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What are your parenting stress points?

77 replies

Whirliwig72 · 07/02/2012 17:16

What do your kids do that gets your blood pressure and stress levels soaring. How do you keep it together? Please share your experiences / advice here....

My stress triggers ( I have two boys, a three year old and a five month-er)

  1. baby crying when I'm stuck in traffic and can't park up anywhere. I've been known to cry myself when this happens since I feel so utterly helpless and crap :(

  2. screamy diva tantrums from my three year old because his toast, squash'um, pasta shape etc has fallen on the floor or touched another piece of food on his plate.

  3. Struggling to get unco-operative toddler to stop dawdling and get dressed to go out while trying not to wake up baby that is strapped to my chest in sling.

  4. doing the whole bedtime routine solo every week night -I actually fear it it's so bad. Properly timed it's just about bearable but if i mess up and baby gets hungry or desperately tired half way through it's pure hell :(

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Ragwort · 07/02/2012 21:31

joan totally agree - I loathe those smug parents who talk about how they 'love bedtime rituals' - all I am thinking is hurry up, brush your teeth, fifteen five minutes being read to and then I can pour my glass of wine Grin.

ohdarcy · 07/02/2012 21:38

if ds2 (11mo) is crying - usually only really due to injury as he is constantly falling over at the moment - and ds1 (4) carries on wittering away at full volume right into my ear about whatever it is he REALLY HAS TO HAVE RIGHT NOW. Totally makes me lose the plot. total overload.

in fact ds1´s inability to shut up EVER in general. makes me feel like i am losing my mind.

ohdarcy · 07/02/2012 21:41

actually i wouldn´t say i love bedtime but at least i know the end is nigh Smile but bath time has got a LOT easier since ds2 doesn´t need to be constantly supported in the bath so they can go in together with minimal panic stress from me.

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attheendoftheday · 07/02/2012 22:35

Gwendoline jumperoos are good, but a warning, my dd loved such things, but only if I sat right next to her. No chance to do housework or the like. At nearly 9 months I still carry dd in a sling when doing my jobs (and she is heavy!).

Snowboarder · 07/02/2012 22:43

Gwendoline , another vote here for the jumperoo. Ours was £80, so pricey, but I would pay for it ten times over for what it's done for us. It allows me to put Velcro-baby DS down for 15 minutes at a time so I can get dressed/ washed in a morning, have a cup of tea that hasn't been microwaved 3 times and do quick jobs like empty the dishwasher or put a load of washing in. He probably goes in his 3 times a day, and best of all it tires him out! He has even been known to fall asleep in it. Marvellous invention!

UniS · 07/02/2012 22:46

leaving the house.

leaving other peoples houses.

Boy and I are quite nice to each other once we are OUT of the house, its just the concept of leaving along with getting shoes/ coats/ stuff together bit that we struggle with.

Snowboarder · 07/02/2012 22:48

Oh, to add... My parenting stress points are when DS moans and whines (I'd prefer full on crying tbh), and when he goes rigid/ arches when I'm trying to put him in the pram/ car seat. Also, feeding him can be a bind as he has to be coaxed to eat his main but then annoyingly wolfs his yogurt or whatever he's having for pudding. He's only 10 mo though so plenty of time to discover many more stress points yet.

timetosmile · 07/02/2012 22:49

whirliwig, DC2 will get revenge.

DC2's first ever response (aged 18mnths) to the longstanding clonking on the head by DC1 was (un) fortunately in the sandpit with a whirling wooden spade which struck a blow somewhat harder than DC1 had anticipated.

His repsect for her visibly went up as did the lump on his forehead

Maryz · 07/02/2012 22:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LetUsPrey · 07/02/2012 23:00

Ragwort - I think we share a 10 year old.

Would you tidy this up please DS1(10)?

DS1: Why? I didn't mess it up. Etc etc etc.

Also agree with the arguing/bickering between them - 10 year old and 5 year old.

5 year old's main method of communication when he doesn't get his own way is an ear-splitting scream. Can't say that adds to the relaxation of the "bedtime routine".

BlueyDragon · 07/02/2012 23:05

Tiredness definitely. Mine or theirs. Why are kids harder to put to bed when they're tired? Evolutionary defect there.

Also not listening. DD has a good brain so why do I have to shout tell her everything 15 times before she responds?

Thunderworld · 07/02/2012 23:14

my youngest (2) has this night-time cry that is not quite a cry, it goes "nnnnnuuuuuurggggghhh" and he does it in his sleep. I go to tend to him and his eyes are closed, he is basically fine and yet he is squirming about making this "nnnuuuurrrrrrrrgghhh" sound. for. ages.

WhereAreTheCakes · 07/02/2012 23:15

Stress points - have a range of ages of DC

  1. Teenagers come in from school and ask what is for dinner and no matter what I've cooked (from scratch!) a look of complete disgust comes over their faces.

2.When I say I've made x,y,z and they ask if we can get a take away instead.

  1. I ask if everyone can make sure school uniforms are in laundry by Saturday morning and on Sunday night one of them will say they forgot.
LanceCorporalBoiledEgg · 07/02/2012 23:38
  1. irrational tantrums
  1. pointless tantrums
  1. public tantrums

Basically - I hate tantrums!

Have dealt ok with everything else so far but DD is only 4 so I'm sure I have many more to come!

Lovethesea · 08/02/2012 20:06

Mealtimes - 3 year old doesn't eat and I don't enjoy cooking anyway so I'm extra stressed by having her want to 'help' me make it, having to do all the meals, having 19 month old DS dragging a chair over to climb on the hob and then having DD not eating anything and DS dropping it on the floor when he's had enough.

I want to eat alone. I want to reheat ready meals. I want a chef.

strawberrie · 08/02/2012 20:50

Ooh thread is very reassuring.

My worst one at the moment is that DD(2.9) can have my undivided attention for yonks, but if I then say "I'm going into the bedroom to change your brother's nappy and I'll be back in 5 minutes, if you need anything come and find me" and within about 20 seconds she'll be doing that 'mUUUUUmmyyyyy' noise on repeat.

And it will be for something trivial such as her slipper has come off.

Also when we are driving and DS is howling (usually cos he is shattered because DD has delayed our departure due to usual 2 year old faff over shoes etc) and DD then helpfully shouts "Mummy X is crying" from the back seat...

spanish · 09/02/2012 12:49

Some common flash points here, so as a wiser/wizened mum of school age kids, a few things I learned.

For those with babies, my best tips: a sling, put baby in and you can then carry on with a lot of household jobs. In the car for rearward facing babies - can't remember what it's called, but I had a thing with four pockets which ties on to the seat they are facing. You slot pictures into the pockets and you have a supply of about 30 so you can keep changing them. The babies (worked for all three) seemed to get mesmerised by looking at the black and white ones, certainly stopped a lot of screaming in the car.

For toddlers, don't stress about the meal thing, it will pass. If they will only eat a few things, just give them those, after a while I promise they will agree to try other things. My breakthrough came when I understood they actually experienced fear at the thought of having to eat things that for some reason worried them. My son who at two would only eat "circle" ham, raisins, breadsticks, and cheese triangles now wolfs down vast quantities of curry, greens etc!

Bedtime - another breakthrough for me was discovering that I felt so tired and ratty because I was hungry (I normally feed kids about 5 and wait to eat with dh at 8). Sometimes now I eat with them instead, or have a snack with them, and find I am much more able to be patient at bedtime.
Or the old fashioned way - my Mum starts everything much earlier whenever she had the kids - little ones put in their PJs straight after tea, veg peeled by 4pm etc - never adopted this myself, but it might work for some.

steppemum · 09/02/2012 13:22

Oh the homework thing every Saturday morning ruined by 2 hour battle over homework which then takes 10 minutes. it is like he can't do it until he has worked himself up into a strop and had a hissy fit, shouted at me because I can't possibly know anything and been threatened with no dsi for the rest of the weekend.

Ragwort - we share a child

steppemum · 09/02/2012 13:23

My favourite part of the day is bath time - dh does it Grin

festivalwidow · 09/02/2012 13:58

Tantrums.

Being unable to do anything at all uninterrupted. I attempted to do the Shred with DD in the room and it was impossible - in the 20 minutes I had to move the table twice, fetch a jigsaw out of the cupboard, put a broom away, help DD remove her slippers, put the slippers back on, and all the time attempting to encourage her 'why don't you jump around with me?' in a jolly voice while feeling like I was going to die...

Dawdling. It can take 10 minutes for her to get down a single flight of stairs if she stops to examine a chip in the paintwork.

NanAstley · 09/02/2012 14:08

festivalwidow yes, the jolly voice you have to put on while inside your head you're screaming words that shouldn't be heard in polite company Grin

I hate getting the girsl ready in the morning to be out of the door at 8am. I cannot, simply cannot, leave any later as the schedule is tight as it is. I wake the girls up at 6.30 so they have time to dawdle, and yet every morning I end up losing the plot at 7.45am (with 2/3rds of us still not fu;;y dressed)

NanAstley · 09/02/2012 14:08

*fully, not fu;;y

ladydepp · 09/02/2012 14:10

Ds who is 9 crying and sobbing over homework, saying how very very tired he is and its just SO hard. Half an hour later he is running around the house screaming and laughing, tiredness seemingly gone - argh!!

BigusBumus · 09/02/2012 14:11

I want the cushions on my sofas to stay EXACTLY WHERE I PLACED THEM.

mrsjay · 09/02/2012 15:44

Bickering and Bitching drives me insane mine are teens though so little ones wont be bitching , being tired and dopey in the morning really sets me on edge for the day , I have started switching the wiifii off so it is getting better Grin

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