Do you find parenting easier or more difficult than people make out?

[moomin35]

Do you find being a parent a lot easier than you were warned or equally do you find it tougher than you thought it would be? What do you find easier/harder?

0-1 harder
1-12 easier
12-13 was a really tough year -hopefully things will improve slightly now

I think a lot depends on the personalities of you and your child and whether you have extra support from a partner or family.

Mine are 6 and 3 and there are days when their endless demands do drive your patience but I generally find that it's due to boredom or tiredness so will act accordingly. They are generally easy children but I do wonder what the teenage years are going to be like as my youngest is very strong willed

Thank you @ncis :)

I just look at him all day, not much washing gets done but I literally don't care!

Easier.

(3 children - eldest is early 20's)

Although last child is a girl and her preteen years are a bit of a challenge sometimes.

I found having 3 very small children exhausting but then what should I have expected, realistically? I think I was just hopeful I'd breeze through it but hadn't quite anticipated the physical exhaustion of picking up crap from the floor 200 x a day and yet the place still being a state after all that tidying.

I find having 3 teens/preteens much easier than most people seem to find it, so far. It's much calmer here than a few years ago but so many people say they find this the hardest bit so I'm not sure if the storm hasn't really hit us yet in teen drama terms. Or if I just quite like teens (I love arguing and teens can argue back nicely and rationally which I find pleasing).

I find it much easier than people make out, I don't make all my meals from scratch though and my house is far from pristine so maybe that's where I'm going wrong.