My mom had to do everything by herself while working, going to school, and all the parenting stuff. We didn't have any family nearby and she only asked for help from our neighbors when she was desperate. My dad worked out of the country for about 10-11 months out of year from the time I was 4 until 18 so i'm sure she was always a little frazzled!
I don't think my dad had any challenges? 
squash / 13208 posts
Probably being a single mom - I was the youngest at 6 when they divorced and there were 4 of us - we saw my dad 2 times a year and that's it.
As an adult I can now see what an amazing mother she was - obviously as a teenager I didn't see that!
I have a DH and only 2 kids and can barely handle that! 
eggplant / 11287 posts
My mom always made it seem so easy. But I'm sure being a sahm to 5 kids and homeschooling was no small or easy feat for her. I'm sure they also struggled financially. I also think she often felt isolated.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
probably co-parenting. My dad and mom have very different parenting styles and my mom and stepmom couldn't stand each other.
coconut / 8234 posts
My mom's biggest challenge was raising 4 kids by herself with no child support. She also had the occasional help from our neighbors and of course from my sister and I since we were the two oldest. At one point she was working 2 jobs and we basically only saw her for a few minutes before she went to bed M-F and on the weekends. She didn't do that for long, it was rough!
pomegranate / 3355 posts
Toughest for my mom was my defiant and independent attitude, she didn't know how to handle it. Toughest for my dad was the involvement of my grandparents, my mom's parents, as we lived on their land in a house owned by them less than a mile from them.... I can recall many "heated discussions" regarding that issue.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
My dad traveled a lot so it was on mom to do the parenting when he was away. Once he stopped traveling, he had to work in NJ at company headquarters so, he would drive up to NJ (from MD) Sunday eve or Monday super early and come home Friday night. That was really hard on her but she refused to yank us out of our schools and put us in schools (and...eh hem...move us to) NJ. Haha.
Oh...and I was a pistol. I'm sure they had a grand time parenting me...
pear / 1580 posts
My mom's toughest challenge was that she did all the housework and taking care of me and my brother. My dad (a traditional working Korean man), worked a lot and didn't do squat when he came home. My dad has really come around, and now regrets not helping out more. He recently told me that if he had contributed more, my mom would've agreed to have a third! :O
pomegranate / 3127 posts
I don't think my parents realized kids actually need parenting, lol. Either that, or they thought day care and school got that covered for them. So when we grew into teenagers and they realized we don't behave like they expect and don't want what they want for us, they had a bit of a challenge!
coconut / 8279 posts
My mom's not really a kid person and is kind of a loner (doesn't drive or travel). We didn't really have playdates and my mom didn't get involved with my school at all.
My dad worked.
We're lucky we had my grandparents and great aunt up the street. They brought us to lessons and never seemed to mind playing with us. (My grandmother put an inground pool in at her house for us so we'd have something to do in the summer!)
pomelo / 5509 posts
I think they struggled financially when we were young and it was probably hard when we complained about not having XYZ like all our friends had and we thought they were just being mean and didn't understand they literally couldn't give us XYZ.
honeydew / 7230 posts
My parents were teen parents that had four kids in 6 years. You can just imagine all the struggles they faced! I think money was the biggest struggle.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I recently found out my mom wasn't a kids person and didn't want kids; not when she got pregnant with me anyway! So she probably had to come to terms with that!
apricot / 320 posts
I know finding balance between WOH/SAH was a huge challenge for my parents as my dad traveled constantly. I give my mom a lot of credit in that she was burnt out by being at home full-time when we were young and worked really hard to make a career for herself once we were in school.
nectarine / 2600 posts
When we were little, probably money. Later on, being separated bc of my dad's work. (Govt/military)
pomelo / 5258 posts
Is it totally bad to say my brother and then me? My brother was a PITA as a kid. He was in behavioral therapy and stuff as early as Kindergarten. We fought constantly and very physically. Many trips to the ER. Things reversed when I was a teenager and I was just awful to my mom.
My dad traveled about 3 nights per week during all of this and we had no local family so that didn't help.
papaya / 10343 posts
When my brother was born-- everything. My mom was 18 and hadn't even graduated from high school (she got her GED). My parents were broke, my dad worked long hours doing manual labor and taking their only car. My brother never slept, screamed all the time, and projectile vomited constantly. Looking back my mom is certain he had a milk intolerance but she said when she told the doctor all this stuff about him he basically patted her on the head like she was a moronic teen mom who didn't know that babies are loud and don't always sleep. So she was trapped at home with no car and no friends (all her friends were still in hs and dropped her) and no internet (gasp, lol) and a miserable baby.
Which is why it took them 8 years to have another kid (me).
With me I'm not sure my mom found it all that challenging. She says I was an easy baby and she was staying at home (but had a car) at that point and my dad had a better job. Maybe it was just the contrast to her situation with my brother but she's never complained about anything related to my childhood.
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