kids

"As a mother..." The 14 most annoying things parents say to non-parents.

Don't worry, parents have responded and yes, they've got plenty of gripes with us as well. Read the 15 most annoying things non-parents say to parents here.

Precisely everyone who is not a parent has been told to "just wait until you have kids".

Wait for what, you wonder? 

Being tired. Appreciating freedom. Knowing how to... love. According to frequent comments we've all heard from those with children, those of us without them don't... get any of these things. 

Side note: We might not have kids, but if we have pets... we might think we have kids. Post continues below video.


Video via Mamamia.

We know this is all meant to be lighthearted and funny but often it can feel a little condescending, or hurtful - as you can never guess someone's circumstances and having children can so often be a touchy subject.

We asked the child-free members of the Mamamia community to share the things parents tell them that annoy them the most.

It ended up being... a pretty brutal roast. We're sorry, parents. It's not... personal. Mostly.

But if you could refrain from any of the below, that would be fantastic:

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"You don't know what tired is."

"This one irks me extra bad because I don't have children but I do have literal insomnia. Like, an actual sleeping disorder which has impacted me off and on, but mostly on, my entire life." - Chelsea.

Image: Giphy. 

"Basically never being allowed to be even remotely tired, despite what personal stuff I might have going on. I don't have kids, so I simply cannot be feeling sh*t from poor sleep." - Polly

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"I get annoyed when parents tell me I don't know how hard work is on no sleep - I did breakfast (4am starts) and overnight radio (8pm-8am) full time, while also running my own weekly show, caring for my mum and trying to still be a good wife and friend by attending social events. Why is tiredness a competition?" - Siobhan.

"You don't understand how lucky you are to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want to."

"Like, Linda, I do know I am lucky. I know small humans take up lots of spare time... do you think I am an idiot?" - Gemma.

"What do you do with all your free time?"

"It's weird how parents seem to forget that they weren't always parents? I probably do the same things with my free time that they used to do? Hobbies, spending time with friends and best of all... sleeping." - Grace.

Image: Giphy. 

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"You'll get it when you have children."

"WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO 'GET IT'?" - Lauren.

Image: Giphy. 

"I didn't know what love was before I had children..." 

"I LOVE MY MUM, GODDAMMIT." - Jessie.

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"I find it really weird how there seems to be a hierarchy on love. Do they think if I don't/can't have children I have a lesser or insufficient amount of love in my life? Ouch." - Felicity.

"When are you going to start a family?"

Image: Giphy. 

"I hate the implication that I'm not part of a family until I have children. My partner and I are a family. If I was single, me and my cat would be a family. Family units don't only exist if there's a human baby in the mix. Plus, no one should ever actually ask anyone this question, it's rude and presumptuous." - Rebecca.

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"It's worth it."

"...Is it?" - Millie.

Image: Giphy. 

"And my three-year-old said, 'Mummy, why don't we just dismantle the patriarchy and build something better in its place?'" etc.

"And any other story a parent tells you that is very clearly untrue." - Jessie.

"My child is so advanced."

"...I'm always like oh ok?" - Lucy.

"Pets aren't children."

Image: Giphy. 

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"How very dare you." - Zoe.

"That's not child-friendly."

Image: Giphy. 

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"That's just not important to me anymore."

"I've heard this about a few things, but mostly vanity. Like 'getting my hair done is not important anymore' or 'I don't bother with makeup' anymore and it just feels dismissive of my interests or the conversation we're having." - Olivia.

"My child is XX months."

"Don’t make me do maths to work out their age, I don't really care and you should know I don't know that because I'm childless and an adult and we deal in YEARS." - Kee.

"'She'll be 36 months in February'. YOUR CHILD IS THREE." - Em.

"As a mother..."

We have an entire podcast episode about this one.

Listen: When babies come with a side of superiority. Post continues below audio.

We're... so sorry, parents.

Feature image: Sex and the City/HBO