By Samantha Bradley

If you happen to be the first person in your close-knit circle of friends to get married and have kids, it may a bit challenging for you. Don’t get me wrong, being a new mother is a wonderful experience, but sometimes our nonparent friends just don’t get how hard our new roles as parents can be, which can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Try talking about the following with your nonparent friends to help them understand the difficulties (and joys!) of parenthood.

Being a parent is not always fun and games

Being a parent is not a glamorous job, especially when our babies have explosions in their diapers, have sleepless nights or are teething. Cranky babies = cranky parents, which means we won’t always make for the best company!

It takes forever to get out of the house

Trying to get out of the house with a little one is tough! We always have to make sure the kids are diapered, fed, bathed and changed before leaving, so sometimes we end up running a little later than we might have pre-children.

Packing a bag for your kids is like packing a bag for vacation

It sounds easy to pack a to-go bag, right? Wrong! We have to pack all of the diaper essentials, meals, snacks, changes of clothes — the list goes on and on. This only adds to the whole “taking forever to leave” issue.

We need to plan any outing far in advance

Between school, sports, tutoring and other extracurricular activities, kids always seem to have extremely busy schedules. If we want to enjoy a nice night out with our friends it must be scheduled out days, weeks or even months in advance!

Kids cost a ridiculous amount of money

From diapers and clothes to food and toys, our tiny children seem to cost the most money to take care of. Sometimes that means we have less money left over to go out and spend with friends.

Although the duties of a parent can be tough to fully understand, you can ease misunderstandings by talking openly with your childless friends!