1. You sometimes feel regret becoming a parent
Being a parent is one of the most wonderful experiences that you’ll have in your life. But it doesn’t always mean that you’ll feel satisfied and have no regrets. Sometimes you’ll feel a hint of regret, especially if you had to put some of your personal goals on hold since your child’s needs will come first.
But at the end of the day, you’ll realise that it’s all worth it, once you see your amazing child grow up into a wonderful and successful adult.
2. You’ll realise that having kids isn’t all that fun
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It might be fun to think of all the cuddling and playing that you’ll have with your child, but the tantrums, cleaning up after their mess, trying to make them eat their food, all of those things aren’t exactly ‘fun’.
Being a parent is difficult, and you’ll soon learn that it can be a messy and dirty affair.
3. You might lose some friends
If you’re used to going out with your friends, then once you have kids, you’ll find yourself saying no to them more often. You’ll spend most of your time with your family, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, you’ll find that it’s difficult to both be a parent and maintain a lot of close friendships.
4. You’ll give up some of your aspirations
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Becoming a parent means sacrificing a lot of your personal goals in order to fulfil your responsibilities as a parent. Sometimes your personal goals and aspirations need to take a step back since it’s difficult to find the time for your own interests.
5. You won’t always be happy
Parents might always tell you that they’re happy and fulfilled, but the reality is that you won’t always be 100% happy with your family, and that’s fine. Parenting is no easy feat and the responsibility of taking care of another life can sometimes be stressful.
However, you’ll learn a lot of things as your child grows, and all of the new experiences and amazing moments more than makeup for the less desirable moments.
6. You might get very angry at your child
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You’ll soon realize why some parents shout at their kids or even resort to corporal punishment.
Sometimes it’s just too easy for parents to get angry at their child instead of trying to understand why their child is acting that way. And you can’t blame them, it’s not easy to always be calm and composed 100% of the time.
7. You’ll realise that your parents aren’t perfect
Lastly, you’ll come to realize that your parents made some mistakes in taking care of you. You’ll realize that just like you are right now, they really didn’t know a lot about what parenting was, and they were just trying to figure out how to figure things out.
*This article first appeared on theAsianparent Philippines
Source: mom.me
READ: Discipline mistakes parents make
