10 Things I've Learned About Parenting... The Hard Way.

For today's installment of Top 10 Tuesday, I though I would tell you about a few parenting lessons I had to learn the hard way. Hopefully, I can save you from having to learn these lessons the hard way too...

HAHAHAHA!!  

Just kidding. ALL parents have to learn these lessons the hard way...


1. Parenting is ridiculously hard! Full Stop. If you are a parent, no explanation necessary.

2. EVERY preconceived notion I had before becoming a parent was so far off. I was SO SURE I was going to be the perfect mom with the most perfect kid. Not. Even. Close. Because, neither of those exist.

3.  Breastfeeding is not plug and chug. I had absolutely no idea that nursing my son would be the hardest damn thing! It was frustrating, painful and required a ridiculous amount of lactation consultations and pumping just to get the milk to flow, and the kid to drink it.  Yeah, it's anything but easy.

4. Toys will take over. Regardless of gender, toys will take over your life. Doll shoes will make it into the laundry, and Hot Wheels will make it into your pillow case. Toys take over, there is absolutely no way to stop it. Hint: Buy toy boxes, and storage shelves.

5. Potty Training is messy business. Regardless of the method you chose to get the job done, you will hate every minute, and find yourself, the bathroom, and possibly the entire house turned into the world's largest potty.

6.  Nap time is the new happy hour.  I used to decompress with friends after work, now I decompress VERY quietly on the couch... terrified if I make one loud noise my 'happy hour' will come to an abrupt end.

7. Toddlers can say, mommy/daddy/please and/or ask the same question four-million times in less than a minute. FYI: This will not stop until they are completely satisfied.

8. The attention span of a baby/toddler/child is about 4-seconds. This is the reason they can watch the same show or movie over and over... and over again... It's like watching a new show/movie every time, since the last time they "tried" to watch it, they got distracted. It turns out, you are the only one who is really watching the TV. This poor attention span is also the reason the minute you finish building the train track or doll house, they have no interest and have moved on to something new. It's impossible to keep up. 

9. Your child will outsmart you before two. Those little geniuses don't even have to know how to talk before they can trick you into doing, giving, or allowing them to do and have whatever they want.

10. Your kid is 100% positive that THEY are the parent, and that their job is to train YOU. Teaching them how wrong they are is the reason parenting is so damn hard. 




What lessons have you learned the hard way?

April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com