kids – Katie's Blog

Mom Talk: This Game Isn’t As “Kid Friendly” As It Seems

Posted on August 27, 2025August 27, 2025 by Katie Night

Hey Dearies! I wanted to talk about this topic as my daughter is into gaming and some of the games she plays, I don’t see any issue with, however, there are some games that I thought were fine, but they really aren’t.

Growing up, we had a home computer than our family would use daily, my mom would be watching us like a hawk when we were on the internet, if we were playing the many educational CD Rom games, she wouldn’t have to worry. However, once I was in middle school, I had a little bit more freedom to explore the internet.

I completely understand why my mom watched us like a hawk whenever we were on the internet.

Nowadays, kids have access to tablets, smartphones, computers, and gaming consoles that they not only can play games, but have access to play online with others. If you were like me and grew up with playing the Super Nintendo, we never really had to worry about “online gameplay”.

However, you really DO need to worry. Especially, if your kids play online.

Roblox

So, what started this was the fact that my daughter likes to play Roblox with her cousins. I signed up with an account to kinda check it out for myself just to see what the fuss was about.

Well, once I started playing a few games, it seemed pretty harmless, but I jumped onto one server where this random person had messaged me saying I was ugly, I didn’t react because its literally a blocky character that’s your avatar. I honestly thought it was funny, however, depending how young of players you have on here, that could really upset them.

Ironically, I came across a video from this guy Visual Venture about Roblex. I got curious and watched it. It really opened my eyes to how DANGEROUS this game really is.

Here is the video that I watched, any parents that have their kid playing Roblex, I HIGHLY recommend watching this:

He not only breaks down some of the flaws about how Roblox can allow ANYONE to sign up and play, but how there are predators that have used Roblox to lure their victims.

Visual Venture talks about how the game is actually rating T for teens, but there are kids as young as 5 years old that are on this platform playing. The game was originally meant for players to create their own games and share for others to play, however, its not as sweet and innocent as you think.

When I saw this article, being pissed was an understatement:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/roblox-schlep-pedophile-vigilante-lawsuits-1235414218/

You read that right, Roblox BANNED a guy that was trying to get predators off the platform, after he, himself, was groomed online by a predator. You’d think that Roblox would want to work with Schlep, the one banned, to make their platform safer for kids.

If you read in the article, there have been so many cases where Schlep has gotten justice for getting these real-life predators arrested, so that no other kids have to experience being groomed or worse abducted.

This is why I won’t let my daughter play Roblox.

Now, Roblox isn’t the only game you need to worry about, anytime your child has access to the internet, you need to always have your guard up. We can’t always protect them when it comes to the internet, but we can teach our kids about using the internet safely.

Here are a few things to teach your kids about protecting themselves online:

Never give out personal information
- This is pretty common sense, but definitely a very good reminder.
- Think of the word “Yappy”:
  - Y – Your Full Name
  - A – Address (Home/School/Email)
  - P – Phone Number
  - P – Passwords
  - Y – Your plans & birthday
Keep your passwords safe
- Having a family Password/Username booklet can be very helpful for this! (Especially if you are like me and have a few streaming services)
- Make your passwords long or use a phrase to ensure that no one can get it.
- Avoid using personal names/birthdays/or same passwords.
Don’t talk to Strangers!
- Same if it was in person.
- Only talk to those online, IF you have met them in person.
Tell an Adult if something doesn’t seem right
- If something looks bad or seems bad, tell your teacher, parent, or a trusted adult.
- Parents: Don’t get upset with them as if it happens again, they might not want to tell you if they get in trouble.
- Best way to prevent them searching random stuff is having parental locks and only have selective websites from a trusted source.
- This also applies to any conversation they have online with others.
Ask before you Download
- Always explain to them that not every website can be trusted and that they need to ask before downloading anything.
- I see this more as a problem for young teens who don’t realize that the free game they want could be a virus.
Always Be Kind!
- Remind your child that being kind to everyone!
- Just remind them that you never want to be rude or mean to anyone because you never know who is on the other side of the screen.

As parents, we need to do anything and everything to protect our children, as using the internet because more and more normal each day, its best to make sure our children are growing up knowing how to use it safely.

Its just like them having cell phones at a young age. I didn’t have one until I was 13, the same age you’d need to be to sign up for Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. We shouldn’t be pushing the limits and having our children have access to those until they really understand and know how to use them respectfully and are actually the correct age to be on them.

Teaching them that anything you post, say, or do, you can’t just delete it and its gone, it will ALWAYS be on the internet in one form or another.

Let me know in the comments what you think about all this!

(Yes, I did use AI to general the man photo, got curious to try it out!)

Mom Talk

Mom Talk: The Dating World of 2024

Posted on May 29, 2024September 8, 2024 by Katie Night

Hey Dearies! I wanted to bring up something that I’m having trouble with, but some pointers I wanted to bring up if you are a newly single. Whether your a single parent, just got out of a long relationship, or have been single for awhile, but just started looking, this might be good information to know!

Now, for all of you who have been following me since the very beginning, I decided to leave my children’s father back in 2021. I didn’t start dating again until 6 months after I had left him. A lot of people asked why I didn’t just jump right into and it was because I wanted to work on myself.

I wanted to make sure that I loved myself before I jumped into another relationship. However, I felt like I had to start putting myself out there. I also had a few people that were pushing me to get out there as well.

I was expecting the dating world to be back before I first met the father of my children. Back when it was 2014. Oh no, things had really changed this time since I first went back on dating sites.

First, Facebook had a dating part that they had added and that’s where I first started. I met a few guys that I had really great conversations. Most of them would ghost me or never talk to me after saying ‘hello’. Other guys weren’t really there for meeting anyone to build a relationship, just hook ups. Then there were the few guys that actually caught my heart and shredded it down to practically nothing.

At the end of 2021, I did find someone I really started to fall for and started dating him. I’m not going to go into complete details, but he was the one that got away. It also didn’t help that life happened and I didn’t really know how to handle it. We tried rekindling it back last year, but he had his life that he had a lot going on.

Anyway, I decided in March to give this dating thing another try and this time my walls would be up no matter what. However, I still have hope for that one guy he will come running back into my life so we can try again, but as the saying goes, “If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, it was meant to be, if not, it never was.”

So, nowadays, I’m focused on building a friendship with some of the guys I’ve been talking to. I don’t want to rush into anything and I know what I’m looking for, but I am keeping an eye out for the red flags.

Here are a few Red Flags you should keep in mind:

–No Job or Can’t Keep a Job– This is a HUGE red flag. My more recent ex had this issue and I lost a LOT of money because I was supporting him. I learned my lesson on that. Even if they wanted to borrow $20 bucks here and there, don’t do it. Trust me, it adds up faster than you think.

–No Car/No License– This is a red flag for me because I live in Maine and in order to go anywhere, you really need to have a car. I have nothing against those that don’t have a car or license, but please don’t date people just because they will cart you around.

It’s one thing if you are taking an Uber or taxi to meet up with them, but it’s another thing to demand them to bring you here or there. Keep this in mind, the first time you tell someone you will give them a ride, they will always think you will give them a ride.

–Separated/In a Open Relationship– This one is tricky because all situations are different. I feel that if you still are married, you shouldn’t be dating until your divorce is final, but that is just me. I also am not a fan of “open relationships”. I know that people’s opinions have changed on that, but I’m against it completely. When I’m in a relationship with a guy, I don’t want him to share me or me to have to share him.

Nothing against those who are in an open relationship. If it works for you or for your situation, great! I don’t think I could handle it very well, emotionally.

–Love Bombing – I didn’t even know this was an actual red flag, but it is! I really hate to bring it back to my more current ex, but he did the same thing to me. Pretty much all the time he would call be “beautiful” to the point that the word meant nothing. He would also use this whenever we got into an argument, he would change the subject into complimenting me instead of talking about the issue at hand. If you don’t know what “love bombing” is, it is when someone frequently attempts to influence another person with over-the-top displays of attention and affection.

–Not Respecting Your Bountries – This is a huge red flag, if they can’t respect your bountries, that shows that they have no respect for you. Granted, in the beginning of a relationship is learning what each other bountries are. That is why if you let them know what your bountries are at the begining, you can tell right away if they will respect them or not. I had an ex that got mad at me for hanging out with my best friend for one night, just because I didn’t include him.

–They Want You To Always Put Them First – If you have children, you would understand that when it comes to a new relationship, you and your kids come first. It brings us back to situtation I talked about before. That ex wanted me to put him on the thrown, honestly, he is in most of these red flags, I should just write about how awful the experience really was.

–Talk Badly About Ex’s/Or Still Talking To Their Ex’s – So, I can’t say that I haven’t talked badly about an ex since as you can see from this post, however, I’m not one of those that goes onto the internet and blasts them by name. If they can talk badly about their ex or say all their ex’s are crazy without explaining why, that is a problem to be aware of.

What is even more of a red flag is still talking or being friends with an ex. Depending on the situation, I will keep an open mind. If you have a baby daddy or baby mommy, that is a different situation since you are communicating about the kids. That’s the relationship I have with my daughter’s father, its strictly about our daughter.

–Drug/Alcohol Problem – This is another huge red flag to keep in mind because they will tend to put their “habit” first. There’s nothing wrong with having a social drink every now and then, but if they need it constantly or all the time, that is a problem.

–Bad Feeling/Gut Feeling – You know your body better than anyone else does, but if there is something off or fishy about the person you are talking to, trust your gut! Most of us want to listen with our hearts or heads, but sometimes its better to listen to your gut first.

If you aren’t sure, talk about it with friends or family. They would be the first one to notice the red quicker than you would. Especially, if you are so into them. You don’t have to listen to them, but its always good to get a 3rd party’s advice of the situation.

–No Social Media/Different Name for Social Media – Okay, so this one isn’t really a red flag, but it really depends who you ask on this. My last ex had a different name on his Facebook. I really didn’t think anything of it until I found out there was a bigger reason why he didn’t give out his full name. It’s okay for someone to not want to have a social media presence, but if they can’t seem to tell you their true name, really look into why that is.

There could be a number of reasons why, but if you start out talking to them and right at the bat they give you a fake name, that’s a red flag. The reason why I say this, is because they are hiding something from you. Whether they have a double life or have been in trouble with the law, this is something you want to pay attention to. Especially, if you plan on having your kids meet them after going out with them for some time.

–Ignoring You/Taking Longer to Reply – This one, I really had a lot of issues when it came to them taking either days to reply. However, I have finally understand that if someone likes you enough to talk to you, they will. If they don’t or have excuses as to why they haven’t replied back to you, take the hint that they aren’t interested in you.

It’s one thing if they are at work or in the middle of doing something and they give you a heads up that they are busy and will talk to you later. Its another thing if they are straight up ignoring you and you see that they are active or they posted on their story or Facebook.

Don’t waste your time waiting for a reply. My rule is if they don’t reply back to you within 24-28 hours, move on to the next one. Everyone checks their phone more than once a day, so there isn’t really an excuse as to why they can’t reply to you.

–They Don’t Want To Meet In Public/Wants You To Meet At Their House – The first meeting with someone you met online, it should be in public. The reason why I say this is because of the fact that if you feel uncomfortable or the person is starting to creep you out, you can get outta there faster.

Most of the time, if a guy/girl are asking you to meet at their place, it usually means they just want to hook up. Not for everyone, but most of the time its usually that reason.

Another key thing to keep in mind, is that if you go on a date with someone in public, let a friend or family member know where you are, just in case something goes wrong. Or even have a friend at the location with you watching from a distance, so if there is something wrong or off about your date, you can text them to let them know, that way your still safe.

Overall, the best way to handle the dating world is think of it as a battlefield. The problem with today’s dating world is that there are too many apps, tons of being ghosted, and no one really looking for something real anymore.

Mom Talk

Mom Talk: Tooth Fairy Ideas

Posted on March 8, 2024June 6, 2024 by Katie Night

Hey Dearies! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but with my daughter now old enough to be in the stage of losing her baby teeth, I wanted to share what I’ve been doing for the Tooth Fairy, as well as some other ideas that I’ve seen and heard from others or Pinterest!

So, I was a little nervous about how my daughter would react to losing her baby teeth. She was a little scared when the dentist told her one of her bottom teeth was loose.

Once the dentist told her all about the Tooth Fairy, she was more excited to see what the Tooth Fairy would leave under her pillow. My grandmother actually got her a tooth kit that had a little jar for her to put the tooth in and a tooth bag that she could put the jar in and place it under her pillow.

Growing up, we literally put the tooth under our pillow and when we woke the next morning, the tooth was gone and a dollar or quarters would replace it. I even remember the Tooth Fairy leaving me $20 dollars under my pillow! My mom ended up sharing how that happened once I was older.

Anyway, once that bottom tooth started to move more and more, to the point where she was nervous to just pull it, I gave her a tissue, to give her more grip. She was able to pull it out, she did cry a little bit because a little bit of blood was on it, but she was excited that she would finally get a visit from the tooth fairy.

She woke up the next morning and was so excited that she got a dollar and placed it in her piggy bank. She lost the second one recently, it was pretty loose until she lost it eating a donut since we couldn’t find it. Even though she couldn’t put a tooth under her pillow, the Tooth Fairy still made sure she got that dollar.

Now, for those of you moms who did what I did, there is nothing wrong with keeping it simple. Especially if you are like me and just want to keep the simple tradition going, here are some really cool ideas that I found on Pinterest that you might have wished you had done.

Crochet Tooth Fairy Holder

For all my crocheting moms you know that I just had to share these cute little guys! Something simple and cute for your little ones to put their baby teeth in! I really wish I had seen this sooner and I would’ve just had my daughter use that as the bag for the Tooth Fairy!

Tooth Fairy Pouch – Free Crochet Pattern

Tooth Fairy Letters

This is another super cute idea for sure! Since everyone writes letters to Santa, why not to the Tooth Fairy too! Not only are these letters typed out, but they even get little certificates for each tooth they loose too! How adorable!

https://www.homeschoolof1.com/tooth-fairy-letter

Sparkly Tooth Fairy Money

This one is a super idea to do! If you have craft glitter or even sparkly body spray, you could cover the dollar in a little bit of glitter and it would look like the Tooth Fairy sprinkled some of her magic all over the dollar.

Those are just a few ideas to look into for your little ones who are about to experience a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Even if this is the first time or if you want to do something different for each of your other children.

The best way to play that off is by saying to your children that each kid in the household gets a different Tooth Fairy. Or whatever else comes to mind. In the end, we only get to watch our children experience it once in their lives, making the imagination come alive for them.

I’m going to try my best to be more active, so don’t be alarmed if I start posting more lately!

Mom Talk

Mom Talk: Chores Ideas

Posted on February 27, 2023June 6, 2024 by Katie Night

Hey Dearies! I wanted to go over some chore ideas that you can do with your kiddos! I will be listing stuff for all ages too as well because you can start chores or the idea of chores as little as 2 years old.

My daughter is now 5, which is still crazy to me because yesterday I remember bringing her home from the hospital and now she is in preschool. Now that she is older, I wanted to start doing a chore chart for her and introduce chores and the idea of helping out around the house.

I bought her a chore chart that is magnetic and they give you options for different chore ideas, of course, some of them didn’t pertain to my daughter yet, such as homework. Every time they would do something on the chore chart, she would get to put a star next to it.

I haven’t been strict with her about it, yet, but I did get her excited to want to start doing chores around the house if it meant she got to put a star on her chore board. Lately, to get her to get stuff done, to reward her with some screen time or mostly playing Minecraft or Animal Crossing.

Here are her usual list of chores is just simple stuff, such as brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, picking up toys, setting the table, etc. Simple things that she can do. I haven’t pushed her to follow through with the other types of chores I want her to start doing because I don’t want to overwhelm her with them.

You don’t want to overwhelm them with a long list of chores because then they will never want to do it. I have started her with 5, which seems to go well and she still needs to be told to do them, but she will usually do them, if not I just tell her no Minecraft and she will start getting them done.

Now that you sort of know what I’ve got my daughter doing at home, let’s talk about what kinds of chores you can introduce to the little ones.

Chore Ideas for Ages 2-3 Years Old

Of course kids, this age don’t need to enforce it, but you can start introducing to them to some simple chore ideas such as these:

Pick up toys & books
Put trash in the garbage can
Dust
Put away silverware
Wipe baseboards
Fold rags &dishcloths
Put clothes in the hamper
Put clothes away in drawers

Chore Ideas for Ages 4-6 Years Old

At this age, is when you should start making a few chores mandatory for them to do. I would start with at least 3-5 chores that they are responsible for. You can also include some of these from up above:

Take care of the pets
Set & clean the table
Match Socks
Wipe down dirty walls
Empty trashes
Sweep

Chore Ideas for Ages 7-11 Years Old

At this age, doing chores should be something they should be doing every day. You might be also including allowance for them or treats for completing chores. They should be doing at least 5-10 chores a day and if you want to include one day of their choosing that they don’t have to do it. Here are some stuff they should be able to do:

Fold laundry
Sweep
Vacuuming
Take out the trash / Taking it out to the curb on trash day
Wash mirrors
Meal prep
Weed flowers / Garden
Clean out the car
Clean toilets
Clean room
Organize toy room
Bring in mail / newspaper

Chores Ideas for Ages 12+ Years Old

At this age, they should be doing chores all week long. They might be getting more of an allowance or none at all because they know they should be doing chores without being told to do so. Here are some other chore ideas that the older kids should be doing now:

Mow lawn
Babysit siblings
Wash windows
Iron
Wash car
Cook simple meals
Laundry
Mop floors
Clean bathroom
Clean out fridge

Of course, you don’t need to do it the way that I suggest because every parent has a different way of raising their children. I was raised to do chores and as we got older, my mother stopped paying us for it once we got older because when we lived on our own, we would have to do these things for ourselves.

What kind of chores do you have set for your kiddos? When did you first start them out with chores or at what age do you think they should start doing chores? Let me know in the comments!

Mom Talk

Mom Talk: Snow Activities To Do With Your Kids

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Katie Night

Hey dearies! Since I live in Maine, we have been getting slammed with snow! As a kid, i used to love it when it snowed, especially if they canceled school.

For me, on a Snow Day, growing up, we used to go to my grandmother’s house. She had a nice yard to play in, build snow forts and she lived next to a nice hill for sledding. Which was probably the main reason we loved to visit her house during the winter.

Anyway, since I’ve become an adult, I only love snow when it’s around Christmas or New Years, after that I’m over it.

I also live in Maine, so the weather is literally crazy. One day, it’s just 50 degrees, and the next day, there’s a blizzard outside. Don’t get me wrong, I love Maine because we all have 4 seasons, but sometimes mother nature can’t make up her mind.

So, what are the best things to do on a Snow Day for your kids? Check out below!

Indoor Activities

Depending on where you live and how bad the weather is, figuring out what to do with the kids inside can be a little bit harder. Especially if you don’t want them to be glued to the TV all day.

Here’s a few ideas indoor activities:

Baking – This is an awesome idea because then your house is going to smell good too!
Playing Board Games – Depending how old your kiddos are, playing Hungry Hungry Hippos or Candy Land is always a fun time!
Painting – Whether it’s following a Bob Ross painting or just doing a simple freelance painting, painting is always something fun to do on a Snow Day!
Jigsaw Puzzles – This is one of my favorite activities my grandmother and I would do on a Snow Day. We usually picked a 1000 piece puzzle, which kept us busy all day!
Coloring – Whether your kids want to color or your inter child in you wants to color, go for it! My daughter and I love to color with gel pens and you can get a simple 60 pack of gel pens on Amazon for less than 20 bucks!
Reading a book together – My daughter and I loved doing this while she was a baby, but we haven’t done it as much as of recently. On a day where you can’t go anywhere, have you kiddo pick out their favorite books and read to them. My daughter current loves Click Click Moo.
Watching a movie or TV show – Usually, I’ll tell my daughter to pick a movie that we either haven’t seen in a long time or something my daughter hasn’t seen at all. Of course, watching TV all day isn’t something we want our kiddos to do on a Snow Day, but switching inbetween activities and saving a movie for the morning or the afternoon is always a good idea.
Cleaning – I know this isn’t a fun thing for the kiddos to do on a Snow Day, but getting them into the habit of doing chores is always a plus! Not to mention you can reward them with some screen time, too!

Outside Activities

Of course, every kid wants to be outside and play in the snow. Us adults would love to do that, but we get stuck with the shoveling duty, but there are lots of stuff to do outside in the snow!

Build a Snowman – One of the most classic activities that you can do outside in the snow and nowadays you can actually buy kits that have everything you need to make a snowman!
Make Snow Angels – This was one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid!
Build a Snow Fort – My cousin and I would build these all the time, especially when our grandparents driveway was plowed, we would build little holes and pretend to live it them.
Go Sledding/Tubing/Skiing/Snowboarding – One of the best things to do on a Snow Day! I don’t Snowboard or Skiing, but I love sledding and tubing!
Go Ice Skating – I’ve been ice skating and let’s just say I would rather roller blade instead, but it can be lots of fun to do!
Snowball Fight – My cousin and I loved to do these! Not to mention, our grandmother got us snowball makers, which made it so much faster to make them.

Those are just a few ideas on what to do indoors and outdoors. I’m sure there are a few that I missed, but let me know down in the comments what you do with your kiddos on a Snow Day!

Mom Talk

Mom Talk: Don’t Stay For The Kids

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Katie Night

I watched my mother for years stay with my father. Even though I didn’t really understood what was going on, but as I got older, I realized that my mom was only with my father for my siblings and I. You could see her put on that fake smile just to make sure that us kids didn’t know what was going on, but we knew.

I knew, I was the oldest and watched my mom put on this front that everything was okay, but she was slowly drifting herself down a hole just to keep the presents of a ‘happy family’ alive for us.

Well, I ended up doing the same thing my mom did, but my story is different.

As you know, I have been with the same guy for awhile and ended up having 2 beautiful children as well. However, over time, things started to change. I felt like I was putting up this front to pretend to be who I really was.

Everytime I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see myself anymore. I felt different and that can happen after having a child, you change completely just for your kid. Usually with the right partner, can be the happily ever after, but that’s not what was happening.

I’m not going to go into details about our breakup because the details are between me and my child’s father. Unfortunately, some of the people round us are very noisy and don’t understand as to why we broke up in the first place.

I realized about a year ago, if not more, that I wasn’t happy and that the only thing that kept me from leaving was our daughter. I felt like I had to stay with him because I didn’t want to ruin my daughter’s view of a ‘happy family’. Or I had to stay because that is what was the right thing to do, instead it made me realize that this was something I wasn’t just doing to myself, but to my daughter as well.

I was teaching her that it was okay to stay in an unhappy relationship.

Now, my daughter is 3, but the kids know, the sense it. I don’t know how, but they do. My daughter would give me a hard time knowing that she sensed something was up between Mommy and Daddy.

Kids aren’t stupid, they know what is going on and that’s what made me realized I had to make a change, not just for me, but for my daughter. I didn’t want her to group up and watch her follow in the same foot steps that I ended up walking in.

So, I made a change for 2021.

This year, I’m focusing on getting myself to a better place. Getting back to the real me, the one that I used to love and used to not give a shit about whatever I do. The me that I haven’t been able to embrace for a long time.

So, don’t stay because you have a family, you should want to stay with your spouse because they not only are the love of your life, but you both make a great team together and are the best of friends.

Don’t just put up with it because you have the family. You have to love yourself before you can expect anyone else to love you in return. Embrace your inner weirdo!

As for me, I’m taking it one step at a time and one day at a time. You never know what the future can hold, but I plan on being or trying to be positive for

Mom Talk