What's the hardest part about parenting?

The unexpected, frustrating things that are (or feel like they are) totally out of your control, such as a child's attitude, an illness, Dearra's anxiety, things that happen at school, etc. Apparently I'm a control freak.

Parenting is hard when the kids are young but it is just the mess and their naughtiness that makes parents so exhausted. But I think the hardest part of parenting is when the children are already grown up and you cannot talk to them and you just keep guessing what's in their mind. i always dreaded the time when my child grows up and I cannot find in him what I had longed to have in my child but parents must be understanding. Now that my son is nearing twenty, he has matured and changed and it is back to normal parenting again. For me, the hardest part of parenting is when kids are teenagers because this is the crucial age and most critical for them. They are confused and they tend to be always ill-tempered.

For me it has to be the general stress, every minute of every day. Being a mother is 24x7x365 work and no matter how disciplined or how self-sufficient your kids are, you just have to be with them, for them, till they are ready to leave the nest. Even when you’re sure that you’ve taken care of everything, something unexpected will have to crop up…and forget about ‘me’ time…kids just don’t understand that concept as far as moms are concerned. But yes, we all love them, life wouldn’t he half as exciting without them around to keep us on our toes all the time.

Being a parent and raising a child is not an easy task. There are so many things a parent worries about. There are so many dangers you try to keep your child away from. I think the hardest part of parenting is worrying if your messages get through to your children. It's this uncertainty that gives us too many gray hairs and sleepless nights.

All of the above and then some. I had one open shelf put in the lounge so I don't have to go upstairs every time for change of clothes. Five minutes was all it took for everything to be pulled down onto the floor. After folding them and putting them back on the shelf for five times, I had to give up. I'd rather run upstairs every time they need to be changed. The thing that my daughters love to do best is take a bottle of water and pour it all out on the floor . Good thing we have marble floor. If we have carpeting, the house would be smelling with damp every where. I want them to grow up soon, so all the craziness will be done. But I also want them to stay like this because they are so loveable at this stage. By the way, my daughters are 32 months old and 10 months old

Basically kids are a trip overall, one minute they are good next they drive you crazy, but when they sleep they look like angels, thats how they get u. well for me as a parent the hardest part for me is learning them just when you think you know your child they switch up on you. lol. I have fun with my kids but I draw the line. Another thing is the laws are so screwed up everything for your kids now is child abuse its like you cant do anything to your kids, then they start walking all over you. I put my foot down, but its like you are on a rollercoaster trying to be a good parent, but you know something we can try to be the best parents, but all we can do is try our best to be the best for our children and be someone they can look up to.

The hardest part for me when my kids were growing up.....was when the time came....to see them leave home. All the time you have them you teach them to grow and be independent....there's a huge gap once they leave...it's one of the hardest things you'll ever have to go through!

For me, it´s not getting a moment of peace to get on with anything when they are about. I call that hour or so at the end of the day the witching hour, because I swear there´s a bunch of witches get into my kids. Wherever they are, they´re yelling ´Mum, mum, mum ....´. It doesn´t matter if I´m on the other side of the house, they won´t come to me, they´ll just yell. I´ve tried ignoring them, I´ve tried yelling back, I´ve tried dealing with whatever they want calmly and explaining that next time they could perhaps come and find me rather than yelling .... but none of it makes a jot of difference. I guess what makes it doubly hard at that time of day is that it´s also the pre-dinner period when I´m trying to cook and when everyone is coming home from the farm and wanting stuff from me too. You´re right, we do love our kids and we do love being parents ..... but just occasionally being able to complete a task without worrying about them would be SO nice!

This is a hard question to answer. So many different aspects. Now that they are adult it is not butting into their lives or decisions and only giving advice when they ask for it! Or if I want to get a point home to them then I think of how to approach it without seeming confrontational. I am very gentle when giving advice. I am not talking about their marriages as I made a vow never to give advice or butt in their marriages and their wives know that if they need a little rant they can do so to me without my going back and telling their husbands. When they were young I think it was not having time to be alone when I wanted and needed it. I remember distinctly the time when they were playing on the veranda and I told them to stay there for 20 minutes as I needed time off to read. I just needed the break. My bedroom had louvered windows and so they were still in my sight as I lay on the bed and read. When I heard a car I thought it was my husband coming home and didn't get up. It was only when I heard my eldest son explaining to my MIL (the one from hell) that 'Mummy says we must stay out here and play and not to disturb her unless we are bleeding', did I realise my goose was cooked! Properly too

For me it's the combination of those you listed out. The main reason is i am not a patient person, so i get frustrated easily. Though i try to ignore the little things and understand my kid's behaviour. Parenting is really a learning process for mothers and fathers. I am learning to cope with the situation every time it happens.

hello katsmeow1213! It is really true that sometimes they are naughty in the house. My two daughters always hear my sermons as these are the things to be done but still they pass it in their ears. Always yes abut after you will check it they did not done it correctly and neatly. They always want to chase each other watch television and play. Sometimes I got mad at them hard headed person but sometimes feel pity because they are just young ones. But I try them to train well as they grow up maturely and good. Just newly my elder daughter commit mistakes , thief get all my keys in the house . I wonder how he got it the little store is close. The problem is , she left all the key in table for the costumer and it is easy to get it. So even though committed wrong still they do it. I don't know how to treat them righfully.

I agree with you that it is all of the above. The hardest part of it is that you have to sacrifice your other aspirations just for the kids.

the hardest part for me now is the frustration that comes along when things dont go "my way." my 2yo is in this stage that she tries to assert herself by not doing what she used to love doing: getting her teeth brushed, taking a bath, eating properly, fixing her toys. i try to discipline her by talking to her and by being positive but to no avail. i guess its a hard part to feel like a failure as a mother.

It's a combination of things really, but the hardest thing for me, is seeing my children unwell, or when they hurt themselves, but all in all through all the trials and tribulations of being a parent, I love my boys and would not be with out them :)

I completely agree with you that for me it is all of the above, but the single thing that bothers me the most does vary at times. Today it is the fact that the kids don't know how to keep things straightened up. I decided that the carpet was driving me insane today and I thought that it needed to be shampooed. So, I picked up all the toys and trash and stuff and then ran the vacuum cleaner. Then I got the shampooer out started running that. Well, it was at this point that the kids decided that they needed to dump the toy box back out, so I had to pick all of that up again. It is really frustrating.

The hardest thing in parenting is to realise you won't always be able to keep them safe from small and big hurts that life will throw their way.We all want the perfect life for ourselves and our children and then along comes the real life dramas. Someday you'll be old and it's now time for your children to raise you.Did you pay attention to their needs (not the same as wants) or were you to busy? They may be too busy for you now. Love them,correct them,head them in the right direction and pray you've done good.