Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Really, it’s not that we are any more easily annoyed than anyone else, but if you’re a parent, you know there’s certain things that just drive you mad. Chances are you have wanted to bang your head against a wall whenever you’ve been confronted with the following:
Peeve #10: Booooooring Kid Books
Now don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe in reading to my children…every. single. night. But what is this nonsense of long, boring, yawn-inducing children’s books that for some reason kids want repeated ad nauseum? I truly don’t get it. It’s not like ALL kids books are like this. Some are actually clever and funny and even rhyme in a cutesy sorta way. But those that are not? Truly, who publishes that crap and why?
Peeve #9: Parenting Products that say *Some Assembly Required*
You know exactly what I’m talking about. You buy that crib, that play yard, those baby gates, that carseat, that baby swing, whatever…but of course, that’s the easy part! Then you’ve got to assemble them, adjust them, install them…with nothing but instructions in broken English that don’t match the pictures, a prayer, and a string of expletives to help you along the way. Really? Don’t manufacturers know that “ain’t nobody got time for that?”
Peeve #8: Sticky, Stinky Hands
Nothing is quite as sweet as my kiddo’s chubby little hands. But is anything quite as annoying as when said hands have held a popsicle, lollipop, or chocolate ice cream cone and while still covered in all the gooey, sticky mess, they grab my hand, my hair, my face, or my shirt? Arghhh! Wait, there is…and that’s when their hands have been in unmentionable places and are instead stinky. Please child, go wash NOW!
Peeve #7: Rude Comments/Questions from Strangers
As parents, we’ve all been there. How do perfect strangers not know when something crosses a privacy line? It truly is none of their business to discuss our reproductive choices, make snide remarks about our kids’ behaviour, quiz our kids on whatever random topic they think our kids should have already mastered, ask if they are “all yours,” or assume that your pregnant belly is public property. The audacity of some people is truly beyond comprehension.
Peeve #6: Food or Medicine in Bright, Obnoxious Colors
Yes, I know the kids love this. So much fun!!! But that does not mean, as a parent, that *I* have to! Even if you don’t have any health concerns about Red #40 or Blue #1, who in hell really wants it dripping down the front of Lucy’s brand-new white shirt? I swear, I have scrubbed more stains due to stupid food dye than I care to admit. Maybe it’s my fault for letting my kids have it in the first place, but seriously? I’m a sucker for puppy eyes. Bet you are, too!
Peeve #5: Chewed Gum & Boogers & Toothpaste Goobers
We’ve all got them…stuck under the table, smeared on the wall, strewed on the sink. That’s just par for the course in the parenting world. It’s still gross. And it’s one part of having little kids that I am just NOT going to miss!
Peeve #4: When people wake up the baby…
Are you freaking kidding me? I literally just told you two seconds ago…SHHHHHH, the baby’s sleeping! Oh, but NOOOO, your need to express yourself just HAD to trump that very important piece of information. Now I’m pissed and for very good reason. You just undid everything I worked so hard for this past hour. Crap.
Peeve #3: Toys with 3 Billion Pieces
Why? Because chances are that in about 33 minutes, half of them will be lost, that’s why. And not just lost, like regular lost, but like *under the fridge* kind of lost. Like we won’t find them again until we clean the whole damn house, which of course will have to happen at some point, because there are now 3 billion random toy pieces in the far reaches of my now trashed domain. No, I do not have to like that.
Peeve #2: Toys that sing, talk, beep, etc…
Oh hell no. This is what grandparents and aunts and uncles buy…any sane parent knows that these are not acceptable, right? Please, if you feel the need to purchase one of these horrid contraptions, please know that it will quickly be designated as the toy that stays at YOUR house, not mine.
Peeve #1: People without kids who give parenting advice
I know, it is so easy to think that you are such an expert because you’ve read so many parenting books and have observed a fair number of children in your wanderings. But until you have joined the ranks of parenthood, please do not attempt to tell me what a crappy job I’m doing or how you have the answer to my parenting frustrations. It just doesn’t work that way, and trust me, I’m not listening!
Melanie Pierce is mom to five energetic kids, including a sweet new baby. She enjoys homeschooling her children from a peaceful parenting perspective and traveling with her family whenever she can. Her hobbies include playing the guitar, gardening, and relaxing with a hot cup of coffee. She freelances in her spare time and loves to write about this crazy journey called parenthood. She also is an author at BabyGateExperts.com, a blog which helps parents unravel the mysteries of baby-gating.
You knocked the nail on the head. Yawning while reading – this has made me not want to read much so thankfully my son is 11 and reads himself he now is onto “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. Unless a person is paying towards my son or helping drastically, which noone is then their comment is totally unneccessary and 90% of the time unkawrdfor(excuse spelling).I have to agree with the bright food colors, thankfully my son isnt into it unless its his character. Damn hard to wash no joke. Honestly can anyone give an answer as to WHY someone actually has to pick up a sleeping baby, I used to swear people and was over protected which ended people even looking at my son sleeping haha. Join the club thise battery operated sing songs and toys that make noises when move OMG goodbye lol turn it off I always moan at my niece she must play her toy in her room. Well a touchy subject thise people that pass comments on how to raise your child or you doing something wrong need to wake up as they are not in your shoes 24/7 dealing with your child let alone anyone elses. I really dislike that. Thank you for this brought some pet hates in me 🙂 Haha
I agree with @nics82 and @lynne this couldnt be said better oh that of waking a sleeping baby yes i got pissed off but im sure alot of guest ended up angry at me for telling them you will not wake our son when his asleep if you want to do so rather leave…and the noise toys we are actually the ones buying them to entertain our little man and it does mommy is so used to the sounds they make it doesnt bother me but daddy thats not here 24/7 it gets to him somtimes however he make just as much noise when he play with our son…these top 10 parent pet peeve are indeed so spot on and oh yes and those who give the most advice but dont even have kids of their own omw….
Some people are just rude asking if the child is yours just because the child is more lighter in colour it’s just piss me off.
Waking the baby wen is still asleep its piss me off because the baby need to rest she or he was playing the whole day and you wake him up.our elders saying when the baby is sleeping for such hours they growing as well.
These where so spot on i cant agree more this is he top ten. Great post thank you for sharing.
OMG yes the noisy toys? I am sure that people only buy those toys for parents that they hate, to torture then haha. And lollipops, I hate those. What an awful sweet! They get stuck on everything and your kid is so sticky afterwards… everything gets sticky and gross.
I enjoyed this so much 🙂 Made me think of a certain toy that my child owns. While I’m pretty good at zoning out noises of her toys so they don’t actually get to me – she has this specific hammer. You know the rubber one that squeaks when you bang it? The sound of that squeak for some reason has me revved up in 0.3 seconds flat haha its like nails on a chalk board for me. It got so bad that i eventually stooped so low that I hid it from my child. Bad mom I know lol but it was the hammer or my sanity 🙂
Great article!
Those sticky and dirty hands. JD is now at the stage where he insists on eating with my big spoon himself and not only does he feed himself but Mommy too. I try to eliminate as much mess as I can, but eating without making a mess is unavoidable. Most of the time my clothes have yoghurt or food stains. :-O
People are really rude and untactful. When I fell pregnant so many strangers took it upon themselves to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. When JD was six months old, we visited my in laws. My husband’s parents had a divorce when he was still a young boy. My father in law’s second wive was forever telling me what she did when she had a baby. She practically questioned all my actions and gave me her unwanted advice until I reminded her how many years ago she had a baby. This was more than twenty years ago! Times has changed a lot since them. And really, she had her baby. This is my baby and my child and I think I’m doing what’s best for him.
Waking my sleeping baby. Once JD is asleep, he can sleep through some noises like music or if the TV is at a reasonable volume. But some people just take it too far. I get so annoyed at this. You don’t have to be completely silent but just acknowledge that we’ve just spent a half an hour putting baby to sleep. Just keep your voice at a reasonable volume.
I snapped at my brother the one day when I was visiting my Mom (she stays with him). Because whatever I did, he had something to say about it. I know my child and I know he get’s cranky when he’s over tired and needs to go for a nap. I told him that I really hate it when people tells me what to do when they don’t have children of their own. I didn’t mean it as an insult. I just reminded him that he is not a parent. He doesn’t deal with all the aspects of parenthood. He only sees JD for short periods of time. It’s not his place to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. He was offended. But at least now he leaves me to do as I please.
JD has quite a few toys that plays music and makes noises. I’ve pretty much gotten used to the sounds and thankfully some of them has a volume button, so I can turn down the volume to a reasonable level. 🙂 And I’m the guilty one here. I bought the majority of them. Lol.
I would like to add Kissing babies to this list. DO NOT KISS MY BABY!!! I have now armed myself with pictures and articles on my phone to shove under peoples noses when they want to kiss my soon to be born baby.
Your mouth is one of the dirtiest things on earth. Now you, a stranger or friend or family member, want to put your mouth on my new born. WHY??? Have you not heard of Hepatitis. RS virus and all the other harmful horrible bacteria that you could pass to my innocent baby?
Yes please coo and smile and interact. I want you to love my child but please refrain from kissing and touching. I honestly don’t know where you had your hands last.
Oh I kissed my own babies all the time, but they were mine and I couldn’t help it. But if anyone else kissed my baby I may have freaked just a little.
Peeve #9 … Now that is something that will test your patience! Fortunately, my husband has a lot to spare. 🙂
This post made me giggle and nod more than once! So relatable.
Ha ha ha I just must agree with the sticky stinky hands…nevermind on your hair…what about after having held the cat with those hands…eish.
Noisy toys… take the batteries out when they are not looking and just pretend the toy doesn’t work, I may have even made the snide comment to the person who bought that noise… just hinting for them never to buy that stuff again…*hides face