What is your parenting fantasy? How far are you from it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four kids around the dinner table all talking and arguing and laughing. I'm an only child, so this was always my fantasy growing up.

I have four kids -- they do this while they eat. They also play games. Sometimes they say a line from a song or movie and the next kid has to say the next line. Or sometimes they say "Who am I?" and then act out a line someone else frequently says and the others have to guess.

[Anonymous]

My 16 month old goes to sleep alone, sleeps through the night for the first time in his life, and I sleep for the first time since 16 months. I know it won’t happen, still wakes every 2 hours and only bottle will settle him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My youngest is almost 5 and I feel like I have reached it. They are all still sweet and want to be with us, everyone sleeps in their own bed, goes to bed easily, eats regular food, no diapers or bottles, can travel and handle time changes fine and are mostly delightful little people. I am dreading the middle school years because I fear they will no longer be so sweet and loving and happy with so much family time.

I’m well into the middle school years and our kids are still sweet, at least some of the time. Our oldest (a boy) is the sweetest and funniest he’s ever been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It’s weird to me that in your parenting fantasy you don’t actually interact with your kids.

It's weird to me that you would find the need to comment on someone else's fantasy.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 16 month old goes to sleep alone, sleeps through the night for the first time in his life, and I sleep for the first time since 16 months. I know it won’t happen, still wakes every 2 hours and only bottle will settle him.

Your 16 month old still wakes every two hours for a bottle? you need a sleep consultant stat. That is not ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 16 month old goes to sleep alone, sleeps through the night for the first time in his life, and I sleep for the first time since 16 months. I know it won’t happen, still wakes every 2 hours and only bottle will settle him.

Your 16 month old still wakes every two hours for a bottle? you need a sleep consultant stat. That is not ok.

This. Something is not right. You’ve trained your kid to do this. No 16 month old needs a bottle in the middle of the night, especially every 2 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 16 month old goes to sleep alone, sleeps through the night for the first time in his life, and I sleep for the first time since 16 months. I know it won’t happen, still wakes every 2 hours and only bottle will settle him.

Your 16 month old still wakes every two hours for a bottle? you need a sleep consultant stat. That is not ok.

This. Something is not right. You’ve trained your kid to do this. No 16 month old needs a bottle in the middle of the night, especially every 2 hours.

Yeah time to Ferber. I imagine you are slightly insane from the chronic sleep deprivation and that’s the reason you haven’t implemented this earlier.

[Anonymous]

Two teens here! Fantasy:

Both get into colleges they are happy with and we can afford (or they get merit aid), end up at jobs that make them happy and pay them enough to live well, find true partners in love and life, have respectful, kind, loving relationships with those partners, eventually have healthy kids of their own....

[Anonymous]

I would love well mannered kids who get along with eachother. My twins fight all day long and I've tried to stop it for years.

[Anonymous]

I look forward to eating mushrooms with my kids. A few years away from that...

[Anonymous]

I want my kid to wake up fully potty trained. My son is 2 and 4 months and hasn’t shown any signs of readiness but my husband has a bug up his ass that we need to do it now. He starts preschool in September and they will help. My thought is to let the professionals and peer pressure get him ready and then we can follow through. Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four kids around the dinner table all talking and arguing and laughing. I'm an only child, so this was always my fantasy growing up.

I have four kids -- they do this while they eat. They also play games. Sometimes they say a line from a song or movie and the next kid has to say the next line. Or sometimes they say "Who am I?" and then act out a line someone else frequently says and the others have to guess.

This was my dream, too. I grew up in a quiet, lonely house. My DH and I only have one child. Life just didn’t work out how we wanted it to. But our one does create a lot of noise and chaos. ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so weird/random but mine is camping. Two little girls in baseball hats, climbing trees and rocks while my husband and I drink beers and set up a campfire for dinner.

My daughters are 2.5 and 3 mos now, so still quite awhile to go, but I am hopeful I will realize this fantasy someday.

We started camping with our second when she was 4 months old. So not so far away for you. It can be magical.

My fantasy involves having a big family— like 4 or 5 kids. But what I’ve got is pretty good.

[Anonymous]

My son has a full ride to a great school and will be living in a dorm a couple hours away. He is leaving for college in the next few days.
He is planning to major in CS and is already making some money by coding. He is a trouble free kid who knows what he wants and is staying out of trouble.
I go to bed every night with a pleasant thought of being an empty nester soon...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has a full ride to a great school and will be living in a dorm a couple hours away. He is leaving for college in the next few days.
He is planning to major in CS and is already making some money by coding. He is a trouble free kid who knows what he wants and is staying out of trouble.
I go to bed every night with a pleasant thought of being an empty nester soon...

I forgot to add that I am 9 years away from it.