To think parenting isn’t the hardest job in the world?

[ThisSharpAquaCritic]

It’s emotionally intense, yes, but we need to stop pretending it’s the same as, say, a nurse doing back-to-back night shifts.

Depends if you're doing a good job of it.

You get shifts off though parenting is bloody non stop 😂😂

I’d also say it depends on the child. My daughter is severely affected by Autism. Believe me, it’s hard.

But it is the same ? You ever have a newborn up all night with colic? You ever have 2+ sick kids at the same time? You ever have to take a screaming baby into the toilet with you to take a piss? At least people at work can go to the loo in peace and have regular food and drinks breaks. Plus they get to leave their work at work. We are parents 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

It will depend on the needs of your children matching the skill set of the parents. The closer the match, the easier the job. And even nurses on back to back night shifts get a break. Some days, some parents don’t.

I think a good healthy topic to debate on this would be that parenting is the only job in which you are personally liable for developing another human being to become a positive contributor to society, to understand the difference between right and wrong, to keep them alive, while preventing them from purposefully or unknowingly harming another, and that you are doing this job every single second of the day that you are around them.

Sure, being a nurse is an extremely difficult job, and yes, you are responsible for keeping your charge alive, but you are not responsible for raising your patient to be a decent human being, and what they do once they step out of the clinic or hospital is not your responsibility.

When people minimize the importance and difficulty of being a "GOOD" parent, it is most likely because they are not parents, or have another adult that acts as the default parent in their stead or, quite frankly, are not really great at the "parenting" job.

Nurses get a break after back to back shifts.
Parents with incredibly needy children/disabled children/no support don't, so you're right - they are not the same.

I don’t have kids, but I’d assume that whether it is or whether it isn’t depends a lot on the kid you have (e.g. do they have complex needs), do you have a partner, do you have a network, how much money and resources do you have, etc. In some cases it probably is the hardest job. In some cases it probably isn’t.

If I got a legally required 11 hours off between shifts and paid holiday, I would definitely be a better parent 😆

What are you hoping to achieve with this thread @ThisSharpAquaCritic?

Depends on the age of the kid.

The grub stage is basically just keeping them alive then the toddler, demon years. Parenting comes later. You have to guide them into being decent humans and trust that in the teens when they break away a bit.

There are no redos.

But if you're just on about sleepless nights then you've for a bit of a shock coming.

I've never taken a screaming baby into the loo. They can scream in their cot for 5 mins

It's another bash the parents thread, potentially AI generated, there's been a fair few recently

The thing is parenting is a choice. Not denying it's hard but ultimately parents opt into it because presumably, ultimately, they want to do it. People can't opt out of jobs to earn money.

When you're not at home?

I love when things go the opposite way as OP hoped. 🫣

This! ^^
My 18 year old DS has been very hard to raise.
ADHD, mental health issue and suspected Bipolar disorder.
I have quite a stressful job but it’s a walk in the park compared to parenting him!
Plus if I get it wrong at work no one dies.
If I get it wrong with him…. Well…we’ve been down the road of suicidal thoughts before

Erm, I've never considered parenting to be a 'job', but it has been the hardest thing I've ever done.
I don't know whether that's because it's because my two have additional needs, and I'm not trying to pull a 'poor me' car, as it's a life I chose, but not sure any job is comparable? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Don't be silly. Of course when at home. Where do you get the not at home bit? Enough people on this site saying they can't have a wee alone at home

Well home isn't the only place people go to the toilet! I agree, if you're at home you leave them in the cot because as long as they're safe then crying for a couple of minutes won't harm them, but there are, believe it or not, occasions when people need to use the toilet outside of the home, when leaving them in their cot doesn't apply! Got any smart advice for that one?

100% leave them in their cot. But my DS is going through the "I'll scream every time you leave my line of sight" phase. So while my toddler is napping I just take baby to the loo with me so he doesn't scream and wake his brother up. Sometimes you have to pick your battles 🤷🏻‍♀️

Depends on who you are a parent of.

Nursing is also a choice!

Fair enough

Well you have to take them in screaming or not in that case. The screaming is irrelevant then. Id be quickly headed home if my child was screaming in public though