When Parenting Two Children Is Four Times More Chaotic Than Parenting One

"The days are long, but the years are short", is one of the most famous quotes on mothering. What is one to do on those long days (and nights), when craziness seems to be the norm? 

“The days are long, but the years are short”, is one of the most famous quotes on mothering. What is a mum to do on those long days (and nights), when craziness seems to be the norm? 

After a successful (if I do say so myself!) first inning as a parent, I decided to play a second one. Have another baby! I think I was too confident, I thought I had absorbed all the knowledge and gained all the experience needed to be a decent parent.

To put it mildly, I was WRONG! The newest addition to our family came with new challenges, and extra demands of time and attention.

I had always heard that no two kids are the same. Now, I experience it day in and day out! From their food tastes to what they love to see and hear, everything is strikingly different between my two. While big brother likes everything salty and spicy, the younger one would happily gorge on sweets. His love for crunchy and crispy foods has not shown any sign of fading in last 7 years for my firstborn, while the little one prefers anything that he can gulp down without making much efforts to chew.

To retain my sanity, I kept trying to find a balance between the two kids, from mealtimes to play times. But achieving this is more like trying to balance a see-saw when the two sides are always fighting and pulling away.

Now, I have realised that there is no perfect balance. There will be hard times – emotional meltdowns, crying, nagging and bargains, yelling and screaming. There will be beautiful moments – hugs and kisses, dancing, playing, laughs and high-fives. And all of this might be experienced in a span of a few minutes!

Life with children is more like a roller coaster. You can only enjoy a roller coaster till the ride lasts, and after that it’s only memories. So just smile, calm down, hold on and drink plenty of coffee to keep up with the madness because the chaos won’t last forever.

Happy parenting!

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Photo by Nandhu Kumar from Pexels

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