Can ‘Being A Parent’ And ‘Regret’ Be Used In the Same Sentence?

[With modern life comes, modern problems; climate change, inflation, unstable housing market and fear of the next pandemic. And these immediate concerns have put many people from embracing parenthood or forced them to re-examine parenthood from a new angle. The author of this post has provided a point of view, which may or may not align with the readers. The author doesn’t mean to judge anyone’s choices.]

Can ‘being a parent’ and ‘regret’ be used in the same sentence? Are we evolved and/or aware enough to even consider it?

Here is a snippet of a conversation on parenthood!

parenthood; so, as a generation are we evolved enough to be able to express regret (if that is
how we feel) over becoming parents?

S says: I’m not sure. I mean, I understand it, and I’m certainly not judging it. It once again boils down to the issue of commitment. Parenting is hard work. And it is a commitment of a lifetime.

And in today’s nuclear family setting, parents are on their own. It is natural to get overwhelmed. It is natural to feel a sense of regret over lost freedom.

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The key thing here is that giving up is not really an option

My two cents on this: Accept it. Accept that you aren’t perfect and you feel remorse from time to
time. Accept that you cannot give up. Get a babysitter for the nights it gets too much and take
some time out. And move on.

What’s your take?

R says: Well, parenthood is tough. I think different generations has different issues; these days
because of tons of choices available to us, we see what we are missing out on while rearing a
child, and that probably makes one feel miserable.

Changing times shape our decision!

Am I evolved enough to claim I am miserable when I am; well, yes, I guess.A few generations back or more ago, all that the majority of women were doing: was taking care of their family. Nor was there the pill or concept of family planning, which made parenthood a compulsion. In such a scenario, women of that time, probably if they did not have children; there would be tons of remorse because of the times they were living in.

Hence, now I think this is not a case of evolved minds, it is just a case of changing times!

Image source: Greenaperture via Getty Images, free and edited on CanvaPro

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