Okay, so I saw this question floating around online – “what age are parents the most tired?” – and I thought, “Oh, I know this one.” But then I realized, everyone’s experience is different, right? So, I decided to do a little digging and see what other parents are saying, and, well, mix it in with my own hot mess of memories.
My Deep Dive into Tiredness
First, I jumped onto some parenting forums. You know, those places where people are up at 3 AM asking if it’s normal for their kid to only eat orange food? Yeah, those.
I created a few polls and questions, really simple stuff like, “What age were your kids when you felt the most exhausted?” I also lurked in some older threads to get a wider range of answers.
Then, I started digging through any articles or studies.
The “Results” (aka My Sanity Check)
Here’s what I found, mixed with my own experience:
- The Newborn Phase (0-3 months): This was a popular answer, and yeah, duh. It’s constant feeding, nappy changes, and wondering if you’ll ever sleep more than 2 hours at a time again. You’re basically a zombie who can (hopefully) produce milk. I remember thinking I’d hallucinated an entire conversation with my spouse. Turns out, I hadn’t.
- Infancy (3-12 months): Things can get better sleep-wise, but then they start moving. And everything goes in their mouth. And you’re constantly chasing them, pulling things out of their grasp, and wondering if that weird rash is something to panic about.
- Toddlerhood (1-3 years): Oh, the tantrums. The “no!” phase. The boundless energy that makes you question your own fitness levels. This was a tough one for me. I felt like I was constantly negotiating with a tiny, irrational dictator. Plus, the sleep regressions! Just when you think you’ve got it figured out…bam! Sleepless nights again.
- Preschool (3-5 years): Okay, the tantrums might lessen (might!), but then you’ve got the endless questions. “Why is the sky blue?” “Why do dogs bark?” “Why don’t we have a pet dinosaur?” It’s exhausting in a different way – mentally. You’re trying to nurture their curiosity while also trying to, you know, keep them alive and relatively clean.
- The School Age(5+years) Then there is a little improvement in * I do not need to get them to * when they get older,I feel like I’m constantly negotiating with homeworks.
So, what’s the verdict? Honestly, It is tough. There’s no single “most tired” * depends to kids and parents.
