things I didn't know I found annoying until I had children.

[BusyCee]

repetition
loud noises
things being spilled on the floor
being touched

To be fair all the above happened far less frequently before I had children. Repetition is a particular annoyance - not just me saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, but chanting, singing the same line of a song repeatedly, taunting etc.

Love them, but dear God for just 24hrs of peace....

Before my DD was born I remember saying that I hoped she was curious about the world, 3 years later the constant "why?" drives me nuts

The cheerio thing...when DD was about 6 she had a best friend called Ben and she was invited to a sleepover at Ben's house. She came back full of excitement because Ben could do a really really cool thing with Cheerios and only boys can do it and he showed her when his mum wasn't looking! I braced myself and asked "That's nice. What can Ben do with Cheerios?", and she announced " He can balance them on his......... Nose! Because Ben says boys' noses are bigger than girls' noses!"
Dd and Ben are now both 22 and his mum and I still laugh about it.

I hate parks. Hate them.

Hang on in there. We've grown out of a lot of these. Never had the coming out of the toilet with trousers round the ankles though!
Mine are incapable of standing or sitting still when telling me something they are excited about. They walk round and round the room as they talks. It makes it hard to focus on what they're saying.
The obligatory 'Mum' 'Yes' before speaking has probably arisen because I do that to them, so that they can't use the 'didn't hear you excuse' when asked to do something.

Amateur dramatics! My 4 year old is into performing 'shows' for us at the moment, which consists of half an hour of her singing made up songs and bossing her brother about!

Some more

'Can I tell you something?' Just tell me.

Watching the same TV programmes over and over.

The mess. By the time I've cleared up after breakfast its time for lunch.

Toys everywhere.

Farting.

Constant questioning me.

PS I am a childcare nanny not a mum!!

lady sorry to say but I was still doing those aged 10...

Dc2 Squealing, dogs barking and OH moaning about the noise, all of them all the bloody time is driving me crazy. Poor dc1,has taken to wearing ear defenders in the house!

YYYY to the MUUUUUMMM! shriek which is at exactly the same intensity for 'I am in mortal peril' and 'Hey, I just drew another line on this bit of paper!'

The mess.
The whining.
"But I don't WANT toooo..."
"But YOU SAID..."

Repeating the word "Muumm" over and over again until she remembers what it is that she was going to say in the first place.
"Mum?"
"Yes?"
"Mum?"
"What is it?
"Er.. mum?"
"Have a think about what you want to say, then come back and tell me."
"OK. Er... mum?"
(head/desk)

School plays, even at nursery level. Fun for 3 seconds when my child is on and then bored silly. This must make me the Grinch.

Sharing. Overly earnest mums at toddler groups obsessively trying to make their children share with my toddler. It just ruins the fun. He tends not to care too much at the moment if a toy is taken and if he really wanted the toy back he'll let your child know.

I have a very small range of kids TV that I can tolerate. DS1 only watched a handful of programmes as a preschooler. Luckily DS2 loves Elmo which is great.

Kids nursery rhyme type songs. Especially when there are made up verses. I heard about 10 different verses of "Row row row" at a recent toddler singing group.

I'm not completely miserable though, I love being climbed over all day!

The very loooong memories, mum - do you remember you told us that we could....yes that was 3 years ago, things have slightly changed since then

Ohhh! Home-produced 'shows'. We have friends who's children used to put on shows for us whenever we visited (grossly over-indulged children, it has to be said).
We'd have to sit for what seemed like forever through hideous episodes of precocious showing-off, whilst the parents looked on fondly. Why do people not understand that their children are not that interesting and funny and cute to other people.

Similarly, music recitals. How many scratchy violins can one put up with? Your own children, fine, but not other people's children. Grrr!

We had children too, but we never made friends sit through this shit. We encouragingly endured it ourselves

EvansOvalPiesYumYum that made me laugh, that is exactly was DS does all the time, it drives me bonkers.

I get irritated by having to have the same conversations daily.

As mentioned above I hate Mummy, can I ask you something - just bloody ask me.

Having to have 4 different conversations at once, whilst driving the car, navigating heavy traffic in the rain. I'm quite good at listening to more than one child or picking up threads when they assume you remember the chat you were having three days ago BUT no allowance is ever given for anything else I'm trying to do at the same time!

I think I'd blanked out the horror of toddler groups as I'd actually forgotten about the grimness of it all until this thread reminded me!

The bloody sharing! – yes sharing is nice but can't a child just play with something for 2 seconds? I used to think "I bet you wouldn't like it if I demanded to share your car!"

I have a (lovely, really) friend who always used to talk to her DC in a kind of baby voice and would always go "It's nice to share!!!" and my sleep-deprived frazzled brain would be going "aaaaarrrrggghhh shut up!"

I also always found singing Wheels on the Bus the ultimate annoying experience. It goes on for about 2300 years, has the most boring tune ever and is sexist into the bargain It also used to piss me off that all the other mums looked like they were just loving it!

All things considered I think I was not at my best during the toddler stage :o

I cannot stand any sentence DS1 starts enthusiastically with "watch this ..." I have seen you take a bite of a sandwich/do a big step/pull that same face 4000 times already today, now put your shoes on it's time for school !!!!!

DS2 "Me do it" Darling you are a foot tall (at best) you cannot get the Weetabix out of the top cupboard/mash potato/or boil a pan of water - then the wait for the inevitable tantrum that follows .... I now count down from my "no" to the screams ... I have it down pat a 5.

Ha I thought this would become a discussion of the day! :)

The amount of times I have to repeat simple things that they ALREADY KNOW. Like stand by the sink so you aren't dripping bloody toothpaste everywhere, put your socks on as part of getting dressed etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc!

The constant bickering, arguing and not being able to occupy the same space without it descending into chaos! I end up screaming at them. I don't know why. It makes zero difference. I can't believe I wanted 4 children and a happy chaotic home. Think I'll stick with the 2 and the chaos that brings.

The constant talking from DD, and I mean constant. It is the first thing her teacher said to me at parents evening. The constant commentary from DS about whatever he is doing/reading. Seriously DS, I don't care after the first few facts. Seriously DS, when I tell you to stop giving me a running commentary, stop bloody talking about it!

Other people's singing never really annoyed me before I had children. Probably because you could switch it off or shoot a look that meant "you are doing my head in, please be quiet".

DD1 5yrs does a particular line in self penned "songs" which go on and on for 20 mins. Bless her, she has her mother's tuneless voice. I am not sure whether to crush her dreams now or sign her up for vocal lessons with someone made of stern stuff....

The questions. The constant questions. Before dd1 hit three I'd silently judge disinterested parents I'd see out and about who were clearly not listening to their childrens' questions and think how awful it was they were quashing their sense of curiosity.

Why do we need money mummy?
How do I make Elsa out of loom bands mummy?
What's the difference between a biscuit and a macaron? (dd1 obsessed with gbbo ffs)
Why are you still doing 70 mph mummy when it says "slow down, incident" mummy?
Why is your office such a mess mummy?
Why do we need money again mummy?
How do I put Netflix on mummy?
WHY IS NETFLIX NOT WORKING MUMMY?
Why have you let dd2 use up all the Internet mummy?
WHY IS NETFLIX NOT WORKING MUMMY? MUMMY MUMMY MUMMYMUMMYMUMMY MUUUUUM WHY IS NETFLIX NOT WORKING MUMMY?

Dd2 is still at the phase of asking cute questions.

YY to the touching/tapping/poking. And the blocking (especially when augmented by two cats and abloodyhusband)

And starting every single sentence with "Mum". Even when we're the only two people in the vicinity.

"Mum? Are we going to be late?"
"Mum. Look at me."
"Mum. Have you got my bag?"
"Mum. Look at this."

Etc etc. FFS STOP SAYING MUM. Just say what you want to say. I hate my name. Don't use it any more!

I don't mind the touching at all funnily enough. Here it is still needing to wipe a 5- and 6-y old's bottom after a poo (yes they are quite capable of doing it themselves when I can't, they just prefer not to when I'm around), the constant blocking of my way like a PP said, and the ENDLESS procrastination at bed time. As soon as they hear the words "Bed time" they suddenly get absorbed in a very time consuming and engaging art project/game/whatever. Then it is one thing after another when my energy is at its lowest ebb.

Stuggling to get boots and shoes onto small feet!

GreenPotato I am terribly politically correct and interchange Mummies/Daddies in all such verses. So both the mummies and the daddies say I love You, and DC1 would not let me do it otherwise now. The black sheep has wool for boys AND girls.

There is one nursery rhyme that annoys me because it contains my first name, but it's one of those that has been altered over the years to have completely different words (it didn't have my name in when I was a child). I just use my DCs' names instead.