What makes parents want to become parents? The excellent life lessons they didn’t expect to receive. 

You don’t have to be a parent to know that parenting is hard. Just look at a parent, it shows. Fresh out of university, I took a temporary job as a tutor, helping kids with English and History class. Up to that point in my life, when it came to parenting, I had only ever been a child. All I knew was that my parents were too controlling and overreacted every time I wanted to go out with my friends. «Wear a jacket, or you’ll get sick!» «Don’t be home so late,» «make sure to text me when you move anywhere.» By the way, the same sentences still get thrown around, but I am no longer a kid. That being said, I couldn’t see their perspective in many things. As I grew older, I started to understand the worries and difficulties that come with parenting, at least in a superficial way. However, now I know I had a lot to learn and still do. 

When I was tutoring, it meant I silently watched family life unfold as I was invited into someone else’s home. I realized how truly demanding it was: I witnessed parents rushing through lunch, trying to get their kids ready for class; arguments that unfolded over unfolded clothes, mothers trying to write emails for work while listening to their child’s story about school, and fathers scheduling yet another extracurricular activity for their little ones while trying to fit a nap in between. My first thought was simple: «This is pure chaos. Who would ever want this?» I know, I know, I was young and very naive, and my greatest interaction with any child had been an hour-long explanation about verbs and adjectives. I really started to wonder what exactly motivated parents to become parents in the first place. 

Then, on a random day and at a random time, I got a glimpse of a possible reason why people choose parenthood. I was in the middle of explaining some world crisis (take your pick), when one of my students looked me straight in the eye and said: «You’re my favorite teacher ever.» I was completely caught off guard. I was probably explaining one of the most serious moments in history, and all my student could manage to say was that I was a great teacher. I thought it was hilarious, random, and comedic. Not to mention, it also stroked my ego and made me feel awesome. 

I went home thinking about this. Maybe I should’ve corrected them for not really paying attention in class, or maybe I should’ve ignored it completely. But I laughed. Now, why is this random internet stranger telling such an out-of-nowhere story to me? I know you have things to do; you’re a parent after all, so I’ll go straight to the point. I can see how kids can be so wonderful now: they don’t take things too seriously. That makes life a lot more fun. They really got it figured out, and we could really sit in that lesson. When did we stop being like that? Taking that unexpected revelation into account, here’s a collection of parenting memes to help you not take things too seriously either.