Do you feel the joys of parenting are overrated?

No. I think people who think they are over rate it, are people who under rate it. Its just the way u look at it and understand it. Its not all fun and joy but its not about only you. Just hearing that child giggle is enough to make you giggle yourself.

yes and no, sometimes their underrated, and soemtimes people over or under estimate the downs of parenting as well

Not at all. The joys of parenting are what make all the hardships of it worth it. As a mother of two nothing can make me feel better and more proud than my children. Their smiles, watching them grow, watching them learn and reach milestones, hearing them tell you they love you, watching them sleep, etc. The joy have having children is endless and not over rated in the least bit. People do tend to however, leave out the hardships when talking about it. The sleepless nights, the frustration, the worry, the pain you feel when your child is sick or hurt, the emotional toll children take on you, etc. Raising children is hard and every parent loses their mind at times and gets frustrated and aggrivated. That in no way takes away any specialness from the joy your children bring you though.

In the 1970’s Ann Landers answered a letter from a young couple trying to decide if they wanted to have kids. They noticed that most of their friends who had kids seemed tired, angry, and resentful. 70% of the parents who wrote in responding to the letter said that if they had it to do all over again they wouldn’t have kids. Of course it wasn’t a scientific poll and it was 40 years ago but what I take from it is that a lot of people are not glad they had kids. Our society has an idealized view of parenthood that it can never live up to. Most people who are less than delighted to be parents go along with the tenor and say they love being parents so other people won’t think them heartless and selfish. Idealizing sex, marriage, parenthood, retirement, college, or whathaveyou makes it impossible for the experience to live up to expectations and leaves you feeling cheated. In fact most people feel cheated by life for this very reason. There are lots of truly great things in life but expecting everything to be uniquely wonderful sets the bar too high so nothing can ever measure up.

I think it depends. Some people like being parents. Some people didnt get what they were expecting. For the life of me I cannot figure out why my mother risked her life to have a child. I dont see what people get out of it. And then you’ve also got kids with different temperaments. I imagine if a child’s temperament matches the parents, they’re in for an easier time. Perhaps its easier to focus on the positives when your child isnt much trouble…

Good answer