10 things that really p*ss me off as a parent…

And so now we are in July, it’s a big month for Singledaddydaycare! Firstly, it’s my Birthday at the weekend😳, then my youngest, Joseph, finishes nursery for good and will start primary school in the near future.  My eldest Connie, will finish year 1 this month and I’m also planning on having a long weekend away when the kids go away with their Mummy on holiday.  Anyway, I have decided that every week throughout the month of July, my posts will focus around a list of 10 things parent related…

Ok, so to kick us off, as a parent there are some things that really p*ss me off, majority of which I would have been blissfully unaware of prior to being a parent! Some of these things may not even be directly related to the fact I am a parent, I just think I have a more heightened awareness of certain things shall we say and for whatever reason, they annoy me now, when previously they didn’t!

So without any further ado, I will list to you what my 10 things are:

1.Inconsiderate Parking

So this one, really gets on my nerves and probably does most parents! It’s when people abuse the parent and child parking spaces outside a supermarket.  There is nothing worse than seeing someone without any children in their car beating you to the space.  Actually there is, it’s when you see a couple without children drive into the space and only one of them jumps out and goes in the shops while the driver stays in the car…brilliant!  Why?? Just why??  It is just pure laziness!😡  Just out of interest, would/do you confront any people who abuse these parking spaces?

Staying on this theme, I understand the need for people parking on the pavement from time to time and I guess sometimes it can’t be helped.  That said, when you have younger children in a buggy or pushchair it can be very irritating when there is just not enough room to get through.  When the children were younger and occasionally now, when they are on their bikes, I spent many a time trying to squeeze by cars who have left a ridiculously narrow space on the pavement, leaving me feeling like I should be in an episode of Wacky Races (anyone else remember this?), when trying to work out how to get past said car!

2. The disgusting state of public toilets

No matter where you are, encountering a clean toilet is like the holy grail! I remember a couple of years ago, Connie point blankly refused to go to toilet due to the previous state someone left it in! The fact, a then 4-year-old would rather choose to probably wet herself rather than go in a ‘skanky toilet’ says something!  It always makes me chuckle, most toilets these days have a piece of paper hanging up somewhere saying “these toilets are checked regularly” and then next to it, someones initials…checked regularly for what? That someone hasn’t died due to poor sanitation!?

Soap dispensers are either often empty or broken, yet we are always brought up to try to encourage our children to thoroughly wash our hands.  As for toilet roll, or lack of – it is an absolute nightmare!  A couple of months ago, I had to leave my daughter stranded in the cubicle with my son, while I ventured into the ladies to get some toilet roll!  The moral of the story – when I am with the children and they need the toilet, I now check the toilet roll situation before we commit to a cubicle these days – I literally have no faith!

(They so often look like this!)

 

3. Swearing around your children

We all swear, I get that, but sometimes it seems some people, just don’t have a filter. People who swear publicly when in and around young children is wrong.  I remember fairly recently being on a plane on a stag do and a few rows in front was another group of boys on a different stag do and their language was awful.  A guy who was with his young family on the plane then politely told the group to tone down the swearing etc to which one of them replied “Fuck off” – charming!

To go one step further, I have even heard parents swearing at their own children when telling them off and that is bad form I think.

 

4. Running out of things 

I quite like cooking, always have done, but gone are the days (pre kids) if you forget something.  Back then, you could just quickly nip to the shops (and park in a normal parking space!) and get what ever it is you need.  When the children are with me, I tend to cook more and it is always then I realise I am missing some ingredient and it is like a military operation to get everyone out, in the car and to the shop! By the time, I get there, I usually forget what it is I am there for and end up buying something like a ski jacket and a toolbox (when shopping at Aldi) – I should add, I don’t even ski!!!

Or, it could be as simple as toilet roll and there’s me criticising public toilets when I sometimes forget too!

(Wakey wakey – we are at the shops now!!)

 

5. The cost of holidays 

This probably affects most people who have children of a school age.  It is hard to know who is to blame.  I don’t think you can point the finger at schools or travel agents here though.  The prices, are the prices based on simple economics of demand and supply.  The school holidays arrive, people have the small window to go away, demand increases and so do the prices!

It would be the local authorities/Government who are to blame here I would say.  In Germany, they stagger the school holidays by region which is an interesting concept.  I am not saying that is the right thing to do here necessarily, as there will be winners and losers and what works for one family may not work for the next.  All I know, is there is a massive difference when going away at the beginning of July versus the end of July and it irks me!

(Happy holidays!)

 

6. Adults having to pay an entrance fee to enter in a kids play area

Well, I have only experienced it a couple of times at two different places, but it really stumps me! Ok, so monetary wise it was only like £1 or £1.50 for me to enter, but for some reason, it really got my blood boiling! To pay this ‘entry fee’, for what exactly? To be held captive, paying even more money to drink crap coffee and sit on a chair (if you are lucky enough to find one) that has been defaced to within an inch of its life?  I would rather they add the additional amount onto the child’s entrance fee and be done with it.  I know I would still be paying for it overall, but I will feel less cheated somehow!?

 

7. Parents who are unable to control their own child

This brings me nicely on to my next point and this so often happens in play places as well as being out and about in general.  I am sure we have all witnessed at some point when you see another child on the rampage, either snatching something from your own child or being completely unruly and screaming and shouting the place down unnecessarily, or maybe even being just plain rude!  Having been a Father for over 6 years now, I am still unsure what the etiquette is here in terms of telling off other people’s children (I tend to hope the other parent will realise their child is being a little sh*t), but I have done it once or twice!  What do you do?

 

8. Random members of the public saying (when referring to your children) “Enjoy them, as they grow up too quickly”

So you are chatting to a random person at the shops, exchanging small talk, they then go and try to touch your child! Woah!! Hang on a minute, keep your hands to yourself…(maybe this could have been a separate point itself as that bugs me too!) and then they say ” Enjoy them, as they grow up too quickly”.  I am probably being a little facetious here (but just humour me), enjoy what exactly? The changing of nappies or did they mean the potty training? Perhaps the back chat or even the constant washing of clothes or is it the sleepless nights? The list goes on…

 

9. Forgetting to make the beds up

You wake up in the morning, strip the beds and stick a wash on all before leaving the house and dropping the kids off at school.  It has been a tough day at work, you get the kids, give them their dinner (that’s tea to my northern friends) and maybe spend an hour or so with them reading, watching TV etc.  Time for bed now and so they have a wash and brush their teeth and you tell them to get into bed so that you can then finally relax…Doh! The beds aren’t made!  I can say this now, as I am feeling pretty calm, it literally only takes 5 minutes to do, but at the time it feels like the end of the world! Devastating stuff!🤦‍♂️

(Ok, so this is my bed, but still equally as upsetting if you are gunning for an early night!!)

 

10. People who overshare on social media 

So I was on social media before I had children and for some reason I definitely notice this now more.  There are some people who love to share every minute detail about their children and what they are doing with them,  not to mention the mass uploading of photos, it can be more than a little tiresome at times.  This random example isn’t directed at anyone I know personally (I don’t think), “Jack had his first biscuit today” – thanks for that and well done Jack! – I will sleep better tonight, safe in the knowledge that this has happened!

And so the irony is, I have just written that above point and little old me has a blog, a Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter dedicated to Singledaddydaycare – although at least people have a choice as to if they want to follow my page or not.  My personal Facebook account probably gets updated about as frequently as a loo roll in a public toilet!  And so on that note, please feel free to go forth and SHARE this blog for me on any form of social media!!!👍😂

Tell me if you agree or disagree with this list? What would you add in or remove? Do you tell off other people’s children or confront people who shouldn’t have parked in parent and child parking space? Let me hear from you! 

If you enjoyed reading this, check out my last post about my My Single Parent Holiday Nightmare – Theresa May, Paramedics and Sandwiches!