The hardest job in the world?

[Eenee]

I wouldn't say being a parent is the hardest job in the world but it has it's challenges (like anything really), but it also has the best rewards. I have a baby that hardly sleeps but hey some baby's do that. Yes I whinge but wouldn't change it for the world...got to go little miss is awake

[Miss.B]

I also wouldn't say it's the hardest job, but it is certainly challenging and it can be very hard at times. Mostly rewarding though and I wouldn't go back to being childless in a million years. One thing I would say though, I have never had so many grey hairs in my life and DS is only 17 months old! I think parenthood has, in a way, made me more of a nervous wreck sometimes and a worry wart than I've ever been.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Being a good mother is a hard job, although not the hardest by a long shot. But being a mother isn't the hardest job in the world. It's about how much you put into it. (And I still disagree with my friends: Liebs isn't a "hard work" child, he's one who loves his mother and enjoys being with her: how is playing Lego hard work?)

I quite like the gig and would love to be a SAHM, make my life even sweeter.

[fionas]

I think it depends and I'm not sure absolutes like "hardest" are helpful. I think in a recent study, a commercial pilot topped the most stressful job. On bad days at home, believe me, I would give flying a plane a whirl.

I definitely agree that before I had kids I was bombarded with the "babies are HARD work," messages - I'm not sure that applied to older children. Anyhow, I actually find babies quite easy and I've had two very different babies in terms of sleep. Sleep deprivation? Meh (to me).

Toddlers on the other hand completely and utterly do my head in. I went to work part-time when DD1 was 12 months old and I found working a professional job a complete walk in the park compared to looking after DD1.

Now that DD1 is 4, she's quite easy to look after in the whole scheme of things. Has her moments but generally she's pretty good company and parenting her has actually become a PLEASURE in the last six months rather than just a hard, hard slog.

DD2 is about to enter toddlerdom and just quietly, I'm dreading it.

Babies and children - fairly easy. Toddlers - nightmare. To me.

And they say never split up until your kids go to school as it all suddenly becomes very easy. Until they become teenagers.

[ElleJay]

I tend to steer clear of threads like this, especially since I usually put my foot in things, but just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in.

While, yes, I think being a mother is hard, it's not the hardest. For me personally, being AWAY from my DS while off at my paying job is about the hardest thing bout being a parent for me. Granted, my paying job is a walk in the park.. Not a damn hard thing bout it. I'd still prefer to be home with my DS than have to work.

I'm gonna say it's tough, for me, but the toughest thing for me when DS was born was the fact that I had to learn, and quickly too! I'd never babysat, I held probably 2 babies in my life and I had no idea how to change a nappy, so I was coming into parenthood a complete novice. It's been such a life changing experience that I wouldn't change it for the world (ok, maybe some of the sleepless nights and the dramas I had with BFing, but there's always something right?!)
And you know, I think the fact that you learn something new every day in parenting, is a heck of a lot more rewarding than if you learnt it in your paying job.

I'll stop rambling now


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- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - even though I should be cleaning

[Tuesday's Child]

I've been thinking about this a lot. I don't think of being a mother as a 'job' - it is so, so much more than that. It's a state of being. For example, whenever I'm having trouble juggling motherhood with the rest of my life, reminding myself that I am DD's mother is usually all I need to do to be able to set my priorities.

And it IS tough. But it's not so much the motherhood, it's managing the rest of my life, friendships, extended family, paid work around mothering. It's the adjustment from making decisions for myself to making them for someone else and the implications that could have on her - it's a huge, daunting responsibility. Then there's the sleep deprivation, negotiating with a toddler and the thought of raising a girl to make it through her teen years in one piece.....

Don't think I'm putting my thoughts into words very well here........ Describing it as the "hardest job in the world" doesn't begin to describe parenthood. It's the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done and I wouldn't want it any other way. (The best part of my day is putting DD1 down for her sleep at night, snuggled in my arms and feeling DD2 kick away). Also it provides a basis of comparison to other 'jobs' and I don't think it can be compared to anything else.

[Arcadia]

Yes to all you said TC

I find the mothering part easy, it's the Isolation and repetition I find the hardest.

[Cassius2]

maybe it being described as the 'hardest' job in the world is also because in our culture it is also the most unrecognised?

having a baby in our culture can be social and career suicide. raising children is not something that is seen as precious, in fact, children are just not seen as precious by larger Australian society. sure, we all get up in arms and rant and rave when a child is abused and/or neglected (thankfully we haven't completely lost our humanity!) and yet, we live in a world where a woman can be kicked out of a restaurant for BF her baby, or arrested for feeding in a public square, where there are stores that ban pram access.

then there are the career issues, where having a baby for a woman can mean loss of job, income and furthering her prospects for promotion (and yet, on this we again, are made to feel less than womanly, and less as a parent for wanting these things).

being a mother of a child in this world does mean that on a global economic societal level we are invisible. the impacts of which can be graded according to where we have started from (ie a woman functioning at a middle class level in a first worl country faces the issues i outlined above, whereas a woman from a middle class family in a third world country will face even greater invisibility...take for example that in sri lanka 1 in 10 ppl work abraod, 90% of them are women with children...children that must stay at home with other female relatives). these women are the nannies, the cleaners, the nail technicians, the dancers, the sex workers of the first world. we ask ourselves (well some of us do) when we buy a dress or a pair of shoes if they have come from a sweatshop, but do we ask about the women painting our nails and where are their absent children? evidently not. Domestic migration (such a nice way to term modern day slavery!) is big business, the role of these women as mothers in unrecognised and yet, is the catalyst for the migration and funds first world economic 'choice'.

Back to us here in the first world, we may be thankful that we can stay with our children and love them in our arms (basic principle of UN article 9 for the rights of the child no less!) and yet, and yet, as a woman and as a mother we face a society that doesnt value this most important job in the world (that is what it is: it is raising the future of humanity for the betterment of our species and hopefully the betterment of Earth). We are at significant higher likelihood of being paid less than our male counterparts in our work and have a "choice": either leave our children at home and work full time (and face the wrath of judgement), work part time (and find ourselves not only underpaid, but seldom without chance for promotion and betterment in our positions) or stay at home (and just dont get paid, which is ok if finance can permit and it is the woman's choice).

But what is the consistent trend amongst each of these situations? That the role of the mother is unvalued. it should be invaluable.

The "global woman" is childless, and yet she is a mother. and to me, that does make it the hardest job in the world. our villages are empty and our children are growing alone.

[meow]

When we move back, I'm movin' in next door to you Cassius

Struggling to help my son with his autism, this is currently the toughest job I've certainly ever had. I'm giving myself a second degree in special education and naturopathy/human nutrition with all the self study. I'm learning about all the ways to help him, and struggling with many of them... and with my mother hat on I'm also up all night to his precious little 8 month old brother.

I think it's frigging tough. But I do get the sentiment that it's also a treasure. I have no intention to be anything but a SAHM. But it's not because I see my job as less tough, it's because I see it as more important.

[Nelle]

I'm not sure there actually is such a thing as the hardest job in the world. I think how hard or easy someone finds their job relates to the skills, support and situation they have, plus probably four million other variables. =)

If you asked me to build a house without tools and knowledge and experience, I think that would rate as one of the hardest things I've ever done. Harder than parenting, where I have support, a bit of experience, a roof over my head, a bank card to chuck everyone in the car and get takeaway when I struggle. If I didn't have family support, it might not be the 'hardest' job, but it'd be harder. If my eldest didn't have a psych calling and offering suggestions, it wouldn't be the 'hardest' job, but it'd be harder. If I was milling my grains with a mortar and pestle, rather than buying it from the shops, it wouldn't be the 'hardest' ever job in the world, but it'd be harder!!

We all cope with different stuff differently. Some people adore newborns, others (like myself) had to work hard to appreciate them and wished they were older! Some people find marriage/relationships fairly straightforward in terms of knowing how to communicate, apologise, and get along, while others really struggle to work through issues. Some people can parent teenagers effectively and calmly, while others find themselves in something like a war zone. Some people can set up a computer network pretty much with their eyes closed (like my DH) where others panic a bit when they move a mouse and something happens on the screen (my Gran, ). Would like (ETA: no, LOVE) to see my DH milk a cow or do any other farm job though, whereas I reckon Gran'd be all over it.
Is parenting harder than rocket science? I'm sure some days a rocket scientist would prefer to parent, and other days would prefer to science some rockets. Is a parent in a third world country doing it harder than me? Materially, absolutely. But what about in terms of relational skills, patience, attitude? Maybe they have better skills than me there, and so maybe I find those aspects of parenting 'harder'. There are way too many variables to pin down the hardest job in the world I think.

If it's hard for you, it's hard for you. If it's something you have to do, try and find ways to make it easier, that's all you can do!

[AndiE]

I also wouldn't say it's the hardest job, but it is certainly challenging and it can be very hard at times. Mostly rewarding though and I wouldn't go back to being childless in a million years.

Well put Miss B - exactly what I reckon. Must say though, I've had some terribly stressful times in my career where I've been ready to pull my hair out and I've had some terribly frustrating times with my childen where I've been ready to pull my hair out. LOL. I do thank my lucky stars every day that I have two healthy children.

[onthefly]

I think we undersell ourselves if we call it a job. Jobs end. You go home. You get holidays. You can get promoted, move to a new job, take early retirement. Parenting never actually ends. Your 'job' is never actually completed. And of course we have a gazillino other things that need doing at the same time, including real 'jobs'
It's hard work. But it's also brilliant and no mere job can compete.

[Enchanted]

I haven't read the other replies as I am too tired This may be an incoherent ramble!

I would say that being a parent isn't the "hardest" job in the world but a very full on one! Right now I am ready to fall into a heap, we have had such a full on week so far and I am completely drained. We have had things on Mon, Tue & today and was meant to have something on tomorrow and Friday. Kids have been non stop fighting, teasing etc and I honestly don't think I have been this flat for a while. ( I have now cancelled tomorrow thank goodness!! ) In saying that though, I would not trade it for the world. Today I was at the supermarket and both kids were screaming, crying, running off, whinging blah blah blah... one of those scenes where you look at another Mum and think I know how you feel but man, I'm glad it's not me! It was horrendous the way they were carrying on and for a second I found myself tuning out to them and thinking that despite their screaming and yelling there was no way I would want to be anywhere else right now. It is a tough gig, for some physically, some mentally, some emotionally and sometimes a mix of 2 or all! No real point to my post but I guess I'm saying that yes, it can be damn hard but I don't think many people out there would make any changes