Do you like being a parent?-honestly?

This is the sort of thing I mean. I find this utterly baffling (no offence meant, I’m actually very jealous).

Nope. I love my DC, but find most things about being a parent VERY VERY BORING! Not stressful, as I’ve lots of resources, but boring. My prior life was far more enjoyable. When people talk about how wonderful it all is, I’m genuinely baffled.

I enjoy the toddler stage more than the baby stage, and I’m hopeful that stuff will get more interesting as they get older. The likelihood of life being as enjoyable as it was pre-kids seems fairly negligible, though. As I had a pretty awesome life.

The kids themselves are a joy, though.

I absolutely love it. I don’t think it’s easy but she’s nearly 2 and I find her so adorable. I prefer this stage to the baby stage as I like the fun and interaction. I will admit to being very tired though. I’m an older mam and work full time so i constantly feel tired but I am really enjoying it

Generally yes but I'm finding the teenage years hard

They do come out of it, one of ours was an absolute nightmare and caused probably 99% of stress in the house for about six years!

We have a really nice relationship now, He’s actually turned into a really nice person. Just struggled with the transition, I think.

Also, I think secondary school, unless it’s a very small, private one absolutely ruins most children, their personalities and spirit.

I love it (2 teens). The joy is exquisite. But the ache of it can be overwhelming: the pain for their pain, the fear for their safety, the desperate hope that I am doing it right, and that they will be alright. My heart is outside my body, and there’s no putting it back.

Yes. My children are the joy of my life. They give me purpose in everything I do. That doesn’t mean they aren’t occasionally exasperating, but I wouldn’t never swap being a Mum for all the freedom and money in the world.

I think it depends on individual temperament and your own life circumstances at the time, Your own upbringing, support network etc..

One of mine, absolutely not those problem in 20 years. The other one, absolute nightmare age 11 to 15! And I mean really hard work.

Same parents, same schools, pretty much same circumstances. Apart from that, I have really enjoyed it and feel a bit redundant and now they’re older and we miss when they were younger and Need much more involvement from me.

I have teenagers and I quite often wish I'd never have kids. This thought never even occurred to me when they were younger, it was sometimes tough but I always loved them.
I still love them but I do sometimes wonder if it will ever be worth all the hassle.

My DS is ND. I am finding negotiating life now he is a young adult very stressful at times. He doesn't gel with adulthood very well and there is always something.

I love him very much and mostly I am glad we adopted him and would be devastated if anything happened to him.

But there are times, with mental health issues, self harm etc., all still ongoing, that I do wonder what my life would have been like if we hadn't adopted. I would certainly have a healthier bank account!!

The great thing about them still being little like yours is, though, is that they still want to do everything with you!

And you can go on all the classic days out aimed at families, on holidays of your choosing for them etc and they think everything brilliant and fun! I miss that bit.

I love it, but find that if I think too deeply about it then it can be overwhelming (eg what sort of world the future holds for them and their own DC, whether I'm making the right decisions, what would happen to them if something happened to me)!
Best to just lean into it, OP.
7 is a nice age, in my opinion, but there are always tricky phases. You'll get more time to yourself in a few years.

I think 7 is still really little in the great scheme. I would say you’re still in the early years really - not in terms of the national curriculum but in terms of their life as a whole.

I like being a parent more and more as mine get older tbh! 17 yo is a dream!

I don't love it. I don't think I'm that well suited to parenting. My DH, on the other hand, is much better suited to it. We muddle through.

Twins, aged 8. I think the best period was age 6-7. 8 years+ have become harder again.

I absolutely love it, I feel its what I was made to do. I love each age more than the last, though at the time I think i cant possibly.

My child is only 18 months though so ask me again in a few years!!

Hoping that your DD does not have some serious issues, what are you worrying about for 80%? At age 7 they are great little conversationalists, interested in the world and still gigglers. Cherish these last few years of primary as once they are a secondary it's much more about their friends and the start of independence.

I like being a mum because it's made me see many things in new ways. DS is now 21 and I found it easier with every additional birthday. He didn't rebel big style as a teenager, was too busy playing sport. He went away to university but is now back home so hopefully I did ok. I think not trying to be perfect or have the perfect home helps a lot with parenting and time for yourself. Have a high tolerance for a bit of dust and ditch ironing if you haven't already!

I do love it but had my dd at 18 then she had a baby when I still had an 14 year old at home. She was a single parent so I felt like I was doing it all again to some extent.

They're all adults my kids and I still find it exhausting even though they're all good as gold. I thought they'd get to adulthood and my work was done but there's still a lot.

I adore the bones of them all and wouldn't have it any other way.
I think there's just different stages and some are more enjoyable than others but depends on you and them.
Hugs though, the hard times are HARD.

I don’t always enjoy it but then I didn’t always enjoy not being a parent either if that makes sense. It’s got a lot easier as they’ve got older and also I think I’ve adapted: at first I really mourned my old life but as the years have gone by I’ve become accustomed to having small people around!

Not really at the moment. I love my daughter but she has struggled since going to secondary school and was diagnosed with ASD a few years ago. Over the last 6 months her mental health has declined considerably and she is now struggling to even leave her bed. We are working with GP and a psychiatrist who specialises in this sort of thing. We are trialling a cocktail of meds and things started to look up over Easter and I felt hope but this week she has crashed again. My life is now tiny. Can't leave her for more than a few hours but she can't leave the house either. We've cancelled holidays this year at the last minute as she couldn't go and have other big life events planned over the next few months that may just end up cancelled. She is utterly miserable and that is making the whole house miserable. I don't know how to fix this and the emotional rollercoaster is exhausting. I had hoped that by the time my daughter was 15 going on 16 that she'd be a bit more independant and I'd be able to go out for dinner or maybe away for the odd night without worrying about her but this feels more restrictive than having a toddler - at least you can fling them in a buggy and have a day out. She is struggling to sleep so I get woken up a few times per night most nights.

I wasn't a big fan of the early years - although I thought dc was brilliant, that kind of lifestyle wasn't for me (up at 6 every day, spending time at soft play, watching terrible kid friendly films, never getting to finish a conversation without getting interrupted, hanging out with people I had little in common with because they happened to have kids in the same year group). From about age 9 or so it's much more like hanging out with another person than 'parenting'. We enjoy lots of the same things, can do more grown up activities together, have interesting chats. Because parenting is so much physically less demanding, it's also easier to be 'solo parent' so me and dh can spend a bit more time doing our own thing. If you loved the early years, I wonder if you are mourning that stage a bit. Mine is a teen now and I do miss some of the things we used to do he's now grown out of. I seem to remember at 7 they do go through a bit of a defiant stage - there is apparently a hormone surge around this time - so hang on in there it will get better!

I wonder @Honeyandmarmitesandwichesfortea if you're somewhat of a perfectionist and possibly hypervigilant?

Be a "good enough" Mum, try not to sweat the small stuff, arrange more time with your husband if you can and enjoy your daughter.

We only have them for such a short time and off they fly 🌸

eta; remember also, you are still you, long before you were a Mum.