Hardest part - right now

[Erika]

What are you finding to be the toughest part of parenting, right now?

And what advice or tips do you find invaluable?

[Christine]

The hardest part for me is trying to juggle all the things we need to accomplish in a day. I'm trying to lay out my days in a way that every need gets met. Unfortunately, I tend to cut myself out of the mix when I get pressed for time. It's so important to me that I continue to keep up my spiritual life, my exercise, my healthy eating, hobbies and time for friends. When I'm stressed for time, those are the moments that I'm least likely to be a loving, compassionate Mom.

[Lori]

Discipline! Thomas is a really nice little guy, and he is so smart, and he's generally pretty well-behaved at school, but at home he gets into trouble constantly. He has a lot of trouble entertaining himself, so if he doesn't have the full attention of either me or Sean, he finds trouble to get into. I feel like I probably say "No" three gazillion times a day.

[Desirae]

THe hardest thing with Aidan right now is ballanncing giving him independance and when to step in. He's easily frustrated which I understand and want to step in and help... but I know he also needs to learn.

Colin has decided he doesn't want to sleep and that if he is going to sleep it's in our bed which I can't do. I don't sleep well with him in bed with us. Due to this I find myself VERY frustrated with him both at night and during the day cause I'm burnt out.:(

[Amy J]

doing it without daddy....everything about parenting is better when the 2 parents are there full time. It's a drain!

[Beka]

each kid has their different challenging point right now and i think it's trying to deal with all 4 of those issues at once and stay sane which is proving a problem somedays and overwhelming me at times.

Chase it's pre-puberty, attitude is kicking in that she has never displayed before and it's reminding me big style why i hated girls in school. Also not just her hitting pre-puberty but my life boys are starting to notice her- she got called fit the other day by a lad i know is 13- she isn't even 10 yet but she sure as hell looks on an age par to teenage boys and i am going to go loopy i swear.

Jude never stops talking and is going through the not listening unless he wants to phase some days- he's lovely, he's gorgeous but he is also 110% like David and therefore can annoy me more easily than anyone else on the face of this earth if he puts his mind to it.

Dylan is going through the finding independance stage Jude was at this time last year and she's a squealer too- Jude so much as looks her way and she screams somedays and that- after a night of 2 hour sleep slots all night tops- can really grate on a person

Loki is pretty awesome- he doesn't sleep much but that's what babies do so he's not an issue right now (unless you count the fact the other 3 would seem alot less annoying if i'd gotten good sleep!) Actually my only issue with Loki is him growing up, it's harder than i thought it would be to accept him as my last even though it makes sense.

[Danielle]

With Takara- she's struggling with some subjects at school right now and I can't seem to help her to understand. It makes us all so frustrated!

David- definitely discipline. He's a fireball of energy and his ears don't always work properly when he's wound up. I'm hoping he learns to listen before starting school in September.

[Erika]

Right now we are dealing with lack of sleep. Sasha is teething and also just growing and hungry, so she wakes at least once a night and usually twice. Every month she seems to need and want less sleep each day. Her naps, when she does go down, last no longer than 40minutes and are usually 20 minutes long. And night, she won't go down before 8 now (used to be 7) and usually wakes around midnight and then again around 5 or 6. These past few mornings, trying to get her back to sleep then has been an almighty trial.

But I just keep remembering that this won't last forever and she is generally a wonderful baby (if a little whingey and wanting me to do everything for her at the moment). And barring that, I'll get my own back on her when she is a teen :hehe

[Kami]

I am having a hard time with Discipline! All three of them have been whining, fighting, etc... I am ready to just throw in the towel somedays!

[Val]

The toughest part right now is ME, not the kids. They're great and amazing. I'm severly lacking general life balance, and it changes the way I interact.

[Tracy]

It's a toss up between discipline and juggling everything that has to be done on a daily basis along with working full time.

[MathSpeak]

Doing it alone... I'm just generally burned out ALL.THE.TIME... and it would be nice to have help. I have my family helping out, but that's generally when I'm somewhere else to begin with... usually doing something else that's draining my energy. I never get a REAL break...

[MrsSuzNZ]

Coming back into the school season, DH works at the local school and has been off for the the holidays. I can get really frustrated with Malachi easily because he is full on from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. I love him a lot, he is such a cute kid, and can be a good kid. My problem is keeping him occupied and giving him time.
Isaiah, well, he is easy. LOL (Malachi makes up for both of them. LOL)

[Corey]

Mostly just keeping up with everything! With homeschooling, running my own business, being a part of a very demanding ministry, along with everything else I have to do, it can become a tad overwhelming.