What's is/was the best part(s) of being a parent?

[Quarky]

And what is/was the worst part(s)?

Be as light hearted or as serious as you like.

For me the best part is getting hugs and kisses from my 2 year old and teaching her to talk. The worst parts are: constant cleaning, rinsing and wiping up messes and almost constant tiredness.

Definitely watching them grow into self sufficent people. It’s joyful as I learn them and in doing so relearn myself again

Best bit is the grins of my kids when they're happy/excited. And snuggling with a sleepy DS on my chest.

Worst bit...knowing that they have destroyed every single brain cell i once owned & now my head is filled with cotton wool 😂

My son is only 3, so obviously i can only comment until that age. There's so many good things. But for me the best bit has to be watching him learn and develop in every aspect and become more independent. (It's hard for me knowing the older he gets the more independent he will become. I still see my tiny newborn I held in one arm. But I know he has to grow up, and it makes me very proud to see what he has achieved.
Worst part is seeing him upset or in pain. I hate it when he's not happy.

Lighthearted- best bit is bedtime, means tidy up and then relaxing time for me.
Worst is when he makes a mess- with drinks, food, and especially when he thinks the bath is a paddling pool, or that he should give mummy a shower by splashing water everywhere while he has his bath:

Watching DD (1) learn to do new things. I've been sticking my tongue out at her for ages, but today she did it back to me! We stayed on the step another few minutes sticking our tongues out at each other and giggling .

Seeing her interact / form relationships with others (DH, my friends, other children) also makes my day. And I've made wonderful "mum friends" who I might not have met otherwise.

Worst parts? I like DH a bit less - all the "oh well that's just him" stuff he does/doesn't do is now amplified given how much home/baby stuff falls to me. And dread when the weather turns cold/rainy/one of us is ill about how to entertain ourselves at home. And the simultaneous desire to be alone/taking care of myself while feeling that a bit of me is missing if DD isn't nearby.

How kind ds 4 is. Just ran myself a bath and he asked did I want some toys in! He has kindly donated his new duck set for my hot soak!! What a sweetie!

Best parts: when they tell you they love you, those 'moments' when you're just having a wonderful time together, when they demonstrate something that shows how they are growing up (I don't get this 'Oh, I can't bear the thought of them growing up!' thing at all!)

Worst: the sheer daily schlep, childcare, it taking so damn long to do the simplest thing!

Best = hugs and kisses
Worst = the worry ... it never ever ends

I've taught my children "surprise hugs" so every so often they just fling themselves at me and shout surprise hug. Best thing I've ever done.

Best part - the rare times he comes to me instead of his dad (they'd alike bloody limpets with each other). I love the cuddles but they're rare (I'm not jealous of dp for this, ds is only 2, my time being flavour of the month will come).

Worst is the worry, the tiredness. 2 years of exhaustion and I can't see the end of it.

When your beefy 16 year old gives you a bear hug at the same time as arguing politics/economics - he is a young adult with his own views and I feel such pride at who he is growing into.

I love that "surprise hug" idea George can I borrow it ?

When ds 17 tells me I am gorgeous with such meaning - or worryingly that he is such a convincing liar!
And is still happy to be seen out in town /having lunch out with me!

Best part: when you relise that youve gotten them to teens without completely losing it. And that they are decent kind individuals. Cuddles at any age. When your 15 minth comes and kisses you rather then thebdog for a change

Worst bits. Worry. Guilt. Housework. The future

Too many things to mention - the hugs and kisses, watching them grow into the adults they have become, sharing their successes and achievements, having the same, slightly off the wall sense of humour.
Worst things were not being able to take away their pain when they were unwell, when they had their hearts broken for the first time.
For me, their has been a shining moment for each of my dcs. There was a point where DC1 reached about the lowest point possible and to see the determination that got him out of that, on to university and now a very respected member of his profession, has made me so proud.
For DC2, it has been seeing him grow from a child to becoming a father himself and being a genuine support for his dp, relishing his part in his child's upbringing and ensuring that he does at least as much as his dp - sharing the night feeds, not balking at changing a nappy and just being so lovely with his child.
And becoming a grandparent is one of the very best things about being a parent!

Nothing is better than a small person falling asleep on top of you.

The worst bits are when they can't be reasoned with, and the general worry. I think that never ends.

Peach of course!

Feeling my daughter totally relax into me when I pick her up and cuddle her. I’m going to miss that.

My sons are in their 20s now. It's been wonderful watching them grow up into fantastic young people who I really like and enjoy spending time with. I am so proud of all of them. And when your grown up sons wrap their old mum up in a big bear hug just because they want to it's really lovely.

The worst thing is the constant worry, even now. When they were little I had no idea I'd still be worrying about them as young adults, but that's parenting I guess.

DD only 13 months so lots to experience yet but so far...
Best bits: seeing her learn new things every day, when I say 'hold mummy's hand' and she reaches up to me and we walk together, waking up every day and knowing she's right next door.
Worst bits: the mess after every meal; tidying and cleaning for 4-6 hours every day I'm not in work and the house still looking and absolute mess. The 1am screaming party she has nearly every night for up to 2 hours.

Love it though.

My kids are 10 and 7 and love all bottom related humour. One was doing a project on the solar system and chatting about it in the car. I got to tell them that Uranus can also mean your bottom hole, great hilarity, blew their tiny developing minds. It's still their favourite science fact.

Best part.. seeing them grow into amazing, independent adults who are fun to be with and are still up for cuddles :)

Worst part... seeing my DD1 become an anorexic shadow of herself during her first year of Medical school and wondering if she would recover or die..... then best part... being at her wedding a few weeks ago to her wonderful wife! Now a fully recovered doctor and looking so well, so utterly happy and complete. I don't think anything will beat that day for me!

Best: the hugs, the kisses, the cute mispronounced words. The warm snuggly baby in the middle of the night, and when they're older the friendship, the company, the laughter and the jokes

Worst: vomiting bugs!!!

Best DS1; His sense of humour. He's about to turn 13 and fully immersed in his Kevin phase but is also genuinely great fun to be around. We go to the gym together and watching him interact with people he's come to know there is lovely; it's almost a sneaky insight into character he's growing into that I rarely get to see.

Worst DS1; His ASD. It's not always a big part of our lives and he masks it well, but at it's worst it impacts enormously on his self esteem and parenting a child with low self esteem is incredibly hard because you can see all of these magnificent things about them they can't see about themselves, and you have no way to prove to them how wonderful they are.

Best DS2; His lovely temperament. He has been the easiest child I've ever met; everything comes easy to him, everything is a breeze and everything makes him happy. He wakes up each day just filled with joy.

Worst DS2; His sense of entitlement. He's delightful, but he's also very like DH in that he's quite self-centred, so where DS1 will give, DS2 will take. Teaching DS2 that he's not the centre of the universe has been a bit of a baptism of fire, especially because I don't want to dim his light and love for life.