A frustrated dad says having children has ‘ruined’ his marriage and he feels like he’s missing the best years of his life.
The broken father wants to know how he can stop feeling like he should never have had kids with his wife.
“I love both my sons and would do anything for them, it these last 2.5 years have been hell,” he explained on reddit.
“My wife and I fight a lot, our sex life is abysmal, and I resent her for pushing us to have kids.”
He reveals that having kids was just ticking another box, and now he feels like he’s missing out.
“I was never 100% about it but I felt like it was what I was supposed to do, get married, buy a house, have kids, etc. Now looking back, I never should have had kids with her, I feel like I am missing my best years on bottles and diaper changes, and lost sleep. What can I do to fix this?”
The father of two stressed he doesn’t regret his kids, but regrets what the relationship with his wife has become. He also admitted that his wife wants four children, but the two they have are already pushed them to breaking point. “Four would ruin us,” he said.
‘Don’t take it out on the kids’
His honest cry for help was met with hundreds of comments and plenty of advice from other parents, many who’ve felt the same way at some point.
“Whatever you do don’t take it out on the kids,” responded one commenter. “I don’t think my dad wanted to be a dad but my mum wanted kids. As a result he took it out on me, mostly (I have two younger siblings), and I’m working through a lot in therapy. It really sucks and there’s a lot of pain.”
Others offered a glimmer of hope – that as children get older, it does get easier.
“Agree that it gets better,” offered one dad. “My boy is five and my life is completely and unquestionably enriched by his presence, and when he goes back to his mums, it feels like my life is back to black and white, so I just work.”
“Yes, age makes a HUGE difference,” said a mum. “I’m a single mum of kids three and five, and my life gets infinitely easier the more independent they get. And I can have fun with them on a different level as they get older.”
Do you have any advice for this broken dad? Let us know in the comments.
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