If you’re lucky enough to have little ones (or even older kids), you’ll know that every day is an emotional rollercoaster. Being a parent is scary, exhausting, challenging, inspiring and often downright hilarious. Here are 5 things that all parents have to deal with at some point (and we wouldn’t have it any other way)!
1. BRUTAL HONESTY
Depending on their age, your kid(s) may not have learned that certain things are impolite or better left unsaid. As a parent, you’ve got to be prepared for (often very public) outbursts of complete honesty. Your daughter thinks you look ugly today? She’s going to tell you… loudly. Your son has a question about something or someone? Rest assured he’ll ask it at the most inappropriate time, which will often leave you red-faced and him completely indifferent.
2. IRRATIONAL FEARS
Every kid is scared of something, and more often than not, several things. These fears can range from the common—clowns, heights, spiders—to the very unusual—mailboxes, clouds, toast—but the reaction is often extreme. As kids develop, they’re taking in everything, all the time, and often new fears can manifest without warning (and with no apparent source). While it can seem funny at first, it’s just as important to take their fear of cartoon cats as seriously as their fear of snakes.
3. WORD JUMBLES
Little ones are always ready to grow up fast and that often involves mimicking what the adults around them do and say, even if they don’t understand it themselves. Every parent has experienced the hilarity of a child using a word completely out of context, the confusion of them repeating a phrase that is way beyond their years or the embarrassment of an overheard curse word being thrown out at the worst time!
4. STRANGE OBSESSIONS
Alongside irrational fears, kids will often fixate on odd things and force you to obsess about them too! Does your son love mailboxes? Then you’ll be spending a lot of time explaining and looking at them. Is your daughter going through a cartwheeling phase? Then you’re going to have to stop everything and watch her 2478th version of a cartwheel whenever the moment strikes!
5. BOUNDLESS ENERGY
Literally the most tiring thing about being a parent is when your child won’t stop for hours at a time. With seemingly endless energy, they can go and go and go on virtually no sleep (without food or water if you didn’t force them to). The silver lining is that when they become teenagers, they’ll want to lay around all day and you’ll be dreaming of the days you had to chase them around to go to sleep!
The very best part? When you realize that all the things that frustrate and amuse you about your kids are things that you did too! You’re welcome, mom and dad!
1. BRUTAL HONESTY
Depending on their age, your kid(s) may not have learned that certain things are impolite or better left unsaid. As a parent, you’ve got to be prepared for (often very public) outbursts of complete honesty. Your daughter thinks you look ugly today? She’s going to tell you… loudly. Your son has a question about something or someone? Rest assured he’ll ask it at the most inappropriate time, which will often leave you red-faced and him completely indifferent.
2. IRRATIONAL FEARS
Every kid is scared of something, and more often than not, several things. These fears can range from the common—clowns, heights, spiders—to the very unusual—mailboxes, clouds, toast—but the reaction is often extreme. As kids develop, they’re taking in everything, all the time, and often new fears can manifest without warning (and with no apparent source). While it can seem funny at first, it’s just as important to take their fear of cartoon cats as seriously as their fear of snakes.
3. WORD JUMBLES
Little ones are always ready to grow up fast and that often involves mimicking what the adults around them do and say, even if they don’t understand it themselves. Every parent has experienced the hilarity of a child using a word completely out of context, the confusion of them repeating a phrase that is way beyond their years or the embarrassment of an overheard curse word being thrown out at the worst time!
4. STRANGE OBSESSIONS
Alongside irrational fears, kids will often fixate on odd things and force you to obsess about them too! Does your son love mailboxes? Then you’ll be spending a lot of time explaining and looking at them. Is your daughter going through a cartwheeling phase? Then you’re going to have to stop everything and watch her 2478th version of a cartwheel whenever the moment strikes!
5. BOUNDLESS ENERGY
Literally the most tiring thing about being a parent is when your child won’t stop for hours at a time. With seemingly endless energy, they can go and go and go on virtually no sleep (without food or water if you didn’t force them to). The silver lining is that when they become teenagers, they’ll want to lay around all day and you’ll be dreaming of the days you had to chase them around to go to sleep!
The very best part? When you realize that all the things that frustrate and amuse you about your kids are things that you did too! You’re welcome, mom and dad!