Are you the “fun parent?”

[grumpycakes]

rugger made a comment about not being the “fun parent” and it made me wonder if y’all consider yourselves the fun parent or not. Did you plan for that or were you surprised by the roles in your family?

[grumpycakes]

I am decidedly the fun parent. I am shocked by this. I did not think I would be the laid back one but here we are 😂. Poor kid.

These roles have become even more surprisingly defined now that my husband has been taking on more child care duties since my business has become more demanding.

Not long ago, DH came into my work and gave me the rundown about E’s after school sports, general schedule, meals he would eat, etc. because he had to leave on business for the evening. One of my employees turned to me and sarcastically asked “Are YOU the dad??” But honestly I think I was the fun parent even was I was a SAHM. DH is more tightly wound about parenting than I ever would have guessed.

[mapleme]

I am not the fun parent. I am the parent with useful advice. I build things and explain vaginas. I am also the parent who does playdates and parties, so I guess that’s fun. But DH is the video game and junk food parent. And he cracks more jokes. He and I both randomly break out into song, but I wouldn’t do that with anyone else.

This was definitely my decided role in life early on. My first boyfriend once asked me if I liked comedy. Which was rude and not really fair, but I am more of a “do first, laugh later” kind of person. If I ended up with someone that resulted with me as the fun parent, I would feel sorry for my kids.

[tj]

[rugger]

Apr 14, 2023 21:23:08 GMT -6 tj said:

This made me chuckle out loud 😆

[rugger]

Yes and no. I'm for sure the default parent, so maybe I find it hard to also be fun when I'm thinking about all the tasks that need done. I'm more lenient on ice cream/dessert and screen time, but, I'm not going all out on Easter egg hunts or elf on the shelf (it moves, but no mischief) or leprechaun traps. S would be a better SAHP because he's great about getting out of the house and finding something to do with them.

[Speedy]

I'm definitely the fun parent, and it 110% does not surprise me lol. I'm very go with the flow (before our wedding our priest commented I was the most calm bride he'd ever met) and I love getting involved and making things fun for the kids. We actually went to a birthday party on Friday where they had rented out the school gym and let the kids play with the equipment and I was the only parent out there playing with my kids.

[DGM]

Yes and no. I'm the fun parent in the sense of being the one to plan birthdays and holiday fun. I'm the one who surprises them that we get to eat at McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch. However, I'm also the one making sure they brush their teeth, take baths, etc. which is very not fun for them. Ironically, L loves being homeschooled so that aspect which I expected to be hard work has been so fun!

[rhymeswithdisco]

I am the only parent. And I sometimes do fun things with them. But overall I feel like a stick in the mud because I'm overwhelmed 90% of the time.