11 Ways Being A Parent Is Like Being Back In College

1. No. Sleep.

You complained to your RA and mom all of freshman year about roommate’s bad habit of keeping company in the room all night long, but now that you’re a mom you realize her antics were great training for learning how to function on less than three hours sleep. You really should look her on Facebook to say thank you. 2. You spent a lot of time cleaning up bodily fluids.

That mixer with ZBK where you first tried tequila and your daughter’s stomach flu have far too much in common. More From The Stir: 10 Ways Parenting Is Like Life In Prison  3. Suddenly you’re good at multi-tasking (or should be anyway). Parents and college kids both have a million things on their to-do lists, but sadly only one of us can grab a drink with friends without securing a babysitter. 4.  You meet a ton of new people.

College was eye-opening in that you were exposed to people with viewpoints widely different from your own. Parenting message boards are the same way– from free-range parents to attachment parents and everywhere in between you’ll come across folks who do approach the same issue from very different directions. 5. You’re researching everything online.

Your logged so much screen time working on your senior thesis you thought your eyes would bleed, but that was nothing compared to the hours you’ve spent reading reviews on strollers and trying to find ways to soothe colic. More From The Stir: 20 Ways Your Baby Is So Much Easier Than An Elementary Schooler 6. You get really good at telling white lies.

Remember the time you completely forgot about that lab assignment but managed to convince your professor that you lost the disk it was on and got yourself a one week extension? You use that same poker face and powers of persuasion when telling your kids that the park is closed today because the swings need to take a nap. 7. You live in sweatpants.

By the time you’re a sophomore you realize there’s no need to get gussied up for an early morning lecture. The same rules apply for moms when going on a Target run. 8. You’re broke.

Textbooks are wicked expensive, but at least they last longer than formula and diapers. 9. You’re always worried about failing.

Parents and kids in college both worry that they’re not doing as well as they can and should be. At least students get grades to let them know how they measure up. 10. You make a ton of awesome memories.

Reminiscing about your time in the dorms comes second only to thinking about all the creative ways you came up with to baby-proof the house. 11. When it’s over it feels like it went by way too fast.

Just like how your four years in college flew by, your children’s own graduation day will be here before you know it. What did we miss? Image via © iStock.com/yocamon

title: “11 Ways Being A Parent Is Like Being Back In College” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-01” author: “Lewis Turner”

1. No. Sleep.

You complained to your RA and mom all of freshman year about roommate’s bad habit of keeping company in the room all night long, but now that you’re a mom you realize her antics were great training for learning how to function on less than three hours sleep. You really should look her on Facebook to say thank you. 2. You spent a lot of time cleaning up bodily fluids.

That mixer with ZBK where you first tried tequila and your daughter’s stomach flu have far too much in common. More From The Stir: 10 Ways Parenting Is Like Life In Prison  3. Suddenly you’re good at multi-tasking (or should be anyway). Parents and college kids both have a million things on their to-do lists, but sadly only one of us can grab a drink with friends without securing a babysitter. 4.  You meet a ton of new people.

College was eye-opening in that you were exposed to people with viewpoints widely different from your own. Parenting message boards are the same way– from free-range parents to attachment parents and everywhere in between you’ll come across folks who do approach the same issue from very different directions. 5. You’re researching everything online.

Your logged so much screen time working on your senior thesis you thought your eyes would bleed, but that was nothing compared to the hours you’ve spent reading reviews on strollers and trying to find ways to soothe colic. More From The Stir: 20 Ways Your Baby Is So Much Easier Than An Elementary Schooler 6. You get really good at telling white lies.

Remember the time you completely forgot about that lab assignment but managed to convince your professor that you lost the disk it was on and got yourself a one week extension? You use that same poker face and powers of persuasion when telling your kids that the park is closed today because the swings need to take a nap. 7. You live in sweatpants.

By the time you’re a sophomore you realize there’s no need to get gussied up for an early morning lecture. The same rules apply for moms when going on a Target run. 8. You’re broke.

Textbooks are wicked expensive, but at least they last longer than formula and diapers. 9. You’re always worried about failing.

Parents and kids in college both worry that they’re not doing as well as they can and should be. At least students get grades to let them know how they measure up. 10. You make a ton of awesome memories.

Reminiscing about your time in the dorms comes second only to thinking about all the creative ways you came up with to baby-proof the house. 11. When it’s over it feels like it went by way too fast.

Just like how your four years in college flew by, your children’s own graduation day will be here before you know it. What did we miss? Image via © iStock.com/yocamon

title: “11 Ways Being A Parent Is Like Being Back In College” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-29” author: “Ronald Ledford”

1. No. Sleep.

You complained to your RA and mom all of freshman year about roommate’s bad habit of keeping company in the room all night long, but now that you’re a mom you realize her antics were great training for learning how to function on less than three hours sleep. You really should look her on Facebook to say thank you. 2. You spent a lot of time cleaning up bodily fluids.

That mixer with ZBK where you first tried tequila and your daughter’s stomach flu have far too much in common. More From The Stir: 10 Ways Parenting Is Like Life In Prison  3. Suddenly you’re good at multi-tasking (or should be anyway). Parents and college kids both have a million things on their to-do lists, but sadly only one of us can grab a drink with friends without securing a babysitter. 4.  You meet a ton of new people.

College was eye-opening in that you were exposed to people with viewpoints widely different from your own. Parenting message boards are the same way– from free-range parents to attachment parents and everywhere in between you’ll come across folks who do approach the same issue from very different directions. 5. You’re researching everything online.

Your logged so much screen time working on your senior thesis you thought your eyes would bleed, but that was nothing compared to the hours you’ve spent reading reviews on strollers and trying to find ways to soothe colic. More From The Stir: 20 Ways Your Baby Is So Much Easier Than An Elementary Schooler 6. You get really good at telling white lies.

Remember the time you completely forgot about that lab assignment but managed to convince your professor that you lost the disk it was on and got yourself a one week extension? You use that same poker face and powers of persuasion when telling your kids that the park is closed today because the swings need to take a nap. 7. You live in sweatpants.

By the time you’re a sophomore you realize there’s no need to get gussied up for an early morning lecture. The same rules apply for moms when going on a Target run. 8. You’re broke.

Textbooks are wicked expensive, but at least they last longer than formula and diapers. 9. You’re always worried about failing.

Parents and kids in college both worry that they’re not doing as well as they can and should be. At least students get grades to let them know how they measure up. 10. You make a ton of awesome memories.

Reminiscing about your time in the dorms comes second only to thinking about all the creative ways you came up with to baby-proof the house. 11. When it’s over it feels like it went by way too fast.

Just like how your four years in college flew by, your children’s own graduation day will be here before you know it. What did we miss? Image via © iStock.com/yocamon

title: “11 Ways Being A Parent Is Like Being Back In College” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-19” author: “Georgina Bailey”

1. No. Sleep.

You complained to your RA and mom all of freshman year about roommate’s bad habit of keeping company in the room all night long, but now that you’re a mom you realize her antics were great training for learning how to function on less than three hours sleep. You really should look her on Facebook to say thank you. 2. You spent a lot of time cleaning up bodily fluids.

That mixer with ZBK where you first tried tequila and your daughter’s stomach flu have far too much in common. More From The Stir: 10 Ways Parenting Is Like Life In Prison  3. Suddenly you’re good at multi-tasking (or should be anyway). Parents and college kids both have a million things on their to-do lists, but sadly only one of us can grab a drink with friends without securing a babysitter. 4.  You meet a ton of new people.

College was eye-opening in that you were exposed to people with viewpoints widely different from your own. Parenting message boards are the same way– from free-range parents to attachment parents and everywhere in between you’ll come across folks who do approach the same issue from very different directions. 5. You’re researching everything online.

Your logged so much screen time working on your senior thesis you thought your eyes would bleed, but that was nothing compared to the hours you’ve spent reading reviews on strollers and trying to find ways to soothe colic. More From The Stir: 20 Ways Your Baby Is So Much Easier Than An Elementary Schooler 6. You get really good at telling white lies.

Remember the time you completely forgot about that lab assignment but managed to convince your professor that you lost the disk it was on and got yourself a one week extension? You use that same poker face and powers of persuasion when telling your kids that the park is closed today because the swings need to take a nap. 7. You live in sweatpants.

By the time you’re a sophomore you realize there’s no need to get gussied up for an early morning lecture. The same rules apply for moms when going on a Target run. 8. You’re broke.

Textbooks are wicked expensive, but at least they last longer than formula and diapers. 9. You’re always worried about failing.

Parents and kids in college both worry that they’re not doing as well as they can and should be. At least students get grades to let them know how they measure up. 10. You make a ton of awesome memories.

Reminiscing about your time in the dorms comes second only to thinking about all the creative ways you came up with to baby-proof the house. 11. When it’s over it feels like it went by way too fast.

Just like how your four years in college flew by, your children’s own graduation day will be here before you know it. What did we miss? Image via © iStock.com/yocamon