Ode to sleep deprived parents

[toad]

http://cheezburger.com/49480961

[Netpackrat]

Why am I not laughing?

[randy]

Because you're too tired?

[PawPaw]

They do grow up, and there is life after children. Today, for example, my lady and I are traveling to a fish-fry where grandkids are not allowed. Nor even adult children, for that matter. No one there will be under the age of 50.

As much as I love my children, and dote on my grandkids, I'm very thankful that I don't have to do 3:00 a.m. bottle and diaper duty any more.

[Greg]

It's when you can't see or hear them that it's time to be scared. Because you know they're doing something.

[Denis]

... it's time to be scared. Because you know they're doing something.

Yes, yes it is.

And if that wasn't enough...

[Aglifter]

The second link looks, somewhat, reasonable - although I can't quite see how the kids had that much time to do some of those things w.o. permission to do so.

The kid crying all the time in the one link is just odd... Or, the kids in my family are abnormally easy to get along with...

I think the key might be to raise kids in a herd. There's usually a sea of little blonde heads - often 5 to 7 toddlers in a group at a time - they tend to keep each other occupied, and be remarkably tolerable...

[Greg]

The second link looks, somewhat, reasonable - although I can't quite see how the kids had that much time to do some of those things w.o. permission to do so.

Yeah I got that too. It didn't look so bad, just kids doing what they are inclined to do when poorly trained and left alone too long. Or urged along a little for a photo op. With competent parents, those pics are pretty much staged or not possible.

The kid crying all the time in the one link is just odd... Or, the kids in my family are abnormally easy to get along with...

The Aspie spectrum is strong in that one, I suspect. I'll bet he communicates poorly, and is powerfully what in an adult would be called 'OCD'. Anything that happens not perfectly according to 'the rules that govern the world as he understands them' (and his understanding is going to be questionable) is going to upset him. Which means an awful lot of things are going to upset him, and it's not going to make ANY sense to anyone who can't see inside his head. He's also really fat, but that's just me. Formula baby.

I think the key might be to raise kids in a herd. There's usually a sea of little blonde heads - often 5 to 7 toddlers in a group at a time - they tend to keep each other occupied, and be remarkably tolerable...

I think that's probably a good idea. Keeps them busy, burns off energy and it's very educational in all kinds of ways.

[Aglifter]

It works well for us - but we are a bit clannish.

There were 80 kids at my cousins wedding - maybe 20 over 12. And, they were perfectly well-behaved, and fine - but, part of that is they are healthy kids. Balls, frisbees, etc were brought - along w. toy trains, cars, dolls, etc - and they ran around outside in the same field that my cousins and I used to run around and play on.

Later, we were sitting around, talking in the living room, and that was possible w. the 7 toddlers in the room.

Part of that might be attitude of the adults - we didn't go into a "sterile" formal room - it had assorted toys dragged everywhere, kids would hop on and off laps/need trips to the bathroom, etc.

[Greg]

It works well for us - but we are a bit clannish.

There were 80 kids at my cousins wedding - maybe 20 over 12. And, they were perfectly well-behaved, and fine - but, part of that is they are healthy kids. Balls, frisbees, etc were brought - along w. toy trains, cars, dolls, etc - and they ran around outside in the same field that my cousins and I used to run around and play on.

Later, we were sitting around, talking in the living room, and that was possible w. the 7 toddlers in the room.

Part of that might be attitude of the adults - we didn't go into a "sterile" formal room - it had assorted toys dragged everywhere, kids would hop on and off laps/need trips to the bathroom, etc.

That sounds like a lot of fun, like some of the gatherings one of my aunts (actually an in-law on my father's side) used to host.

My mother was an only child. Her mother was an only child. Only children... don't come out right, and you *don't* want one as a parent. Some of the attitudes toward children I grew up with were... not supported by reality. Happily I started to learn some things about children when my sister had kids. Being Uncle Greg was quite an experience.

Toddlers can be a handful, but they're awesome. Like puppies with hands. Unless you're doing something wrong, they're happy and eager to please as you could want. But they'll test you. It's part of their education.

In general liberalism seems to highly correlate with certain types of poor parenting.