Ask Scary Mommy is our weekly advice column wherein Scary Mommy editors and guest editors — fellow moms like you — will answer your burning questions. You can send all of your questions and conundrums about parenting, family, and relationships to askscarymommy@bdg.com (don’t worry — we’ll keep you anonymous!).
Since the very early years of being a mom, Alyce Chan has been at my side helping me every step of the way… you know, from afar, through her social media accounts and stand-up comedy. The mom of two brings the realest of the real content to her hundreds of thousands of followers and there’s a reason that she’s one of the most-watched momfluencers out there: she’s simply hilarious and speaks way too much truth about what its like to raise kids.
Chan took some time out of her day to be a special guest for Ask Scary Mommy, answering pressing questions from our readers dealing with everything from stuffed animal overload to sibling rivalries.
Head here to read the full Q&A on Threads.
Question: My daughter is six and she refuses to watch any movies unless it’s the select few that she deems “not scary.” How do I help her branch out and try some new ones out? We want to do summer movie nights but she can barely handle any sort of suspense or conflict!
Oh man I have the opposite problem here where my kid just wants to watch scary movies. I think slowly introduce the ones you think are age appropriate and be next to her when watching together. 6 is a very tender age and some are not ready for scary actions and scenes may be overstimulating. Follow her lead and when she’s ready she’ll let you know. There are so many wonderful movies that are old classics that are very low key. And I prefer my kids choosing non violent movies over suspense horror.
So aside from introducing some low key classic films for your kid after doing some research you can also do storytelling and have her tell a story that introduces some problem solving and some low key conflict and she’ll probably get used to knowing the arc of a story and be interested to find out find more movies that have that type of conflict and conflict arc. Good luck.
Summer has just barely begun, and I’m already starting to hear “I’m bored” from my kids. What’s your go-to response for this to get your kids off your back? 🙏🏻😅
Kids say I’m bored in all seasons and not just the summertime. So we’re on the same we’re in the same boat. If they’re bored it’s actually good for them. I just tell them hey if you’re bored that’s good. You can go outside. You can read. You can draw a picture. It actually helps creativity and brains for kids shouldn’t be overstimulated all the time. So you’re doing a great job. Don’t feel guilty. If they’re bored that’s fine. Just walk away. Let them handle it. They’ll figure it out.
It’s hard to see your kids complain. I’m guilty of that but i remember I was so bored as a kid but then it made me seek things to do- which I believe led me to my creativity. Good luck you got this!
Can we talk about stuffed animals? My house is overflowing. I am wading through them. And yet more keep coming from all directions. How do I stop it? Can I secretly thin the herd, or would that be evil?
Okay Mom. I don’t think you’re evil at all to even think about thinning the herd. I think there should be a limit. I think if they can sleep on their bed with all their dolls they get to keep them. And the ones that fall off the bed while they’re sleeping those go in a closet and you can do a rotation. Maybe your child can pick out one or two best friends. Because like in real life we only have one or two best friends.
Alyce, do you have any tips and tricks to help a younger sibling make peace with the fact that the older sibling gets to do things they aren’t allowed yet? (Later bedtime, more freedom to go out with friends?) My youngest says it’s because their older sibling is a boy, but it’s because he’s OLDER. We try to explain but they remain salty about it!
My youngest has this issue too so we do one-on-one dates and I tell him you get to do this because you’re the youngest. Do some fun things like hey we are doing an Easter Egg hunt even though it’s not Easter anymore. You get to do it because you’re the youngest. I love that you make it not about gender because it isn’t.
I love your videos! How do you keep humor and fun at the forefront of your parenting? And how do you write your material?
A big percent of the things you see on social media it’s based on true experiences but I take it to the next level and make it more absurd. So it’s based on my own experiences or from friends stories that they have shared with me. And navigating through humour is very therapeutic and that’s why I try to put my stuff out there even the most mundane situations. I try to find the funny in it.
Also remember everything is edited on social media. You don’t see me actually yelling and getting annoyed – if you do it’s acting. I write when it comes to me and sometimes it’ll take a week before I can write content. Great question!
How do you keep a straight face when your kid is misbehaving but being unintentionally hilarious?
How to be a poker face expert? I’ve always had a non-expression face even when someone does something absurd. My kid did something recently that was hilarious but he was upset and it was so funny. I just turned around. I physically turned around and I started to quietly laugh and I composed myself and went back to him and said are you sure you want to say that to me? So yeah turn around.
Isn’t it the best tho? When your kid is doing something like that? It’s these moments that Make me laugh. Not much does but these moments do. No matter what, hide it. practice your poker face. lol
For more great parenting advice, follow @momcomnyc on Threads.
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