Parenting is not something that you can totally prepare for.
Whilst there are books you can read, classes you can attend and advice you can seek, nothing can totally prepare you for the reality.
It is certainly a role you grow into and one which most of us make up as we go along.
All of this is fine. It’s a role you learn ‘on the job’ and one which has its highs and lows.
Being a parent is a job that can be: exciting; exhilarating and exhausting all in the same day. It’s a roller coaster of emotions and you often have to adopt a trial and error approach to parenting.
We learn what works and then just as it’s working well, something will change which means we have to start all over again.
Nothing lasts forever and whilst a ‘stage’ might seem to be endless at the time, that isn’t the reality.
The thing about being a parent is you have to learn to take the rough with the smooth. You can’t just enjoy the sweet moments.
So how do the fair weather parents manage this?
They do exist, the people who have become parents yet managed to continue to have regular long lie ins and continue with their hobbies with little disruption to the old schedule. The people who enjoy playing and being fun but who then walk away or are easily irritated if things go sour; the parents who have breezed through parenthood without getting up in the night and those who have never cleaned up sick and stripped the bed at 2am, 3am and 4am.
How do these parents manage to escape all of this?
They have another parent on hand to deal with everything of course.
This fair weather parenting might sound quite appealing to some, but I think that really these parents are missing out. Parenting is not supposed to be easy, and knowing how hard it can be sometimes makes you appreciate all the amazing moments that happen along the way.
Parenting is a journey and if you are only part of half the journey you cannot appreciate what it really means to raise children. Not only this, if you allow your partner to take the full weight of the harder aspects of parenting you will never fully understand their journey or their perspective on things.
Do you know any ‘fair weather’ parents?
6 comments
Interesting post and I think I am lucky as I don’t really know many parents like that… Other than my friend’s ex… And that would be a big part of why he is her ex. You’re right though anyone who parents like that is missing out really as the hard bits make the happy moments all the sweeter.
Yes exactly that – you really appreciate them so much more 🙂
Thanks for this unusual perspective. I don’t know many parents like this apart from a few of my friend’s husbands who seem to leave all the night wakings and hard work to their wives! I’m lucky than my husband is very hands on and we share everything 50/50. #twinklytuesday
You are lucky – that’s fantastic 🙂 Thanks for reading !
I’m very lucky to have such a helpful other half! He was often up in the night with me, warming milk up or making sure i was OK breastfeeding. He did nighttime nappies and everything. It’s definitely a job that needs to be shared!! Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
Oh gosh – very lucky. That is wonderful 🙂