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Shaming like this doesn’t change people’s minds, it just makes them hide their feelings and introduces new or even greater feelings of guilt. The opposite of what you (hopefully) intended.

> is one of life’s greatest gifts

This is stated as some sort of universal truth.

It is not. Please don’t make OP feel bad, whether you mean to or not.

This is the kind of response that prevents people from being honest about the feeling. I also didn't enjoy a lot of the time with my young child. Some things -- like travel -- got better, because what was tedious to me had become novel to him, and that was rewarding to see. But some things just stayed tedious, and some got more so.

Example: it took us an hour to walk the mile home from preschool together together. It's astounding to me to think that someone could be fulfilled and engaged for every minute of every day of that walk. That there's nowhere else they'd rather be. That some days it wouldn't just feel _slow_.

Being present for your kids can be hard work, and it sucks to be judged for putting in that work even when you don't enjoy it. I wish people would stop thinking they're better parents just because they _like_ spending a higher percentage of their time with their kids. All that means is that it's easier for them.

Celebrate the parents who put the work in, even when it's hard.

I’m glad it’s eye-opening; that means not enough people talk about their negative experiences, thus justifying my original post even more.

My kids miss out on nothing, don’t worry. There’s zero reason to pity them - they’re amazing and they have an amazing life. I purely regret my loss of mental energy and personal time.