13 People Who Realized Parenting Isn’t as Sweet as It Looks

A lot of people think parenting is easy. Just feed the kids, take them out, and keep them entertained. But the truth is, it’s constant work that affects every part of your life. Having a child at home changes everything. It’s a wild rollercoaster, and sometimes the things they say can even send chills down your spine.

• “When my son was 3-4 he started talking about his wife. He would say she was outside, and very sad. I remember him putting his hand on his heart and saying he missed her, but we couldn’t let her in — she needed to move on.” © saltydottie / Reddit

• “When my daughter was a toddler she randomly started talking about a man named Don. She always described him the same way and didn’t seem scared at all, despite bringing him up every day. She didn’t go to daycare and we didn’t know anyone named Don. Then one day she got completely freaked out, wouldn’t walk around the house alone in case she ran into Don, wouldn’t sleep in her own room, and would talk about how she hated him because he said ‘mean words’ to her all the time. About a year into ’mean Don’ we bought a new house. Once we moved she never spoke of him again.” © sciencenerd86 / Reddit

• “My distant relatives have a daughter who, as a child, could go 2 or 3 days without eating if her parents refused to fulfil some of her whims. The parents didn’t try to compromise and just waited until the girl was hungry enough to eat a bowl of soup. But since they continued to spoil the girl and indulged some of her whims, the same thing happened again, again, and again. Eventually this passed, but she developed new, sophisticated manipulation techniques, such as running away.” © Singing Coon / ADME

• “My husband leaves for work early in the morning, so I stay with the kids all day. I recently had food poisoning and had to run to the toilet almost every 5 minutes. With 2 small children (2 and 3 years old), this is a real problem! When I had to run again, I grabbed a bunch of toys, spilled them out in front of the kids and ran.
  30 seconds of silence, and I heard ringing and rattling. My heart sank into my boots. I ran out, and there sat 2 pranksters, holding the curtain...along with the curtain rod. I can’t understand how some mums manage to do makeup and other things. And my husband gets offended that as soon as he returns from work, I immediately ask him to spend at least 15 minutes with the children.”

• “One night, when my son was 3, we had stopped on a bridge, which was closed to traffic for the annual fireworks. My son pointed to the middle of the road and started talking about the sad little boy who was waiting for his parents to come get him. Recently, there had been an accident and a boy didn’t survive.” © Nattles2020 / Reddit

• “Everyone said parenting gets easier after the newborn stage. Then after teething. Then after daycare. Well my son is 11 now and doesn’t cry at night anymore. But last night, he shook me awake and whispered, ’The man in the hallway said you’re not ready yet.’
  I jumped up and there was was no one there. No unlocked doors. No windows open. This morning I asked him about it, and he just blinked at me like I was crazy. He doesn’t even remember getting out of bed.”

• “A friend of mine has been married for 5 years. Suddenly, her husband told her, ’Let’s have a baby.” She asked him, ’Will you help me with the baby? How often? Are you ready to deal with my hormonal surges? Will you be able to work for both of us? And if the child gets sick?’
  He quickly interrupted their conversation, saying, ’You’re sick.’" © Radostnya / Pikabu

• “I’m a single father. My daughter asked my once, ’Where do babies come from?’ I don’t like to lie to my daughter, so I found a book for children on the subject. We sat down and went over it in detail.
  In the first grade, a boy told her that children are found in cabbage. But my daughter disagreed and told him everything she knew. The following day, the parents of this boy called me, saying, ’How come your 7-year-old is aware of these things? It’s not right.’
  They started threatening me that they would call child protective services and file a police report. And I replied that I would post the recording of our conversation in the parents’ group. I also notified the class teacher to prevent any provocation. She supported me. It’s good that at least teachers are capable of critical thinking.” © Overheard / VK

• “My youngest doesn’t eat, and I try not to give him any snacks until he’s hungry and eats properly. But there’s an older kid at home who’s screaming, ’But I ate! Where’s my dessert? Why do I have to suffer because of him?’
  And every time, I can’t stop thinking, ’What should I do? Let the older one eat biscuits in front of him? That’s not right.’ A couple of years ago he was eating better, but now he has practically stopped eating meat and many other foods.” © Inessa Fedorovna / ADME

• “My son had colic when he was a baby. He couldn’t sleep in bed, only in my arms. Later, he was afraid to stay alone, ’Mum, don’t close the door to the toilet, I’m afraid.’ We had to agree that I would still close the door, but I would talk to him.” © Olga_S / ADME

• “Our firstborn was about 18 months. Walking, but not that agile. I was downstairs on the computer, the wife yelled down she was using the bathroom and for me to watch him. We misunderstood each other, so he was alone for about 3 minutes. She comes out asking where he is, and he is nowhere to be found in the house.
  Thinking he’s just hiding, we start a full search, only to notice the back patio door is slightly open after a few minutes hunting. Growing concern at this point, but figuring he just snuck out back. A full search of the fenced/gated yard shows nothing. Now the heartbeat is going.
  Start running out and down the street. Find him 2 blocks down. He was heading to the park, which would have required crossing 2 roads, one of which was a busy one. Nice neighbors found him and were walking him home as they’d recognized us from previous walks. Needless to say, child locks went on all the doors in the house after that.” © Rancethetank / Reddit

• “I’m in a hospital with my daughter, there’s still a week away from discharge. My wife is at home with our son. It’s not the first time I have to do this, because the daughter listens to me, and it’s physically easier for me to carry her. I would like to ask you, ’Is it the same for you — a week in the daily care — 2 weeks at home on sick leave?’ We’ve been living like this for 2 years now.”
  © 59Block / Pikabu

• “My daughter is 3 years old. The scary sound coming from the nursery is when there is silence and then ’Ouch.’ But the scariest thing about this sound is that the child reacts with the same ’Ouch’ to small things like paint spilled on the carpet, as well as to real dangers. By the time you get to the nursery, you have a few more gray hairs.” © Nastassya / ADME

Worried about their kids’ future, parents often try to follow tips that promise success. But times have changed, and old rules don’t always help. In fact, some well-meaning choices can end up hurting their child’s future.

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