I paused to ponder the time before children, now that my eldest son has just turned 14. Where did time go when I was in my twenties? What is different now in practice? I found five points that probably apply to most families and their everyday life. Take it with humor. 🙂

Parenthood – Signs

There’s no more bathroom privacy. False assumption!
There’s no peace in the bathroom anymore; someone is always present, either discussing urgent matters that can’t wait a couple of minutes or screaming for their turn. Even if you manage to slip into the bathroom and lock the door, someone will soon be banging on it, asking why it’s locked!

All other privacy is a thing of the past.
Children’s hearing is remarkably selective. Try discussing ‘adult matters’ peacefully. No matter how quietly you speak, you’ll soon hear, ‘WHAT?!’ coming from another room. And when talking about the child’s affairs, awareness is on pause somewhere.

All your opinions are questioned. Your opinions and preferences regarding food or clothing no longer hold. When you make ‘good’ food, it’s likely to be disliked by someone. When you buy nice clothes for your child, they’re either the wrong color or have the wrong text (or shouldn’t have any text)!

A tidy home is now a dream. Okay, if you can manage to clean ALL THE TIME, the home might shine, but otherwise, someone messes it up as fast as you tidy. It’s frustrating, but you get used to it.

There’s no more ‘me time.’
Or you could take a break if childcare is arranged, but is it really ‘me time’? Children are somehow on your mind more the farther away you are from them! And that’s a good thing, but only thinking about oneself, that’s impossible.

Do you resonate with these points? Some of these phenomena diminish as children grow, but a few intensify. What happens when the children are adults?