Ten Things I wish I knew before becoming a Parent!

Being a parent brings many different lessons and sometimes I sit here and question why I didn’t know half of what I know now.

It seems that every stage they go through I seem to learn something new about being a parent.

So I thought I would share Ten things that I wish I had known before I was a parent.

1. There is always a lost shoe.

It doesn’t matter if you have a nice permanent home for your shoes there is always one that seems to be missing. It has probably been there every time you have walked past it but the instant you want to get out the door it will vanish. Please plan time for “finding the shoe”.

2. Putting shoes on your children doesn’t mean that they won’t get lost.

Planning time to find the shoe and putting them on your children doesn’t always mean that a shoe won’t get lost. There is a magical void behind your back, if you don’t know this now you will soon. Putting shoes on child number 1 and turning around to assist child number 2 doesn’t mean that the shoes on Child number 1 won’t go missing. Please also make time to find the shoe you just put on.

3. Children do NOT care about the Clock’s changing.

Relish in the moment before you have children and you get excited because you have seen on Facebook that the clocks go back this weekend and you get a lie in.  Children don’t care about this. As far as they're concerned they are awake and so should you, time doesn’t matter.

4. Your Child will make you fearful of waking up.

This sounds like a strange lesson but anyone who has a child that likes to sneak into their beds will understand. Your child will have their eyes open and be about an inch away from your face watching you when you wake up. You will sense that there is something wrong, someone there, brace yourself when you open your eyes it can be pretty scary.

5. Your Child CAN change their mind within seconds.

It doesn’t matter if you have been told something a million times from your Child, the moment it happens they will change their minds. For Example: “I really want to go to the park” so you take your child to the park. The moment they get there they may decide that it wasn’t the park that they wanted at all and that they want to go home.

6. They know when you’re going to the toilet.

It will not matter if you have just placed the best toy, gadget, work, film in front of your child to “entertain” them for 5 mins. The moment you sit down on the toilet they will be by the door.

7. You WILL get dirty.

Learn that when you are at home with them you need to be wearing clothes that can get dirty. Children will have dirty or sticky hands; they will wipe whatever their hands, face and any other body part on you.

8. Children are fussy eaters.

It doesn’t matter if your child eats everything and isn’t technically a fussy eater. There will be a moment where you cook or make them a dinner that you know they enjoyed from a previous meal time and they will turn around at one point and say that they don’t like it.

9. Children LOVE repetition.

It will seem like torture but be prepared to watch the same film or listen to the same song hundreds times. It doesn’t matter if you have just watched or listened to it, your child has clearly enjoyed it and they will want to enjoy it again and again. You might end up detesting the words “Can we watch…..please”

10. You WILL watch Childrens T.V when they are not there.

There will be moments where you have a film or a television programme on and there will be a moment when your child has left or gone to bed. You will find yourself sitting there still watching the programme and get a sudden realisation that you are watching it alone. Please also be aware that it could be the programme or film that you have learnt to detest.

Hope you enjoyed my random Ten Things.

What would you like to have told yourself before you became a parent?