The worst-kept secret about parenting is that a lot of it is pretty boring.

For every fleeting, transcendental moment like a baby’s first smile, there are hours upon hours of thankless routine and going through the motions simply because that is what a parent is required to do. Indeed, there is an argument to be made that one of the reasons the birth rate is going down is because more and more people are realizing just how much work goes into raising kids to an acceptable level. Truthfully, it is something that many just do not have the temperament for.

At the same time, those who do make the decision to have children have a responsibility to make the most of it. Even the most competent moms and dads can sometimes wake up in the morning and wish that they didn’t have to parent, but they do it anyway. It is only natural to want to complain about this experience from time to time, but it is also common sense to make these complaints private, and not when children are likely to hear them. This can be difficult for some parents when the temptation of social media is right there.