“Working in a nursery/reception is harder than being a parent”

You're over thinking the comment, it is not a competition.
You sound a bit mean.
Similarly when people compare a puppy to a newborn. I have experienced both and both were difficult, though the puppy settled quicker, the puppy was just as hard for a few weeks.

My reception age dd’s teacher works 5 days a week and has kids the same age as me, I think she’s a bloody superwoman I’m knackered working part time!

You look after one DC, she has up to 30, I'd agree working in childcare FT is just as hard, if not harder, it's not the type of job that you can switch off from either, there is always a worry or funny memory.

Obviously she is wrong but if she ever has kids she will find out. Otherwise, why sweat it.

I'm 100% on her side I'm afraid, I'm a mum of 2 for context, and a school governor. I lead a Rainbows group for 1 hour once a week with 20 5-7 year olds and I'm exhausted after that, I honestly don't know how teachers do it 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, plus meetings,planning,marking, safeguarding, government targets and budget cuts, rude children and parents - if we have an aggressive parent or child they are asked to leave - end of story. Schools can't do that, they have to just deal with it. My oldest wants to be a primary school teacher - I'm very proud of her but privately wish she would chose something else, as I dont want to see her being exhausted, poorly paid, stressed and frustrated trying to do her best in an increasingly challenging landscape.

I mean it obviously isn’t harder to do an 8 hour (or whatever) shift looking after 30 kids in a school/nursery and then going home and doing whatever you want and getting enough sleep every day and sending them home if they’re ill rather than cradling their sick soaked bodies as the washing machine whirrs away at 3am.

Working parents do a hard and tiring job all day and then go home to their second full time job of being a parent where they’re on call 24 hours a day!

Both parenting and teaching are hard. I personally found being pregnant with a toddler and teaching the hardest! I think pregnancy being the worst part of that.

Well I'm both and although nursery work is very tiring and sometimes draining, being a parent is harder - hands down

I've been both a parent and a nursery worker. Parenthood is definitely harder. Nursery work is probably around 45 hours a week, you are a parent 168 hours a week. If a nursery child is ill they are sent home to the parents. The child ratio for 3 year old is no more than 8 children per adult so she is not managing 30 alone but has other adults support. I use to think at nursery it took 3 people to deal with a vomiting child. One to tend to the child, one to distract the other children and one to clean up the mess. When I had two of my own it was just me dealing with it all.

I'd imagine working in a nursery or reception class is far harder to be honest but its not a competition!

(That said I did have easy uncomplicated pregnancies so didn't find being pregnant with a toddler difficult)

I have four young children and it’s by no means easy but I’d rather shit in my hands and clap than look after other people’s young children. Both are hard in different ways.

As knackered as you get from 1 child, it sounds like utter hell to me to be looking after 30. Just tell her you're both tired and it's in different ways. Obviously a nursery worker with no kids is never going to understand the sleep deprivation with a baby.

I can understand why she would think that, because she's dealing with 30 children and that is hard - I couldn't do it.

But she hasn't been a parent, so she has no idea how relentlessly exhausting it is in the early years. She can't possibly know, she hasn't done it. Just smile and nod and let it go. You're both tired.

That’s weird. I think you just have to smile and say, I’m sure you’re really tired, yes.