To think some people exaggerate how tired they are as parents?

I nearly lost my mind the first year but underplayed it I think ' yeah, I'm a bit tired' when really I felt quite ill with lack of sleep.

Small kids drain us with broken nights, constant chatter, constant worry, constant vigilance etc.

I assume you don’t have kids?

I think it’s the opposite. Most parents don’t actually let on how exhausted they are and how much they are juggling.

You clearly don't have kids. 3 out of 5 nights this week my ds has been up most the night! Monday he was up for the day at 2.30am he had school and I had work. Thursday he was up 2 til 6 again work and school. Friday he was up 2.30 til 5.30 work and school. Safe to say.... IM TIRED

Good luck getting any normal parent to agree with this...

I had seven years of being tired to the point of nausea every day, so I generally assume that when parents say they are exhausted that they are telling the truth.

Imagine you work 60 hours a week plus as a doctor and then throw in 3-4 wake ups every night, sometimes taking an hour to go back to sleep. I have been so tired I don’t feel like I can stand. I have done night shifts for years, 24 hour shifts you name it.

working while having a young child?? I have never felt so bone shatteringly exhausted in my life

I dunno OP. How did you feel when you had 4 to 5 hours of broken sleep, 2 hours cycles tops, 7 night a week for a period of 3 years?

No it's not the same as being exhausted cos you had to get up at 4.45 for an early flight 4 days ago.

People certainly would bother exaggerating. It's like the suffering Olympics here and in many workplaces these days.

Clearly it’s impossible for anyone to know whether the parents you know are exaggerating their tiredness or not. Not sure why anyone would bother though.

Well it’s subjective isn’t it and every person has different energy levels. Every family has it’s individual things which make life more or less exhausting.

Personally, I’ve felt permanently exhausted for 9 years. 2 kids, 1 with SEN, working f/t in an intense job. Poor sleep, various health issues, very limited family help.

it’s the accumulation of tiredness and the absolute relentlessness which is just unbelievable.

I don’t know, it’s relative isn’t it. I have 4 kids, single parent albeit my eldest 2 are now adults, but youngest has complex needs and my 23 year old has had a really difficult time recently. Add to that no thyroid, a job as a nurse so yep I am tired!! No idea if that’s more or less than anyone else but it isn’t a competition it’s just parents expressing they are finding things tough at varying degrees

You may have a point. DD1 was a crap sleeper and 2 kids a full time job as a lone parent was hard work but I wouldn't say I was constantly exhausted. I had them at 20 and 23 so maybe that's why

What's it to you? Are you a parent and/or are you pissed off at someone who is a parent?

Do you have kids 😅🤣

lol. I had a child who woke 5-8 times a night, EVERY night, for 3 years. I was also ill with an autoimmune disease that makes you tired. Then I was pregnant second time. So yes, I was actually flipping exhausted, to the point of collapse.

I wasn't complaining though, because I was so exhausted I barely could face meeting anybody to complain to!

Everybody is different. If you don't feel that "tired" means to you what it does to others, just count yourself lucky?

5yo and 2yo and totally fucking permanently knackered. The end.

I definitely think there's a lot of competitive tiredness which is annoying.

I'm certainly not finding it as soul crushingly exhausting as people made it out to be before I was a mum.

Yeah it's weird but someone started a very similar thread the other day.

What's your agenda OP?

What do they have to gain from faking tiredness?
Who do you think they get sympathy from?

are you Kemi Badenoch?

Not sure what this thread is trying to achieve. Obviously being switched on 24/7 for someone who depends on you is going to be exhausting. Doubt any parent is exaggerating.

Bit of a mean post, in my opinion. This is supposed to be a supportive forum not a finger pointing one.

I mean I don’t have kids but every parent I know has been knackered to a greater or lesser degree. I don’t know how people manage except that you just have too. Why on Earth would anyone exaggerate it? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't have kids. I have felt that deep in your bones tiredness (mostly where I'd stay up til the early hours then get up at 6am and do a 12 hour shift with a 3 hr commute a day - stupid).

The difference is once I got home, I only had to shove a pizza in the oven and crash out in front of the TV and stay up too late again

I think parent tiredness is a whole other level because it's 24/7. You're always 'on' and always have to put the tiny human first. It never stops. I didn't have a house plant to take care of

I must admit I didn't suffer from the exhaustion (mental or physical) that posters often express on this site but, by today's standards, I was a young mum. So many women are having children in their mid thirties/early forties these days and I think this is bound to impact energy levels.