Is being a parent the hardest job in the world?

I don’t know from experience, but I would think it would be. You have these tiny little people that you are bringing up and molding and giving them all the resources you can to enable them to live their lives. Their lives depend upon all your decisions. As a parent, you never get to go home and forget about your work. A parents job is 24/7. Parents don’t get enough kudos for a job well done.

No its the best job in the world. I don’t know any other job that lets you experience unconditional love. And going to work , leaving him behind is much harder for me then staying home from work to hang with him!

I would say hardest, yes, because it’s the one you care the most about. The sheer intensity of parenting is exhausting. To be literally responsible for someone else’s life and well being all the time…Phew. I get tired just remembering it. Mine’s now 22, in charge of herself, and I still worry about her.

No I wouldn’t say so. I would say that the hardest job is for those who control airplanes. Those who sit on the computer and read airplane routes and stuff. They are handling millions of lives just through the computer. Its a pretty stressful job.

Body packing heroin for a giant drug organization is a tiny bit harder.

When I first started answering this, I thought no, but now I’m kinda torn. Every parent wants their child to grow up to be the best person they can be. It seems hard to mold another person and set them up for success and happiness. Some things are instinctive, but some things aren’t, and you’re hit with curvballs along the way. Hmmmm I dunno if it’s the hardest job.

It is probably not the hardest job in the world. Most people seem to take on the responsibility rather well. Sure, there are plenty of cases where it gets mucked up, but on a bigger scale, it seems like most people do fine because of parental guidance. The mistakes I’ve made should not be a reflection on my parents. They are mine, and I own them.

To me, it is about the scariest job a person can take on. It is a huge responsibility and one that never ends. I especially admire the single parents. Many of them are the epitome of strength and love. Their children have or are turning out just fine.

I think it depends on your definition of hardest. There are some jobs that are really stressful or physically demanding that are probably pretty hard. But, at the end of the day (work shift), you’re done and you get to relax.

Parenting is one of the most emotionally demanding jobs I can think of. You go through so many emotions and there is no ending point for your shift (ever!). There is a lot of physical stuff that you do (trying to balance a crying squirmy newborn in your arms while doing anything else is quite challenging sometimes), but the physical demands of a construction laborer (for example) could be much more demanding than those of a parent.

Overall, parenting definitely can take a toll on the parents and while it may not feel hard at the time, it definitely has the potential to be the hardest, most challenging (teen years for example), rewarding thing that a person does.

Being a parent try to get the best of you most of the times. And it takes a lot of time to raise them properly. And it can get stressful sometimes [or most of the times when you have a kid that doesn’t listen to you]. Parenting combines physically work with emotions so it’s a combined job.

Takes time but a lot of people master it to perfection.

Yes. Like @JilltheTooth said, you still worry about your children, even when they are adults. I’m 40 and my mother is 75. She still worries about all of her children. It can be very rewarding, but it is also very stressful. It is a job that never leaves you. It’s with you for life.

It really is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I am often frustrated and exhausted and worried I’m not doing the best I can. I never knew it would be this hard.

Even the good times (and there are a lot of good times) are typically interrupted with emotional outbursts for one reason or another. She’s tired or hungry or feels left out or, sometimes, I have no idea what the problem is and I don’t think she does either.

I love her beyond all reason, wouldn’t trade her for the world, but even loving her so much can be emotionally draining.

I think it depends on the person, and also the circumstances. For me, definitely not the hardest job (of the many hats I wear) I have. It’s the most fun, but rarely hard work. Long hours, yes—sometimes thankless, but more often great fun and immensely rewarding.

I know a mom who has three children, two of whom have major medical issues. Her life is filled with pediatric hospital stays and some pretty advanced home-medical care—and balancing that with trying to meet the kids’ needs and giving them a good childhood is a constant challenge for her. I see her bearing up under the pressure with great grace…but I know there are times when she must just weep with exhaustion and frustration.
As for the rest of us – who have won the lottery of having relatively healthy children, just like other jobs—some people are more talented or better equipped to do their job than others.

And, in the same way I’ve met some incredibly inept waiters or outrageously rude “customer service” folks.. I’ve certainly met people who should never have had children – they are horrible parents and they seem miserable and so are their kids. I’ve heard those people whine (I’m thinking specifically of a stay-at-home mom I know who lays on the couch all-day and doesn’t do a thing for her kids) about how HARD it is to be a mom… and I just want to dope-slap them.
If you aren’t having fun, you might be doing something wrong. If you haven’t parented appropriately from the get-go (with boundaries, consistent discipline, rewarding good behavior, setting expectations, lavishing your children with love) and you wonder why your kid hits/bites/curses and can’t make friends… well, perhaps it IS a hard job being a parent if you aren’t suited for the job at all.

The hardest? No. But it probably is the most thankless.

Are you a parent, @Blackberry?

It isn’t hard, but it isn’t a job. It’s fucking difficult, and it’s a way of life.

@the100thmonkey No.

If you want to define it as a job, I would have to say any job that lasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the rest of your life is definitely in the top running on the hard list.

No….not even close. I love being a parent…it is exhausting and frustrating at times. It is hard to believe he is 15 already and it has been tremendous fun for me. Knowing what I did at 15 and on I. May answer this differntly down the road! ;)

Looks pretty tough from the spectator’s seat. I think anything with a lifelong commitment can seem overwhelming at some times. The requirement for endless patience looks a bit demanding too.

Salute to all you parents!

@YARNLADY All that, and you fork out money for the joy of doing that :)

I found some relevant quotes—
“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” – Sophia Loren

“Making the decision to have a child – It’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”- Elizabeth Stone

“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.” – Erma Bombeck

“Raising a kid is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” – Ed Asner

“Children are gleeful barbarians.” – Joseph Morgenstern

No, but being a good parent is the hardest job in the world.

Yes, It’s a tough job, but somebody gotta do it.

When we choose to be parents,
we accept another human being as part of ourselves,
and a large part of our emotional selves
will stay with that person as long as we live.
From that time on, there will be another person on this earth whose orbit around us will affect us as surely as the moon affects the tides, and affect us in some ways more deeply than anyone else can. Our children are extensions of ourselves.
Fred Rogers

I have said this, but I don’t think it’s true. I think it feels like the hardest job in the world at time. As your children get older and you have no control over their actions and see them doing things you feel are not healthy or positive it can feel very stressful. Or having a child who has a disability or is troubled. We love them totally and want the best for them and at times, knowing what the best thing to do is can be very hard I think.

I think though being the Prime Minister or President of a country who is responsible (with other people) for decisions that affect many, many lives would be a very hard job. Or a doctor having to make life and death decisions about who to save and who not to save. There are jobs that I suspect would be equally hard.

At times though, being a parent definitely feels like the hardest (although most wonderful) job in the world.

I agree with you @Bellatrix—my son will be 20 soon and sometimes it’s really hard to watch him make decisions. I don’t necessarily want control, but would like some input (just a teensy weensy bit), but he makes his own decisions, his own mistakes and I can only be there when the hindsight kicks in. I learned over the past 3 years that my advice might as well be the breeze wafting by. That is harder than helping a 8 year old pick clothes or decide where to have her birthday party. I thought when my kids got older that it would be easier, but I think in some ways it is harder.
However, I wouldn’t trade my rugrats for anything :)

Nah, it’s an honour & a privilege. Of course, it’s no walk in the park & at times can be stressful, but hey, the rewards far outweigh those pesky little setbacks.
Being a Dad…..what a rush!!

I’d say it’s among the top five. Working in third-world sweatshops under horrible conditions is harder.