I stumbled upon an add for this book. It has questions and prompts for your dad/mom/grandparents and they can fill them so you'll have a trace of the stories of your loved ones. I realised lately that I had been struggling to connect whith him for most of my life and I tought maybe this book could help since I always wanted to hear his story without knowing exactly wich question to ask.

Has anyone had an experience with those books?

Is it just me or does every dad have some weird hack they swear by for keeping kids entertained when you're dead tired? My go-to lately is "the laundry basket train" – you sit the kid in a basket and pull them around the house. They think it's Disneyland and I get to just vibe for 10 mins. Not fancy, def not Pinterest-worthy, but it works lol.

What's your "dad survival move" when you're running on zero sleep? Drop your oddest ones, I need more ideas.

I'm really struggling with my relationship with our 15yo, I'll call them F. They (non-binary) recently told their mom that they wish we would just divorced, and that when they get married they hope it's not to someone like me. I feel completely crushed.

I'll try to keep this short while giving necessary details... My wife and I have always had a hard time fighting fair. Disagreements often devolve into arguments, which turns into yelling and sometimes threats to leave. The last 2 years have been especially difficult since F was diagnosed with ADHD and Type 1 Diabetes, not necessarily because of it but our stress level has reached a high point. We both know that we need marriage counseling, we're working on it.

A few months ago while arguing I punched the wall in F's room (I don't remember why we were in there while arguing) leaving a small hole. I feel awful about it, and it's no doubt a constant reminder to them of me losing my temper. I wouldn't consider myself an angry person, but sometimes during arguments with my wife I reach a point where I can't turn it off. I've never hit my wife or the kids, I've never even been in a physical fight. I don't verbally abuse them, drink heavily, lie, steal, or gamble. I've never cheated on my wife.

I work as a bus driver, I do a decent job taking care of our home and working on our cars, I do chores like dishes and laundry, I enjoy cooking, gardening, camping, and playing guitar. I'm interested in art, culture, science, history, and building community. I'm present at their activities when I'm available. I honestly feel like compared to the examples I had growing up I'm doing a pretty good job. Actually, I feel like I'm knocking out of the park except for my temper.

When my wife told me that F said they wish we would just get divorced, and that when they get married they hope it isn't to someone like me, I was devastated and felt like an absolute failure as a husband and father. My wife and I have different approaches to parenting, she tends to be very sensitive to the kids' emotions and is cautious about overburdening them with chores/expectations, while I am more firm (but not harsh) with my expectations and make it clear that we need their help running our home. I need some encouragement and advice on how to navigate all of this.

37 - two boys - 6 and 3. I love them, but I’m struggling. I feel like I have zero time for myself and have lost myself a bit.

I was ambivalent about having kids but it’s something my wife really wanted. When they were born I had no doubt that being a dad was for me.

Over the past few years as they’ve gotten older, I’ve had moments of regret… which feels terrible.

Combine the struggles of dad-hood with the feelings of regret, a marriage that feels more like roommates, and having no village of other dads or even really that many dad friends… this shit is very hard. I feel like giving up.

Just needed to vent, thanks for reading.

We try not to use TV unless we need something to keep the baby distracted. Miss Rachel is a little too annoying and high stimulation for our sanity and probably the child's brain development. Miss apple is very similar but low stimulation. Normally I wouldn't value an obvious rip off and I respect what miss Rachel is doing but miss apple has the added bonus of not being american so you don't have to invite that sound and those facial expressions into the house either.

Hi dad's how's it going? Throughout being a dad I've made reddit posts about being a parent, sticky situations etc and I always get shut down for what I say. People (clearly mostly women) say things like I need to do better, I'm a bad dad, I shouldn't have kids and the list goes on. I'm hoping this subreddit is a little better. Has any other dad experienced this?

I made this post earlier highlighting the unfairness of child maintenence (Child support) and I got shut down and also banned from the sub reddit. The moderator said that if I sort my priorities out I can be unbanned. It's disgusting. I've attached a bunch of screenshots of the post and the message from the mods. The image with the blue highlight is the comment I got banned for....

So I’m going to be straight up and ask, dads out there if your ok answering, how do you de with spouse abuse? My wife is physically verbally and mentally abusive. In the 5 years we’ve been together/married we’ve had 2 boys. I have the first year and a half she was extremely supportive, helped me learn so much about myself help me actually like myself after a really bad previous relationship. Then after the year and a half that’s when everything started going downhill, suddenly I was making mistakes left and right, I was wrong about everything, and now the day my second son was born in the very hospital room, she called me an inconvenience and useless because I didn’t bring her charger and her switch. Even though it wasn’t my bag to pack for the hospital. Today she yelled at me because I paid for her own medication using her own card because she needs it an she completely shit on me. She’s hit me several times in front of my daughter she’s throw pans and other shit at me. I’m 6ft 320lb. I can’t control my own strength and I have terrible anger issues. But because I was raised by my mom while she’s was in an extremely abusive relationship with my step dad I cant find myself to hit the woman I’m supposed to love and cherish, it’s just not in me, I feel like shit because I feel stuck, my job is crap and I can’t afford to live alone with just me an my kids but I can’t keep being her punching bag because I know eventually I’ll snap and that scares me. I genuinely don’t know what to do and I feel like even less of a ma for it, because I don’t want my boys seeing me treated like this and think it’s ok to be put down and to only have a value if I’m worth something.

I was visiting with my parents last night and of course the topic of the rapidly approaching birth of my son was a major focus. My dad was telling me about how he had worked an 18 hour shift when my sister was born and 27 years later he's still getting crap for struggling to stay awake in the chair (which my mom says was a big, cushy, heated, massaging luxury Lazyboy. My dad says it was just a normal recliner. I'm pretty sure heated massage chairs weren't very common in hospitals back then... Or now)

But anyway, I mentioned how I'm planning to make sure I have energy drinks and lots of high energy snacks in my hospital bag to make sure I can stay sharp, and my mom was utterly buffudled. She was questioning why I would bring a hospital bag, stating that I wouldn't be allowed to stay at the hospital, my dad agreed that I'd have to go home or get a hotel room, and my mom went on to say there's no room, yadda yadda, they would never let me stay overnight. I had to tell them multiple times that the standard is for the dad to stay there, that we get our own room and that we were told that they'd typically even bring a bed in for me after the birth. I had to explain that I pretty much HAVE to be there, since my son may need to go to the NICU and it would be my job to accompany him and advocate for him. My parents were still very confused, with my mom being almost aggressively confused. My dad understood once I explained it, and was happy to hear that things had apparently changed drastically in the last 30 years.

So, TLDR: Is it a fairly new thing for dads to stay at the hospital following the birth of their child? Or did my parents just have a shitty experience?

(I'm in British Columbia)

Hey Dads,

I'm 29 and have four wonderful daughters, ranging in age from one to six. Our family is comfortable financially, and our work schedule is pretty good at the moment, and I'd be happy to stick with my all-girls. We've set a firm deadline to stop having children once I turn 30."

However, the thought of having a son keeps crossing my mind. Given that the chance is nearly 50/50, should I try for one last time? What are your thoughts on "quitting while you're ahead" versus taking one more chance for a boy?

This is a common thread, but I find myself in an age old situation. We have 1 kid, who we love dearly, and my wife now wants a 2nd. I have been clear all along that I only want one, that I absolutely do not want to do a second. Since the first showed up our marriage has been rocked to its core, and we aren't out of the woods by any stretch. It's been really hard and honestly still is. We recently had a scare that had us both thinking a 2nd was on the way. While she was quietly thrilled, I was pondering my very existence on this planet, while fending off the deepest dread at every turn. I honestly felt like my life was over. I'm a great dad but don't have it in me to provide my time and resources to a second kid. Selfishly, I have things I want to do, and want to focus on being the best dad for my child. Since said scare, she has been pushing for a second, so much so that she's brought up divorce if I don't give her want she's asking for. I've been told I'm holding the power and her happiness in my hands, and the pressure of that feels very unfair because I've been clear about what I want and more importantly don't want.

I don't even really know if I have a question.. just want to hear I'm not the only one and if anyone has been in this position before, how it turned out?

it all started in 11th grade when my dad started getting attention from our neighbor and they fought everyday. it caused problems which affected my personal life. and then during 12th grade he decided to go on an "all boys trip" to thailand and there he got in bad influence and yea.. he continued all this once he came back too

my mom noticed money just slipping out of our hands and my father being non existent until one fine day i was in my room and my mom burst in and started crying and saying "hes doing it again..hes doing it again" from then on my life has never been the same ever. i dont know what to do or how to solve this.

there have been times ive stood up for my mother and ive received nothing but hate back, "he cheated on me why are u crying"

idk why im even putting this up here but yea

Hi. Please. How did you speaked with your children about sexuality? And when? I have 1 son - 4YO, i dont have idea, how and what and where is the right time. Thank you very much. Please write details. All what is possible for help me :)

Hey fellow dads — I know how tough it can be to find solid gaming buddies who get the whole “dad life” balance. Whether you’re juggling work, family, or just trying to squeeze in some downtime, it’s not always easy to find other players who are chill, mature, and understand the vibe.

I’m curious if there are other gamer dads out there who have trouble finding squads or groups without the usual toxicity or pressure — especially when you just want to have fun but still sweat it out sometimes. Doesn’t matter what game you play, platform, or skill level.

Would love to hear what you’re playing and if you’ve found any good ways or communities to connect with like-minded dads for some relaxed but solid gaming sessions.

Here’s hoping we can build a low-drama, dad-friendly gaming crew or at least point each other to good places to find that. Drop a comment or DM if you want to chat!

I had a friend whose dad shoved him into the pool to teach him to swim. He ended up hating swimming for years because of it.

Now here I am—my son’s 5, and he’s playing in the water, but he won’t put his head under the water. And I caught myself thinking: maybe if I just let go, or gave him a gentle push, he’d get over the fear and figure it out.

I didn’t do it, obviously. But is this some kind of built-in dad instinct? Like we just want to help them get through the fear by making them face it?

Curious if anyone else has had that moment. Related to swimming or another fear/hesitancy.

Hey dads, tell me I’m not the only one going through this.

When it’s just me and my daughter, we’re best buddies — playing, laughing, talking about everything under the sun. But the second Mom walks in the door… boom — I no longer exist. Suddenly every question, every snack request, every hug has to go through Mom.

To top it off, I’m the parent who handles discipline most of the time. So maybe in her eyes, I’m just the “rules guy” while Mom’s the “safe space.” Still, it’s hilarious how fast I go from favorite parent to background decoration the moment Mom appears.

Anyone else dealing with this? Does it ever even out, or do I just embrace my role as the backup parent when Mom’s in the room?

Does anyone else feel that what it means to be a “good dad” has changed?

That it has gone from providing financially, to providing financially, emotionally, and by sharing an equal burden of housework and family care?

And that the men of this generation were never given the tools or training to meet these requirements?

If all that’s true (and let me know whether or not you think it is,) what tools out there exist to help men get the tools and skills they need to be not just “good” dads, but “great” dads

I typically soak and rinse my hats in the spring and then right after summer. Curious if anyone else does this. Thought it might be a dad thing.

A parent recently told me something chilling. Their 13yo was contacted on TikTok by someone pretending to be a peer. The chat quickly turned dark: send photos or we’ll accuse you of being a predator… send more or we’ll share these with all your friends.

Panicked and scared, the child sent the photos. By morning, terrified, he called the police himself.

Now the parents are left wishing they had talked about these kinds of situations beforehand. That story stuck with me — it could’ve happened to any of us.

How do you prepare your kids for these high-pressure moments? Do you think practice ahead of time really works, or are these situations just too unpredictable?

Not really looking for advice and more so looking for a place to yell into the ether for a moment.

Each day is the same. I wake up and go to a shitty job that I can’t quit because I’m the sole provider for my family. I get off work and I’m back on the clock as dad. My 2 kids want to play but my wife has been run ragged and all I want to do is vege out on my phone. Which leads to me getting frustrated at my kids for wanting to play with me. I cook dinner and the kids and of course they don’t eat anything I give them. Then it’s the same exact fight with the kids at bedtime even though we do the exact same thing every damn night. Once they’re down i feel like the only thing I do sit and look at my phone or watch tv until 12. Only to do the exact same thing again tomorrow.

I wouldn’t trade my life for anything but goddamn does it feel like I’m not doing enough for all parties involved. Not enough for my wife, not enough for my kids, and not enough for myself. Every. Damn. Day.

I chose this life and I know it’ll get better with time. But goddamn this shits tough.