If you’re new to the site, you might wondering what Whiny Wednesday is all about.
A few years ago, some readers commented that they couldn’t express how they felt around friends and colleagues, as they were always made to feel as if they were whining. So, we created Whiny Wednesday as a place to complain and grumble about whatever’s on your mind each week. It can be an issue surrounding living without children, or just a general grumble about life, work, family, the world.
I used to start each post with a gripe of my own, but lately I’ve found I’ve covered most of what bothers me, so I put out a call for Whiny Wednesday topics, and you, dear readers, came through! So, each week, I offer one of your suggested topics as a starting point, but as always, any topic is fair game.
So, let’s kick off with this week’s topic:
Parents who complain and complain then ask “Do you want my kids?”
Happy whining!
P.S. If you need something to cheer about instead, check this fun list of quotes from famous childfree women.
If you have a topic that hasn’t been covered yet, please drop me a line, send me ideas, or a list of ideas, and I’ll include them here. You can reach me at: lisa [at] lifewithoutbaby [dot] com.
I’ve had a similar comment from my sister. I am a pediatric physical therapist, have worked with children for 29 years. I know a lot about behavior management. My sister will sometimes ask me questions, which is fine. But one time she jokingly (sort of) suggested I take her one daughter for a week or two to work with her. I politely declined, but I wanted to say, “you broker her, now you want ME to fix her?!”
That’s a great comeback! I wish you had said it.
omg yes!
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can have my kid for a few days anytime you want!”
Thaaaaanks, that’s totally the same as being able to have my own.
Yeah, this is a pet peeve of mine. My sister now knows better than to say that to me. I flat out said to her when she said do you want mine “You are so ungrateful for your kids that you will never deserve them.”
I don’t hold back any more when it comes to parents complaining about their kids. Sometimes I say “You should be thankful you have kids to complain about.” or “You are complaining to me about a blessing that I will never have, how much more selfish can you get?!” Being a member of a church that is all about families and kids and those at church are the biggest culprits to the complaining; I just let all my frustrations out and show them that they are complaining to the wrong person. I ended up having to stop going to the women’s activities because I would end the day on a negative note being around all the ungrateful things they would say about their kids.
Oh yes. Heard this one (or some variation thereof) many, many times. The worst was when it came from a couple we know, with a lively then-four-year old: “You wanna take her??” (accompanied by a pained eyeroll). The kicker is that we met them through our pregnancy loss support group. They lost two babies, and also had infertility issues, before turning to adoption. I felt that they, of all people, should know better. :p
I learned a long time ago that parents are the most self obsorbed people on the planet. It’s like the minute they have a child, all common sense goes out the window when dealing with people without children. I have only had one person give me a heart felt apology for just assuming I had children everyone else just is so all about them and their child it makes me want to scream.
I have had a few friends who I connected with because we all were going through the struggle of whether we would be able to have kids or not. They are all parents now and only one still communicates with me.
Same here! I’ve found that the people who went through difficulties and finally became parents are actually the worst to me. Saying how I can’t “give up” because they didn’t or other cruel things, then never talking to me again!
Ouch….
Oh my gosh is this ever a hot topic for me. These comments come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and they drive me crazy. I had a friend tell me as she was planning a beautiful wedding for her daughter that I should be grateful that I didn’t have children because weddings are so expensive. Ummm…. Yeah…. So glad I didn’t get to feel my baby kick for the first time, or hold it for the first time, or take it to school on the first day , or get a hug from my child all to save a buck.
I get this a lot. The worst was a friend telling me “I think I’m pregnant and I swear if I am, I’m giving this baby to you! I can’t afford the ones I’ve got!” Two months later she did get pregnant. Thankfully, she didn’t bring it up again while she was actually pregnant. People are so clueless!
Some days I think that the whole world has gone mad – it really highlights the insensitivities, and self absorbed folk we all live and work with everyday. I have slowly become imune. Its like how I filter out the slightly loud, arrogant male office worker bleating on about his own importance. I put just about everyone else in a similar “up themselves”, how great are my kids and how marvelous am I. It never stops – the baby years are heartbeaking and then the “look at my kids A level results” – she put the picture of his results on face book – “i’m so proud, I can’t stop crying” – yes, good parenting is something to be proud of but this is surely your son’s achievement not yours! It will never stop. I balance my sorry with – “they will soon be leaving and forgetting to send a birthday card!”.