To ask what stage of being a parent you least enjoyed

[Fennecfoxmummy]

My little one is only 9 months old so obviously I have very little experience. I thought I would LOVE having a little new born but it was honestly the hardest time of my life and I don't remember feeling relaxed or happy for the first 3 months however now he is amazing I love seeing the new things he is learning. The older he gets the more I enjoy him without wishing his life away!
I know toddler years are supposed to be the hardest work. What's it like when they start school? I think I'll miss him like mad or are you glad of the break. Everyone's different I know. Just wondering what to expect really

Not birth btw, that bit was fine.

11-13 - hormones, tearfulness, anger, friendship ishoooooooooos.

baby, toddler, primary school - all went great, teenage also going well. Just those 2-3 years in the middle were a bloomin hill to climb.

Got a 3 year old, 18 year old, 21 and 23 year old.
I can say with confidence that the worst bits for me were/are:

Getting up at night. Hate broken sleep.
Strapping them into car seats. Just a pet hate.
The sheer amount of head space spent on cooking, and juggling meals which everyone will eat.

Hi other beyond...

Found first eight months hard with dc1, due to lack if sleep, and not really knowing what I should be doing. Dc2 was easier, because he had to fit in with dc1.

I enjoyed the toddler years more. They're little people then, and easier to feed, clothe, sleep etc.

Newborn stage was not great for me but fine with each stage after that until teenage years. My eldest dd went off the rails terribly and we ended up bringing up her children. Whilst I absolutely adore them, one is at the teenage stage now and is becoming stroppy and moody. Its bad enough once, but twice!

The only advice I can give from what I felt I did wrong first time is not to try and make your teenager/child into something they are not. You simply cannot force them to buckle down to their school work if they do not want to, they have absolutely got to want to do it. If your gut instinct tells you that something is wrong, trust your instinct because you will be right believe me.

highneeds- I was dreading the teenage years. I remember my own teenage years, horrible relationship with my mother, arguments, slamming doors lots of fury both ways.

Parenting my own teens has been a breeze. I can't remember when there was last an unpleasant time, we have a house full of laughter. They work hard, have lovely friends, polite, respectful, loving and a joy to be around.
Totally different from my expectations.

I hated the baby phase - horrible time. DD is 3.5 now and I've found every stage gets better. Still early days obviously.

Clearly toddler days are still tough some times but on a bad day, I always reflect on how much easier it is than the baby days.

Pretty much all of it until they got to the teen/adult years which finally make it worthwhile

Teenage years!!!!

I loved the newborn and toddler stages, the teen years are like some special kind of torture.

Defo mid to late teens. 16 to 19 was a dreadful time... They are trying to push boundaries and think they're adults and can do what they want, and are moody and sullen and uncommunicative, and think they are right about everything.

When mine was 17-18, we were the last on her list of life's priorities. She literally spent 50 quid a time for Christmas on her boyfriend of the time, and BFF's and we got sod-all as she had run out of money. She also wasn't arsed with mother's day and father's day, and acted like we were a nuisance. Hated those 3 years.

We were quite protective of her, but by that I mean not allowing her to go stay with people she only knew from the internet, who lived 100 miles away, and who she had only come into contact with a month ago! We also would not let her go to Glasonbury when she was 15 with a bunch of 18-20 year olds she knew from twitter.

She said (when she went to uni,) 'I am leaving and won't be back, ever, so you may as well rent my room out if you want.' It was hurtful and upsetting, but she had clearly felt trapped by the constraints of us trying to protect her. She went to a uni 350 miles away and said she will live in the place when she leaves. Again, I was a bit fed up and blue. We let her go though, we helped her move, and we were there when she needed it. It was a case of 'if you love someone set them free.'

5 years on, and she lives 15 miles from us with her boyfriend, we see each other once or twice a week, and we talk all the time on the phone/facebook/twitter. She has grown up and matured and can now drive, she has a great professional career, and we are all good friends (me, her, her dad, and her boyfriend.)

But those 3 years were vile. I would hate to go through that again.

No other time of her life was bad. I even enjoyed the first 3-6 months. (Apart from a bit of sleep deprivation!)

Older teen. 17 is hard and expensive.

Hmm tricky one. Mine is nearly and I've found downsides and upsides to each stage:

Newborn-1yr:
Pros - snuggly lovely baby goodness
Cons - sleepless nights, weaning mess

1-2yrs:
Pros - chubby cheeked toddler cuteness
Cons - they run off, play with bins, you can't reason with them

2-3yrs:
Pros - Ability to talk/say hilarious things, still look cute, still nap if you're lucky, can sort if be reasoned with/bribed etc and don't run off as much
Cons - prone to meltdowns

So I guess I would say that so far the first 2 years were the hardest and actually the "terrible twos" has been rather fab and nowhere near as tantrummy as I expected

Teenagers without a doubt. Dd was lovely till 14 then she turned into Kevin personified plus they are bloody expensive. Not all teens rebel so you might be safe but my dd has rebelled BIG TIME. She's just turned 16 and is slightly more reasonable than she was a few months ago.

Different stages with my two DC.

I found the newborn stage hard work with my first, but the true hell was from about 1-2.5 yrs, when he was STILL not sleeping through and just ran around like a lunatic from dawn until dusk doing stupid toddler things like sticking his fingers in plug sockets and climbing on to the bannisters. I was like the Walking Dead with exhaustion trying to keep up with him! .

I found the newborn stage lovely with y second, though, and she was a much calmer toddler. This year has had a fews moments. She turned 8 years old and my angelic little baby girl has got a bit of a stroppy Madam thing going on now, especially straight after school when she is tired and grumpy.

Dreading the teenage years!

Older teen. 17 is hard and expensive.

It really is isn't it butt? Thank goodness DS passed his test first time. University finance forms and lists now being sorted.

Aw so clearly not plain sailing from school starting then. Looking foward to having a chat with him and when he can give kisses and cuddles

My sons are now 28 and 33. I'd say the hardest years were from about 6 months after the onset of puberty until they got their driver's licenses and cars at 16. Between then they were like caged animals. They wanted and needed a freedom that just wasn't practical or wise. Once they no longer needed carting around and we deemed them mature enough to drive on their own, things seemed to get much calmer.

First year, massively hard.
Just gets easier after that. My teens have their moments but are mostly lovely.

Mine are now 22 and 25. I really started enjoying being a parent once we could chuck out the high chair and begin interesting conversations, children up to age 4 are labour intensive and boring!

I have 2 dds aged 7 and 5 and tbh I wish they would be babies again they are a nightmare at the mo, I am hoping it will get better, but I have a feeling they will get worse as they get older < despairs >

Older teen. 17 is hard and expensive.

Not hard for me, but very expensive. Phone contracts, new dance shoes every 6 weeks at £80 a pop.

Mine are still quite little but so far with my son 2-3 was horrendous.
My little girl was a really really miserable sleepless newborn and I'm glad those days are done.

I've found it easier the older they've got - but I suspect I'm lucky as my oldest is 15, and he's really good. I'm aware some dc hit their teens with a vengeance.

Terrible twos was the absolute worst for me - except they all got them at about 13mths and kept them up till about 4.... dealing with an irrational, tantrumming toddler in a shop, the dentist, school run for older dc, restaurant - it's the worst.

Potty/toilet training is the biggest headache - I hated it.

Them starting school was a real mixed bag for me. The homework that started in YR, plus the competitive other parents was just . I seemed to have my cheque book out a lot too.

Then the godawful projects they brought home which caused endless rows and tantrums.

Oh and junior football from age 5. Standing on the edge of a muddy football pitch in freezing horizontal sheet rain every Saturday morning.