I'm 30, and I babysat for the first time today, solo, for a 2 year old.

[Avenger]

How do you parents do it? And that was just two hours. The constant attention. I mean it was fun but tiring. But thats everyday? Not including work?


I was on the fence before about kids but I think I'm ready to be snipped. Its like I left a bit more grateful for my independence. At the same time, I've shared a room with my mom during college due to finances, and also majority of dental school cause of her accident. So its really just been a year where I've truly been on my own.

Given prolong co-habitation, will that feeling go away? I get paid this week and left the babysitting gig thinking for the first time..... damm, outside of some money I give to my mom just because, its all mine and I'm responsible for no one else. I'm picking up a 77 oled/ps5 this week and going dark the whole weekend. I couldn't really do that with child expenses unless I saved up for a few months.

I know thats just a dumb material example but theres satisfaction knowing theres very little preventing me from enjoying those pleasurees.

 

[nsilvias]

lol. yeah its ridiculous. i have a niece who my mom took care of for the first two years and man you cannot keep your eye off the kid for one moment.
somehow this kid figured out how to get out of the coral and fell face down. we heard a loud thump wondering what the hell it was and it was that.

 

[Rocketz]

It's different when it's your kid. Mine wears me out every day and I can't wait for 5 minutes of peace but as soon as I get it I miss having fun with him.

 

[Walter White Walker]

It's a lot different when you do it every day. You get in a rhythm and all that.

 

[Joshua]

For what it's worth, at two years old most human beings are at their absolute worst. There's a reason they call them the "Terrible 2's". A 1 year old or even a 3 year old are considerably better to deal with.

 

[Musubi]

Yeah I could never have kids. I'm sure it has its fulfilling moments but my god the amount of energy needed to keep up with kids is unreal.

 

[Fiction]

My kids are now 12, 15, and 17. I like the free time, but I miss how cuddly they were when they were small

 

[Jakenbakin]

My little man is 2.

It's... It's a lot...

 

[Wally_Wall]

Giving your time, patience, and love to a vulnerable little baby is what life's about. I love children and have never quite understood people who don't. They are everything good about humanity.

 

[Papajak]

1-2 year olds are the worst. You can't talk to them. You can't reason with them. But they can walk over to a pile of crayons and stuff them all on their mouth. When my oldest was 18 months, my kid's pediatrician told me, ' you're just to keep him alive.' That's the damn truth. It gets so much better when they can talk and you can actually interact with them. And when you can have aN actual conversation with them, it makes up for all the shit you went through.

 

[Zukuu]

Just put them into a big soft enclosure where they can play to their heart's content and/or watch TV.

 

[False Witness]

I've got a four year old, a three year old, and a one year old. It's really not bad once you get into the daily routine.

 

[Venatio]

As the father of a 3 year old that has 6-10 meltdowns a day, you just kinda go numb.

 

[Oliver James]

Giving your time, patience, and love to a vulnerable little baby is what life's about. I love children and have never quite understood people who don't. They are everything good about humanity.

Click to shrink...

I too, believe that the children are our future. But honestly yeah I agree.

To OP I'm great with kids and I know how to keep their attention, so it's not a problem for me, also I enjoy fun activities like playing Mario Kart and PT with the little ones

 

[TheMadTitan]

Tie them to something. That's what I did when my sister was that age. And my cousins. And whomever else was tossed toward me growing up while adults went out.

 

[SRG01]

I took care of my nieces regularly since they were babies -- they're now four and two.

It has to be the most natural thing to me in the world especially when you have an emotional bond and genuinely like enjoying time with them, but I'm not going to deny that it's a lot of work and effort.

edit: It also helps that they know tantrums don't work on me, and are actually very communicative and open towards me.

edit2: meltdowns are natural because they're literally feelings things for the first time, just gotta help them process their emotions in a healthy way

 

[BlackSalad]

It is a lot sometimes

Today I made my almost 3 y/o daughter some Mac and cheese for lunch after she kept asking. Made it, put it into a bowl and set it in front of her, she then stood up, grabbed the bowl, threw the whole thing in the trash, and yelled "NO THANK YOU!"

 

[lucebuce]

Today I made my almost 3 y/o daughter some Mac and cheese for lunch after she kept asking. Made it, put it into a bowl and set it in front of her, she then stood up, grabbed the bowl, threw the whole thing in the trash, and yelled "NO THANK YOU!"

Click to shrink...

 

[maxxpower]

I can't deal with other people's kids. My four year old son is really easy though. My niece was a nightmare though.

 

[Wally_Wall]

Imo the problems most people have with children are consistency and follow through. Children are far from stupid. Once they realize they can't get their way and that they aren't in control things really aren't too difficult.

 

[BringBackSonics]

You tag team it with your spouse and lots of trips to bounce houses and parks.

plus they sleep a lot.

 

[BasilZero]

Its a lot of work but I'm sure if its your own kid, the whole feeling is completely different from babysitting someone else's kid.

 

[shinobi602]

It's different when it's your kid. Mine wears me out every day and I can't wait for 5 minutes of peace but as soon as I get it I miss having fun with him.

Click to shrink...

Shiiiiiieeeet you do you lol.

My wife had both my kids (5 and 2 years old) on vacation for 18 days last year and I was on cloud nine the whole time!

 

[Soapbox Killer]

Man.... I have a 16month old and 10 days old pair, not to mention my other 5 older-ish kids. There is a natural equilibrium that occurs with kids. Its just becomes the norm after a while.


Also the so called. "Terrible 2s" last from 1 to 3 1/2. You only used like 6-8 words for about 18months.
No. (Short version)
NO. (Long Version)
Eat Eat
Pee Pee
NO! (Loud Version w/snap or clap included)
Hey!
Listen!
Noooo! (Across the room version)

 

[TalonJH]

The great moments make the bad ones worth it. I do have to remind myself of that when I walk into the bathroom and find a small turd on the floor from our potty training 3yr old.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Much respect for anyone who can handle kids, I sure can't. Everytime I go places kids gravitate towards me and I have to be nice to them even though I'm not the biggest fan of them. They're fine so long as I can give them back at the end of the day.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Hey!
Listen!

Click to shrink...

 

[Heroicpiglet]

hormones and pheromones will help you

 

[super-famicom]

1-2 year olds are the worst. You can't talk to them. You can't reason with them. But they can walk over to a pile of crayons and stuff them all on their mouth. When my oldest was 18 months, my kid's pediatrician told me, ' you're just to keep him alive.' That's the damn truth. It gets so much better when they can talk and you can actually interact with them. And when you can have aN actual conversation with them, it makes up for all the shit you went through.

Click to shrink...

My son is 2 and I can have simple conversations with him, in both English and Japanese. My wife and I have been reading to him every day since he was still in the womb, so his vocabulary is huge. He's able to express what he wants maybe 80-90% of the time.

We've been following the election and he calls Biden "Biden san." And when Kamala Harris was giving her speech yesterday, at one point she said "We have power." My son heard that and repeated it! Of course, he doesn't know what that means yet, so I'll have to teach him that.

 

[Axis]

I don't have any kids, but I have nephews.

Whenever my sister wants to get away for a while, my brother, dad and I will watch him. It's basically real life, "Three men and a little baby" because we're all running around trying to keep up with the two year old.

He knows how to open doors now, which has added another layer of crazy to the situation.

 

[Rocketz]

Shiiiiiieeeet you do you lol.

My wife had both my kids (5 and 2 years old) on vacation for 18 days last year and I was on cloud nine the whole time!

Click to shrink...

Talk to me after April when the 2nd one is due. I may change my tone.

 

[RedMercury]

Parents reading this thread like

 

[RedVejigante]

My father always pointed to small children as evidence of original sin, and of the human races fallen nature....

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

Raising kids is notoriously hard work yeah. Babysitting for someone else isn't really the same though because you don't have all the sweet drugs your brain juices you with when it's your kids. Kinda hard to compare. But with that said, not everyone is suited to having them.

 

[antispin]

It definitely helps you appreciate your parents more, that's for sure!

 

[Sunster]

this is like the exact plot of an episode of Master of None

 

[Landy828]

My two daughters, 13 and 8, were a cakewalk as little ones.

My son however, who turns 2 in 7 days, is an absolute tornado. He is 1,000 mph from the second he gets up to the second he naps or goes to bed at night.

The difference is insane. My girls were the easiest kids ever apparently, LOL.

There was never a terrible 2s with them.

I do wonder how the teen years will be though.

 

[StrangeADT]

It's different when it's your kid. Mine wears me out every day and I can't wait for 5 minutes of peace but as soon as I get it I miss having fun with him.

Click to shrink...

It is different, and it isn't. Maybe I'm weird but a day without my son is awesome. I get excited to drop him off so I can just be free for 8 hours. I don't dread picking him up and I don't hate my child but holy shit it is exhausting. My wife and I went shopping without our two kids a week ago and it was the most relaxing fucking thing I have ever done. I cannot wait for my kids to be old enough to leave at home. I just really want to have a day where I don't have to care about what they ate, bathing them, getting them dressed etc. The most boring monotonous stuff.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

This is why I don't have kids.

 

[Landy828]

It is different, and it isn't. Maybe I'm weird but a day without my son is awesome. I get excited to drop him off so I can just be free for 8 hours. I don't dread picking him up and I don't hate my child but holy shit it is exhausting. My wife and I went shopping without our two kids a week ago and it was the most relaxing fucking thing I have ever done. I cannot wait for my kids to be old enough to leave at home. I just really want to have a day where I don't have to care about what they ate, bathing them, getting them dressed etc. The most boring monotonous stuff.

Click to shrink...

I'm the opposite, I hate being without my kids. Love every minute that I am with them.

 

[aznpxdd]

My daughter is 26 months and its a battle very single day. You literally cannot take your eyes off her for a second.

 

[Nude_Tayne]

My friend has three little boys (0-4), and I've always really enjoyed spending time with them at that age. I'm aware that actually parenting them is another universe of experience though. One time I spent all day with her and her oldest when he was 1, and I couldn't believe how exhausted I was at the end of the day. I didn't even do the most work! The thought of being a parent frightens me.

 

[Theodran]

I have a 1 year 3 month old son, and every day is both a struggle, and a blessing. He can be tough to deal with, and he keeps doing stuff he's not supposed to do (and gives the cutest grin just before he does what he should know he shouldn't do), but he's just always so happy, and he is so sweet, and that's what helps me love him.

 

[eZipsis]

I have a two year old and it's hard but Blippi, Peppa and Blaze create a nice break so I can be cooking in the kitchen without the fear he will run over and get hurt.

Rest of the time when we are home we are playing with Lightning McQueen and Monster Truck toys. It's good fun, but yeah when he goes to bed at night it's the same feeling as loosening your belt after a big meal.

 

[SRG01]

Oftentimes children are conditioned to bad behavior due to the responses they desire from their parents. I find that the best way navigate around children and their behavior is to not be highly reactive and instead encourage good behaviors gently.

That of course doesn't help for kids that zoom around non-stop, so I try to encourage them to listen to their own body signals and get them to gesture/sign if they're feeling tired so they don't get too wound up.

 

[molnizzle]

It's different when it's your kid. Mine wears me out every day and I can't wait for 5 minutes of peace but as soon as I get it I miss having fun with him.

Click to shrink...

It's not that different.

I love my daughter, but I'm looking forward to when she no longer requires constant vigilant attention at all times. I very much miss having time for myself.

 

[Nephtes]

Raising kids is notoriously hard work yeah. Babysitting for someone else isn't really the same though because you don't have all the sweet drugs your brain juices you with when it's your kids. Kinda hard to compare. But with that said, not everyone is suited to having them.

Click to shrink...

Can I have some of these "sweet brain drugs" you're talking about? Because my 17-month old is quite frankly intolerable to be around recently with 4 meltdowns per hour... and I must have been absent the day they were handing the "enjoy dealing with your kid brain drugs".

And now we're expecting child #2, thanks Hurricane Delta power outage...

 

[Kuribo’s Shoe]

It's different when it's your kid. Mine wears me out every day and I can't wait for 5 minutes of peace but as soon as I get it I miss having fun with him.

Click to shrink...

This.

 

[Dr. Mario]

It's of course a bit easier because your own kids are more predictable, in the sense that you know better when they might get hangry or how to distract them, and cleaning diapers is second nature. But yes it's like that every day of the week, when you have a work day or a holiday, when you're sick or you haven't slept very well, for years on end.

Just that fact changes you though. You start realizing, and not just in some kind of thought experiment way, that the whole world, or your whole world, doesn't revolve around you anymore. You become a bass player in your own band. I was in my thirties, had a PhD, a full time job, a mortgage, but I didn't feel fully an adult until I had kids. You have less autonomy over your life, but developmentally you're in such a different state of being.
It also appreciably changes the way you relate to your parents. As equals and with more shared understanding.

If you don't want any of that, that's fine too.

 

[Omegabalmung]

Man.... I have a 16month old and 10 days old pair, not to mention my other 5 older-ish kids. There is a natural equilibrium that occurs with kids. Its just becomes the norm after a while.


Also the so called. "Terrible 2s" last from 1 to 3 1/2. You only used like 6-8 words for about 18months.
No. (Short version)
NO. (Long Version)
Eat Eat
Pee Pee
NO! (Loud Version w/snap or clap included)
Hey!
Listen!
Noooo! (Across the room version)

Click to shrink...

My little one is 14 months and those are literally the same words i use but in my language lol.