What's the hardest part about being a parent?

As much as I want them to grow up happily and lead their own life, I don't want them to grow up. Now that my daughter is 7 years old, I find myself missing her baby/toddler stage despite having a 6 month old son. She's learning so much everyday, she even walks to school by herself (we live literally right next to the school), she helps me with her brother and has her own opinions on clothes and hair. One day I have to let her go, and I know I will scrutinized (lol) her boyfriends in case any of them are her potential husband. Same goes for my son too. Letting them go and letting them make their own decisions will be tough. My dad had it bad and still is finding it difficult to let me go.

As a parent, we want to shelter and protect our children but in order to grow up, children have to learn how to overcome obstacles on their own. Also, the thought that she may one day be bullied or hurt by someone because we can't always be there to watch over her hurts. I think the hardest part about being a parent is to ensure that children grow up with proper values and upbringing. You can teach a child so much, but children also get influenced by their surroundings especially in their growing up years.

Lot of good answers here. For me hardest part about being a parent is making choices. You are not independent any more. You have to choose whether to go out with friends/go for a movie that you don't wanna miss and leave your child with nanny or skip the party/movie to spend time with your child. Sometimes you just want some timeout or break from your routine but it's not possible. You have to adjust your entire schedule around the kids and that change might be taxing for some parents.

Having to sacrifice personal space, time, wants and even needs (sometimes) having to pretend ur ok when ur not. Having to hear expectations from spouse and getting frustrated when not meeting them. There's alot of things we needed to let go sometimes even our ego just to be a "good parent" but when i hear my son say mama or see him smilling i guess all the pain and sacrifices are worth it

The hardest part about being a parent is baby doesn't come with a manual and we need to learn along the way through numerous trials and errors. E.g. kid's sleeping, food, education and etc. Also, I find it hard to divide my attention among my 2 kids and soon will be 3 kids. I always have guilt in me for not spending enough time with them despite I am a stay at home mother.

The hardest part of being a parent is to be able to juggle work and life. As working mothers we are sometimes plagued by the guilt of leaving our kids with nannies, as we head out to make a living. And while both are necessary, it is probably the hardest part- overcoming the guilt of leaving your child behind to provide a better future for them.

Responsibility. Di na tulad dati na wala ka iniisip kundi sarili mo. Ngayon na kinasal kana at may anak, responsibilidad mo na sila parehas. Kung dati pa tamad tamad ka kumilos nung binata ka, ngayon gagalaw kana. Ikaw ang unang takbuhan ng mag ina mo. Pero syempre sobrang saya ng may anak. Lagi kang nagmamadali umuwi makita lang sila.

There are so many, one of them being patient with your kids. Parents need to be really patient with their kids, they need to listen to them and understand that they are little ones who are learning everyday and discovering themselves. Remember how you were like as kids, so let them be, be patient and just be supportive.

I think the hardest part about being a parent is the mental conditioning of accepting to be a parent. Physically we conceive and become parents but its not easy to bring about the paradigm shift...I have seen many of my friends who are parents but are still juggling in their minds with the acceptance of being one..

Accepting that sometimes you have to let your child learn through the hard way. Like learning to ride a bike, one sometimes has to be brave enough to fall first before grasping the concept of balancing. As much as you want to, you cannot always be there for them and they have to learn to be independent.