10 Parents Who Do Not Like Their Kids Share Their Stories And It Will Give You A New Perspective On Parenting

Some parents discover that loving a child and liking the day-to-day reality of parenting are not always the same thing. That tension runs through this Reddit thread, where people admitted they felt drained, resentful, disconnected, or overwhelmed by the lives they built around their kids.

The stories range from strained relationships and teenage blowups to the quieter misery of feeling trapped by nonstop responsibility. Some parents are talking about their children, while others are really talking about the loss of freedom, peace, and identity that came with parenthood.

It gets messy fast, and a few of these confessions are hard to read. Read on.

“I don't dislike my kids, but I really do hate the life I have. People say the kids don’t need to change your way of living. But they do. They really do. Everything gets more expensive; you can’t be spontaneous in the same way as before having kids, etc. There are so many things that are much harder to do now, and I feel so trapped and lonely.”

“It’s not that I dislike him; I just don’t feel connected. I wanted kids my whole life, and then I had him, and it feels like I’m waiting for his real mom to pick him up sometimes.”

“Stepkids are really, really, really difficult. Sometimes I dislike mine, too. And sometimes I dislike my own kid. I love all of them and would tear the world in half if anyone tried to hurt them. But sometimes I just want to tell them to stop acting like sh*theads. My husband said it best when he described parenting as 95% misery and 5% bliss. That 5% keeps you going somehow.”

That kind of honesty makes the rest of the thread even harder to ignore.

“My middle son (19) stole a 9mm pistol from my 82-year-old father. When I confronted him about it, he said I didn’t understand; he needed the money, and if I had given him more, he might not have done it. Two months later, he got caught on video stealing the candy money jar from a Mexican restaurant. Again, he says if I had given him money (because he’s completely cut off at this point), he wouldn’t have done it.The downward spiral continues; he takes no responsibility for anything. He’s a selfish a**hole who won’t take care of his kids, much less himself. I never thought I’d say this about my own child, but F*CK THAT GUY.”

“It’s not my son exactly, because I love him more than I can even express, but I think I dislike the act of being a parent.I didn’t know how much I’d lose, how tired I would be, or how other parents treat you. I have to be positive all the time to keep him secure and happy, even when I feel like death.”

This is also the kind of fallout you see in an AITAH Thanksgiving fight where someone skipped in-laws over a strict vs. lenient parenting clash.

Some of these parents sound less angry at their kids than at the life changes around them.

“I realized it recently, in therapy.It’s not really them, per se. I realized about myself that I dislike children, period. That said, the presence of my kids in my life 24/7 has led to a great deal of resentment under the surface that I am now finally in touch with, which means now I’m also trying to deal with the guilt of feeling this way about the people I brought into this world.I want-desperately-to be able to get in my car and drive to Alaska just because I can. But I can’t. I want to be able to have something called a “quiet weekend,” assuming there is such a thing. I want to have money in the bank, better prospects for career advancement, and the ability to take a risk like starting my own business. But I can’t. I need the stable paycheck so that I can keep food on the table for the people in my house who took my wife away from me.Meanwhile, my oldest is consistently lying to my face; my oldest two are constantly at war with each other over stupid sh*t; my third is special needs; I’ve got two in diapers; and this was all stuff that my wife and I walked into thinking it would be wonderful.Worst of all: for her, it is wonderful, and that makes me the bad guy for having these feelings, since I’m obviously just being incredibly selfish.

You know what? She’s right. I do feel like the bad guy for having these feelings, and I do feel like I’m...[truncated]

“I disliked my 19-year-old for a while. He lost his d*mned mind; lied to me and his mom (my ex-wife) repeatedly over everything, got married without telling us to some girl he was friends with on Facebook (at 19, mind you), cheated on his wife of a month, got another girl pregnant not a year later, and complained for the longest time that it was my ex-wife and I’s parenting that caused all this.Now, I’m more than aware that we weren’t perfect parents, highlighted by our divorce a few years ago late into his teen years (16 years old), but that sure as sh*t doesn’t give him the right to be such a sh*tty person and treat others this way. These were only the highlight examples I gave, not even all the minor bullsh*t lies and shenanigans he was into. I totally get being angry with us, but the amount of damage that he’s caused others really made me dislike him as a person.At almost 21, he’s gotten his life a little more together this last year, finally getting a job, trying to take care of the girl he impregnated, and take care of his divorce from his ‘wife.’ It’s just rough… In about four months, I’m going to be a grandparent, and I don’t even know the girl he knocked up, and he doesn’t think he’s going to stay with her (as a couple, not abandoning his child).

It’s really sullied the experience of finding out you’re going to be a grandparent. I’m not even mad that he’s young and doesn’t have his ...[truncated]

This one turns into a full family mess.

“I have a 7-year-old daughter. I think she has some kind of personality disorder. Some days she’s her normal loving, goofy self. Then there are other days when she is manipulative, mean, and hysterical. She says things to hurt you on purpose and will freak out if she doesn’t get her way, hurting herself in the process. But if I call her dad and FaceTime with him, she stops on a dime and says I was lying and that I hit her and don’t love her.I didn’t even know a kid that young could lie like that. She does this to me, my husband, and her stepmom. Her dad honestly believes we are all lying when we say something is wrong. She’s been to three therapists, and they all act like we’re crazy because she puts on a good act. It makes me sick sometimes that I am happy when she goes to her dad’s house. I have a 1-year-old son with my husband, and I don’t want her to do to him what she does to me or her other family members. I don’t know what to do?”

“My feelings changed the moment my (then 17-year-old) daughter sucker-punched me on the side of my head during an argument about her cleaning her room.I guess in my mind she did something taboo. You never, ever hit your mom… but she did. I love her, but she broke my heart that day, and I can’t seem to get over it.”

“After just having a massive fight with my 19-year-old, I can honestly say that I am one of these parents.I love him to death; I would die for him, but I don’t like him too much. He is a narcissistic a**hole. I am hoping beyond hope he changes his ways, or he is in for a rude awakening.”

Parenting can survive a lot, but not every relationship comes out looking the same.

Want another brutal family split? Read how he found his wife’s secret savings and divorced her, while the kids call him heartless: secret savings divorce, kids calling him heartless.