5AF Parenting Thread

Postby **count2infinity** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:19 pm

Having a kid in daycare truly sucks.

You can be a stay at home dad…

Postby **meow** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:21 pm

Trophy dad

Postby **NTP66** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:23 pm

I don’t miss those mortgage daycare payments at all.

Postby **King Colby** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:06 pm

Not gonna lie I'm freaking the **** out about child care.

Prince is 4 but won't start kindergarten until fall 2023 so I'll essentially have 3 kids in need of care from about October 2022 - June 2023 (post maternity leave until the end of the school year), one of which will need to go to pre school.

And I don't know that a year off is an option for the Mrs...

Postby **mac5155** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:38 pm

Yeah Lil mac Sr turns 5 on Sept 1 (2023). So we're likely looking at an entire extra year of daycare, or sending him to kindergarten as a 4 year old (which I'm not sure is even allowed). It sucks. There are days when I think he'd be fine but others where I know he needs more development.

Postby **mac5155** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:40 pm

Having a kid in daycare truly sucks.
You can be a stay at home dad…

You have a girl, right? One doesn't simply be a stay at home work from home dad to a male toddler lol

Postby **count2infinity** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:49 pm

No no… just stay at home.

Postby **King Colby** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:01 am

Yeah Lil mac Sr turns 5 on Sept 1 (2023). So we're likely looking at an entire extra year of daycare, or sending him to kindergarten as a 4 year old (which I'm not sure is even allowed). It sucks. There are days when I think he'd be fine but others where I know he needs more development.

Yeah mines sep 16th. He would probably be ready this fall but I'd rather he be one of the oldest in his class than the youngest. Rather bite the bullet now

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:50 am

My brother is a Sept birthday and my parents sent him early. Didn't seem to jeopardize him at all. I wonder if they did that to keep me and him closer together - 2 grades apart instead of 3.

Postby **King Colby** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:20 am

My 3rd will be a late june/early July birthday. I can definitely see sending her early because I'm sure by then I'll be ready for everyone to be the F out of here

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:32 am

We have 3.5 more years of daycare tuition to pay and already have a spreadsheet with our 2026 budget laid out.

Can't wait

-Bart Scott

- robbie

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:38 am

I had to e-mail the school principal today because of how bad the drop off line is in the morning. Some parents wait in line without letting their kids out, and instead wait until they're at the end of the drop off line (the sidewalk runs parallel to the entire drop off lane). And then some of them get out of their car and stand around while the kids get out. THEN these NTP66s turn left, which holds the line up again (no left turn allowed). And it's always the same **** people every morning.

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:44 am

Remember in high school when there was a pizza party and the teacher would say "Two slices only until everyone gets their pizza" and you see Tim up there with 4 slices on his plate with a big ole grin on his face? Those people are still dickheads when they grow up. They tend to not grow out of that attitude of "I do whatever is easiest and best for me, f*ck anyone else..."

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:47 am

I don't even know if it's that, or that they simply don't see that they're making poor choices that affect not only them, but everyone else. Everyone else's kid is getting out of the cars - why isn't yours?

Postby **mac5155** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:49 am

Not sure if any new parents are in need of a new car seat but I was just at Walmart and they had several types and brands at heavy discounts. A Britax marathon for like $110, Chicco keyfit for & $85, Graco 3 in 1 $84. Also several strollers to go with the seats discounted also.

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:49 am

I don't even know if it's that, or that they simply don't see that they're making poor choices that affect not only them, but everyone else. Everyone else's kid is getting out of the cars - why isn't yours?

In my mind, they're all the same people. Whether they are knowingly f*cking things up for others or blissfully unaware, they're the same people: focused on themselves and themselves alone.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:13 am

Source of the post Britax marathon for like $110

That's a steal, and I was a big fan of ours. Would recommend.

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:31 am

Kiddo is turning 4 in April and we're starting to think about the summer. I don't think a beach vacation would be very fun. We'd just be pretty much hanging out somewhere else instead of hanging out at home. I was thinking amusement parks, science centers/museums, maybe Legoland in New York?

If there's any hidden gems within the 4-6 hour drive of central PA, I'd love to hear them.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:39 am

If you go to NY, I highly, highly recommend a trip to the Bronx Zoo. It's by far our favorite zoo. We're looking to start our annual trips back there this spring.

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:53 am

Yeah... we went to the Cleveland Zoo last summer, and she really liked it. She still talks about getting to feed the giraffe.

My current list:
-Delgrossos: close, won't require a dog/house sitter, and we know she loves it as we've gone before.
-Hershey park: Again, close. We might be able to do it in just a one day, no overnight stay.
-Baltimore: Aquarium, children's museum, and zoo.
-New York: my brother used to live in Manhattan, most recently Brooklyn, and I'm not sure where he'll be this summer, but he'll be able to show us some of the best spots and I've heard the Zoo in the Bronx is awesome. Legoland is too much further away and I think that'd be really cool because she loves building blocks.
-Maryland/Deleware beach: Potentially for a 3 or 4 day stay.
-Outerbanks: My sister lives near by. Would be nice to visit, but these sort of huge trips require a lot of planning in advance, and are much better when you travel with large groups rather than just you and your kid (bigger house/shared expenses).

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:03 am

Kiddo is turning 4 in April and we're starting to think about the summer. I don't think a beach vacation would be very fun. We'd just be pretty much hanging out somewhere else instead of hanging out at home. I was thinking amusement parks, science centers/museums, maybe Legoland in New York?

If there's any hidden gems within the 4-6 hour drive of central PA, I'd love to hear them.

We did Legoland in Columbus. Wasn't earth shattering but worth doing once. We also did Hershey this year, but only the chocolate tour. Didn't do the amusement park. OK for killing an hour or two.

Not sure if your girl is in to boy stuff, but Diggerland outside Philly was really cool.

This may be slightly at the edge of your 6 hour requirement, but Hocking Hills in Ohio is a place we may end up going every year. @eddy would also vouch for it.

Finger Lakes may be something worth while, but not sure what you are all into.

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:09 am

I think if it were just my wife and I, lake/beach would be great. Maybe even back to the smoky mountains. We haven't been there since we got engaged a decade ago. But with my kid... she doesn't seem to be a beach kind of person.

Just looked up this Diggerland place. I think that'd be perfect for her. She loves that stuff.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:21 pm

I had to e-mail the school principal today because of how bad the drop off line is in the morning. Some parents wait in line without letting their kids out, and instead wait until they're at the end of the drop off line (the sidewalk runs parallel to the entire drop off lane). And then some of them get out of their car and stand around while the kids get out. THEN these NTP66s turn left, which holds the line up again (no left turn allowed). And it's always the same **** people every morning.

Oh man, that would tick me off lol.

Our daughter's drop off line runs pretty smoothly--two lanes, and up towards the drop off point, they merge. 99.5% of the time, everyone takes turns just fine. On the rare occasions a car in the closer lane inches up to keep the other lane from merging, they get a lot of sht.

Postby **meow** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:32 pm

baby meow will turn 5 days before kindergarten starts. We asked our Pediatrician if she should go and he said definitely. So she will be 5 for like three days before going to kindergarten.

Postby **RonnieFranchise** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:39 pm

People need to have their kids ready to bolt as soon as they open the door. If your kid has a freaking project that's gonna involve opening your tailgate, park in the parking lot and do that ****.

Also some parents like to sit and watch their kid actually enter the school before they get moving. It's like 20 steps and there's a teacher there monitoring at all times. Susie's going to be OK. This is middle school BTW so it's not like these are 6 year olds who might get distracted by a bug or something.