Here is what worked for us and I still battle this today. It is tricky, once you start it is near impossible to go backwards and I wish I could go WAY back! We did sleepovers with only certain families in elementary and then that became challenging to explain to your child why you can at this house but, not that house? And who knows what they said to their friends. It's a terrible battle that little minds just can't understand and just as challenging with older kids too - although it's a tad easier to reason with an older child...sometimes! We pushed to more late-overs in middle school and then just left it at that for a long time - although there were some sleepovers thrown in there however, very limited.

Now that my kids are older teens in High School - we still do not prefer sleepovers and say no often - staying busy helps as we all know sleep is important. And I actually feel different about them for our daughter vs. our son which is extra challenging. All this to say - kids just love them so it's so hard to say no, so I wish I would have just said no from the very beginning as just a standard rule.

@letsbereal I feel this, very much kid dependent. I have a daughter that started kinder at 4 and did okay and her brother and sister would not have been able to do the same! I have always heard you won't regret holding them and I can see some truth in that too.

@Purple-Animal we have tried magnesium and it's just so hard to stay consistent taking it daily - we need to figure it out. Miralax can change your child's behavior from what I am reading and it's ALWAYS recommended by doctors? I just do not understand.

MiraLax contains polyethylene glycol 3350 (“PEG 3350”), a compound of the highly toxic chemicals ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), ingredients found in automotive antifreeze and brake fluid.

@cdani Barton Creek Pediatrics - Dr. Wheelock

What is your go to? I have read that miralax is dangerous and the package says not to use for anyone under 17 yet this is what Dr's always recommend. Does anyone have any other suggestions to help constipated kids without using miralax?

@bluebird Maybe for next Mother's Day however, I got a bird feeder w/ a camera on it that takes videos and pictures while the birds eat! It's been a gift for the whole family as we love to see our latest visitors and some even have AI on them to tell you what kind of bird it is! I just recently heard that they make one for hummingbirds too!

We have used calm gummies - I believe they are magnesium and we have had some success with calming their little minds to help them rest. Sleep is so important for both our kiddos and for us too...I hope you find something that helps!

Wait as long as you can and encourage your kids schools to ban usage of cell phones on campus! I think this is an important piece and will help parents feel better about waiting until 8th when it's more normalized to not have one most of the day. The research is there and more research has been coming out about the dangers of phones/apps/social media - and there are sites online that help you put together packages to present to the schools with the talking points, research and studies. It's so hard to take them way once you have given them the phones/devices. I would suggest finding moms that are like minded and band together as it is a lot easier to enforce when your kids aren't the odd man out....I wish we would have waited until 8th!

I have 3 teens (2 in HS and one in college) and my high schoolers have gone to several camps this summer that take up their phones and they are so much happier when they return and admit that they enjoyed their time without them! *for reference we waited until 6th for phone and social media in 8th grade.