These little daredevils that parents have to deal with from dusk till dawn bring plenty of wonders that simply need to be shared with the whole world. From honest confessions to hilarious conversations and jokes, moms and dads want to make everyone laugh by sharing stories that tell the universal truth of life with kids. After all, raising a human being from scratch is definitely amusing. And quite a challenge too. The never-ending questions, original ideas, tantrums, and what about the full-on meltdowns? No wonder why the second parents get some peace, they want to talk about their highly demanding yet equally rewarding journey and find some comfort along the way.
To learn more about navigating the parenting minefield and how the joy the little ones bring helps parents persevere, we reached out to Jade Lloyd, creator of a colorful family and lifestyle blog called The Parenting Jungle. The multi-award nominated blogger said it’s important to talk about how demanding parenting is. "Because it is hard," she told Bored Panda. "Rubik’s-cube-level hard."
"You are handed a baby by the nurse and hit the ground running/nappy changing. There is no transition from an adult who can’t follow Pot Noodle instructions to becoming a parent. Having the responsibility for a small human's emotional, social, and physical development, safety, discipline, and education...," she said, adding that the list of what parents have to think of daily is seemingly endless. "Routine, don’t forget to have a good routine!"
Daily routines give structure to our days and help our family life run smoothly. "We all thrive on predictability and routine," Jeanette Sawyer Cohen, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and child development consultant told WebMD. "Knowing what to expect helps us feel safe and secure."
Steering your family life towards a healthier schedule includes focusing more on a few crucial moments of everyday life, like bedtime. We’ve long heard about the benefits sleeping gives to our physical and mental well-being, so if we want kids to reach the ideal bedtime, we should start by slowly getting them to bed 10 minutes earlier each night. While younger children usually achieve the goal in no time, older kids may be more likely to cooperate if we stick to an earlier bedtime ourselves.
Another crucial part of our days is mealtimes. Cohen suggested finding a way to label our dinner routines, even if they change day by day. For example, if the little ones need to eat dinner earlier than usual, those days can be "sandwich days." If a parent is working late, "babysitter days." The clinical psychologist explained that "naming these different experiences makes the variety feel more routine."
However, maintaining a steady schedule is a challenge. After all, these little bundles of joy add plenty of hilarious situations into our daily routines. Jade pointed out that parents also face daunting tasks such as answering questions like, "'Why can’t I see my eyes?' whilst trying desperately to get them to put on shoes — all whilst juggling enormous sleep deficits and trying to figure out TikTok." Still, the blogger added she is driven by love, purpose, and caffeine.
Jade revealed that before having children, she had no clue that it was possible to destroy a whole house with porridge and a permanent marker. "I think to make it through the first 18 (to 30, as now they never leave home) years of your child(ren’s) life, you need to have a good sense of humor! Oh, and develop an acceptance of toilet jokes," she told us.
"Again, maybe tiredness and self-preservation of sanity come into it, but the things (especially small) children do, their comments, questions, and complaints are hilarious. The hardest thing is being fake stern when your child does something they know is wrong but justify it with something like, 'I wanted to know what the dog would taste like if I licked it.'"
Each child is unique, and they often prove it by coming up with brilliant and humorous ideas that immediately put a smile on their parents’ faces. "Children have no social filter and are wonderfully curious," Jade explained. "They see the world in a completely different way. Everything is a question, adventure, or story. The WHY questions drive parents doolally, but I think as adults we stop asking so much because our brains are too busy with work, grocery shopping, bills, and keeping down Cholesterol."
If there’s one widely accepted truth, it’s that we were more creative and honest as children. When asked whether we can somehow rejuvenate these qualities, Jade told us that creativity isn’t magic. "It’s a skill that children cultivate more than adults, I think. I don’t have time to make rock pets and give them each a name, but my four-year-old does, and that’s awesome."
