Mom of Children

Daria

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14 comments on Being a parent is like…

Being a parent is like…

A friend shared this

My kids are 4 and 6. Some hardest parts of parenting for me are:

1. Always, always worrying about my kids, especially when I am away from them. But when they are with me, I still worry!

2. Always wanting/feeling the pressure to provide learning opportunities for them, be it sports, or arts, or travel. Taking them to a theater, or a museum, doing a road trip with them, or a longer international trip. I admit that this part of parenting I really enjoy.

3. The whining. I know it’s a season/phase/whatever else we can call it, but it’s hard.

4. The cost. I heard from some folks that as the kid(s) grow, the expenses grow with them. No end in sight.

5. Mom guilt, shoulda, coulda, woulda.. Always present. I have gotten better with those feelings once I left social media in 2018. I have a very bland Facebook profile with no pictures and just links to my blog posts, receiving very few updates: a few close friends, and our local library.

6. Yelling. It happens but I don’t like it. I always “re-pare” afterwards.

7. Keeping bad stuff out of my kids’ worlds and failing. What do I mean by “bad stuff”? Things they see on TV that may be harmful to them, commercials, unsupervised YouTube or things they may have heard in school. Little things but annoying nonetheless. I realize soon it will be entirely out of my control.

Pic: R and I at the theater yesterday to see “Mutts Gone Nuts” show.

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Daria

Mother, teacher, partner, friend. I love coffee, books, and travel with and without kids. I dislike exercise. Nothing glamorous here but do have moments of insight.

14 responses to “Being a parent is like…”

  1. Lisa’s Yarns Avatar
    Lisa’s Yarns

    I yelled this past weekend and felt so bad. But I apologized right away. It was the end of the day and taco wanted a snack before bed but was too tired to eat the actual snack. I had a busy day and was tired too and snapped. It’s hard not to feel bad. But I know my parents yelled at me but I don’t really have memories of it.. so hopefully mine don’t remember it either.

    The whining and volatile moods are the worst, especially how crabby Taco is in the morning! He can sometimes have a good morning but that is pretty rare. I also worry about them more than is necessary. Like I am worrying about where taco is in terms of knowing his letters and numbers relative to where Paul was at this age. I should not be comparing them!

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  2. Michelle G. Avatar
    Michelle G.

    I love that first quote! Daria, you are such a wonderful mother! Every post you write shows how much you care about your children. ❤️

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  3. Tobia | craftaliciousme Avatar
    Tobia | craftaliciousme

    I can only try to understand the feelings of a parent. But I see it in my friends, sisters and here on the log world how hard it can be. From what you share it seems you are doing a wonderful job and providing your kids with so many different things to learn and grow and find themselves.

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  4. Natka Avatar
    Natka

    That quote is too funny. And pretty much sums up my day today 🙂 Husband is away this week, so yeah, definitely hitting the ground – and then running to make dinner. And my kids are big and can do most things for themselves (except drive). So things should be easier… but I am still exhausted.

    I yell. Sometimes loudly, but mostly just in an annoyed-mom-tripping-over-kids-shoes or omg-we-are-late-why-are-you-still-in-PJs way. I always thought I was going to be super-calm laid-back mom… nope.

    Parenting is hard. And we just kind of have to learn on-the-go.

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  5. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    Yes to all of this. I’ve certainly done my fair share of yelling, went and sat on the fornt step and had a cry when it was all too much. Parenting is hard, definately the hardest thing I’ve done, but also the thing that bought the most growth and certianly the most rewarding in the end.

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  6. home here and there Avatar
    home here and there

    It’s hard now but overall gets easier (mine are 13 and almost 16). Except maybe the emotional stuff, that can be harder, since all the feelings seem to be bigger, too. I felt like you but now I sometimes miss those days when they had more time for me. Now they spend more time at school and with their friends.

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  7. Coco Avatar
    Coco

    I’m nodding on all of these even though my kids are older than yours. But still, i love having my kids, the most unexpected adventure.

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  8. karenmeg Avatar
    karenmeg

    This post is very real – you are in the thick of it but I love how you are spending so much quality family time with your kids- believe it or not, they will remember these special times with you and the experiences. And you will look back at your precious moments. And there may be more yelling, things may indeed get more complicated as they get older but as Coco says above parenting is an adventure. My kids are much older, in fact in a month’s time I will no longer be a parent to any teenagers (my oldest at 24, reminded me of that which I thank him for – made me laugh as he was teasing, but also a bit sad.) That being said, being their Mom I know they will always need me in some form or another.

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  9. Diane Avatar
    Diane

    oh my, so much all this.

    I love kids – I always said if I had more time, patience, mental energy, and money I would have more kids. But they do take up all of that and I always feel like I don’t have enough of any of it for the kids I do have.

    I always believe that if you ever wonder if you’re being a good parent, the answer is “yes.”

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  10. Diane Avatar
    Diane

    oh my, so much all this.

    I love kids – I always said if I had more time, patience, mental energy, and money I would have more kids. But they do take up all of that and I always feel like I don’t have enough of any of it for the kids I do have.

    I always believe that if you ever wonder if you’re being a good parent, the answer is “yes.”

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      Ha. Thanks friend ❤

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  11. J Avatar
    J

    My daughter is 28 and I still worry. I guess I always will.

    I love that you do so many activities with your kids. I don’t think we did 1/2 as many with our daughter.

    And yeah, $$$. Kids are sure expensive!

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  12. Kyria @ Travel Spot Avatar
    Kyria @ Travel Spot

    My Mom used to yell at me a lot and we went on a lot of sandwiches in the car vacations and I don’t think that I have been negatively affected by either. Also, I think we got lots of experiences, but did not play all the sports or go to all the things, and again, I don’t think that is an issue now. Also re worrying, I am fairly certain my Mom (parents) still worry about me even now! That never ends!

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  13. Maya Avatar
    Maya

    Haha that meme! And I think you are doing awesome parenting… maybe even too much?

    I don’t think the worry ever goes away… But at some point, their choices and decisions take precedence.

    I really like Dr. Laura Markham https://www.peacefulparenthappykids.com/

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