Parents Say Age 8 Is the Most Difficult to Parent, According To A Poll

Taking care of children is no easy task. Especially when they are a ball of energy and a source of endless questions. It was previously assumed that when the baby turns two is when most parents find it most difficult to look after them. The phenomenon even has its own name and is called the "terrible twos." While every passing year has its own challenges, it was believed that things would be smooth sailing till they became hormonal teens. But it turns out, after the year two mark, there is an even more frightful age for parents to look forward to.

Research conducted by OnePoll, sponsored by Mixbook, found that a child's tantrums at age two, sometimes at even four and six, is nothing compared to what they have in store when they turn eight. And it is being rather frightfully termed as the "hateful eights." According to The Sun, the survey was conducted with 2,000 parents and a quarter of the parents admitted that the time period between 6 to 8 years old was when they had to get through the most brutal meltdowns. It was surprising to see that six years would go by easily only for the "scary sevens" and "hateful eights" to show up.

Kids start to display "big kid" characteristics starting at age of six. When a child turns eight, it becomes official. They start to undergo changes internally as their bodies start prepping them for puberty. The hormones also start to play a huge role in this. At eight, children still want snuggles and want to be tucked into bed. But it is also the age at which eye rolls and defiant behavior begin. Get ready for a lot of door slamming and complaining about chores. All of this can be the child's attempt to establish their independence and individuality, as per Parents.com.

It is a natural rite of passage for all parents as it is a challenging time, testing their patience and causing a headache. But it must be just as hard for the child as well. It would be best to treat the child with love and compassion because they must be going through a tough time as well. It can be a learning opportunity for both the kids and the parents. Raising kids was never going to be easy. Where there are downs, there will always be ups, as it does in most parts of life. Besides, there are so many more things to look forward to in your kids' life.

The research also asked parents about the biggest milestones they experienced as parents. The top event was the first day of kindergarten (42 percent), the second was when their child first walked somewhere alone (37 percent), and in third place was when they started first grade (35 percent). And these were just from the child's formative years. These indicators had an emotional impact on the parents who realized their child was moving toward independence. Almost 23 percent of the people were blindsided by their child's growth. Some parents saw that their child was growing up when they started to care for their younger siblings.

With a sense of pride for their children also come times when they were embarrassed by them in public. The most common embarrassing moment for parents was when their kid would shout inappropriate things in public (33 percent.) This was followed by children who decided it was a good idea to just start undressing in public (28 percent) and when children accidentally took something from a store without paying for it (27 percent.) Leslie Albertson, Director of Marketing at Mixbook stated, "Although memorable, these frightful or embarrassing moments, combined with key milestones along the way, can often be forgotten as time goes on." The photo design and printing company urged parents to preserve these precious memories in their photobooks.