Top 10 Worst Things About Being a Parent

Becoming a parent can fill your life with love, pride, and memories you would never trade, but it can also make your old definition of "difficult" seem hilariously inadequate. Suddenly, your time is no longer entirely yours, your decisions affect someone else, and problems you never knew existed have a habit of appearing at the least convenient moment.

You can prepare, read every parenting book available, and swear you know exactly how you will handle things, only for reality to introduce you to a tiny human who has absolutely no interest in following the plan. Parenting can be enormously rewarding, but nobody said the rewards come without a generous helping of stress, sacrifice, exhaustion, and occasional thoughts about how peaceful your life used to be.

The Top Ten

  1. Having to take care of your kids all the time

    People who think they want kids or are somehow fencesitters should ask themselves this before jumping into parenting. A lot of women would rather be fathers if they could, including some women who otherwise don't want to be a parent. Some say that a man wants a kid like a kid wants a puppy.

    Yes, it's hard. Thank goodness I'm not a parent.

  2. Dealing with the constant fear of losing your kids

    I'm obviously too young to have kids because I'm 14, but if I do when I'm older, this will be a problem for me.

    This must be horrible. If I was a parent, I would definitely not think about it too much.

  3. Having to deal with kids misbehaving

    Some are so annoying, and I feel VERY sorry for people who have to experience this.

    Not satisfied with their misbehaving at all.

    It's worse than taking care of a dog.

  4. Dealing with the complications of school

    Now you have to do parents' evening.

  5. Not being able to relax due to constantly working

    That's one thing that I hate. We need to at least take a break.

  6. Dealing with the financial burden of raising children

    One of the reasons I don't want kids. Call me greedy, but you'd have to spend a LOT of money on them. I'm still a kid, and I kind of want my own job (my age is on my profile) so my parents won't have to spend too much money on me.

  7. Dealing with temper tantrums

    Yeah, I'm not sure how anyone would hear a child scream bloody murder and then think they'll be fine if their future kids do it and that it'll be different because it's their kids.

  8. Dealing with their boyfriends or girlfriends

    I'd be constantly worried about whether my son/daughter was happy and being treated properly. Even at my age, my parents worry about this.

  9. Dealing with kids breaking and ruining almost everything

  10. Having to do what your kids like

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Waking up at weird hours due to at least one crying baby

    That would traumatize me, no doubt about it. I've already been woken up by a few times by baby in another apartment. They would also cry/scream for hours at a time on some days.

  12. ?

    Changing disgusting diapers

    I don't get how most of the population are fine with this. It surprises me when someone doesn't want to deal with reusable menstrual products(they work really well btw) because they'd be touching their own menstrual fluid(doesn't smell as bad as poop)but are also a parent or want to be a parent. I read in an eco-friendly book for families that kids go through about 5000 until they are fully potty trained! Shocking!

    13. The Contenders

  13. Trying to reason with young children

    It would still be good to explain things in detail so they know why they shouldn't do something and why they can't have something. I wish my parents had explained more.

    I'm already socially awkward, have social anxiety, and have autism (including so many sensory issues, and parenting sounds would be a sensory nightmare for me!). I have enough trouble communicating smoothly with adults, so why put myself through that?

    Yeah, I probably couldn't be a parent (outside of adoption) for this reason.

  14. Trying to cope with your child's disorder if they've got one

    I have autism. If I have a child and they have autism too, I may be able to understand some ways to better accommodate their needs, but I still should not be a parent no matter what. It would be a sensory nightmare for me.

    I already have some support needs, and if they have similar or greater support needs and/or do loud vocal stims, I would also struggle, and my disability money may not be enough for their comfort and happiness. It's definitely not enough for parenting or my own house.

  15. Having to play with your kids 24/7

    Yeah, gotta put a lot of thought into it before deciding to be a parent. I wish that my parents didn't suddenly stop bringing me to the park and playing with me when I was 8-9. I felt like a burden and questioned if they even liked me, and I felt ignored. Late childhood was rough.

    Also, iPad babies should not be a thing. They need to develop their motor skills, get exercise, and learn things by doing. Do not give them phones at an early age or unrestricted internet access. I was not an iPad baby or phone kid, though.

  16. Dealing with a reduced salary due to childcare costs or reduced work hours

    Yeah, that sounds unfair.

  17. Dealing with a teenager's increased attitude

  18. Having to buy everything for your child

    Yet I've seen someone who's anti-childfreedom calling a childfree person selfish and saying that all they wanna do is be a huge consumer. Parenting causes more consumerism, though. I would probably cave too much to a child being upset about not getting something that they really, really want and are afraid of missing out on. I would also empathize too much with that situation, coming from a poor family.

  19. Dealing with kids seeming to never get enough

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