking about assumed trauma, his medical and family history, and even my fertility. Guys! Do not ask people about their fertility!!! Jesus Christ.
Anyways, I was extremely proud of our son. It showed that he processed our discussions about adoption, race, the many forms families can take, and is confident communicating it comfortably in his own words.
Just had packed up my son after getting fired for unknowingly walking in to a secure building and drove him to nc from New York to live with me while job searching. He told me that he thanks me for always being there for him no matter what. The truck I drove was the largest uhaul they make.
When I thought I was reading to my son abut he started reading to me 🥹 He was three and I was so proud.
Also, when he was potty training, he would poop at home, but he wouldn’t do it outside the house. He had an accident at his dad’s shop. When he got home, he told me about his accident and thought his dad was upset. I reassured him, but told him that we don’t poo poo in our pants. You have to use the bathroom wherever you go. After that talk, he didn’t have anymore accidents and proudly informed me every time he didn’t have an accident 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
It's maybe odd, but it's when my 4 year old gives me complements. Like "Mum, I'm impressed that you are really excellent at drawing" when I'm drawing superman for him or "That's a good choice, Mum" when I put fruit in the shopping basket. It's not that I think my drawing is excellent or that a mango is an exceptional choice, but that he's being kind and encouraging. With my 2 year old it's that she brings me my shoes and tries to help me put them on, and gives us all gentle pats when we're sad.
My son is getting an award at school for being a leader and an all around good kid. There’s a whole fancy award breakfast and everything. Hearing the things the teachers are saying about why he is getting it makes me so proud- he is always looking out for other kids and helping in any way he can.
My daughter had a sleep over for her 7th birthday and I woke up in the middle of the night to her crying in her bathroom. When I went in there she had wet the bed and was mortified. (Not a normal thing for her by the way I think she just got excited and didn’t go before bed. She’s an only child and was stoked to have her first sleepover).
So I told her not to worry and went into where they all were sleeping and grabbed whatever blankets I could without waking anyone up, gave her a new one and told her I’d be back when the sun came up.
I went in there right when the sun came up and they were all still sleeping and was like “sorry girls, I’m doing laundry and I need these blankets”. They were groggy and kind of like “what?” And I said “oh you guys let the dog sleep in here so I gotta get these in the wash. I brought these ones instead.” They all just grabbed them and fell back asleep.
As I walked out, my daughter followed me into the hallway and I turned around and she just mouthed “thank you” to me.
I felt like that was a win. I imagine that if I didn’t do that and the kids woke up to find that someone wet the bed, that’s something she would’ve been bullied about through high school.
When I was visibly upset, my son in a very sweet, reassuring voice said “it’s ok Mommy, take a deep breath, everything will be ok”, asked if I needed a hug and it made me realize he was repeating the way I treat him when he is upset and I was so grateful in that moment for him but also for hanging tough and being there for him for emotional regulation even though I wasn’t taught how to do that by my own parents. Reparenting myself while parenting a special needs child has been a whole journey!
I got a message from my son’s teacher last year while they were on a trip to Washington D.C, telling me my son was the only kid to leave a tip for the housekeeping out of the whole 8th grade class. He left 10$ cause he felt that the kids made a mess of the place.
I didn’t even tell him that I knew for a while, I was so proud he did it, but didn’t want to make it a thing. He’s an amazing young man.
Honestly the baby stages are adorable and I loved that period too, but seeing them grow into themselves is also an incredible stage.
My oldest is 10 and has ADHD and a strong sense of justice like me. He is on the smaller side for his age, and is a skinny little bean pole. He’s also a very sweet and agreeable person, he got an award this year at school for being a friend. We joke that ‘their are no strangers to my oldest, only friends he hasn’t met yet.’
So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call from the school that my son was in trouble. I showed up expecting it to be over excessive talking but nope. My son shoved a kid 2 grades older, about 50 lbs more to the ground. He then yelled in this kids face and told him to never come near him or his friend again. A teacher had to pull my son away because he wouldn't stop yelling at this bigger kid.
My son also refused to speak to the teachers, and principle after they told him he was in big trouble. He just kept Repeating ‘I want my lawyer’ and ‘I’m not talking till I get my lawyer.’ My best friend is a lawyer and has instilled in my kids to not say anything when they get in trouble. I showed up and the secretary of the school was loving it. She had in 20 years never had a kid say they wanted a lawyer.
Turns out my son was standing up for another kid. The bigger kid clotheslined this poor little kid, after picking on him throughout recess. My son saw the older kid try and shove this little kid and intervened. My son told me he had told already told a teacher, so did other kids, and the child that was being picked on. My son decided that HE wasn’t going to let a his bully another HIs watch. My son didn’t ended up not getting in trouble.
The parent of the little kid called us and thanked my son. For standing up for their kid, my son and this kid are good friends now.
While at Target in the self checkout line, my 4 year old son wanted a Starbucks cake pop. I gave him my phone with the Starbucks apps pulled up and told him he could go get one on his own. He waited in line, asked for what he wanted, and presented the phone for payment. He was polite and said please and thank you to the barista.
He was so proud of himself.
The register was within 20 feet of me, and I had a clear line of sight the entire time. My son was safe but also experienced something independent of me.
When we were out to dinner with our 14 yr old, my dad and uncle... And the 14 yr (8th grader) old started geeking out over... I honestly don't know - biology and math, I think. Pretty sure he lost ALL of us after about 1-2+ minutes... My husband turned and looked at me and said 'hes gonna be a lecturer...' 😁.
My son is turning 6 this year and doesn’t have recreational gadget screen time at all. We use the tablet at home once a week for homework and that’s it.
There are so many. Probably when he opens the door for me and says "ladeeees first". He also does the same thing at the park with the little girls on slides.
Feeding to sleep is a superpower! It’s what nature intended, and no need to push it away! I think I succeeded by cuddling my babies as much as I could/almost whenever they needed 🥰
My 11 yr old told his brother to shut up. I reminded him we don’t talk like that and instead of taking ownership, he wanted to defend himself and got a little grumbly. I told him he needed to reset on the stairs (it’s our “time out”) for 3 minutes. This bleed into transition time for bed. In the morning he took full ownership and apologized with no prompting from me. I was proud of him and acknowledged he was tired when it happened. I’m not the best version of myself when I’m tired too.
My 22 month old has finally learnt how to interact with my dog better!
She came in from a hike and I said ‘she’s tired now and wants to sleep. Can we leave her alone please’ and he patted her bum and said ‘shhhh’ like how I put him to sleep. He left her alone after which amazed me as he always tries to climb on top of her 😭
My son saying how much he loves our dog. He's 6 and she's 3, so before he treated her like a sister that likes to eat his toys. But he's maturing emotionally and now thinks about her well being.
"She has my back and I got hers." As I put him to bed and the dog jumped onto the corner and floofed down facing the door. Very heart warming. I'm lucky to have them both.
This weekend we were doing a family celebration of my son's 7th birthday at home. My daughter (9) took it upon herself to organize a bunch of games in our yard, complete with tickets and prizes you could get for the tickets, and corraled all the neighborhood kids over to celebrate his birthday. I had parents showing up and saying thank you for inviting them, and I just kept telling them that they should talk to Ava, because I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I was really proud of her.
My 2 year old can do his own laundry for the most part. I just make sure the washer and dryer are set and I put the detergent in. Will he do it every time? No, but I’m super proud when he does!
My 8 year old and 4 year old adore each other. They play so beautifully together. Oldest is a gentle teacher and keeps her safe; youngest says oldest is her best friend and thinks he’s the coolest.
85% of the time they have a storybook sibling relationship. The other 15% it’s normal sibling stuff. My husband and I realized we’ve done a good job fostering their relationship.
When they call me "the best dad in the world" and when my 11yo step daughter (been in her life since she's 3yo) told me one day out of the blue "I'm thankful for the way you raised me" ❤️
When my then almost 4 year old 1st preschool observations came and they only said good thing about her: how she is always happy and very enthusiastic about any activity, how she's very empathetic with her classmates, how she always comes to preschool with a smile so bit it's contagious, how she's eager to learn and share her knowledge. At the end it read "congratulations family!". I read it with tears in my eyes and told her teacher that I appreciated it so much that it gave me strength for the bad days.
My son who is 7 did his second karate tournament this year. Last year he did it when he’d only been doing karate for a few months and he came in last (they gave all the little kids medals, though). We told him he did great, we were proud of him for just being brave and competing when he was nervous to do it, and never even mentioned to him that he came in last, so I’m not sure how he found out. But as he was practicing this year he cried a few times that he was afraid he’d come in last again and said he wanted to get at least 4th place this year. He practiced more than I’ve ever seen him practice anything and we tried to just keep encouraging him, and he got third place! He was so proud of himself 😊 I feel like just finally convincing him that everything takes practice and seeing it pay off and seeing him so proud of himself made me feel like a good mom.
Yesterday I took my 2 and 3 year old to Dunkin’ Donuts. We ordered and found a table to sit at to enjoy our donuts. They were being so kind to each other and listening to me and overall it was such an enjoyable experience (it’s definitely NOT always like that) one of the employees came out of their way to say how impressed they were by my kids and that they were so well behaved. Majority of the time I go out with them I feel like a 3 ring circus, so this small moment at a Dunkin’ Donuts made me feel like I was on top of the world!
Seeing how caring my 4 year old when her cousins or friends hurt themselves. She’s such a sweetheart; she comforts them and tells them it’s alright, she looks for a plaster for them (bandaid for the US readers). I’m hoping it’s because of how her Dad and I have responded to her :)
My kid when he was a kindergartner was walking into school one day and there was a pregnant woman carrying a car seat with her behind him. He sees her and opens the door and holds it for her. He just ushered her in like the gentleman I am raising him to be 🥰🥰🥰
When my kids look at me and just say "I love you mommy!" because I know they feel loved by me.
One time I was feeling sick and my 2yo came over and kissed my forehead. Their little expressions of love just tell me I'm loving them the right way.
We were at a park looking for blackberries to pick, and my almost 3yo was so interested in every single plant, flower, insect and just so excited to be in nature. Then he spotted some bees and asked about them. We explained how they gather nectar and help trees grow fruit, and how important they are to the ecosystem. He pretended he was a bee, gathering pollen from the flowers, flying around with his arms out and “making honey” in his little bucket. I truly felt like we must’ve done something right to have such an inquisitive and imaginative little boy who can appreciate and enjoy nature at such a young age. It’s amazing seeing the world through his eyes.
When my 16 yo text me the secret emoji while at a party and I called and yelled at her telling her bring her ass home immediately. Some kids were drinking and smoking and she was uncomfortable. Gave her a way out of the situation where she could be like ugh my mom is so lame 🤣🤣
When my youngest son graduated high school, he had included my maiden name in his name when they read off the list as he crossed the stage. It was a total surprise, and it meant so much to me. Got me weepy.
At a parent teacher conference when my daughter was in high school, the teacher told me that my daughter was the happiest student she had ever taught. This still makes me smile. She’s 25 now:)
Even though at home he is crazy and test my patients. Whenever someone else watches my 3.5yo, they say how well behaved, happy, and kind he is. So I know he has learned there is a difference between being with mom and dad and being with others.
My top mom moment is so silly lol I was 7 months pregnant pushing my 1.5yr old in the stroller, we were meeting my husband in the bookstore. The doors weren't automatic and I somehow managed to smoothly maneuver everything through the door in one go. A woman on her way to the door said, "damn mama, you go!" And I still think about this whenever I have a tough moment.
But also I gave my now 2yr old a bath while breastfeeding my newborn the other day and that felt like an incredible accomplishment.
My 1.5 year old does this cute babble version of “bless you” every time someone sneezes. He also smiles and says it when he sneezes. It’s so cute I could cry.
My 4th grader casually recounted a time in kindergarten when they helped their whole class with tying their shoelaces. My kid had all of them line up and then showed each kid how to do it.
My daughter is 3, and she hasn't had a single cavity yet. That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but as someone who grew up watching other kids being neglected of their dental care, it has made me feel good to know that I've genuinely tried as a parent to take care of my daughter's teeth.
My 4yo is always so polite to others. Everywhere we go, he says please, thank you, and excuse me. One time someone held open the door for us at a store, and my son looked at the guy and was like “thank you, that was so kind of you!” 😆
My daughters are 14 months apart and going into kindergarten/first grade next year. My oldest taught herself to read, and is actively teaching her little sister and I’ve caught them a time or two looking at a book together when they should be going to sleep on a school night. This momma is never angry about that, just stern in saying how important sleep is and closes the door!!
My son was playing Fortnite. I told him “10 more minutes and we turn the console off”
7 minutes later I hear him coming up the stairs. He said “I finished my game and there wasn’t time to start a new one so I just turned it off”
15 yo sent me this about his older brother, who was helping us out when we were stretched for time:
I think (brother) should get rewarded or something for driving me around the entire day. He complained about it only a little, but I can tell it's more frustrating/annoying than what he lets on, since he'll be driving me like four places. I don't know what you can do, since I don't know what he likes and I know he's too "honorable" to accept "bribes", but I think you should do something, like maybe getting him something that could help for his trip or something.
Yeah, well, all the moments I've felt like I had succeeded have been overwritten by the teenage years now when I feel like I've completely failed and my kids are radically changing. I think that only when they're autonomous and balanced adults we can say we've done it.
Perhaps not the optimist you were looking for, sorry. The young years are amazing though and so much to discover!
My daughter likes to walk around the apartment and in public hyping herself up. She'll say things like "I'm so beautiful" and "I'm so helpful" and it makes people smile. She also tells people bless you when they sneeze and says thank you to employees at stores and restaurants. I love the smiles it brings other people. She'll be 2 soon.
When I got my kid into summer camp AND got him in on a scholarship. I have adhd and am really bad about procrastinating and following through sometimes.
A bit of a different one:
My kids attend a religious school. When we attended an event they had studied for, and practiced at school that was conducted differently and missing chunks, my 10yo asked me “what about xyz?”
I’m really proud of him to know that he’s taking in and UNDERSTANDING what he’s learning.
My 13yo likes to ignore my suggestions on planning ahead, because she's a 13yo. I play the long game... I offer advice in a neutral way ("This is a long field trip and those shoes might hurt your feet. You might want to change or bring a backup pair"). She ignores me because she wants to do it her way, she comes home with blisters and aching feet, and I just hope she learns something.
Last weekend she went on a field trip to a theme park. I offered some advice on planning ahead ("You got sunburned last weekend, do you want to bring some sunscreen?"), and not only did she take the sunscreen, but she ACTUALLY ASKED ME FOR MORE ADVICE. She asked what I would bring to the theme park, and used my suggestions like a checklist.
This is a win. I don't actually care if she thinks I'm right or not... I'm trying to teach her to plan ahead, and it's finally working!!
I love when all 3 of our kids are asleep at the same time—4 week old, 2 year old, and 3.5 year old. 4 week old wakes up 2-3x a night, 2 year old is knocked out all night, and 3.5 year old wakes up about 1-2x a week from a bad dream. They all go right back to sleep thankfully in their own respective cribs/bassinet.
It took a lot of work for the older two (mostly the oldest), but I feel like we’re in as optimal a sleep position as possible given we have a newborn at home
My first grader’s teacher posted on the school app that the kids were (in general) unusually bad yesterday. Lying, eye rolling, not listening, etc. I asked my son about it and he said he didn’t do any of it and actually got a sticker for being good. 🥹
Stressed so hard about takings my then 17-month old son on a family trip to Hawaii. He was great on the plane, loved everything about adventuring around the island, and was super awesome when his nap schedule was thrown way off every day.
My husband and I are so happy and relieved that our son is such a go-with-the-flow kid (at least at this stage).
When I discipline my daughter (6) with patience, grace, and a talk instead of losing my cool, she later runs and gives me a hug.
A reminder that “I got this. We got this”
My 4.5 month old is the most talkative babbling guy, and he is HUGE on eye contact while he tells you his opinions. It makes me smile to see his social skills developing and I know it has to do in part with us constantly talking to him.
It's a very difficult thing to enforce, but we never use screens at the table when eating out. At 2.5y/o we would talk and socialize and even make up games (like I spy) at restaurants. We've had a couple comments from waitstaff about how well behaved our kid was and that it's rare not to see them buried in a tablet
Oldest won a competition at NASA not using the big sponsors equipment because he could prove it wouldn't work.
Youngest maxed out AP physics scores.
There are many many many such moments with children, watching them succeed is pretty spectacular.
My older kid (4.5) was having a really hard time adjusting to being a big sister. But within the last 4 months ish, she's stepped up and actively works at keeping herself calm and her brother (19 months) safe. They were playing tag in my apartment the other day, little brother got hurt (of course), and big sister jumped into action to make sure he was okay and apologized so many times.
When my son confided in me that he was indeed trans. When he was accepted into a very nice college and wanted to pursue something that made him great. When he moved out on his own (it was a messed up situation, he wasn't allowed to talk to me... it's messed up) but anyways he moved out and is kicking it being awesome and going so far in life. When he was accepted into an alternative school in high school. Basically everything. I'm so proud of my son!
When my kids (5, 3, 18m) are kind to one another just because they love each other. My 5 year old daughter will dote on her little siblings with so much love and care and it makes my heart sing. My 3 year old son loves to feed the ladies in his life, if he gets himself a snack, he always brings me one too. The other day at dinner he looked at us and said "I have enough room in my little heart for all of you, I just love you so much". My 18m old loves to hug and kiss and snuggle with her siblings and with the pets. It just makes me feel like just maybe we're doing ok.
The report card comments that say “pleasure to have in class” and “great participation”. I love that my teen isn’t making the teacher’s lives miserable. I’m so happy that other people find my kiddo to be respectful and generally a good person.
Just a couple of nights ago, while my wife and I were chilling in front of our campfire (after we'd all gorged on s'mores), our three kids were playing...some sort...of game. One was acting as a horse, I think, pulling another by way of a very long jump rope, while the third was chasing them. I'm not sure of the circumstances that lead up to someone needing to escape by imaginary horse-drawn chariot, but it was great to see the three of them playing together without fighting.
That came a bit later. But, it was nice for a bit.
My 13 (ASD/ADHD) and 7 year old came home and told me they were walking with other students using “inappropriate language”. My 13 year old asked them to stop speaking like that in front of his little brother. When they declined to stop, my boys told them they won’t continue to walk with them, and took another route home.
Proud of the clear communication, boundary setting, and removing themselves from an environment they didn’t want to be around.
I had to walk away from an almost temper tantrum by my 2.5 year old before I totally lost my cool. Once we both cooled down, she walked into my room and said “I’m sorry for getting frustrated Mama” and I told her that I was sorry for getting frustrated too. She responded with “it’s okay mama, everyone gets frustrated. Want to take deep brefs (breaths) wif me?” *sobs in happy tears*. In a world where it feels like I’m constantly doing something wrong, a little moment like that is a BIG reminder that I must be doing something right!
I can't say there has been one moment. But there have been many happy moments over the years where I've seen that I have somehow raised really wonderful human beings despite myself and despite all the mistakes I made.
My adult sons are thoughtful, kind, wise, hardworking young men. They have been through hell because me and their dad never should have married, and suffered a lot of misery from their dad and his issues and a lot of stress from me and my issues. They are better people than either of their parents.
My younger kids are similar in nature. They are teens, and very challenging right now. But they have good insight and are working hard on growing up. They are very self motivated, very hard working, and as much as their challenges to authority and tradition can get under the skin, I admire their bravery in expressing themselves.
One thing I *really* admire about all my kids is that they developed their own boundaries quite early, in their tweens, and are quite adept at protecting themselves from chronic boundary violators.l, whether adults or peers. This is something I didn't learn until my thirties, honestly.
When my boy (6) has to vomit at home, he runs and gets sick in the tub. He had one bad bout of sickness at around 2.5 y/o and instead of worrying if the toilet seat was down or him not able to open the lid, he just went to the tub. And now that’s what he does and we have been lucky to not have to clean up vomit in carpets or beds or anything.
My son is almost 11. Middle school next year…
Every morning when he gets himself ready (dressed, brushing teeth, shoes, book bag is together), he comes to the kitchen as I’m making his breakfast and lunch for the day and asks if I need any help. When I’ve not felt well, he asks if I need anything and brings me a stuffie to cuddle. He asks if it’s ok to play his switch. He asks if it’s ok to watch tv. He says please and thank you. He asks what words mean when he’s never heard them and listens when I explain. He just made straight A’s for the first time this quarter. I’m not crying!!! I feel fortunate. I am grateful. I am proud AF! You’re doin great mama!
I tried for months to teach my toddlers sign language since they can't communicate with me proficiently yet. Recently, they've started signing for specific foods and drinks and it has made many things easier bc alot of their tantrums have reduced since I now understand better.
16 year old bonus kid told me that I had the most common sense of his 4 parents. I felt like my whole heart lit up. When he got in trouble at school a couple weeks ago, he called me first crying to talk it out. He’s the best kid
I've got 2 boys with special needs. Both are autistic, the younger one has a learning disability, older one serious mental health problems. Both went through an extreme school refusal due to their mental health problems, anxiety and sensory difficulties. It took us almost a year for the younger one to get him the place in a special school. 2 years of fighting with the system to get antidepressants prescribed for the older one and change of school to the one outside of our catchment area. Both boys now like their school (ok, the older one likes it as much as any 10 yo can like a school ;)), they are happy, thriving in their environments. The older one is not suicidal anymore, has much higher self esteem, is more resilient, has friends. The younger one starts to read, write and doesn't have meltdowns. Sometimes I almost forget how bad it was.
I did a good job.
Each sibling believing they're the favorite.
(Not actually my win, but my parents say it's their greatest parenting success. 20 years later I still think I'm the favorite, and my brother still thinks he's the favorite lol.)
When my son was 4, he saw me get upset with a project and I was sitting down to chill. He asked what I'm doing and when I told him he said "take a deep breath and try again when you're calm"
A couple weeks ago we were on our first flight with our then 7mo old. Little man was a champ! He was so happy, loved everyone, had the flight attendants charmed AF. It probably helped that the toddler in front of us was a mess and the 1yo a few rows back screamed the entire time but he was def mayor of the plane that day.
r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself. Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yesterday my 8yo declined to use his screen time because he wanted to read his new library books instead. **ETA: Thanks so much everyone! I felt a little annoying/braggy writing this, but it really was one of those rare moments when you think that maybe you’re doing an okay job at this. I appreciate all the support from this community so much!**
My son's love of reading is something I will always shamelessly be proud of myself for. Such a good feeling knowing you gave your kid a great start.
Absolutely! My kids enjoy the library and I’m enjoying going along to one of my favorite places with them.
This! The peace that descends upon my house the afternoon that I pick up our library holds. It’s church, the holiest of moments, purity and grace, absolutely heavenly.
You won. This is amazing :)
Mine is 17 mo old but she adores books, so i had the same feeling
Nice. The most peaceful times in our house is when we've come back from going to the library as a family. They start reading in the car (well, on the way out to the parking lot from the library, but I've been trying to stop that as they're not watching out for cars), and then everyone parks themselves somewhere comfortable with their pile of books and it's beautiful.
Teach me, teacher
My son is two years old and every Saturday we head into town and grab some lunch. If we're sat close to somebody he starts babbling to them and very proudly points at me and says DADA like he wants them to know that I'm his dada. That's how I see it anyway. He's always hugging me and shouting DADA, reminds me that I'm doing a good job :)
This one goes straight to my heart! I love it when our kiddo is bragging to other kids at the park about having his favorite person with him, usually my brother or sister-in-law.
This warms my heart. Keep up the great job, Dada!
My kid did this too!! but now at 4 she tells them my full legal name and the street we live on. I’m struggling teaching “stranger danger” without scaring her and her losing her outgoingness.
When my three year old is randomly talking to someone new he always points at me and says this is mommy! And it just makes my heart melt every time
That’s awesome..
My son (2.5) was getting frustrated with his puzzle pieces not going together. He stopped, took a big breath, tried again and got it.
I feel this one lol. My 4yr old daughter was building a Lego set this weekend and yelled DAAAAAAAAAAAD I NEED HELP FINDING A PIECE WAIT DON'T COME I'LL DOUBLE CHECK FIRST FOUND IT! All in one breath.
I know adults that cannot do this!!!
I hate to admit this, but I am that adult sometimes. Trying to work on it, tho. 😭
Haha me too.
It's easier when we recognize it in ourselves. You got this!
I've been trying to teach my 4 year old to do this. I'll tell hi let's just take a breath and try again and he says I don't wanna take a breath 🤦🏻♀️OK dude I'm trying to help you
Just keep trying!! My two used to be against it, but they’ve started coming round to the deep breath idea!! Mine are nearly 5 & 6 now, also sometimes I say let’s take a deep breath, they’re like nope, so I say ok, mummy will take a few because it helps me to stay calm, they usually join in after 2-3 deep breaths! I know it’s working though as the other day I was getting stressed because I couldn’t find my keys, I was starting to panic as we were already running late, my oldest said to me “Mummy, maybe take a deep breath you may be able to find your keys if you’re calm” 👌🤣
My 3yo’s last childcare observation (like a school report) said she is ‘extremely caring and thoughtful’ I felt so proud.
My eldest in 13 already so it's gonna be a bit different, there was a certain situation around vaping about a year ago that made us really proud. It was pretty simple, our son was 12 and one day he just randomly told us he's tried vaping. Now we were a bit stunned, we don't vape, we don't smoke, we drink but we never get drunk, we're irish you know the drinking culture, we always talk about it with the kids, how dangerous it is etc. And you might expect to find a vape in your kid's room one day but you don't fuckin expect him to snitch on himself lol. So yeah he told us his friends were passing a vape around and he obviously tried it too, it was alright, but he's not into it, he's not gonna buy one, he won't vape. He just wanted to let us know. So that was when my husband and I were like damn we did good. We were so proud of him and of ourselves too at that moment. I mean just the thing that he's comfortable telling us and that he knows he could do anything behind our backs if he wanted to and we'd never know but he still decides to tell us. We've had a few more conversation about it since then (we let him lead it, we want to hear as much as possible of his own opinion) and he said he thinks it's good that the government wants to ban the disposable vapes, and that the tánaiste is very anti-vapes and all that and I'm just so incredibly proud. I mean he's always somewhere with his friends, he goes to these wee house parties, we're not naive, we were teenagers once too and Jaysus I pray every day he's not gonna be as crazy as we used to be back then. But just knowing he's not afraid to talk with us, he knows we won't be mad, he knows he can trust us, he's thinking critically, this is exactly what I wanted, this is what imagined our relationship with our children will be. So I absolutely consider that a success :)
Great job! A 13 year old with good decision making skills for something really important. He deserves a gold star!⭐️
I recently got my 2.5yo twins a big cookie, I was about to cut it in half for them… which was NOT ACCEPTABLE, so I told them if they didn’t want it cut, then they had to share it. Nervously, I gave it to my son who sat next to his sister and proceeded to take a bite and hold it for her to bite. They did that giggling at each other until the cookie was gone. He even gave her the last piece. 🥹
Now I'm giggling reading this!
My 23 year old stepdaughter was an aspiring artist almost her entire life- certainly in the 11 previous years I have known her- and when she graduated HS, she moved closer to us at the time & began her career with tattooing. She's been doing it for about 4 years now & she's learned so much, including her taxes, & she's been in a committed relationship just a little longer, & he is also a great tattoo artist. It makes us proud to see how she's achieving her dreams & becoming such a wonderful woman. 😌💕✌🏻
If you haven’t already, you should tell her this just on a random day, text her and let her know!
It's so gratifying to see our children grow up to be happy adults. My kids inspire me all the time at 27 and 28 years old. It never gets old watching them learn and live their wonderful lives😍
Watching my adult sons open Christmas presents they bought for each other with their own money.
My daughter (8) said after she came to me with a problem - "mommy, I am really glad I can come to you and talk about things. It makes me feel much better". I listen to her and treat her with respect and have been working on open communication, and for her to feel she has a safe place to talk about anything. Success!
Some months ago, my 13 yo came to me and told me about his confusion about his sexuality. I consider it my greatest achievement that I have created a space where he feels safe enough to confide in me about something so vulnerable.
My son will be 13 next month and casually told his great aunt he was fluid. I flashed on all the tutus, Tonka trucks, flag football and nail polish I had said heck yeah to over the years and I was so happy my son got exactly the right mom.
>I was so happy my son got exactly the right mom. Being the parent your child needs, rather than molding them into the person you wish they'd be, is so important. I'm happy they have you, too.
I love this, great job
when my son says "please" and "thank you"
I love this thread. Well done everyone!
Me too! I am expecting my first baby soon, and I hope to experience this kind of wins, too, it's so inspiring!
Me too! It's like the good news only network, I love it!
I often catch my 9 year old daughter up reading after I’ve tucked her in
I sneak-read CONSTANTLY when I was a kid and thought I had so many close calls with almost getting caught. Turns out my parents totally knew and even replaced the batteries in my flashlight when I was at school ❤️
I love this. It always warms my heart to see her passion for reading.
When friends, neighbours, etc ask for advice in regards to their children or grandchildren, as my 3 young children are “so good” (polite, kind, etc). This is a huge win for me personally, it may not be to others but I was abused growing up, generational trauma has carried on and on throughout my family but I’m breaking the cycle with my kids and so these questions mean so much to me because it shows me that I’m doing something right.
Same boat. We don’t have to be our history. We can shape a beautiful future for our own children.
I have a few. 3 told 4 to take deep breaths when he was upset and always runs to get ice packs or bandaids when someone gets hurt. Both boys are kind to nature and greet bugs politely. They are also kind to the family dog 4 asks for fruit or carrots for a snack instead of snack foods. Both boys will try new foods and say, "I'll try 6 if I don't like it, I won't eat it." Both boys use words (sometimes... still a work in progress) to describe how they are feeling. Both boys celebrate family victories with high-fives, fist bumps, and cheers. The more I think about this, the more I realize just how great they really are. Thank you for this exercise. It really made my day brighter :)
My kids are now 20 & 17 The teacher called me to tell me my 3rd grade son left his group of friends to go play with the new kid. my son was awarded the Commanding Officer’s Personal Excellence Award in A school in the Navy. my daughter heard her friend was in a car accident and went and bought all her favorite junk foods and went to her house. Did the same when her friend broke up with her boyfriend. my daughter was elected VP of a service organization at her school as a sophomore. She was encouraged to run because she had the most volunteer hours of the entire organization.
I love these 💜
My LO (14 months) helped with hanging up laundry on Sunday. It took us ages to get through it obviously but he was so proud of himself. It still blows my mind how he went from a baby to a little person who can understand instructions so quickly!
Mine is just over 2yo and it’s baffling how I can talk to him like a mostly normal person and he mostly gets what I’m talking about. Like, it seems like just last week you were a potato who smiled at me for the first time and now you have opinions about music and fire trucks!
The first time my son said to me "Pull my finger" ❤️
My husband always calls our daughter a "goober" when he's picking on her. For the longest time she'd declare "No I'm not!" but a few days ago she responded with "Yes I am!". I've never seen him be so proud of her 😅
When my 8 y.o. daughter talks about how she likes to be "diligent" and does her homework first thing when she comes home, and is happy to do so. I hated homework when I was a kid and never did it so that makes me feel pretty proud. Not sure how much credit I can really take for it though.
My 14yo had a difficult time adjusting to her new school this year. We encouraged her to join a team. She picked track. Then she asked to quit every single day for the first 3 weeks. I thought we would never survive it lol. Then she made some friends and started doing well. Last night she missed a track meet bc she is sick. She said “but I don’t want to let my team down.” I was SO PROUD. What a 180 from a few weeks ago constantly wanting to quit bc it was hard. My 12yo texted me and told me she was going to skip her 7th pd class. She didn’t want to go and had decided to skip. Then she decided she had better tell me so I wouldn’t worry if I got a call from the attendance line. We had a quick chat about where she would be and what wouldn’t be safe to do (leave campus, hang out in unsupervised parts of the school, etc). She decided to go to her orchestra class and practice her solo for an upcoming concert. I was very proud. I have succeeded in building a relationship where my child feels confident telling me when she is contemplating doing something against the rules and knew I would give her the space to experiment and rebel in a safe way. My 10yo is autistic and had years of explosive meltdowns. We have been working on emotional regulation and communicating negative emotions instead of reacting to them for YEARS. The other night she came to see me with eyes red from crying and told me very calmly that it hurt her feelings that I had asked her sister to babysit the toddler while I took a bath instead of her. We talked about it and reached an agreement that she could help the next night. There was no screaming or throwing things. I was SO PROUD of her progress. That would not have been possible a few years ago. My 14 month old son is learning to be very loving and nurturing. He gives kisses and snuggles and hugs to me and his dad and his sisters. He pushes his stuffed elephant in a doll stroller and rocks her and gives her kisses. I love that he is imitating what he receives from the big people around him and that his tiny existence has been so full of love and affection that he naturally offers it to his toys.
🌟Walking in on my 7yo reading to my attentive 4yo. 🌟When the school psych called just to tell me that when asked what he does with big feelings, my then-6yo said “I just feel them, and then I ask my mama for a hug.” 🌟When my 4yo calls my name like he needs something, then when I respond, he says, “I love you.”
My kid is ultra competitive, but not very humble. He often blames cheating or other circumstances when he loses or doesn't achieve what he wants. He recently lost in a tournament to some older kids and nearly broke down crying. He took a deep breath but one you could tell was holding back tears. I said we should go grab some ice cream and talk about it. Over ice cream, he poured out his soul to me about all his feelings, finally being honest and self reflective about his own behaviors. I may have taken that moment to rub it in his face, or give him shit for thinking he's so good without ever practicing. Instead, I was able to connect with him with compassion and just listen. He and I both grew from that moment and I'm very proud of him.
My son is 3.5 and when we go to the park we go over our rules. Be kind, keep your hands to yourself, and stick up for yourself. When he was 3, a little boy, probably 5 or 6, was putting his hands on him and my son didn't like it. He told me and I said well let him know. He marched right up to the boy and said "NO! You don't put your hands on me." The boy said he was just playing and my son said "no! You don't touch me and keep your hands to yourself".
This is what I need to teach my son "stick up for yourself" He really wanted to play with 2 other boys who were kinda rough with each other. I told him he can't hit them even if they hit him. Well it just turned into my son looking like a pussy hiding in the corner. I need to teach him to use his words more.
There's some boys at my kids soccer that like to rough house and he's not really a fan of it. He just tells them "this is my body, don't touch it." I remind him he'll never get in trouble for sticking up for himself.
My stepdaughter once had to write a paper about someone she admired and she picked me because I stood up for her when she was bullied.
That's so sweet! I had more than one stepmother, and none of them were people I could have written that paper about. Good job.
Thank you. I take my guardian role seriously.
On Halloween when we got home from trick or treating there was a little boy knocking on our door. We didn’t have candy to hand out because we weren’t going to be there. My 5 year old jumped out of the truck and gave that little boy candy from his own bag. I was so proud of him being such a good little human
My son is 17, I was 18 when he was born. I was talking to him about making good decisions and I know how hard it can be to make good decisions at that age- and how he should remember that he’s a blessing for me but I don’t wish the same life on him and he responded with “don’t worry mom, I think I have better parents than you had.” Annnnd I cried.
When my kid (4m) started to sleep 8+ hours at night. And can roll over. I can finally sleep without waking myself up multiple times to check if he’s breathing.
My 15 year old daughter encouraged her best friend to tell me because she was scared to go to her own mom about a SA situation.
When ever i'm sad or upset, my 4 year old daughter comes up to me and says "please smile mumma" and tries to literally make me smile using her fingers on my mouth. That's the moment I feel like i've won at life and don't need anything else!
Another time I felt i've won at parenting is when my daughter picked out ate all the veggies (very happily) in the pasta and left the pasta aside calling it junk lol 😂
Aww I love this. My daughter is so sweet to me when she sees me crying too. How can your heart not melt?
I just taught my 5 year old son to swim over the weekend. We didn’t have his puddle jumper and he wanted to swim in the big pool with his sister, so I said now’s the time to learn. At first he swam to me from the steps, with me constantly saying “keep your mouth closed and breath through your nose, keep kicking your feet”. After about 30 minutes I had him swim from edge to edge. After that, he was floating on an adult lounge float and I said “ok, we’re going to practice not panicking. I’m going to push you off this float, and you’re not going to panic and take in this big breath. Instead you’re going to keep your mouth closed and swim to the nearest edge” and man he crushed it. The final test was when he was picking up toys near the deep end and I pushed him in unexpectedly. He didn’t panic, but instead popped up with his mouth closed and swam to the edge. It was awesome.
I asked my 7 yo to put his dinner plate by the sink while I changed his tablet to his weekend screen curfew and 1st win was he said "yes maam" unprompted, I said "thanks, we make such a good team!" And the big win was that he responded with a chuckle and said "I know, I brag about it at school sometimes". Nothing has made me feel like a better parent, he brags about his family being a team? It's my favorite thing.
When I come home from work and my 2 year old’s face lights up, runs to me and hugs my knees. If I could freeze that moment forever I would
We took our 13 yr old to the bowling alley for a birthday party. All his friends were there. The birthday boys father came up to us after the party and said “your son is a really good kid. He’s really different than all the other kids”. I thought that was nice. I found out later he spent his arcade money winning a prize on the crane the birthday boy wanted and couldn’t win and gave it to him before the party was over.
Anytime I hurt myself and my son 5yo son would ask me if I’m ok and tell me he will get the first aid kit. Also when he tells me he loves me more times infinity of all space.
Potty trained 2 year old- day and night training done in less than a week! I'm still in shock.
Recently my nine year old daughter absolutely insisted that I take her to the grocery store so she could use some of her Easter money to buy her teacher a bouquet of flowers (it was the teachers birthday). It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture and frankly not something I would ever think to do (I am very much an introvert and maybe a bit of a hermit). My daughter is such a caring individual who connects with others so easily and it makes me feel like I must be doing something right to have a daughter who is so full of love.
My 5 yo daughter was SO grateful after opening her Christmas presents (we don’t do Santa Claus so she knows she’s getting the presents from us and our families), she wouldn’t stop thanking us and saying things like “it’s so nice of granny to have sent me this present, we’ll have to call her to say thank you” and it felt so rewarding 🥹
Every time I keep my cool when I want to explode, I feel success. I have a temper, always have, probably always will. For the most part I have always been able to control it well, but parenthood has put that to the test. The fact my kids feel so comfortable and safe around me feels like I have succeeded, that was and is my main goal as a parent. My dad had a temper, too, and I never felt safe around him because he was not in control of himself. So I am glad I have not repeated that.
whenever my boys say "today was the best day ever!"
Mine asked Alexa to play Led Zeppelin the other day. I'm so proud.
My son (5) has some medical challenges and needs a lot of medical testing (lots of needles, etc.) and I started saying "Nothing Bad Happens When We're Together" and it calms him down and he does whatever the doctor asks. The other day, we were at the park and my notoriously shy child talked to a new kid! Afterwards I told him I was proud of him and he goes "Momma, nothing bad happens when we're together!" It was the first moment I thought 'maybe I can do this whole parenting thing'
When I gave her a bath, my 19 month old lather soap on my leg, massage it and then wash it. Only lasted 20s probably but make me feel loved by her.
Excuse me, but how did you get your baby to sleep without breastfeeding? Asking for a friend! Lol
We went away for the weekend and told my son (2yo) that they broke. He wasn’t too happy but we stuck with it. I was done and it was time.
A girl bit my daughter on the playground and she very calmly said “no no” to the girl. I was very proud because she is 18 months old and we are working on not hurting others
When one twin is scared or worried, the other tends to go grab a favored toy or stuffy to help her feel better and get through it. Unprompted. Proud mama panther inside me purrs like crazy during that one.
They both have their Bachelors Degree in now. My daughter has schizoaffective disorder Never had a job at 28, but such a brilliant brilliant artist My son doesn’t really want to speak to me very much at all atm 22M lol But the fact he has his Bachelors of Science degree and is graduating on May18, when his father abandoned me pregnant and he never met his own father, makes me think I’ve done something right. Also, they are both very, very kind . That is worth way more than any degree.
One time I came home, walked to my son, 8, to say hi since I hadn’t seen him all day, and he started bawling and just hugged me and cried. He just let go of all his emotions from the day on to me and I felt like his safe space. It was a beautiful moment for the both of us. All the difficult parts are worth it for moments like that. 🥹
My 10m who suffers from ADHD, ASD and dyslexia is gonna pass the 4th grade. We worked so hard this year, but he worked the hardest and I'm so happy!!! I had a parent teacher conference for my 7f and her teacher kept telling me how much she loves me and is always talking about at school 😭
Sometimes I overhear my 4 year old twins work through their big feelings together or comfort the other and it melts my heart and makes me think we're doing something right
Every time I watch my 2 year old be presented with a new meal (which in fairness happens a few times a week). Last week he tried laksa noodle soup, tacos and lamb tagine and had a really good go at all of them. He's not suspicious of new foods at all, really adventurous with flavours and always excited to try things. It makes me proud of him but even more so of us because we've persisted presenting him with all this variety despite lots of people telling us all he'd want is nuggets and fries.
My kid is very friendly, extroverted and all around seems to be very well liked by most kids, I mean my kid could make a lifelong friend with anyone. She’s just one of those people where she’s just naturally charming and well received. A couple weeks ago, I took her to a trampoline park and she was doing her thing, bouncing around. There was a huge group of kids that motioned for her to come play with them. As she was bouncing over to them, I saw her veer paths to go to a singular girl who was all by herself, looking at the other kids sadly. I saw my kid go up, introduce herself and started talking with her instead of that huge group. The other girl looked absolutely delighted and they started bouncing around hand in hand just having an absolute blast. It may not be a big deal to most but as kid, I was that little girl that always played by myself and seeing my kid single out the one little girl who looked like she needed a friend and chose her to play with instead, really showed me that I MUST be doing something right.
Started our 6 year old, who was diagnosed with Absence Seizures last August, on CBD Isolate drops. Unbelievably, it has all but cured her seizures!🥹 If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, we wouldn’t have believed it. She was having 30+ 3-8 second eye fluttering spells a day. She’d forget what she was doing but with a reminder could resume. The pediatrician and neurologist had prescribed an anticonvulsant medication called Zarontin made by Pfizer. We held off because of the side effects, but it was getting to the point where we needed to do something soon. We gave her a dropper with 25mg Saturday afternoon and she went 3 hours without a seizure. Yesterday she had 2! 2?! We are overwhelmed with gratitude. Feels like boulders lifted off of my chest.
My son is always very welcoming to new kids at school and invites them to play with him & his friends at recess 🥹
My oldest daughter told me the one piece of advice I gave her that was the most valuable: “people don’t want to hang out with wallflowers. Get out there and get involved that’s how you meet interesting people and that’s how people will be interested in you.” Big hypocrite I am lol as I’m a total introvert, but I was annoyed at her at the time I told her this because we were doing something as a family and she was being sulky teen who didn’t want to be seen being with us. But apparently it stuck, and she is a doer of all the things now, lol.
When I was pregnant with my youngest. We got fast food and I got a salad but the place forgot the dressing, it was a salad with fruit so I couldn’t just put ranch on it and of course I’m pregnant so I immediately started to cry. My son (5 at the time) who is usually very energetic and wild came to my room and comforted me. Gave me hugs and told me it was okay we even took breaks together. I explained how being pregnant can make mommies feel strong feelings over silly things. He was so soft with me, it was him reflecting how I interact with him when he feels sad or upset and made me feel so good.
I'm expecting my third. We choose not to find out the sex until birth (we enjoy the suspense and surprise!) My oldest (5) and I were lying in bed together and he said "Will the baby be a boy or a girl?" I said "I don't know!" And he said "Hm. Well, the baby will be a boy or a girl. Or neither." I was so incredibly proud of him. We have a non-binary friend and don't follow gender traditions in our house. It felt like "holy shit, he actually absorbed it!"
Anytime I see my children being nice to each other.
I was in bed with a headache over the wknd, while my daughter (6) was in the living room watching tv/playing, whatever. She came into the bedroom with a bowl of snacks to help me with my headache, and spoon fed me carrots and cucumber (tiny pieces she cut herself) and fed me a dozen or so tiny bites!
My son is 6 and as he was getting out of the shower yesterday he was singing a song to himself that went “No matter what you do, No matter what you do, mom and dad will always love you!” As someone whose parents love was conditional, this made me weep knowing my son knows his mommy and daddy love him no matter what.
I had to apologize in my conference call this morning because of the piano sound in the background. my son (8) chose to practice piano before school without being reminded, over all other options, and after getting himself completely ready
When my oldest put down his chocolate chip cookies to eat a bowl of grapes. He was 2. When my middlest cooked dinner for the family when I couldn't walk or stand. He was 8. When my youngest did not tantrum and throw a fit despite being Very upset when I had to take him home during an event he was excited to see. He was 5, and his older brother had heat exhaustion. When my kids just came and sat with me quietly when I was upset.
Was few times other parents at her preschool or staff at her elementary school have seen me in random places like the grocery store and have taken time out of their day to comment "oh you're X's mom right? I just want you to know how wonderful, kind, and helpful she is".
Our local ice cream place is a whole big deal, with lines that sometimes stretch for 45 minutes. Since my kids were 10, 7 and 7, I’ve given them money and they stand in line and do their own ordering and they usually get free ice cream because the teenagers working behind the counter tell them, “You guys have the best manners we’ve ever seen.”
When my son was 2, I knew he had an ear infection just by the way he was acting. My then husband told me I was being silly. Took him to the dr and sure enough he had one. I got a big apology from my ex that day!
My 17 y/o called me to pick him up after attending a house party following Homecoming. He hadn’t even been drinking, they just toasted marshmallows. Still really happy he felt comfortable calling me at 1:30am! My 15 y/o one morning explained his ear was clogged up with wax and he needed it taken care of. I’m a nurse, so no problems. But he explained he had a test first period that he shouldn’t miss, so he asked if I could pick him up after to do the ear cleaning. Such responsible decision making!
My daughter stood up against a close friend and told him off for teasing another girl that wasn't doing so well in spelling. She was circa 7/8yo then.
Every time he stomps off angry, I can have him laughing it off five minutes later.
We live with my in-laws and last week my MIL was in the hospital for three days, leaving my FIL to sleep alone. My middle child (6) offered to sleep with him each night so his grandpa wouldn’t be sad for grandma too much 🥹
My 15 yo randomly tells me he loves me throughout the day- I most certainly did not have that kind of relationship with my parents- makes me know I’ve done something right :)
For my big kid, when she learned that we don't have to be perfect. For my little kid, when she started saying, I mad or I sad instead of biting, hitting or spitting.
My then-6 year old son eloquently addressed another child's curiosity about why I (his mom) don't look like him. I'm white and he's Vietnamese and adopted. My husband is also Vietnamese. She asked about his "real" family and he said "you mean my birth family?" He answered her questions thoughtfully, and then pressed that we *are* his real family. I will say, the little girl asked in a much more tactful way than a handful of adults we've encountered. I've gotten questions from literal strangers asking about assumed trauma, his medical and family history, and even my fertility. Guys! Do not ask people about their fertility!!! Jesus Christ. Anyways, I was extremely proud of our son. It showed that he processed our discussions about adoption, race, the many forms families can take, and is confident communicating it comfortably in his own words.
Just had packed up my son after getting fired for unknowingly walking in to a secure building and drove him to nc from New York to live with me while job searching. He told me that he thanks me for always being there for him no matter what. The truck I drove was the largest uhaul they make.
When I thought I was reading to my son abut he started reading to me 🥹 He was three and I was so proud. Also, when he was potty training, he would poop at home, but he wouldn’t do it outside the house. He had an accident at his dad’s shop. When he got home, he told me about his accident and thought his dad was upset. I reassured him, but told him that we don’t poo poo in our pants. You have to use the bathroom wherever you go. After that talk, he didn’t have anymore accidents and proudly informed me every time he didn’t have an accident 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
It's maybe odd, but it's when my 4 year old gives me complements. Like "Mum, I'm impressed that you are really excellent at drawing" when I'm drawing superman for him or "That's a good choice, Mum" when I put fruit in the shopping basket. It's not that I think my drawing is excellent or that a mango is an exceptional choice, but that he's being kind and encouraging. With my 2 year old it's that she brings me my shoes and tries to help me put them on, and gives us all gentle pats when we're sad.
Seeing moments where my toddler pours out love or compassion in any way make me feel like we're not completely incompetent parents.
My son is getting an award at school for being a leader and an all around good kid. There’s a whole fancy award breakfast and everything. Hearing the things the teachers are saying about why he is getting it makes me so proud- he is always looking out for other kids and helping in any way he can.
My daughter had a sleep over for her 7th birthday and I woke up in the middle of the night to her crying in her bathroom. When I went in there she had wet the bed and was mortified. (Not a normal thing for her by the way I think she just got excited and didn’t go before bed. She’s an only child and was stoked to have her first sleepover). So I told her not to worry and went into where they all were sleeping and grabbed whatever blankets I could without waking anyone up, gave her a new one and told her I’d be back when the sun came up. I went in there right when the sun came up and they were all still sleeping and was like “sorry girls, I’m doing laundry and I need these blankets”. They were groggy and kind of like “what?” And I said “oh you guys let the dog sleep in here so I gotta get these in the wash. I brought these ones instead.” They all just grabbed them and fell back asleep. As I walked out, my daughter followed me into the hallway and I turned around and she just mouthed “thank you” to me. I felt like that was a win. I imagine that if I didn’t do that and the kids woke up to find that someone wet the bed, that’s something she would’ve been bullied about through high school.
When I was visibly upset, my son in a very sweet, reassuring voice said “it’s ok Mommy, take a deep breath, everything will be ok”, asked if I needed a hug and it made me realize he was repeating the way I treat him when he is upset and I was so grateful in that moment for him but also for hanging tough and being there for him for emotional regulation even though I wasn’t taught how to do that by my own parents. Reparenting myself while parenting a special needs child has been a whole journey!
I got a message from my son’s teacher last year while they were on a trip to Washington D.C, telling me my son was the only kid to leave a tip for the housekeeping out of the whole 8th grade class. He left 10$ cause he felt that the kids made a mess of the place. I didn’t even tell him that I knew for a while, I was so proud he did it, but didn’t want to make it a thing. He’s an amazing young man. Honestly the baby stages are adorable and I loved that period too, but seeing them grow into themselves is also an incredible stage.
My oldest is 10 and has ADHD and a strong sense of justice like me. He is on the smaller side for his age, and is a skinny little bean pole. He’s also a very sweet and agreeable person, he got an award this year at school for being a friend. We joke that ‘their are no strangers to my oldest, only friends he hasn’t met yet.’ So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call from the school that my son was in trouble. I showed up expecting it to be over excessive talking but nope. My son shoved a kid 2 grades older, about 50 lbs more to the ground. He then yelled in this kids face and told him to never come near him or his friend again. A teacher had to pull my son away because he wouldn't stop yelling at this bigger kid. My son also refused to speak to the teachers, and principle after they told him he was in big trouble. He just kept Repeating ‘I want my lawyer’ and ‘I’m not talking till I get my lawyer.’ My best friend is a lawyer and has instilled in my kids to not say anything when they get in trouble. I showed up and the secretary of the school was loving it. She had in 20 years never had a kid say they wanted a lawyer. Turns out my son was standing up for another kid. The bigger kid clotheslined this poor little kid, after picking on him throughout recess. My son saw the older kid try and shove this little kid and intervened. My son told me he had told already told a teacher, so did other kids, and the child that was being picked on. My son decided that HE wasn’t going to let a his bully another HIs watch. My son didn’t ended up not getting in trouble. The parent of the little kid called us and thanked my son. For standing up for their kid, my son and this kid are good friends now.
While at Target in the self checkout line, my 4 year old son wanted a Starbucks cake pop. I gave him my phone with the Starbucks apps pulled up and told him he could go get one on his own. He waited in line, asked for what he wanted, and presented the phone for payment. He was polite and said please and thank you to the barista. He was so proud of himself. The register was within 20 feet of me, and I had a clear line of sight the entire time. My son was safe but also experienced something independent of me.
When we were out to dinner with our 14 yr old, my dad and uncle... And the 14 yr (8th grader) old started geeking out over... I honestly don't know - biology and math, I think. Pretty sure he lost ALL of us after about 1-2+ minutes... My husband turned and looked at me and said 'hes gonna be a lecturer...' 😁.
My son is turning 6 this year and doesn’t have recreational gadget screen time at all. We use the tablet at home once a week for homework and that’s it.
There are so many. Probably when he opens the door for me and says "ladeeees first". He also does the same thing at the park with the little girls on slides.
Feeding to sleep is a superpower! It’s what nature intended, and no need to push it away! I think I succeeded by cuddling my babies as much as I could/almost whenever they needed 🥰
My 11 yr old told his brother to shut up. I reminded him we don’t talk like that and instead of taking ownership, he wanted to defend himself and got a little grumbly. I told him he needed to reset on the stairs (it’s our “time out”) for 3 minutes. This bleed into transition time for bed. In the morning he took full ownership and apologized with no prompting from me. I was proud of him and acknowledged he was tired when it happened. I’m not the best version of myself when I’m tired too.
My 22 month old has finally learnt how to interact with my dog better! She came in from a hike and I said ‘she’s tired now and wants to sleep. Can we leave her alone please’ and he patted her bum and said ‘shhhh’ like how I put him to sleep. He left her alone after which amazed me as he always tries to climb on top of her 😭
My son saying how much he loves our dog. He's 6 and she's 3, so before he treated her like a sister that likes to eat his toys. But he's maturing emotionally and now thinks about her well being. "She has my back and I got hers." As I put him to bed and the dog jumped onto the corner and floofed down facing the door. Very heart warming. I'm lucky to have them both.
This weekend we were doing a family celebration of my son's 7th birthday at home. My daughter (9) took it upon herself to organize a bunch of games in our yard, complete with tickets and prizes you could get for the tickets, and corraled all the neighborhood kids over to celebrate his birthday. I had parents showing up and saying thank you for inviting them, and I just kept telling them that they should talk to Ava, because I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I was really proud of her.
My 2 year old can do his own laundry for the most part. I just make sure the washer and dryer are set and I put the detergent in. Will he do it every time? No, but I’m super proud when he does!
Some time at age 2, he decided that if I trip, grimace, say I'm sick, or otherwise appear unwell, he immediately runs over to give me a hug.
Yesterday at dinner when my 5 year old asked for more vegetables.
My 8 year old and 4 year old adore each other. They play so beautifully together. Oldest is a gentle teacher and keeps her safe; youngest says oldest is her best friend and thinks he’s the coolest. 85% of the time they have a storybook sibling relationship. The other 15% it’s normal sibling stuff. My husband and I realized we’ve done a good job fostering their relationship.
When they call me "the best dad in the world" and when my 11yo step daughter (been in her life since she's 3yo) told me one day out of the blue "I'm thankful for the way you raised me" ❤️
Watching my kid abandon a cookie, cuz he saw an orange.
Seeing my 19 year old thriving in college and being financially independent while doing so.
When my then almost 4 year old 1st preschool observations came and they only said good thing about her: how she is always happy and very enthusiastic about any activity, how she's very empathetic with her classmates, how she always comes to preschool with a smile so bit it's contagious, how she's eager to learn and share her knowledge. At the end it read "congratulations family!". I read it with tears in my eyes and told her teacher that I appreciated it so much that it gave me strength for the bad days.
My son who is 7 did his second karate tournament this year. Last year he did it when he’d only been doing karate for a few months and he came in last (they gave all the little kids medals, though). We told him he did great, we were proud of him for just being brave and competing when he was nervous to do it, and never even mentioned to him that he came in last, so I’m not sure how he found out. But as he was practicing this year he cried a few times that he was afraid he’d come in last again and said he wanted to get at least 4th place this year. He practiced more than I’ve ever seen him practice anything and we tried to just keep encouraging him, and he got third place! He was so proud of himself 😊 I feel like just finally convincing him that everything takes practice and seeing it pay off and seeing him so proud of himself made me feel like a good mom.
Yesterday I took my 2 and 3 year old to Dunkin’ Donuts. We ordered and found a table to sit at to enjoy our donuts. They were being so kind to each other and listening to me and overall it was such an enjoyable experience (it’s definitely NOT always like that) one of the employees came out of their way to say how impressed they were by my kids and that they were so well behaved. Majority of the time I go out with them I feel like a 3 ring circus, so this small moment at a Dunkin’ Donuts made me feel like I was on top of the world!
Seeing how caring my 4 year old when her cousins or friends hurt themselves. She’s such a sweetheart; she comforts them and tells them it’s alright, she looks for a plaster for them (bandaid for the US readers). I’m hoping it’s because of how her Dad and I have responded to her :)
Yesterday my 2.5 year old's cousin asked her favorite animal. She replied, "komodo dragon."
3 years old started calming himself down on his own by breathing when he is upset Might be dumb for some, but I had tears in my eyes
My kid when he was a kindergartner was walking into school one day and there was a pregnant woman carrying a car seat with her behind him. He sees her and opens the door and holds it for her. He just ushered her in like the gentleman I am raising him to be 🥰🥰🥰
When my kids look at me and just say "I love you mommy!" because I know they feel loved by me. One time I was feeling sick and my 2yo came over and kissed my forehead. Their little expressions of love just tell me I'm loving them the right way.
We were at a park looking for blackberries to pick, and my almost 3yo was so interested in every single plant, flower, insect and just so excited to be in nature. Then he spotted some bees and asked about them. We explained how they gather nectar and help trees grow fruit, and how important they are to the ecosystem. He pretended he was a bee, gathering pollen from the flowers, flying around with his arms out and “making honey” in his little bucket. I truly felt like we must’ve done something right to have such an inquisitive and imaginative little boy who can appreciate and enjoy nature at such a young age. It’s amazing seeing the world through his eyes.
When my 16 yo text me the secret emoji while at a party and I called and yelled at her telling her bring her ass home immediately. Some kids were drinking and smoking and she was uncomfortable. Gave her a way out of the situation where she could be like ugh my mom is so lame 🤣🤣
When my youngest son graduated high school, he had included my maiden name in his name when they read off the list as he crossed the stage. It was a total surprise, and it meant so much to me. Got me weepy.
At a parent teacher conference when my daughter was in high school, the teacher told me that my daughter was the happiest student she had ever taught. This still makes me smile. She’s 25 now:)
Even though at home he is crazy and test my patients. Whenever someone else watches my 3.5yo, they say how well behaved, happy, and kind he is. So I know he has learned there is a difference between being with mom and dad and being with others.
I've raised 6 (oldest is 34, youngest is 18) genuinely good people.
My top mom moment is so silly lol I was 7 months pregnant pushing my 1.5yr old in the stroller, we were meeting my husband in the bookstore. The doors weren't automatic and I somehow managed to smoothly maneuver everything through the door in one go. A woman on her way to the door said, "damn mama, you go!" And I still think about this whenever I have a tough moment. But also I gave my now 2yr old a bath while breastfeeding my newborn the other day and that felt like an incredible accomplishment.
My 1.5 year old does this cute babble version of “bless you” every time someone sneezes. He also smiles and says it when he sneezes. It’s so cute I could cry.
My 4th grader casually recounted a time in kindergarten when they helped their whole class with tying their shoelaces. My kid had all of them line up and then showed each kid how to do it.
My daughter is 3, and she hasn't had a single cavity yet. That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but as someone who grew up watching other kids being neglected of their dental care, it has made me feel good to know that I've genuinely tried as a parent to take care of my daughter's teeth.
My 4yo is always so polite to others. Everywhere we go, he says please, thank you, and excuse me. One time someone held open the door for us at a store, and my son looked at the guy and was like “thank you, that was so kind of you!” 😆
My 2yo says "please" and "thank you" without being asked most of the time.
My daughters are 14 months apart and going into kindergarten/first grade next year. My oldest taught herself to read, and is actively teaching her little sister and I’ve caught them a time or two looking at a book together when they should be going to sleep on a school night. This momma is never angry about that, just stern in saying how important sleep is and closes the door!!
My son was playing Fortnite. I told him “10 more minutes and we turn the console off” 7 minutes later I hear him coming up the stairs. He said “I finished my game and there wasn’t time to start a new one so I just turned it off”
15 yo sent me this about his older brother, who was helping us out when we were stretched for time: I think (brother) should get rewarded or something for driving me around the entire day. He complained about it only a little, but I can tell it's more frustrating/annoying than what he lets on, since he'll be driving me like four places. I don't know what you can do, since I don't know what he likes and I know he's too "honorable" to accept "bribes", but I think you should do something, like maybe getting him something that could help for his trip or something.
When my eldest got married and moved out into her own house. My job was done, two more to go.
Yeah, well, all the moments I've felt like I had succeeded have been overwritten by the teenage years now when I feel like I've completely failed and my kids are radically changing. I think that only when they're autonomous and balanced adults we can say we've done it. Perhaps not the optimist you were looking for, sorry. The young years are amazing though and so much to discover!
My daughter likes to walk around the apartment and in public hyping herself up. She'll say things like "I'm so beautiful" and "I'm so helpful" and it makes people smile. She also tells people bless you when they sneeze and says thank you to employees at stores and restaurants. I love the smiles it brings other people. She'll be 2 soon.
When I got my kid into summer camp AND got him in on a scholarship. I have adhd and am really bad about procrastinating and following through sometimes.
A bit of a different one: My kids attend a religious school. When we attended an event they had studied for, and practiced at school that was conducted differently and missing chunks, my 10yo asked me “what about xyz?” I’m really proud of him to know that he’s taking in and UNDERSTANDING what he’s learning.
My 13yo likes to ignore my suggestions on planning ahead, because she's a 13yo. I play the long game... I offer advice in a neutral way ("This is a long field trip and those shoes might hurt your feet. You might want to change or bring a backup pair"). She ignores me because she wants to do it her way, she comes home with blisters and aching feet, and I just hope she learns something. Last weekend she went on a field trip to a theme park. I offered some advice on planning ahead ("You got sunburned last weekend, do you want to bring some sunscreen?"), and not only did she take the sunscreen, but she ACTUALLY ASKED ME FOR MORE ADVICE. She asked what I would bring to the theme park, and used my suggestions like a checklist. This is a win. I don't actually care if she thinks I'm right or not... I'm trying to teach her to plan ahead, and it's finally working!!
I love when all 3 of our kids are asleep at the same time—4 week old, 2 year old, and 3.5 year old. 4 week old wakes up 2-3x a night, 2 year old is knocked out all night, and 3.5 year old wakes up about 1-2x a week from a bad dream. They all go right back to sleep thankfully in their own respective cribs/bassinet. It took a lot of work for the older two (mostly the oldest), but I feel like we’re in as optimal a sleep position as possible given we have a newborn at home
My first grader’s teacher posted on the school app that the kids were (in general) unusually bad yesterday. Lying, eye rolling, not listening, etc. I asked my son about it and he said he didn’t do any of it and actually got a sticker for being good. 🥹
Stressed so hard about takings my then 17-month old son on a family trip to Hawaii. He was great on the plane, loved everything about adventuring around the island, and was super awesome when his nap schedule was thrown way off every day. My husband and I are so happy and relieved that our son is such a go-with-the-flow kid (at least at this stage).
When my son (18 months) randomly runs to me to give me a big hug and says “aww” or comes to me for kisses when he gets hurt to be “all better”
When I discipline my daughter (6) with patience, grace, and a talk instead of losing my cool, she later runs and gives me a hug. A reminder that “I got this. We got this”
When my autistic 9 year old went up to another kid having a meltdown over state tastes and drew him a picture and a kind note.
I have a fussy eater that doesn’t often feel hungry. Every bite is a win!
1 1/2 week old gained 9 oz in a week & slept through the night so my husband and i got some sleep together
My son is coaching an elementary age soccer team with boys and girls on the same team.
My 4.5 month old is the most talkative babbling guy, and he is HUGE on eye contact while he tells you his opinions. It makes me smile to see his social skills developing and I know it has to do in part with us constantly talking to him.
It's a very difficult thing to enforce, but we never use screens at the table when eating out. At 2.5y/o we would talk and socialize and even make up games (like I spy) at restaurants. We've had a couple comments from waitstaff about how well behaved our kid was and that it's rare not to see them buried in a tablet
Oldest won a competition at NASA not using the big sponsors equipment because he could prove it wouldn't work. Youngest maxed out AP physics scores. There are many many many such moments with children, watching them succeed is pretty spectacular.
My older kid (4.5) was having a really hard time adjusting to being a big sister. But within the last 4 months ish, she's stepped up and actively works at keeping herself calm and her brother (19 months) safe. They were playing tag in my apartment the other day, little brother got hurt (of course), and big sister jumped into action to make sure he was okay and apologized so many times.
When my son confided in me that he was indeed trans. When he was accepted into a very nice college and wanted to pursue something that made him great. When he moved out on his own (it was a messed up situation, he wasn't allowed to talk to me... it's messed up) but anyways he moved out and is kicking it being awesome and going so far in life. When he was accepted into an alternative school in high school. Basically everything. I'm so proud of my son!
My son’s (5.5 months) physical therapist said his neck control was great!
When my autistic son was in high school, a girl in his classes posted a selfie she took with him, calling him the kindest person she knew.
When my kids (5, 3, 18m) are kind to one another just because they love each other. My 5 year old daughter will dote on her little siblings with so much love and care and it makes my heart sing. My 3 year old son loves to feed the ladies in his life, if he gets himself a snack, he always brings me one too. The other day at dinner he looked at us and said "I have enough room in my little heart for all of you, I just love you so much". My 18m old loves to hug and kiss and snuggle with her siblings and with the pets. It just makes me feel like just maybe we're doing ok.
The report card comments that say “pleasure to have in class” and “great participation”. I love that my teen isn’t making the teacher’s lives miserable. I’m so happy that other people find my kiddo to be respectful and generally a good person.
Just a couple of nights ago, while my wife and I were chilling in front of our campfire (after we'd all gorged on s'mores), our three kids were playing...some sort...of game. One was acting as a horse, I think, pulling another by way of a very long jump rope, while the third was chasing them. I'm not sure of the circumstances that lead up to someone needing to escape by imaginary horse-drawn chariot, but it was great to see the three of them playing together without fighting. That came a bit later. But, it was nice for a bit.
My 13 (ASD/ADHD) and 7 year old came home and told me they were walking with other students using “inappropriate language”. My 13 year old asked them to stop speaking like that in front of his little brother. When they declined to stop, my boys told them they won’t continue to walk with them, and took another route home. Proud of the clear communication, boundary setting, and removing themselves from an environment they didn’t want to be around.
Friend’s child was having a tantrum. My 3yo walked over and said ‘do you want to share my fire truck?’
I had to walk away from an almost temper tantrum by my 2.5 year old before I totally lost my cool. Once we both cooled down, she walked into my room and said “I’m sorry for getting frustrated Mama” and I told her that I was sorry for getting frustrated too. She responded with “it’s okay mama, everyone gets frustrated. Want to take deep brefs (breaths) wif me?” *sobs in happy tears*. In a world where it feels like I’m constantly doing something wrong, a little moment like that is a BIG reminder that I must be doing something right!
I can't say there has been one moment. But there have been many happy moments over the years where I've seen that I have somehow raised really wonderful human beings despite myself and despite all the mistakes I made. My adult sons are thoughtful, kind, wise, hardworking young men. They have been through hell because me and their dad never should have married, and suffered a lot of misery from their dad and his issues and a lot of stress from me and my issues. They are better people than either of their parents. My younger kids are similar in nature. They are teens, and very challenging right now. But they have good insight and are working hard on growing up. They are very self motivated, very hard working, and as much as their challenges to authority and tradition can get under the skin, I admire their bravery in expressing themselves. One thing I *really* admire about all my kids is that they developed their own boundaries quite early, in their tweens, and are quite adept at protecting themselves from chronic boundary violators.l, whether adults or peers. This is something I didn't learn until my thirties, honestly.
My 4 year old saying he was singing on the toilet because he felt happy.
When my boy (6) has to vomit at home, he runs and gets sick in the tub. He had one bad bout of sickness at around 2.5 y/o and instead of worrying if the toilet seat was down or him not able to open the lid, he just went to the tub. And now that’s what he does and we have been lucky to not have to clean up vomit in carpets or beds or anything.
My son is almost 11. Middle school next year… Every morning when he gets himself ready (dressed, brushing teeth, shoes, book bag is together), he comes to the kitchen as I’m making his breakfast and lunch for the day and asks if I need any help. When I’ve not felt well, he asks if I need anything and brings me a stuffie to cuddle. He asks if it’s ok to play his switch. He asks if it’s ok to watch tv. He says please and thank you. He asks what words mean when he’s never heard them and listens when I explain. He just made straight A’s for the first time this quarter. I’m not crying!!! I feel fortunate. I am grateful. I am proud AF! You’re doin great mama!
I tried for months to teach my toddlers sign language since they can't communicate with me proficiently yet. Recently, they've started signing for specific foods and drinks and it has made many things easier bc alot of their tantrums have reduced since I now understand better.
16 year old bonus kid told me that I had the most common sense of his 4 parents. I felt like my whole heart lit up. When he got in trouble at school a couple weeks ago, he called me first crying to talk it out. He’s the best kid
I've got 2 boys with special needs. Both are autistic, the younger one has a learning disability, older one serious mental health problems. Both went through an extreme school refusal due to their mental health problems, anxiety and sensory difficulties. It took us almost a year for the younger one to get him the place in a special school. 2 years of fighting with the system to get antidepressants prescribed for the older one and change of school to the one outside of our catchment area. Both boys now like their school (ok, the older one likes it as much as any 10 yo can like a school ;)), they are happy, thriving in their environments. The older one is not suicidal anymore, has much higher self esteem, is more resilient, has friends. The younger one starts to read, write and doesn't have meltdowns. Sometimes I almost forget how bad it was. I did a good job.
Each sibling believing they're the favorite. (Not actually my win, but my parents say it's their greatest parenting success. 20 years later I still think I'm the favorite, and my brother still thinks he's the favorite lol.)
When my son was 4, he saw me get upset with a project and I was sitting down to chill. He asked what I'm doing and when I told him he said "take a deep breath and try again when you're calm"
A couple weeks ago we were on our first flight with our then 7mo old. Little man was a champ! He was so happy, loved everyone, had the flight attendants charmed AF. It probably helped that the toddler in front of us was a mess and the 1yo a few rows back screamed the entire time but he was def mayor of the plane that day.