My boyfriend and I haven't been together for a very long time, but it has already started to feel very serious and I see the potential for a longterm future together. We are both extremely close with our families and I know that family life and children are a huge priority for both of us. We're on the same page there. However... By extraordinary coincidence we both suffer from the same rare, semi-inheritable disease.
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posted by anonymous
on May 10, 2013 -
25 answers
After 2 years of marriage my wife (age 33) still doesn't want to have children while I (age 35) desperately want ones. Before marriage we have discussed it and she said that she would like to wait "for about a year" before trying for a baby. I agreed. Now she is saying that she isn't ready yet, and won't be ready for another 2 years. I thought that we have an agreement, but I was mistaken. Is it at all possible that she will change her mind, or postponing children for more years is just a stalling tactic on her behalf?
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posted by anonymous
on May 5, 2013 -
64 answers
So my wife is pregnant. Hooray! (Still early enough that we don't know the gender). We're starting to think about names. It seems to me that the world's great hope and story of progress is the expansion of rights and consideration of the views & interests of an ever-widening swath of humanity. Which historical figures stand for pluralism, for rejecting provincialism, in word or deed? I've picked up, but haven't yet read
Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism; I'd be grateful for suggestions of books or other resources that might be useful.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 29, 2013 -
30 answers
Looking for ideas, suggestions and any anecdata on how you've helped a child with depression. Also looking for ideas on how to help a child that is extremely obstinate and refuses to go to school.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 18, 2013 -
20 answers
If you have experienced child sexual abuse and came to some sort of healing what do you wish you had known from the beginning? What words of advice do you have for someone just beginning to go down that path?
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posted by anonymous
on Jan 19, 2013 -
17 answers
My SO wants kids and would make a great dad. The trick is, I don't want to be "the mom."
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posted by anonymous
on Oct 24, 2012 -
60 answers
Moving to a better school zone. Should I do it? Tough decisions concerning moving, staying put, and financial future.
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 25, 2012 -
19 answers
Does anyone have experience with toddlers and keeping them away from testosterone gel? I’m trying not to be a crazy-mom but we are visiting a relative soon who will be new to using the gel and we will all be new at the protocols.
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posted by anonymous
on Jul 23, 2012 -
6 answers
My wife keeps a list of all the words our 1 year old has learned to say. As a present I thought it might be nice to commission an artist to make a collage of them that we could put on the wall. I'm in London, England.
I have no idea how one would do this, or if it would be affordable (I'd be prepared to spend up to around a thousand pounds). Can you commission an artist - and if so, how would you find one?
posted by anonymous
on Jun 16, 2012 -
16 answers
About four months ago my best friend and my husbands best friend hooked up and started a relationship. She has a kid and everything seemed fine until the weekend when we saw them all together. Questionable actions on the new boyfriends part.
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 4, 2012 -
37 answers
Please help me understand how to make our home economics work: we want to have children, but I don't see how we can afford to.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 28, 2012 -
35 answers
Happy DINK having doubts: How do you discern between real change in baby-making opinion and just temporary hormonal brooding?
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posted by anonymous
on Feb 19, 2012 -
53 answers
The other day my 13 year old received an application for a Discover Card in the mail. At the time, I dismissed it as junk mail. Trans Union mentions that receiving applications may be a sign of a problem, and even has a site related to the issue
here. While diving into a fraud investigation request for one application seems overkill, how common is this, and at what point does one start monitoring all this?
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posted by anonymous
on Feb 8, 2012 -
10 answers
Fears about the future interfering with the now? Or: how hard I should try to convince him to give us another shot.
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posted by anonymous
on Jan 22, 2012 -
17 answers
What are some informative self-help books and other resources (preferably online or UK-based) for adults dealing with abusive parents who have undiagnosed cognitive deficits and are emotionally stunted?
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posted by anonymous
on Jan 1, 2012 -
2 answers
This is not going to be pretty. I need to know if there is any way for me to maintain a life with my children if I cannot maintain one with my wife.
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 26, 2011 -
91 answers
Neighbour is social-media shy; I am not. Any 'best practices' for dealing with this when you still want to Facebook the kid's birthday party snaps?
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 16, 2011 -
69 answers
Having a surprise biological child after adoption, especially with older children in a sibling group who will be 10-20 years older than the new one. They're happy, we're happy right now - but what issues should we expect? And what about the stupid 'finally your own real child' comments starting?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 6, 2011 -
9 answers
Some heavy shit went down this week and I've become the unwilling party to a new family secret. I want to tell one or two trusted family members because it affects them to a lesser degree. Can people with calmer heads and more perspective help me sort through this and figure out the best line to take?
(Caution: longwinded)
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posted by anonymous
on May 25, 2011 -
58 answers
Is there any legal (or otherwise) recourse if one parent is falsifying their child's background with a psychologist to make the other parent look like a villain? Could it really be causing them to misdiagnose my son? Sorry for the dreadful complicated story inside...I really tried to short-story it.
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posted by anonymous
on May 8, 2011 -
10 answers
My relationship with 'the one' ended about 6 months ago. We were together 5 years and I'm now 32. As a woman, I'd like to get married and have children sometime in the next decade. I just feel like it's never gonna happen. Any encouraging words from those that found love after their prime 'love-finding' years?
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 21, 2011 -
46 answers
I had an abortion a five years ago, and I want to completely let it go and forget it ever happened.
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posted by anonymous
on Jan 20, 2011 -
39 answers
Is there a way for me to post videos of my toddler online - which include some of her in the bathtub - without worrying about being investigated as a paedophile?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 24, 2010 -
15 answers
If you come from a religious family but are no longer religious yourself: what sort of spiritual upbringing did you have? Did any factors in your home religious life contribute to your decision to leave?
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 2, 2010 -
70 answers
I feel really guilty, because of social and family pressure, for not wanting kids. I am sure my guilt over feeling like I want kids is less painful than having a kid I don't really want. Will this feeling of "I'm not an upright citizen because I don't want babies" go away? How can I make it better? How do MeFites without kids (by choice, or not) cope with being asked about it?
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posted by anonymous
on Oct 10, 2010 -
51 answers
There is a very small, but still nonzero, chance that my brother-in-law might be a pedophile. I have a toddler daughter who is very close to her aunt. How can I tactfully gather more information about this, and how should I handle it with my family?
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posted by anonymous
on Oct 5, 2010 -
59 answers
I want to do the responsible thing and buy my children health insurance when our COBRA policy expires this month. I am being told that this is simply not possible due to the "unforeseen consequences" of healthcare reform going into effect 9/23/2010. Surely I'm missing something. Can someone explain what's going on and what I can do before they go uninsured 10/1?
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posted by anonymous
on Sep 11, 2010 -
9 answers
Want to start school and get our life on track, but how? I've made some mistakes in college by not showing up an entire semester so my GPA is 1.05, even the lower university's here in TN like austin peay won't take me because my grades suck. I live a hour away from the two community colleges in my area. I also have to figure out how I'm going to give my family a place to live, I lost my job in missouri and moved down to TN with my mom.
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 26, 2010 -
37 answers
I am a newly single 40 year-old woman who’d like to be in a stable relationship and to start a family. I’m afraid that the man I’m looking for does not exist.
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 24, 2010 -
35 answers
My partner and I are ontemplating separation and I am thinking of moving several towns over. I have read stories of parents separating and the benefits of the two homes being close as in a few blocks. But what should I know about making it work for myself and my kid when the homes are further apart?
I would like to hear positive advice from parents and kids who have negotiated two homes with a little distance between them . Were their plusses to this distance to balance out the minuses? How did you make it work?
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 7, 2010 -
14 answers
I need to figure out whether or not I want kids, before I accept my boyfriend's proposal. I think that I don't, but I have almost no experience with them. What are some places that might allow me (a stranger with no babysitting experience) to spend time with young kids, so I can start to make up my mind?
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posted by anonymous
on Jul 14, 2010 -
46 answers
I always thought I wanted kids. Then I spent ten days alone with my niece, and now I am pretty sure I would rather have a hole in my head. Am I rightly discouraged? Or am I just getting cold feet?
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posted by anonymous
on Jul 13, 2010 -
79 answers
How can I help my three kids adjust to my plans to move in with my girlfriend? Specifically, how important is alone time with dad?
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posted by anonymous
on Jul 9, 2010 -
14 answers
Can we split the tax exemptions by giving one parent two children (exemptions) in odd years, one child (exemption) in even years?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 24, 2010 -
9 answers
Parents of children in elementary school: what do you do when time outs don't work any more?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 21, 2010 -
31 answers
My friend has asked me to have a conversation with her about whether she should leave her husband for a new man. I have a strong view: should I tell her and can I do so in a way that is constructive? What else should I consider about the content and format of what I say?
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posted by anonymous
on Jun 3, 2010 -
27 answers
