Anyone who doesn't have children yet will be told by someone how magical and beautiful being a parent is. Some will even argue that a person's life has not begun until they have kids.
But as some parents will point out, life as a parent is not made up of all unicorns and rainbows, and it certainly doesn't always smell like roses.
Redditor Roxane-Rose asked:
"What is the worst part of being a parent?"
The Constant Worry
"The worry that something horrible will happen to them. Sickness, kidnapping, getting lost, etc."
- MelbaToast604
"Which never, ever goes away. Ever."
- marvelous_much
"Honestly, that's all I ever think about. I have four kids (8, 7, 5, and 1.5), and all I want is for them to become good people."
"I let my fianceé know all the time, our kids will be adults longer than they are children, so we gotta make sure we establish manners, morals, and empathy. We also gotta make sure they have fun."
"I love those little monsters, even tho they're a headache sometimes."
- bafeom
Overrun with Illness
"Being sick as an adult f**king sucks. Being sick and having a sick kid, takes it to a whole new level of suck."
- axron12
"Kids have an incredible ability to get really sick during the most inconvenient times."
- jgiffin
"Four years ago before Christmas, my wife got sick and it turned into pneumonia. She was in the hospital for three days."
"Very scary. I guess. I wouldn't know, I had the flu combined with a stomach bug and both of our boys had strep throat. They were 13 and 8 at the time. They took their meds well as I had alarms set. But I was down and out."
"Day two, I went to a clinic that said stomach bug. On day three, my father (I'm 35 at the time) came and took me to the ER and my sister took my kids."
"It was a nightmare. I couldn't visit my wife in the hospital. My kids called my dad cause I was laid out on the floor. Just a f**king nigtmare. Being sick when your kids are sick makes you feel like the most useless parent in the world."
- normaldeadpool
Inconvenient Injuries
"Kids getting injured at the most inconvenient times. My wife and I had the flu this winter and my three-year-old decided she was going to help us feel better at 3:30 AM by making us tea."
"She got out of bed, went to the kitchen, and dropped a glass teapot on the floor, lacerating her feet."
"So I got to have the flu at the hospital while my daughter got stitches."
- pavorus
Staying Safe
"Always having to be extra careful so that you don't cause them to experience the consequences of losing a parent too soon."
"Sometimes I just want to be dumb and impulsive, and having to always be responsible puts a damper on that some days."
- AJSawASquirrel
"I stopped all of my hobbies because of worrying about my kids well being. I used to ride motorcycles and dirt bikes. I used to play in an adult hockey league. I used to love going to see a concert or sporting event and having a few and taking public transport back."
"Not anymore. And not again until they are fully… like 100% capable of living without my support. I’m 42 and my four sons range from 10 to 19. It’s gonna be another 20 years before I get on a bike again."
"I love them, but it sucks."
- Jcholley81
School Safety
"The worry of picking a preschool that has 'enough' security and safety measures in place has wrecked me."
"We toured the school my toddler will go to this fall and the first thing I asked about is security: locked doors, escorting the kids individually into/out of the building, etc."
"It makes me sick to the stomach that I have to worry about that."
- vk2786
Constant Meal Planning
"Figuring out three meals, 8,000 snacks, 1,000 activities, and settling for the fact they won’t like, want, or do any of them."
- BurThe___Down
"The meals and snacks exhaust me. Constantly having to bring snacks everywhere when they are toddlers, and now that they are almost teenagers they are hungry all of the time. It never stops. I'm always at the grocery or planning meals or cooking meals. It's insanity!"
- Feetyoumeet
"I love to cook, but trying to keep a family fed is exhausting. Once I became a mom, I really started to understand why some people hate cooking."
- KatieCashew
Minimal Me-Time
"No or little free time."
- MissingCalifornia-
"I'm an introvert, I really need my me time to recharge."
"And I have a five-month-old baby that needs me at every moment of the day. I can sometimes get away with leaving him alone during the last hour of his afternoon nap (with the baby monitor on, as he's started rolling and it frightens me), but that's it."
"He needs his mama at all times and throws a fit for anyone else. He won't even really eat or sleep when his grandma takes care of him. I foresee his first month of nursery school being very unpleasant."
- ClancyHabbard
"I find myself staying up a lot later than I used to just because of the fact that I've always enjoyed solitude, and these days, I have very little. So once everyone falls asleep I often lose track of time as, 'Just a few minutes,' to myself turns into two hours before I know it."
- Pristine_Interview86
A Child's Persistence
"Relentlessness. Kids don’t stop, they don’t go away, they always need to be fed, and cleaned, and entertained. They are always there, for 21 years+, they are always there. Every single day, every single hour. Kids are always there."
- Rkozlow
"'Raising children is like getting pecked to death by ducks.' I don't know who first said it, but they knew parenting."
"When the kids were young, my wife and I used to quietly say, 'quackquackquack,' to each other when the relentlessness got a little too stressful."
- PaulsRedditUsername
"I call my child 'The Terminator.'"
- Greatbrandino11
"'That kid is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and it absolutely will not stop… EVER, until you are dead!' - Kyle as a parent, probably."
- PaulClarkLoadletter
What Is Sleep, Again?
"Lack of sleep impacts your ability to do everything else so that’s going as number one."
" Number two, for me, is that sometimes, when they’re having a full-on breakdown because they don’t want to get in the bath they have literally every day on the one day you actually have to be somewhere, I look at them and really miss only taking care of me."
"I still love them, do not regret them, and would never ever tell them, but they make things so much harder than it needs to be because they do not give a crap about any priorities other than their own."
"When that happens I do some deep breathing and remind myself that they’re just little kids, of course, they don’t care about making other people wait."
- LastLadyResting
"The sleep deprivation."
"I'm serious, it wrecked me. I was already suffering from postpartum depression, and I was both breastfeeding and dealing with an unhelpful partner. I didn't sleep much until the baby was about a year old."
"Cognitively and emotionally, it destroyed me. I made stupid mistakes at work and as a parent. I didn't trust or like myself, or the baby."
"That's the number one reason he's an only child. I can't handle the lack of sleep."
"He's an amazing, creative, hilarious 15-year-old now; I love him and I love being the mom of a teenager. For one thing, he sleeps through the night."
- insertcaffeine
An Intro to Death and Grief
"Right now, for me... explaining the concept of death to my three-and-a-half-year-old."
"My MIL (Mother-in-Law) is having their senior dog put down this week, and we have to explain, gently, that kiddo is going to go to Grandma's this week and the dog who has been there her whole life will be gone, and Grandma is going to be sad."
"Also the constant worry and anxiety. That s**t eats you alive."
"(But then you look at them and snuggle them and realize you BUILT A PERSON and my god is amazing. It's a love you will never be able to explain.)"
- vk2786
Excess Funds
"Not me, but my best friend told me the thing he hates the most about being a parent is just not having any money for him to spend on his wife."
"Before they had kids, he would surprise her with little gifts every now and again and it would make her so happy. Now he's starting to feel bad now that he can't do that anymore."
- Author_Story_Teller
Disciplining Them
"The guilt when you have to stand up to your kids and discipline them. It's never fun to see them sad."
- AlwaysNipping
The Imperfections
"The worst part of being a parent is realizing that you're never going to be perfect for them. You're only human yourself. You're weak, you're tired, you're fallible, just like them."
"And as such, you'll do/not-do something and you'll blow it out of proportion and crucify yourself, and you forget that you're just still human too."
"And in that moment, in that lapse in judgment, you'll regret yelling at them, you'll wish you played with them a little bit better, you'll regret getting frustrated and impatient, and you'll regret criticizing them. You'll miss them, wherever they are, whoever old they are."
"The worst part of being a parent is that you can't save them from yourself. It's all in the game of life, and every second of it takes effort and thoughtful energy."
"Some days will be better than others. This too, shall pass."
- Rpark888
Trying to Relate to Them
"As a father, when they were too young and I couldn't connect with them."
"When they are sick, need to undergo an operation... even a blood sample or a vaccine, it really breaks my heart to watch that."
"When you think you are doing that parenting thing right, but somehow your kid does the opposite as you expected."
"When your partner and yourself are not on the same page in terms of parenting and it creates conflicts in the couple."
- borsky
All of the Above
"It depends on what you are already lacking in life."
"Don't have a lot of money? Wait until daycare bills add up."
"Don't have a lot of free time or get much sleep? Welcome to being a zombie for a few years."
"Don't have much patience? You will be tested with every fiber of your being to shake your baby when it won't stop crying. You absolutely CANNOT do this by the way. It's better to put it down in a safe spot for a few minutes till you can do a few deep breaths and calm down and come back a bit more level-headed."
"Have a difficult time agreeing with your spouse on plans or values? Get ready for divorce or for eternal resentment."
"Not much of a sex life? Welcome to celibacy."
"My daughter is the light of my life and I have so much joy with her now that she sleeps through the night and has a personality, but being a dad is hard and I occasionally find myself in a panic attack because I'm nervous for what the h**l I'm gonna do in August when the new one is born. We are privileged in many ways but it's still so hard!"
- GMaharris
Parenting can be a beautiful, life-changing experience, but that does not mean that it's perfect, and it's absolutely not for everyone.
Conversations like this are important for people to have before they decide to have kids, so they can make the best decision for themselves and avoid those situations where uninformed people have kids, only to resent their children for the rest of their time together, which likely would lead to going no-contact.
Every parent, most of the time, is trying to do the best job they can. Raising kids doesn't come with a mandatory handbook, so most decisions first-time, or even fourth-time, parents make come from their gut or from learned experience.
Is that experience always spot-on?
That's what we're here to figure out, reflecting on what our parents did to us and whether or not it worked.
How did your parents discipline you when growing up?
There are the classic "boomer" methods, shall we say, that get thrown around a lot. Sure, you could discipline your child like the following, but do you really want to take advice from the people giving it?
The Classic Debate
"Hitting me"
JedLeland
"I grew up that way too, I don't think it is a good way anymore. What do you think?"
tittybuttmagee
"I don’t know I’m 50. I grew up getting spanked. I spanked my boys to a much lesser degree. Maybe my family is evolving? The boys are 18-19 year old college students now. Amazing young men. Seems weird to look at them now and think I used to hit them."
TellumNevik
A Punishment Becomes A Blessing
"If I said something bad, I'd get my mouth rinsed out with Tabasco. Jokes on them, now I love hot sauce!"
perpetualmotionmachi
Nowhere To Go But Down
Constantly "grounded for life." They then wondered why I didn't listen, like what are you going to do, ground me for "double life?"
zachtheperson
Take The Time To Write Apologies
"I had my privileges taken from me (tv, phone, computer, car). Had to write some apology letters, only got spanked twice thanks to my Aunt crying and telling my mom that she hugs me with those hands how can she spank me with them?"
sprittytinkles69
Some methods are more subtle, like they're trying to punish you with the least amount of effort on their end but with maximum efficiency on yours.
Tugging On Your Heart Strings
"Catholic mom and Jewish dad; their weapon of choice was GUILT!!!"
destro23
"'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed'"
Channel250
"Growing up in a Catholic household, my mother is still a pro at guilt tripping & I’m 28, a mother, & a homeowner…"
"Best one was her trying to brainwash me into thinking I’d be trapping my SO if we had another child before we get married…. even though my SO loves being a dad…."
"Yeah… her reasoning was always “I wAnT wHaT’s BeSt FoR yOu”
"Yeah no."
katmio1
Let Them Take It Out On Themselves
"They didn't. See when I do things that are wrong, I feel really bad about it. really bad. I'd punish myself more than my parents ever could. And they knew that ."
Sablemint
"Yep this was it for me too. I don't think my parents were the type to hit shame or scream regardless but I won't know now. A lot of the self loathing and problems turns out we're a result of undiagnosed ADHD."
-toge
You Can Get A Lot More Reading Done In This Time?
"The silent treatment"
"They wouldn't talk to my brother or me for hours or days at a time."
"To make it worse, they wouldn't tell us why they were upset, making us feel guilty for something we didn't understand."
Back2Bach
Know What's Going On In Your Child's Life, But Don't Be A Jerk About It
"My parents would look through all of my devices which gave me insane privacy issues. Even if I have nothing to hide I panic any time someone touches my phone. They also took my door down once which I think was f**ked up, punish your kid but don't take away their privacy, I'm of the belief it's a right."
screwtapeletters
A Good Balance Of Both
"I experienced both sides. I was spanked maybe 2 or 3 for serious stuff. But my parents were never crazy abusive. My mom was the disciplinarian while my dad was more chill. I was grounded when I did stupid things but I was also shown love, compassion and understanding. I remember when I was bullied in 6th grade and came home crying, my mom hugged me and let me cry all I want while stroking my hair."
Kaiser93
At its core, disciplining your child should be about showing them there are consequences for their actions. If you do something bad, something bad can happen to you.
Some parents take that concept and twist it, warping it into something so awful they miss the point completely.
...I Think You're Doing "Time Out" Wrong
"They put me in “time out” which meant they cornered me and screamed at me and filmed the whole thing. Usually 2-3 hour sessions."
Careless-Detective79
Unable Or Unwilling To Hold Back
"There was rarely discipline. It was usually straight up abuse. My parents didn't "cross" the line between discipline and abuse -- they pole vaulted over it, set in on fire, then threw it into the Grand Canyon."
rosesforthemonsters
What's The Point Of Any Of This?
"If I didn’t get beat, they would make me stand in front of a wall, about a foot away (the more mad they were, the farther I had to stand) and I’d have to touch my nose to the wall and lean there with my body weight on my nose. Usually for an hour or 2, the longest was 5. They would periodically check to make sure my nose was still in contact with the wall."
"If they got bored with that, I’d have to kneel in front of a closed door and put my nose in the keyhole, again, for a few hours. The keyhole was always underneath the handle so it f**ks up your neck."
"For a little spice they would take my bedroom door away as well as empty my room out except for my clothes and a mattress. Blankets may or may not be left."
WarmRainInMarch
Try talking to your kids first. Let that be the first step before you make any other decisions. Who knows? You might solve the problem then and there.
What ways did your parents discipline you? Do you think it worked? Tell us about it in the comments.
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As a toddler, I used to LOVE flashing my diaper at people from under my dress. My parents used to warn me that my children would be bringers of Karma.
The memory of that warning flashed through my mind a few years back while I was chasing my toddler through Disney as she speed-ran her way through the splash area stripping.
Nudity is frowned upon by the mouse.
Reddit user ironbolt124 asked:
"Parents of Reddit, what's the most embarrassing thing your child did in public, and what did you do in that moment?"
You will be unsurprised to learn that tiny humans are terrible people.
Oprah
"This was back in 1998. I live in a fairly small town in British Columbia Canada. It is about 99.9% White people."
"I had my daughter at the grocery store and there was a person of colour at the checkout. My two-year-old pointed at her and said 'Oprah! Oprah!!' ”
"I died. My soul left my body."
"Completely full of grace, the lady laughed and laughed and then said 'Oh I wish I was Oprah!' ”
- Hereinpen
GiphyI Don't Belong
"My oldest had a talent for finding hard surfaces with his head."
"He smacked into a door frame at preschool when he fell off a bouncy horse and had a huge goose egg in the middle of his forehead. Gravity did its thing and the blood in the goose egg slid down his face, blacking both eyes."
"A few days after, he looked like he went 3 rounds with Mike Tyson."
"He was at the airport with his aunt and cousin waiting for Grandma to get off the plane."
"A lady said, 'Oh, you have two beautiful children.' ”
"My son could have said. 'Oh, this isn't my mom, it's my aunt,' or 'She’s my cousin' or something.”
"Instead, he looked up at her sadly with two black eyes and said, 'I don’t belong to these people.' ”
"His aunt hissed, 'You’re gonna get me arrested!' ”
- urbancowgirl42
GiphyEverybody Sees
"My wife and I were in Vegas for work when my son was about 3."
"We hired a babysitter so we could go out to dinner. The babysitter arrived as we were changing my son, and the second the hotel room door opened he sprinted."
"It caught the sitter off guard and my son got a good head start."
"He ran down two hallways completely nude with us running behind him before we managed to catch up and grab him."
"He ran by several other guests including a group of young men who were cheering him on. On the way back he repeatedly yelled 'everybody sees my peepee!' "
"In retrospect it's hilarious, at the time it was not."
- woogychuck
Giphy"Oh Ok"
"My 4 year old walked in on me while I was changing my pad. He was concerned about me bleeding, so I explained to him that I'm ok etc."
"The next day I took him to our local mom & pop toy shop. When we got to the counter to pay he said to the owners:"
“ 'My mommy’s bleeding from her Pee Pee but she' s ok' ”
"They said 'Oh ok. Would you like a bag?' "
- aaronkellysbones
"It's the 'oh okay' for me lmao"
- DrugSnuggler
GiphyFreckle
"For some reason when my kid was learning the word 'Freckle' it came out 'F*ck you.' ”
"...so we were in line at Starbucks and I was holding my daughter and this lady comes up behind us who had a freckle on her cheek."
"My daughter points right at this lady's face and goes 'F*ck you.' ”
- SeaTie
"The restraint on that woman to not say, 'f*ck you, too kid.' "
- kristinstormrage
"If a kid did that to me I would be in hysterics."
"I’d feel bad for the parent, but I’d be roaring with laughter."
- Zerly
GiphyMust Be Doodies
"My 3yo son was finishing up swim lessons. I asked him to hurry up and dry off, get his shoes on because I needed to use the restroom."
"Him: 'peepees or doodies, mom?' ”
"Me: 'it doesn’t matter honey, let’s just get our shoes on and go. ' ”
"Him: 'peepees or doodies?' (Loud enough for people to start looking at us)"
"Me: 'we don’t need to talk about that.' ”
"Him: 'PEEPEES OR DOODIES MOMMY?!?!?' (Now everyone is looking)"
"Me: 'can we just hurry please?' ”
"Him: 'must be doodies, then.' ”
"I died."
- nellyann
GiphyWhen I Grow Up
"When my son was 3 he saw me getting out of the shower and said 'Daddy why are your balls so big?' "
"So we explained to him that when boys grow up their testicles and penis get bigger."
"Flash forward to about a week later. We are signing papers for a lease on a car. My son, very loudly, informs the saleswoman:"
" 'MY DADDY HAS BIG BALLS AND WHEN I GROW UP I WILL HAVE BIG BALLS TOO!' "
"She started snorting from laughter. My wife and I turned red but pretty soon we were laughing too. I think the whole damn dealership heard him."
- offspring515
GiphyMirror Mirror
"Not my child, but my nephew."
"My mom, older sister and I were wedding dress shopping for my upcoming wedding (15 yrs ago). My sister's husband was at work so she brought along my 3 yr old nephew, who would end up being my ring bearer."
"At the bridal place there are mirrors EVERYWHERE."
"As the 3 of us are talking about the dress I was trying on, we realize that my nephew was being too quiet. We look over, and he had his back to one of the mirrors, bent over, pants around his ankles and he was mooning himself."
"I laughed so hard I started crying, but my sister was mortified."
- bookluvr83
GiphyAt Grandpa's Funeral
"It was my grandfather’s funeral, and we were all in the church."
"My infant son had not pooped for almost a week. In the middle of one of the eulogies he unleashed a weeks worth of poo into his nappy with the LOUDEST fart."
"It leaked EVERYWHERE and got on my husband (who was holding him)."
"My gorgeous husband took him out of the church and cleaned him up, and when the funeral was over I came out to find my son in a nappy and wrapped in a blanket because his clothes were covered."
"Everyone had a good laugh, but I was mortified for a little."
"My grandfather would have found it hilarious though and was probably laughing in heaven."
- lilybet93
GiphyGood Save, Dad
"I am the child in this story."
"According to my mom, when I was about 4, I was super excited about learning to read and was in a phase of reading simple phrases out loud everywhere I went."
"I’ve always had a loud, carrying, voice."
"Apparently my dad took me to the grocery store and, while waiting in the check-out line and sitting in the cart, I loudly read off of a tabloid, 'How to get more out of your man in bed.’ What does that mean, Daddy?' ”
"My dad said he felt like the store went silent and everyone stared at him, waiting to see how he’d answer. (I’m guessing that’s mostly just his imagination.)"
"At last, he said, 'It’s for women who are tired of their husbands hogging the covers and want more blanket.' ”
"Good save, dad!"
- Friendly_Coconut
GiphyThe complete lack of filter is one of the things that makes kids most appealing.
You know 100% where you stand with them—and it's usually in awkward territory.
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People Break Down The Best Way To Make Friends As A 'Thirty Something'
With the responsibilities of careers and family and children, it can feel tough to make friends when you're over 30. The days of running up to randos on the playground and saying, "Wanna be friends?" might be far behind us, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to make friends.
NOTE: Remember to follow this advice in a post-COVID world, as safely as possible.
Reddit user, u/Llamatomb, wanted to learn some new tips and tricks when they asked:
"How do you make friends when you're 30+?"
Just Be More Open
Homer Simpson Hug GIF by Animation DominationGiphy"Join clubs of activities you enjoy."
"Talk to the people at your job."
"Write a message to your old classmates or friends."
"Meet your neighbours."
R3makea
"I think about 80-90% of friendships are formed based on circumstance. They're coworkers, frequent customers, or neighbors. The other 10-20% are the familial friendships and friends from the past"
Ahstia
Look For Any Kind Of Connecting Thread
"My story; I recently switched jobs and I hadn't met any of my coworkers due to corona."
"I saw a coworkers Volvo V60 (my dream car) was up for grabs and I was the only one who showed interest in taking it, so I went by his house to see it; We started talking and it turned out we shared a lot of common interests; BBQ, Beers, Whiskey & [cigars]. He mentioned that he and some other coworkers had a little club and they got together for slowcooking sessions! I instanly became best friends with half the management at my company!"
Th3_Accountant
Baby Steps
"Started therapy this year and that seems to be going well. I bought a bass guitar which makes me interact with people at the music store because I have no idea what I'm doing with it yet. I also get my car washed twice a week so that I can tip the car wash person $5 and ask them to put my other mirror in because I can't reach it."
"Baby steps."
warWITHINtheGIRL
Shift Up The Meeting Priorities
"I'm not 30+ yet (28), but I've had good luck with just dating. We're all pretty lonely and if you go into the first date with the attitude to find a friend rather than a life-long companion, you'll usually have some pretty good luck."
GourdofThunder
Go On. Learn Something.
"If you like languages, a language group/meetings may be a good way. They usually also include foreigners who are also looking for new friends."
Pinglak
Let's All Go To The Sports Ball Games
"Post-COVID advice, of course."
"Check out meetups first your hobbies. Even if they seem like solo hobbies. Book clubs, running clubs, etc. most of my friends now are from a running club. They are amazing and really fun folks."
"Get new hobbies. What I like as an older adult is different than what I liked as a teenager."
"This is an important note : I HATED sports growing up and was terrible at them. But I just decided to go for it But I started playing sports where no one cared if you were good (running is good since it literally doesn’t hurt anyone else if you’re slow) and other sports with a lot of adult beginners. Aka, adulthood is a bad time to start playing soccer, but great for curling, hockey, running, cycling."
"Like other said, say yes to invitations."
GirlsLikeStatus
You Don't Even Have To Talk At First
"get involved in activities were you will see the same people on a regular basis. You have that activity in common at least and maybe create friendship from there."
-castle-bravo-
"to paraphrase C.S. Lewis "lovers stand face to face but friends stand side to side". You find friends in common interests and activities."
Delta_pdx
You Only Hang Out When Your Kids Hang Out
happy homer simpson GIFGiphy"I feel like the catch 22 is this: Being a parent makes it easier, because you have a natural connection to others - kids the same age, play dates, etc. Buuuuut being a parent means you have so little time and energy for friendship, so it's kind of a wash"
peppermntn
Aw, I Have To Go To Classes To Better Myself?
"Some of these are difficult at the moment - coz Covid - but I’ve picked up friends along the way from the following:"
- "Exercise classes (note - I suspect this works better for females than males): any class which is not expressly aimed at a certain age group, eg. if you’re 30, joining “Fab After 50” or “Mature Bums” (OK, I made that one up) isn’t likely to attract your direct peer group. However, general classes advertised as for all abilities tend to attract all manners of shapes, sizes, ages, experiences, etc., and it’s difficult to NOT find yourself chatting to people, which can turn into a friendship over time. For dudes, I’d recommend team sports as opposed to classes."
- "Educational classes: veering towards “discussional” courses, such as the social sciences, humanities, arts, etc., where classmate interaction is encouraged, or even required. Or hobbyist classes such as pottery, painting, wood crafts, and so on. You’re (probably) less likely to pick up firm friends in classes aimed at a particular professional accreditation - as the students are just there to get that under their belt - but it’s obviously not impossible."
- "Volunteering and/or picking up a small extra casual job, if your “real” job isn’t giving you the interactions you desire."
Oh Yeah. Jobs.
"Co-workers you really get along, can have fun, and have things in common with are hard to come by it seems, but it happens. 3 of us had been going to the bar for a beer or 2 before heading home after work most Fridays for a bit before Covid forced the bar by work to cut its hours and open later."
TheMightyIrishman
Go With A Book And Be Ready To Put It Down
"My boyfriend works at a local brewery, he's 30, I'm 26. A lot of the regular customers there are in their 50s, a lot of single men and women who would just go there, bring a book, order a beer, sit at the bar, and chat with people who sat by them. Some of our best friends are regulars there."
"I spent a lot of this summer at backyard fires at a 50 something year olds place talking about his army days, and he's just a guy who was bored at home so started going to his local brewery for a beer every weekend."
"I know it's hard with covid right how, but there's nothing wrong with going to a brewery or pub alone with a book and chatting with anyone who's down to chat."
PistachioMaru
Never Say No
- "If you have at least one friend, or know any other humans that you feel you can stand for longer than a few hours, find similar interests you have and this can lead to them introducing you to other people with the same interest (music, sports, gaming, etc.)"
- "NEVER turn down an invitation. Even if you're not feeling up to it, or feeling lazy, just go. You can always leave if you're not feeling it. But perhaps you might end up meeting someone who has the potential for friendship!"
"Its obviously hard now with COVID and so many social restrictions, but hang in there!"
Ftw_dabs69ish
Learn From All Age Groups
"Don’t limit yourself to an age group. Older people in general and who have nothing to prove can end up being your most supportive. They can also mentor you. And you can give them energy and cultural updates to keep them in the know. I’m 68 and my fiancé is 81 and we often have more energy than those under 50. And we have lots of stuff, good stuff, we want to share or give away and we have. A win for each other. And we don’t judge as we have probably been there."
Icy-Independence3621
Reciprocate The Effort
"If someone makes an effort to get to know you better, reciprocate the effort and find out what they're interested in. If you find something in common, then do whatever it happens to be with them (ie gaming, working out, etc...) and use the common interest as a bridge to do other stuff together."
"Honestly way better at making friends now than I was in my teens or 20s as well because I've basically accepted I am who I am as well instead of trying to be someone who I'm not"
watermelonpizzafries
When You Give Back, The Universe Gives To You
Greeting Season 3 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"I felt lost when my Marriage ended. So I volunteered in the community , And found myself, found new friends, and found a sense of purpose for my spare time. Now, three years later when I go walking in the neighbourhood, I can say hello to a great number of people and I never feel alone. More than that, I'm hanging out with great people that also want to help the neighbourhood. In conclusion, Try volunteering."
sarudesu
Be bold, be brave, and don't be afraid to let someone new into your life.
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Parenting isn't always fun. Parents may love their children, but frustration is normal and expected when raising kids.
Things get more thorny once the child is older, too. As a child grows and matures and develops their own personality, parents might find themselves sparring with their children more often than not.
But airing grievances—especially about one's children—can be considered taboo in some circles.
Redditor RoseyTreatsBakery asked the online community:
"What is your least favorite thing about your child?"
"It does annoy me."
My kid can literally talk non stop for hours. It does annoy me. Ive been making an effort to stop what im doing and just listen.
"They both think..."
Both of my children, actually:
They both think being in a lockdown/virtual school situation means they never need to bathe or use deodorant again.
"He is constantly..."
Sock balls. He is constantly making balls out of socks and throws them around endlessly. He never has any socks to wear because they are nowhere to be found due to constant sock balling. Drives me insane. It's a good thing he's cute and a really good kid. It could be so much worse at 15.
"I can correct a stubborn kid..."
How much he's like me. I can correct a stubborn kid, but when it's more like looking in a mirror... that makes it 10 times more irritating and I have no idea why.
"All of the things that annoy me..."
All the things that annoy me about my kids are traits they inherited from me. Apparently I'm pretty annoying.
"Which means..."
Can I answer as an uncle that does more parenting of the kid than his deadbeat father? My nephew adores me. He's autistic, and I'm one of the few people who "gets" him, but it means any time I'm around he's attached to my side. That's fine, but he doesn't seem to be able to understand that he can just "be" around me without having to fill the silence. I'm cool with him playing his switch with my left arm around him while I browse facebook with my right. I like conversations, but he feels the need to always be talking, even with nothing at all to talk about.
Which means 3-4 times a day I have him pop his head up and ask whatever random question he can think of in the moment. Like "What would happen if Super Mario were blue" or "What if black holes weren't black holes?" or "What's your favourite type of.... um.... wall?" (All of these have been asked at one point).
"Turns out..."
When our son was two, he was a horrible eater and sleeper. Just very finicky with his food, and very difficult to keep asleep. We would get so frustrated and sometimes just be distraught with lack of sleep every night.
Then we went to the doctor. Turns out he had a minor structural issue in his mouth that made it very hard to eat solid food. He wasn't eating because he physically couldn't, and he wasn't sleeping because he was always hungry.
"Including..."
My stepdaughter has entered the phase of her life where she wants to know what we're doing at all times. Including when I'm sleeping/laying down. Two weeks ago I took a nap and she got into my face while I was sleeping to confirm I was still sleeping. The good news I'm happy to experience this now so I can prepare for it later.
"It's only been..."
Currently, it is the scream. Basically, she's just started the most godawful high-pitched scream whenever things are going badly for her, especially when she's frustrated or raging. It's only been the last couple of weeks and we're cracking down on it hard now, because if you banshee scream over minor things how do we know if something is really truly wrong when you do it? (Aka boy who cried wolf.) It's definitely slowed down in the last day or so since we got stern with her, so hopefully its ending but it was not a fun phase.
"She has some brave moments..."
My stepdaughter is afraid of everything. When I first came into the picture we couldn't even get her to walk past the Halloween stuff in Home Depot (she was 8), we can now get her in a Halloween store but she still won't go anywhere near the animatronics (she's 13 now).
She has some brave moments though, I gave her a staff that I had gotten from a ren faire to make her feel a little more safe. Now when she hears a loud or strange noise she'll come running out of her room with the staff, banging it into the walls and almost falling when she gets it tangled in her legs.
What's your most annoying thing about children?