u/Fun_Orange_3232

Hi! My 6 yo is interested in resin art and I know… Nothing. Any thoughts about an easy and interesting first project appropriate for his age?

How are you handling kids becoming aware of money? My 6yo step kid is increasingly aware of money, telling his mom she’s poor and more importantly to me making a big deal about me being rich. The first time he said “you’re rich so you can buy me anything I want.” Objectively, I am rich, no denying that. But my money is held in a trust for the benefit of my siblings and I that I have no access to. Our day to day is based on my salary (and granted I probably make 4x his parents combined, so still rich, but very cash poor because once we include living expenses, I’m paying more for the kids than both parents combined, we’re all living paycheck to paycheck). This set up is largely irrelevant except that I don’t know how to talk about it.

When he tells me I’m rich, I ask him why he thinks that. He says his mom told him that (she claims she didn’t, I don’t believe her, it doesn’t really matter). But anyways cats out of the bag here. How would you respond when he talks about it? I’ve been saying “I worked hard and make money just like Daddy does so we can have a nice house and some of the things we want” but that’s not really working. I know his dad would just tell him it’s rude to talk about, but I feel like that doesn’t really get to the issue. One of my friends said to tell him to work hard so he has enough money to buy everything he wants, but that seems to ignore a lot of realities about the world 👀 I don’t know he’s 6.

Anyways, I’m rambling. Ignoring it or playing it off isn’t working because it’s coming up several times a week. Any suggestions?

My parents were definitely A+ or go home type parents. Not a chance anything under a 95 would receive positive feedback and nothing under 100 would be on the fridge. Today my step kiddo asked me to put his class work on the fridge. I put his drawings on, but not his spelling test because it was just a pass. He asked me if I was proud of it and wanted to put it on the fridge. I said yes and immediately put it up. There’s a barely pass on my fridge, and I genuinely think that’s the best thing that’s ever happened in my family cycle.

I don’t know what happened, but after a year of consistency and a lot of medication he’s better. Not in the he’s surviving way, in the he’s almost a normal dog way.

A year ago I brought home a foster dog from the shelter who completed my soul. He’s got the deepest most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen on any creature. They said no behavioral concerns. When I put him in my foster sequester room he whined a bit, and I watched him pace on the camera. Everyone told me he’d be fine and to just go to sleep. I woke up and he was still pacing. He paced for 10 hours. I decided to try something else the next night—I moved his crate into my room. He peed and pooped 4x that night in the crate. Before that moment, I thought he just wasn’t house trained, but it’s a stress response. I gave up on the crate and let him sleep in the only place he would—directly in my arms. We did that for weeks.

After begging the shelter, I was able to get him on gabapentin which helped him sleep in his crate, maybe peeing once, but I used diapers.

I had just lost my job so it was manageable to have him with me at all times. I ended up adopting him because who else would?

We’ve since experimented with various meds and training methods, incorporating a bit of everything. Things got better. He started sleeping in the same room as me rather than directly on top. I’d have to beg him to leave his bed and sleep with me (not often but I want a cuddle too 👀). And I got home from work yesterday and there was no little tail wagging and hitting everything in sight. No happy tappies. No circles. He stayed asleep on the couch. I actually got scared something happened and called him—he calmly meandered over like “oh you’re here now” took a few pets then went back to the couch.

This is the dog who (my fault) got mild heatstroke and still followed me room to room. And he’s ok now. He hasn’t pooped in the house in weeks. It’s been days since he peed. And he didn’t greet me at the door 😭

My baby is ok.