Parents love their children. That is a given. However, there are moments in the long parenting journey when being a father and a mother is stressful, painful, and tiresome.
Recently, parents were given a platform, to be honest about the worst part of having children. And surprisingly, they are more than willing to spill the beans.
A new survey about parenting in America in this day and age has just been released by Pew Research Center, eight years after the first of its kind was made. It revealed that 80 percent and 82 percent of parents feel that parenting is always or most of the time rewarding and enjoyable, respectively. More so, 64 percent of American parents rate themselves as excellent or very good at raising children.
However, 62 percent of parents also think parenting is harder or somewhat harder than expected.
Most parents would agree with these results and confirm that though being a mom and a dad is just extra-ordinarily rewarding and joyful, it is also the most challenging job in the world. Parenting is not always, as they say, a walk in the park.
The worst part is losing a child
A Reddit post asked parents about the worst part of having a child.
The now-viral post, which already has over 18,300 replies and comments, has become a "safe place" for parents of all ages and stages to be honest, vent out, and even educate.
One of the most popular answers was losing a child, literally and figuratively.
One of the commenters shared how she suddenly lost her 15-year-old son one day. His father went to his bedroom to wake him up but found him not breathing anymore. To this day, they still do not know what caused his death, as he had no health conditions.
The commenter said, "Every single part of parenting is a challenge. But losing a child is a pain, unlike anything I've ever known. Having a child is taking a risk that someday your whole world could be shattered, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it."
One Reddit user replied to this comment stating how this answer negates all other answers, which leaned towards complaining about the chaos brought about by their kids or about them being tired and losing their freedom. The user then reminded everyone in the community to instead stop stressing about the small stuff and appreciate the children and the moments given to them.
A father also shared about losing his baby, figuratively, as his daughter is now 18 years old. He said the worst part for him was losing his little buddy who "always wanted daddy" and sees daddy as her safe place.
He narrated that when his daughter turned 14, that was the end of all the hugs and kisses. She suddenly does not need mom or dad anymore. He knows she loves them, but she no longer shows it. And it has been a "big loss."
Unsolicited advice, worrying and more
Other popular answers were gathered and ranked by Bored Panda.
- Unsolicited advice from other parents. The only reliable source is parents who did it before you 30 or 60 years ago.
- Worrying about the children for the rest of your life and worrying about how the outside world will treat them when you can't be beside them or when you're gone.
- When children have disabilities or mental health. Reality bites, "generics is a lottery," and not everybody wins. There will be kids who will not have the life their parents envisioned they will have, and even marriages will be affected that it won't last just because of this.
- The most frustrating thing ever is asking for their parents' advice, yet these children would rather listen to their 17-year-old friends instead.
- Having to take care of a sick kid when the parent is also sick and needs taking care of.
- Losing their time to be alone. They love their children to death, but they desire for just an hour to be left alone.
- Being so tired and constantly so tired. One parent said they could not remember not being tired since the kids came.
- Being depressed and having depressed children at the same time.
- Witnessing them committing the same mistakes their parents made even when they were warned about these mistakes already.
- The constant parent anxiety. Are they doing enough to shape their children to make good choices in life? Are they providing enough for the children to have the life they deserve?
