People Online Are Sharing 24 Awesome Things About Being Parents As This Mom-To-Be Wanted To Know If Parenting Is All About Struggles
Interview
Lately people who don’t want to have kids are speaking louder and louder on social media. They give arguments why they have decided that they wouldn’t want a child and are less afraid to admit that they just simply don’t like them. Also, parents feel more free to share their struggles and have stopped pretend that everything is easy and they love their kids every single second.
Reading through such stories and thoughts, future parents might get scared that they will ruin their lives and it’s not worth having children. Writer Rose Stokes asked for an antidote for all the negative views on having children and wanted parents to share what they love about their lives with kids. Twitter users were honest and revealed the good parts that brighten their day and assured the future mom that it’s not all bad.
More info: Twitter
A future mom was a little bit worried about parents online complaining how hard it is to raise children so she asked them to share the good bits
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Image credits: RoseStokes
Rose Stokes is a freelance writer writing for The Metro, The Guardian and many more, covering all sorts of topics ranging from women’s rights to politics, economics and finance. She is actively sharing her thoughts about the world on Twitter and Instagram as well as some personal events.
Rose is expecting a new family member and the discourse about parenthood online gave her a little bit of a worry. So she asked parents on Twitter to share the best bits of taking care of a new life and people quickly came to tell Rose that while parenthood isn’t easy, it is still very rewarding and the love she will feel for her baby will make her forget the fatigue and the troubles she endures.
So many parents joined the thread and helped Rose feel calmer as they had many reasons why they love their children and the relationship between them
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The pressure to have kids has made childless people voice their opinion and let out their frustrations about being asked all the time when they will become parents. And those who have children have weak moments when they just want to vent. So the internet is full of negative experiences.
Bored Panda reached out to Rose and asked what her own personal worries were and she told us: “That I won’t be able to cope with the momentous changes that it involves, especially the lack of sleep, and that I will struggle mentally.”
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The majority of people mentioned that the immense love they feel makes them forget all the struggles and troubles
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Like every part of a human’s life, having children has its up and downs and there are definitely positive things in parenthood, as Twitter users proved. The majority of the comments confirmed that a parent’s heart is filled with infinite love and just watching their children makes them feel like the frustrating parts are worth it.
Twitter user Lucy Huber summed up the phenomena quite well. She explained that people highlight the bad parts because they are easy to define and talking about the good parts is a lot more difficult because they are so hard to put in words.
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Others pointed out how funny kids can be, bringing so much joy to their lives
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As this thread was created by Rose to make her feel better about having a child, we wondered if she felt relief after reading through the comments. The woman expressed her feelings: “Definitely! I think it’s all about balance, we of course need to be aware of risks and for the challenges not to be sugarcoated, but it’s also important we don’t tip too far into scaremongering. Having heard so many downsides I was really struggling to picture being happy in my future but the overwhelmingly positive responses really helped to level me back out.”
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Rose is very excited to be a mother and the thing that she is most looking forward to is simply meeting her child. She told us, “I spend so much time wondering about who they are and what they’ll be like, it’s exciting to know this new person is coming and we get to discover who they are and what they like all together. I can’t wait!”
Some parents pointed out how they are given a chance to see life through new eyes again and discover things in a new light
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Apart from the loving relationship that people create with their children, people feel like they are genuinely funny and they find it fascinating that they can observe a human being grow up and have their own sense of humor, personality, interests and feelings.
Quite a few people shared how they feel like children gave them a new perspective on life as they see the world for the first time and experience things they never felt before reporting all of it to their parents and showing a side of things they wouldn’t have thought about.
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There were parents who shared specific stories or things their children do that just makes them feel happy
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One of the tweets that Rose liked the most was in which a mother shared “her mental illness had prepared her well for motherhood. Actually just seeing how much love people hold for their children was really heartening.”
Some people also shared some specific examples of what their kids do that make their day. Like saying something unexpected or doing something funny.
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Not only did Rose find this thread calming and interesting, but other people who still don’t have children or who were tired of the negative discourse concerning parenthood appreciated moms and dads sharing the good parts because seeing them written makes them more real to those who maybe are having a hard time.
It seems that not only Rose needed this thread as other people were glad to know parenthood is not all just being tired all the time but it is actually very rewarding
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We would like to know how you feel about this thread. Do you feel like parents should talk more about both sides of raising a child as they focus on the negative aspects too much? Or do you think that the good parts should be common knowledge and parents should continue sharing the struggles as to prepare future parents for what’s coming for them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
All this talk about love: When you don't feel that love for your child after it is born, don't be harsh on yourself. Post Natal Depression is real. But when you do feel the love, or see the beauty.. it is magical seeing a tiny, helpless baby grow up to a person with his/her own sense of humour, joys, interests. Moments when I am super proud of them. Funny moments. They teach me how to enjoy the moment, live in the moment. They teach me a lot of things. (Without teaching me). And what has been said: seeing the world through their eyes, wonder again at things.
Definitely had to learn to love my kids, and some days it's relearning how to love them. They grow and change every day and it's a process of learning to love the new human they become with each new day.
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The best moments of my life have been with my kid. Like simple moments that I knew would stand out for as long as I lived.
Me too Luther! Beautifully put. I think people HAVE to remember that humans have a tendency to remember, relay and retain negative experiences moreso than they are positive ones. It is more common to "vent" online about a negative, than get online while you are at your happiest and gush. Most will read ONLY the negative, but not understand that 5 wonderful moments happened before the negative one that was written about. My time as a mom has certainly been the best time of my life, 22 year old me would have BALKED at that suggestion!
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There have been many wonderful moments with my two boys, but the one that sticks out most is when my first-born hugged me for the first time. He was about 18 months, and up until that point, he had only received my cuddles. But when he put his arms tight around me, I felt like I literally melted. It was euphoric.
I feel like I get bogged down in the negativity of parenting, and it's made worse by lots of "what's the crappiest part of parenting?" Or "why I don't have kids" posts that seem to be everywhere. I'm sooo thankful for this that I went and hugged my kid.
I'm surprised! I didn't think bored pandas liked positive kid/parenting posts.
That's true. There must have been dozens of "why I'll never have kids" posts, with too many mean, kid-hating attitudes. Totally fair not to want kids, no need to be an a*****e, though
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Before my son passed away I was in the bathroom giving him a bath, he peed on himself and my 8 year old daughter is behind me sitting on the toilet talking to me when this goes down. Gabriel pees and it gets in his mouth (newborn) and my daughter screams in terror while he starts to scream that he peed. I couldn't stop laughing at both of them. It is one of my most fond memories. Yes it can be hard. It can be heartbreaking. But it's so worth every single moment. My older two just like to hang out with me and talk to me about their girlfriends when I'm cooking. And I love it so much. Or they show me funny videos and my younger two remind me about dress up and playing house. Parenting is amazing and I love every single thing about it.
I'm so sorry about your son. I'm sure you and his dad carry him in your hearts. ♥️
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And tbh.... That sense of wonder that's "I made this" doesn't change towards your kids, no matter how old they get. Mine are 27,28, and 33. In my head I hear the equivalent of "little rockstar"all the time, which they find absolutely hilarious. But I'm very proud of having given birth to,raised, and now befriended, the lovely adults they are! They are citizens of their community, active in the things that matter, good to others, and those are things that I am and should be proud of!
I'm looking forward to this. The day I can be more friend than parent. I'm always scared about them moving out because this world is rough and I remember all my adventures and fails as a young adult. But I will always be here for them and they know that. Thank you for sharing an older mothers perspective. 💗
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Honestly, I think the best thing was that it gave me a whole new perspective on the world. I cannot BELIEVE some of the nonsense I used to fret and worry about before. Bringing a small being into the world that depends on you entirely and who will be shaped by you… it is such a cliche but my daughter grounded me and made me appreciate what’s really important: her, my skills as a parent, the way we treat each other and the way we treat others.
I'm not a parent. I never wanted to be but I have a wonderful nephew who is now 28, married to a wonderful woman. When he was born it was amazing, but I said to his mom that I don't really want to be left alone with him after he's 1 yo. I don't know what to do with them! But at one point, I think he was close ro 2, they were moving and of course it was a very hard day on him. She put him to bed and said she just needed to go to the car for a minute. Me:😳. Not long after I heard him crying in his crib. I went in and my heart just melted. "Aw, you've had such a hard day". I picked him up, went over to a chair, sat down and he just curled himself around me and went to sleep. One of the best moments of my life.
I love watching my daughter grow up, maturing and teaching her about the world, listening to her ideas. Having someone to come home to and hug, someone to say goodbye/see you later I love you. Having someone who really wants to engage with a conversation with me. I have no regrets having my daughter in my life. I just don't want to do it over again as I had her young and I'm ready for the next chapter in my life.
I have a recording of my son laughing hard as my alarm, so I wake up to his infectious happiness everyday :)
People ask me what is important, my kids. What do I love most, my kids. Nothing is close, absolutely nothing. Sex, relationships, pets, cars, holidays, are all around 1-2% compared to my kids at 100%. Watching a small helpless personloaf turn into a human being is remarkable. The love is unconditional. I told a friend who was expecting a kid (and he had negative views of the world, conspiracies etc), that once you have the kid you'll know (A) what it means to love someone, (B) that the world isn't so bad and you can sort it out - because now you have to.
The absolute privilege of bringing another person into this crazy, beautiful, scary and wonderful world. Being their carer, protector, mentor, guide and friend. Watching them go on their unique journey of growth and self discovery. The incredible love that is like nothing else ever. You become greater than yourself.
My son helped me see the world in a bright fun light again. He is so funny and I love how close we three are (hubby, kid and me). I love how kind he is and thoughtful. I as he gets older it gets more fun, I can talk to him about video games and books... we go see movies together and when he comes home from school I am lucky (WFH) to great him and talk about our day. We try to get songs stuck in each others head, we will dive bomb my husband with hugs... he is so gentle to our pup and cat. It makes up for the 6 months of hell between 21/2 - 3years of age (what a nightmare). hahaha
What is it with 2.5 years??? OMG we had so many behavioral issues with mine...now she is 5 and nothing but sweetness. That age is NO joke!
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I'm not a parent but it nice to have a thread about being a parent that's not negative for a change. More of this please and less of the moaning and pictures of people on toilets being mobbed by their kids.
My son is autistic..and everyday I worry about what things will be like once his father and I are gone and he is here on his own. Then he says something or does something that shows me he has a sharp mind and a fantastic sense of humor even if he doesn't know that wearing a brand of underwear atypical of the brand he normally wears isn't a catastrophe.
Kids have a tendency to catch you off-guard with how cute they can be, or unexpectedly making you their favorite person. I'm not a parent yet, though I hope to be, buy I remember how I felt when I found out about my mother's 11th pregnancy. I was absolutely terrified, because that meant I had to watch my mom go through so much suffering, watching her practically fade away as she went through the struggles of pregnancy again. My youngest brother is six months old now, and absolutely lights up whenever he sees my face. I think he knows how much mental distress I went through because of him, and he's trying to make up for it XD.
I wholeheartedly agree with every comment. Thank you to everyone who answered. To add to what's already been said, I love seeing how my children are like me. Even if the trait is not genetic and just coincidence/"nurture," I have this feeling of togetherness with them. To give a silly example, my son has little "chicken skin" bumps on the back of his arms, like me. Even though it's a small trait, and not even a very good one, when I think of it, the bottom drops out of my heart. "He's like me." "He's part of me and we belong together." "We share a history." For the flattering traits, the feeling is even clearer, and don't even get me started on how endearing I find it when they act like their father. 🥰 It reminds me how procreation is like the two of us loving each other so much that it overflowed into a whole new person. This isn't to say that I expect or need my children to be just like us in every way. Of course they're individuals that complement or clash with us in other ways,
but even when we clash, there is so much opportunity to learn from that and grow closer, and I love being with my family. Also, changing topics a bit, I was so lucky because I enjoyed pregnancy and childbirth overall. My one unmedicated labor and delivery was practically ecstatic, by far the best day of my life. I could go on an on about how they fill me with hope for the future, how personally and spiritually fulfilling I find it to raise them, how much I love doing kid stuff with them, and a thousand other things, but I think I have gushed enough!
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It's been a long and stressful week. Yes, my kids grate on me often. But you can't help but melt when your 2 year old is going through a phase where he says "I love you" to everything (toys, books, whatever) because at some point he plops on you to say those lovely words over and over like a drunk frat boy and you squeeze him because you know it's true for you too.
My first child was an angel. The easiest transition to parenting you could imagine with infinite amounts of cuddles, love, and adoration. My second is a boy. It's night and day, and I freakin love it! He's an insane, creative, determined little two year old who can never contain excitement or giggles. I mention this because you realize, after you have two kids completely opposite of each other, how beautiful humanity is. We are all so different, but we all need love, encouragement, excitement. It truly opens your eyes to the concept of humanity and how unbelievable it really is.
For me, the good definitely outweighs the bad. Watching them grow into their personalities is breathtakingly beautiful. They find true joy in the simple things in life. An then they grow up into men and women. Watching them graduate high school and then college. Making a life for themselves and knowing that I had the privilege of being there and helped guide them every step of the way. Being a parent is the most purest love there is. I have 3 biological children and took in 2 more to as my own. I couldn't be more proud of anything in the world. Best feeling ever.
There's many awesome moments of having kids too. When they are babies they are so curious about the world and it's fascinating to see them really study the world and see everything for the first time. And when they just want to snuggle when they are tired and you feel that warm and perfectly content body next to yours. Or when they smile gummy smiles just by seeing you. When they are a bit older (starting at about 5-6yrs) it's interesting to hear their stories about the world around them. You see everything in a new light! And you are amazed that they are their own personalities with ideas of their own. If you have more than one kid it's awesome when they play together. And in my case when my older ones (8yrs and 9yrs) really love and wants to take care of their baby brother (8 months). They are so gentle and understanding with him. Read him stories and play. Many awesome things! Sure, it's the hardest thing I've ever done and they are crazy expensive but it's also great.
The best moment of this kid's life was when my mom hugged me (I was about 10?) and said, "I'm so glad I had you." I cherish that. :-)
I want to make sure every parent reading this knows that if you don't feel the love and you're overwhelmed, you very well might have Postpartum depression and please, remember, MEDS HELP and are SO worth it
It's so true that you talk about the negatives more because they're easier to communicate. Everybody understands how awful it is to have a baby screaming at you, how gross it is to change diapers. But trying to describe the good parts just sounds so corny.
I have parented now for 20 years. Always wanted to be a mom. Ya, we have to vent the tough stuff and I laugh at the memes where you relate all the time. It keeps you sane. But I hate the negative, kid and parenting bashing stuff too. Parenting remains my favorite part of my life. Getting to teach another and watch them learn and grow and experience is sooooo fun. It’s fascinating. Like others have said it’s a deep forever love you can’t explain. It’s like God loves us. Parenting provides a purpose in life and a fulfillment like no other.
Watching a whole person unfurl in this world, how they learn, they grow, they start to have their own abilities and interests, and you get to see almost every minute of it. It's really amazing.
What I think is most wrong is the "don't sweat it, humans have been doing it successfully for millions of years". They haven't. Sure, humans survived. That's just giving food and shelter, anyone can do that. But many people have emotional and psychological problems and many (I dare say most) stem from childhood and the things the parents did wrong. Yeah, they live, but how? Even the people who don't have diagnosable mental health issues, can still be horrible racists, misogynists, religious fanatics, etc. Did their parents raise them successfully? I say no.
It sounds nice, but I will be honest, the struggle isn’t worth it for me. I’ve worked with babies, toddlers, five to six year olds, and then eleven to thirteen year olds. The babies and toddlers were cute and sweet but exhausting and same with the five to six year olds. As for the eleven to thirteen year olds... they were just exhausting. I can’t imagine having to live like that 24/7
You mean as a teacher? IF so, I think it's different as a parent. I did both, and the difference is about the difference between having a toy car and having a real car, or having a firecracker and having a grenade. HUGE difference.
Load More Replies... All this talk about love: When you don't feel that love for your child after it is born, don't be harsh on yourself. Post Natal Depression is real. But when you do feel the love, or see the beauty.. it is magical seeing a tiny, helpless baby grow up to a person with his/her own sense of humour, joys, interests. Moments when I am super proud of them. Funny moments. They teach me how to enjoy the moment, live in the moment. They teach me a lot of things. (Without teaching me). And what has been said: seeing the world through their eyes, wonder again at things.
Definitely had to learn to love my kids, and some days it's relearning how to love them. They grow and change every day and it's a process of learning to love the new human they become with each new day.
Load More Replies... The best moments of my life have been with my kid. Like simple moments that I knew would stand out for as long as I lived.
Me too Luther! Beautifully put. I think people HAVE to remember that humans have a tendency to remember, relay and retain negative experiences moreso than they are positive ones. It is more common to "vent" online about a negative, than get online while you are at your happiest and gush. Most will read ONLY the negative, but not understand that 5 wonderful moments happened before the negative one that was written about. My time as a mom has certainly been the best time of my life, 22 year old me would have BALKED at that suggestion!
Load More Replies... There have been many wonderful moments with my two boys, but the one that sticks out most is when my first-born hugged me for the first time. He was about 18 months, and up until that point, he had only received my cuddles. But when he put his arms tight around me, I felt like I literally melted. It was euphoric.
I feel like I get bogged down in the negativity of parenting, and it's made worse by lots of "what's the crappiest part of parenting?" Or "why I don't have kids" posts that seem to be everywhere. I'm sooo thankful for this that I went and hugged my kid.
I'm surprised! I didn't think bored pandas liked positive kid/parenting posts.
That's true. There must have been dozens of "why I'll never have kids" posts, with too many mean, kid-hating attitudes. Totally fair not to want kids, no need to be an a*****e, though
Load More Replies... Before my son passed away I was in the bathroom giving him a bath, he peed on himself and my 8 year old daughter is behind me sitting on the toilet talking to me when this goes down. Gabriel pees and it gets in his mouth (newborn) and my daughter screams in terror while he starts to scream that he peed. I couldn't stop laughing at both of them. It is one of my most fond memories. Yes it can be hard. It can be heartbreaking. But it's so worth every single moment. My older two just like to hang out with me and talk to me about their girlfriends when I'm cooking. And I love it so much. Or they show me funny videos and my younger two remind me about dress up and playing house. Parenting is amazing and I love every single thing about it.
I'm so sorry about your son. I'm sure you and his dad carry him in your hearts. ♥️
Load More Replies... And tbh.... That sense of wonder that's "I made this" doesn't change towards your kids, no matter how old they get. Mine are 27,28, and 33. In my head I hear the equivalent of "little rockstar"all the time, which they find absolutely hilarious. But I'm very proud of having given birth to,raised, and now befriended, the lovely adults they are! They are citizens of their community, active in the things that matter, good to others, and those are things that I am and should be proud of!
I'm looking forward to this. The day I can be more friend than parent. I'm always scared about them moving out because this world is rough and I remember all my adventures and fails as a young adult. But I will always be here for them and they know that. Thank you for sharing an older mothers perspective. 💗
Load More Replies... Honestly, I think the best thing was that it gave me a whole new perspective on the world. I cannot BELIEVE some of the nonsense I used to fret and worry about before. Bringing a small being into the world that depends on you entirely and who will be shaped by you… it is such a cliche but my daughter grounded me and made me appreciate what’s really important: her, my skills as a parent, the way we treat each other and the way we treat others.
I'm not a parent. I never wanted to be but I have a wonderful nephew who is now 28, married to a wonderful woman. When he was born it was amazing, but I said to his mom that I don't really want to be left alone with him after he's 1 yo. I don't know what to do with them! But at one point, I think he was close ro 2, they were moving and of course it was a very hard day on him. She put him to bed and said she just needed to go to the car for a minute. Me:😳. Not long after I heard him crying in his crib. I went in and my heart just melted. "Aw, you've had such a hard day". I picked him up, went over to a chair, sat down and he just curled himself around me and went to sleep. One of the best moments of my life.
I love watching my daughter grow up, maturing and teaching her about the world, listening to her ideas. Having someone to come home to and hug, someone to say goodbye/see you later I love you. Having someone who really wants to engage with a conversation with me. I have no regrets having my daughter in my life. I just don't want to do it over again as I had her young and I'm ready for the next chapter in my life.
I have a recording of my son laughing hard as my alarm, so I wake up to his infectious happiness everyday :)
People ask me what is important, my kids. What do I love most, my kids. Nothing is close, absolutely nothing. Sex, relationships, pets, cars, holidays, are all around 1-2% compared to my kids at 100%. Watching a small helpless personloaf turn into a human being is remarkable. The love is unconditional. I told a friend who was expecting a kid (and he had negative views of the world, conspiracies etc), that once you have the kid you'll know (A) what it means to love someone, (B) that the world isn't so bad and you can sort it out - because now you have to.
The absolute privilege of bringing another person into this crazy, beautiful, scary and wonderful world. Being their carer, protector, mentor, guide and friend. Watching them go on their unique journey of growth and self discovery. The incredible love that is like nothing else ever. You become greater than yourself.
My son helped me see the world in a bright fun light again. He is so funny and I love how close we three are (hubby, kid and me). I love how kind he is and thoughtful. I as he gets older it gets more fun, I can talk to him about video games and books... we go see movies together and when he comes home from school I am lucky (WFH) to great him and talk about our day. We try to get songs stuck in each others head, we will dive bomb my husband with hugs... he is so gentle to our pup and cat. It makes up for the 6 months of hell between 21/2 - 3years of age (what a nightmare). hahaha
What is it with 2.5 years??? OMG we had so many behavioral issues with mine...now she is 5 and nothing but sweetness. That age is NO joke!
Load More Replies... I'm not a parent but it nice to have a thread about being a parent that's not negative for a change. More of this please and less of the moaning and pictures of people on toilets being mobbed by their kids.
My son is autistic..and everyday I worry about what things will be like once his father and I are gone and he is here on his own. Then he says something or does something that shows me he has a sharp mind and a fantastic sense of humor even if he doesn't know that wearing a brand of underwear atypical of the brand he normally wears isn't a catastrophe.
Kids have a tendency to catch you off-guard with how cute they can be, or unexpectedly making you their favorite person. I'm not a parent yet, though I hope to be, buy I remember how I felt when I found out about my mother's 11th pregnancy. I was absolutely terrified, because that meant I had to watch my mom go through so much suffering, watching her practically fade away as she went through the struggles of pregnancy again. My youngest brother is six months old now, and absolutely lights up whenever he sees my face. I think he knows how much mental distress I went through because of him, and he's trying to make up for it XD.
I wholeheartedly agree with every comment. Thank you to everyone who answered. To add to what's already been said, I love seeing how my children are like me. Even if the trait is not genetic and just coincidence/"nurture," I have this feeling of togetherness with them. To give a silly example, my son has little "chicken skin" bumps on the back of his arms, like me. Even though it's a small trait, and not even a very good one, when I think of it, the bottom drops out of my heart. "He's like me." "He's part of me and we belong together." "We share a history." For the flattering traits, the feeling is even clearer, and don't even get me started on how endearing I find it when they act like their father. 🥰 It reminds me how procreation is like the two of us loving each other so much that it overflowed into a whole new person. This isn't to say that I expect or need my children to be just like us in every way. Of course they're individuals that complement or clash with us in other ways,
but even when we clash, there is so much opportunity to learn from that and grow closer, and I love being with my family. Also, changing topics a bit, I was so lucky because I enjoyed pregnancy and childbirth overall. My one unmedicated labor and delivery was practically ecstatic, by far the best day of my life. I could go on an on about how they fill me with hope for the future, how personally and spiritually fulfilling I find it to raise them, how much I love doing kid stuff with them, and a thousand other things, but I think I have gushed enough!
Load More Replies... It's been a long and stressful week. Yes, my kids grate on me often. But you can't help but melt when your 2 year old is going through a phase where he says "I love you" to everything (toys, books, whatever) because at some point he plops on you to say those lovely words over and over like a drunk frat boy and you squeeze him because you know it's true for you too.
My first child was an angel. The easiest transition to parenting you could imagine with infinite amounts of cuddles, love, and adoration. My second is a boy. It's night and day, and I freakin love it! He's an insane, creative, determined little two year old who can never contain excitement or giggles. I mention this because you realize, after you have two kids completely opposite of each other, how beautiful humanity is. We are all so different, but we all need love, encouragement, excitement. It truly opens your eyes to the concept of humanity and how unbelievable it really is.
For me, the good definitely outweighs the bad. Watching them grow into their personalities is breathtakingly beautiful. They find true joy in the simple things in life. An then they grow up into men and women. Watching them graduate high school and then college. Making a life for themselves and knowing that I had the privilege of being there and helped guide them every step of the way. Being a parent is the most purest love there is. I have 3 biological children and took in 2 more to as my own. I couldn't be more proud of anything in the world. Best feeling ever.
There's many awesome moments of having kids too. When they are babies they are so curious about the world and it's fascinating to see them really study the world and see everything for the first time. And when they just want to snuggle when they are tired and you feel that warm and perfectly content body next to yours. Or when they smile gummy smiles just by seeing you. When they are a bit older (starting at about 5-6yrs) it's interesting to hear their stories about the world around them. You see everything in a new light! And you are amazed that they are their own personalities with ideas of their own. If you have more than one kid it's awesome when they play together. And in my case when my older ones (8yrs and 9yrs) really love and wants to take care of their baby brother (8 months). They are so gentle and understanding with him. Read him stories and play. Many awesome things! Sure, it's the hardest thing I've ever done and they are crazy expensive but it's also great.
The best moment of this kid's life was when my mom hugged me (I was about 10?) and said, "I'm so glad I had you." I cherish that. :-)
I want to make sure every parent reading this knows that if you don't feel the love and you're overwhelmed, you very well might have Postpartum depression and please, remember, MEDS HELP and are SO worth it
It's so true that you talk about the negatives more because they're easier to communicate. Everybody understands how awful it is to have a baby screaming at you, how gross it is to change diapers. But trying to describe the good parts just sounds so corny.
I have parented now for 20 years. Always wanted to be a mom. Ya, we have to vent the tough stuff and I laugh at the memes where you relate all the time. It keeps you sane. But I hate the negative, kid and parenting bashing stuff too. Parenting remains my favorite part of my life. Getting to teach another and watch them learn and grow and experience is sooooo fun. It’s fascinating. Like others have said it’s a deep forever love you can’t explain. It’s like God loves us. Parenting provides a purpose in life and a fulfillment like no other.
Watching a whole person unfurl in this world, how they learn, they grow, they start to have their own abilities and interests, and you get to see almost every minute of it. It's really amazing.
What I think is most wrong is the "don't sweat it, humans have been doing it successfully for millions of years". They haven't. Sure, humans survived. That's just giving food and shelter, anyone can do that. But many people have emotional and psychological problems and many (I dare say most) stem from childhood and the things the parents did wrong. Yeah, they live, but how? Even the people who don't have diagnosable mental health issues, can still be horrible racists, misogynists, religious fanatics, etc. Did their parents raise them successfully? I say no.
It sounds nice, but I will be honest, the struggle isn’t worth it for me. I’ve worked with babies, toddlers, five to six year olds, and then eleven to thirteen year olds. The babies and toddlers were cute and sweet but exhausting and same with the five to six year olds. As for the eleven to thirteen year olds... they were just exhausting. I can’t imagine having to live like that 24/7
You mean as a teacher? IF so, I think it's different as a parent. I did both, and the difference is about the difference between having a toy car and having a real car, or having a firecracker and having a grenade. HUGE difference.
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