“Then you go to bed and repeat the process the next day for 10-20 years.”

Parenthood is described as a life-changing experience.

Luckily, this Redditthreadis filled with some harsh realities of what it’s actually like being a parent.

A woman holds a baby close while smiling in a cozy room with framed pictures on the wall

These are individual experiences, but I’m sure many parents could relate to them.

Here is what some shared.

“You will experienceemotionswith such intensity.

A woman pushes a stroller with a child and walks beside another child pulling a suitcase through an airport terminal

It makes the world so much smaller and bigger at the same time.

You end up comparing how you were raised with how you treat your kids.

You may find wounds that you didnt know were there.”

A woman yawns while sitting in a car's backseat with two sleeping children beside her. The children are dressed in colorful and cozy clothing

u/Mild_avenger

2.

But in the end, youre just doing the same childcare in a more expensive place."

“I call it the ‘black mirror.’

A man in a blue shirt works from home using a laptop and phone, while a woman, out of focus, tends to a child in the foreground

I feel like kids learn way more from watching you exist than from you teaching them.

It makes me want to be a better person in the best of times.

But also, I am human, and I have faults.

A person's arm with tattooed hand in a red sleeve points to dates on a calendar hanging on a refrigerator, highlighting the 15th of the month

I get tired, stressed, and hungry like anyone else.”

“Weekends spent in your car waiting for your offspring to complete various activities.”

u/mynamecouldbesam

5.

A concerned mother, wearing a striped shirt, rests her head in her hands while a young girl stands in the background

“That you go from home to the office to relax, as opposed to the other way around.

I love working from the office on Friday.

It’s a work-from-home day for everyone, so my side is completely empty.

A joyful baby crawls on a wooden floor in a well-lit room, smiling and reaching forward

“Say goodbye to your disposable income and sleeping through the night.”

u/HungryRaccoon3

7.

“Get a second fridge and watch your food bill soar.

A parent sits on the floor with two children, one in their arms, while the other child stacks colorful blocks in a cozy, sunlit room

All your bills will soar.

u/sebestienn

8.

Then, it can take 15-20 minutes just to get ready.

you should probably change the baby and then dress them.

it’s crucial that you pack the stroller into the car.

you’re gonna wanna pack creams, diapers, and food just in case.”

“Your life changes completely from one day to the other.

You no longer know what not being anxious is.

You no longer can do anything by yourself.

u/imnatbananas

“I have three kids 13, 12 and 10.

I miss them as babies.

Life was so much easier when they were three, two, and newborns.

Now, Im run ragged.

I feel a shell of who I used to be.

I also love love kids.

They fight all of the time.

It never stops from when they wake up until theyre in their room.

Hitting the wall between their rooms is annoying.”

“Young children don’t have much sense of logic, which can be infuriating.

you might love your child, but not like certain phases or developments.

from other people just makes it worse.”

u/magicrowantree

11.

“You mourn each stage they grow out of.

Then you celebrate the new stage.

Its an ongoing cycle of mourning and then celebrating.

You celebrate them crawling; then you realize that theyre not always going to crawl to you.

You celebrate them going to school, then it hits you that you dont have a baby anymore.”

u/DragnSerenityTardis

13.

“There is no one single way to parent that is universally right.

All children are individuals, and even within the same family, each requires their own approach to everything.

“You will make mistakes.

There is no avoiding it.

When that happens, you better own it.