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Being a parent is a unique experience, different with every child. And while typically handling the firstborn tends to be the most confusing—as you’re never quite sure of what you’re doing and if you’re doing it right—any one of your children can present you with unexpected challenges or situations you did not see coming.
The witty remarks of a five-year-old, discussing the way you look in a very straightforward way, can be a great example of that; or food going everywhere but the mouth of the toddler. Luckily for us, after having to deal with that, some parents discuss their experiences with other moms and dads out there, or share it with a wider audience, such as people on X (formerly Twitter), for instance. We have combed through it to find the best stories covering the joys and challenges of being a parent, so scroll down to find them on the list below and enjoy the February edition of our monthly collection of parenting posts.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Ozymandias73 1 year ago
Even without kids, a white couch won't be white for long after purchase.
RELATED:
#2
Marcos Valencia 1 year ago
At a certain point in their lives, both my son and daughter asked me if I knew about electricity when I was a kid. Well, Grandma's house is not a cavern precisely.
While raising a child entails the good, the bad, and the ugly, it is arguably one of the most fascinating things in life; many parents would likely agree that there is no other feeling like watching your little bundle of joy grow.
And as they grow, they go through numerous stages, each more challenging and heartwarming than the last. Take an infant, for instance; though everything’s new and likely unfamiliar—even if you’ve had a child before, some things might still be a first with this one—such an age marks the beginning of a lifetime full of love (and a time full of diapers).
#5
The toddler years bring a completely different dynamic into the household, as they start running around, throwing food, and testing the limits of any pets with ears big enough to grab onto them. And while some parents would love to go back to the time their little ones were toddlers, surveys show that the most fun time for moms and dads was when their little hell raiser was five years of age.
One of the reasons for five being parents’ favorite age was the fact that that’s when kids start to communicate properly and develop a good sense of humor. (You can find proof of that by scrolling through this list or the previous editions of the best parenting Tweets of the month.)
According to the survey, the most difficult time for parents to bear is when their kid is between 10 and 12 years of age.
While you may find it surprising that children as young as five are considered fun because of their sense of humor, they actually start to try to make people laugh at quite an early age.
According to associate professor of speech and communication at University of Bristol, Yvonne Wren, during the first few years of their life, kids' humor is of a physical and visual nature, which is why they can giggle like crazy at something as simple as “peek-a-boo” or silly faces.
The more verbal kind of humor that follows the “peek-a-boo” stage is often based on incongruity, which calls for understanding pretense and using one’s imagination. “They need to be able to come up with the ideas for something which is not true or cannot be real as a basis for developing the joke,” Wren wrote for a piece in The Conversation.
“They also need to understand that context is important—that what you say can have different meanings depending on when and where it is said,” she added. “And children need to have sufficient vocabulary to be able to express their imagined ideas and to describe the context when they would occur.”
#12
sharyn turnicky 1 year ago
Good one! Now you will have to come up with a new one. He knows what you're up to now!
Yvonne Wren continued to explain that once children realize that spoken words are not necessarily true and can be made up, and that they can have double meanings, they become able to tell a simple story—”they can use language to create incongruities in the form of puns and ambiguities which cease to confuse and start to amuse.”
#16
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
it works better if you do it with tomato sauce on your hand so it smears red s**t on the curtain as well.
#17
Kari Panda 1 year ago (edited)
We ordered takeout a while back and explained to our little one that the food will be brought from outside and that someone will ring the door bell. We also don’t get many visitors. So now whenever she hears the door bell (mailman, neighbours etc.), she excitedly screams: "Food!" and runs to the door ^^
While some five-year-olds’ jokes come at their parents’ expense, the latter shouldn’t be too upset about it; it doesn’t necessarily mean that their kid doesn’t like them and can actually show that the little one has a rather high IQ. A study carried out in Turkey found that intelligence and humor ability are highly correlated constructs.
#19
Steve Hall 1 year ago
What's the problem here? I'm 70 and if you even look at me before I've been up for more than three hours, you will pay for it.
According to Psych Central, the somewhat innocent tone of kids’ jokes tends to change before they leave elementary school, and by the time they are in grade four or five, boys and girls tend to laugh at jokes that are very different. Ten year old boys, for instance, tell jokes that are physically violent and sexual, while their female counterparts refer to humor that’s less physically but more verbally aggressive; likely because the latter have, on average, better verbal skills.
#23
marianne eliza 1 year ago
Or, back in the late 50's, 1st kid, sterilize everything. If the bottle gets dropped you have to start all over. Many, many visits to the nursery when the baby is sleeping. by the 4th kid a dropped bottle gets a quick swipe on the shirt and back in the mouth.
Whether it’s because of their little one’s sense of humor or other reasons, the majority of moms and dads—roughly four-in-five of them—find parenting to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. This was revealed by a survey carried out by Pew Research Center, which also found that for many of them, it’s a rather stressful and tiring experience, too, which only proves that parenting indeed entails the good, the bad, and the ugly.
#24
Esme Weatherwax 1 year ago
The UK is offering apprenticeships to be a nurse or pharmacist without the need for the usual qualifications - should I send an application?
#25
pineapple87 1 year ago
What 9-year-old needs to be taught how to be a video game? They seem to be pretty good at figuring it out.
#26
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
kids only start to appreciate music around 12. I think it has to do with puberty.
#27
#33
#34
Jay the not okay 1 year ago
I was exactly the opposite. my dad insists that when I was 5 he yelled at me for not eating broccoli once and I went up to their room during the night and farted in his face.
#35
VOTE if you live in the USA 1 year ago
Poor kid is discovering consciousness. Condolences to him during this time.
#36
#37
sharyn turnicky 1 year ago
You just received a really good memory. Remember it when same 10 questions your fashion sense
#39
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
reply "oh it was going to be pizza but now you don't want that I guess it will be stew."
#41
Me. Just Me. 1 year ago
See previous post about the small trampoline with laundry on it. They learn early.
#55
Jill Bussey 1 year ago
Why would they cancel school for something which is a fantastic teaching and learning opportunity?
#57
Nadine Debard 1 year ago
My son follows the ritual, changing diaper + pajamas, then bottle of milk + short story, cuddling in the dark in his room and one song while he's in bed. When sometimes he doesn't want to sleep (too exhausted) I ask him to think about something he's love to do next day or something that he'd done the same day. It always works.
#60
Lene 1 year ago
We're Danish and my 5yo often asks me stuff like "what does a turtle weigh.... IN GERMAN?" or "how do you say toilet IN FINNISH?" Or "how do you say 'hello do you want to play with me?' IN FRENCH?" So... I suspect that my 5yo will be a polyglot... or we will end up being a family in Denmark who just randomly speak 20 different languages fluently. Lol.
#63
Bewarethere@gmail.com 1 year ago
WOW. But if that's how he feels u should respect how he feels and try 2 mend fences. Also I was same as u with everyone and my son spoke 2 me about he felt. It made sad at what I had seriously hurt, unitintentionly
#68
Shark Lady 1 year ago
The trick is to put the store brand stuff into the packaging for the premium brand. I used to do that with loads of things, my ex insisted on the more expensive stuff despite us struggling for money.
#71
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#87
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James016 1 year ago
So at 7.15am on school days I literally have to drag my son out of bed. "Good morning, it's breakfast time." "I'm not here leave a message." 7.15am on a weekend "Daddy I'm hungry, we need to go downstairs so I can watch YouTube." He is also now trying to act out a combination of his 2 favourite game shows: Gladiators and Pointless.
James016 1 year ago
So at 7.15am on school days I literally have to drag my son out of bed. "Good morning, it's breakfast time." "I'm not here leave a message." 7.15am on a weekend "Daddy I'm hungry, we need to go downstairs so I can watch YouTube." He is also now trying to act out a combination of his 2 favourite game shows: Gladiators and Pointless.
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