10 Things About Being A Parent That No One Ever Warned Me About

When I had my daughter I was told about how fast it goes by, to enjoy it before they start crawling because your house will be torn apart and how amazing being a parent is, but I was never warned or given advice about these things:

1. Little kids are REALLY strong, like freakishly strong for their little body size. If my daughter puts her legs out to block getting in the bathtub I cannot unbend them. It reminds me of when I need to take the dog to the vet. He does the same thing.

2.  Sometimes when I say “no” to something I really don’t care, but I know that “no” is the answer I should be giving.

3.  If a young child is sick they are often like a fountain of vomit.  I don’t understand where it all comes from.  Never throw away any old towels because there will be a random night that they will ALL come in very handy.

4.  You now find the show Criminal Minds makes you cry more than a Nicholas Sparks movie.  I can’t even watch that show anymore because of all the horrible story lines involving kids that never bothered me as much as they do when I became a parent.

5.  Your child will encounter kids that are mean to them and you will want to yell at them and put them in their place, but you can’t and shouldn’t.  Don’t be that parent.

6.  If you tell your child they can’t eat dessert before dinner then that means that you can’t either.  Darn it.

7.  Every decision you make, the first thing you will think about is “how does this effect my kids?”.  I was offered to go sky diving, before my daughter I would’ve said heck yes!  After my daughter my first thought was “How would I take care of her if I broke my ankle?”.  Bye bye adventurous thrill seeking self.

8.  You suddenly care about every food item that is brought into your house.  I read more food labels in the second year of my daughter’s life then I did all 30 years of my life put together.

9.  All those parents that make saying “no” look so easy must be faking it.  I say no all the time, but it is SO HARD!  I want to give her everything, but I know I shouldn’t so I don’t.

10.  You won’t care as much as you thought you would when you have your child’s bodily fluids on you, be it snot, barf , urine or poop because you love them so much that it somehow makes it ok.

Was there anything that you found out as a parent that no one ever told you?