16 REASONS WHY PARENTS REALLY NEED OTHER PARENT FRIENDS

My Husband and I have some amazing parent friends that we don’t get to see as often as we’d like to. However, when we do get the chance to see them it feels like we just saw them yesterday but it has in fact been months.  Our conversations are easy and things continue from where we left off the last time we saw them.  We can honestly say that we are in fact better people for having them in our lives. With this in mind, here are our 16 reasons why parents really need other parent friends.

16 REASONS WHY PARENTS REALLY NEED OTHER PARENT FRIENDS:

1.) Without a doubt to become better parents.  Having parent friends can help you learn areas where you can potentially improve as a parent.
2.) To learn new ways of disciplining your child/children.  Maybe “time out” isn’t working for your child and your parent friend(s) has another method that they use that could work for you too.
3.) To exchange new recipes.  You weren’t even thinking of adding to your recipe rolodex but your parent friends have invited you to their home for dinner.  The meal was so amazing and one that you hadn’t had before so of course you have to ask for the recipe.  When you get back home you make the recipe and it is just as fabulous.  And of course the next time you have a guest at your home for dinner there is no need to scour the internet or cookbooks for a recipe that may end up being lackluster.
4.) To hear about and use the newest tech gadgets (amazon firestick), home goods, baby item, coupons, upcoming sales, apps, learning toys etc.  These are all items that you may not have thought of buying but after seeing them for yourself you decide you need them.  You see how these items can make life with a child/kids a bit more efficient or at least that is what you tell yourself at the check out counter.
5.) To talk about all the hush hush topics you aren’t suppose to talk about in public.  You can candidly talk about religion, politics, child birth, and no one is going to give you a weird look for doing so.
6.) To stay accountable when it comes to going to a place of worship.  You parent friends will ask you why you missed church/temple last week etc.
7.) To relive the best of the best childhood, high school, and/or college memories.  You laugh until you cry because the memories remind you of how far you have come, “the good times”, and lessons learned that you can help your child/children learn from some day.
8.) To unwind from the hustle and bustle of life and kids.  Going out with just your parent friends lends in itself adult conversation and behavior that frankly you aren’t able to have in front of your child/kids.
9.) To have friends that you can be your authentic self around.  No face war paint required and they won’t look at you strangely if your hair is unkempt because they understand how hard parenting is too. Also they aren’t your parents which comes with its own set of expectations.
10.) To brag on your kids and their accomplishments.
11.) To gauge if your child is at the right point in learning and development and what the best schools are in the area.  You find yourself asking questions, such as: how many words does Jake use right now at 2?  What preschool, school, highschool, college are they heading to?
12.) To learn how to overcome a hurdle, get advice, or figure out a different way of doing something. For example, should we refinance our home or car? With whom? You parent friends may know that Wells fargo has a program that does X vs Bank of America, and we used Citibank for X, and it worked out great.
13.) To brag on your spouse.
14.) Converse to #13 to figure out new tactics for dealing with a spouse that doesn’t like to help around the house. Or a spouse that leaves their luggage at the front door after a week of travel and expects you to move the luagge and launder the clothing. Your parent friend had the same issue and they were able to resolve it by leaving the luggage at the front door. Their spouse in turn went 2 weeks without any clean clothes and decided they should stop leaving their luggage at the front door. They instead now take the luggage to the laundry room and ask their spouse to clean the clothing inside for them.  As a result you implement the tactic on your spouse and it works.
15.)  To have friends with a child/kids that your child/ kids can play with.
16.) To commiserate and talk about how joyful and dreadful but worthwhile having kids is.  To have other parents that understand what it is like when your child finds a way to cause the toilet to overflow in the bathroom, and you had to get a wet vac to get empty the water from the floor vents.  You parenting outburst aren’t so crazy after all.

Do you have any other reasons why parents really need other parent friends? Write us! Post a comment below! Like our content? Subscribe!