Parents share 17 totally unexpected benefits of having children that no one told them about
"Being able to get out of any plans. Literally anything."

A child at HOng King Disneyland, a father and son playing video games, and a little girl with Santa Claus.
When you don’t have kids, parents who want to convince you to reproduce often try to sell you on having kids because they provide unconditional love. They also say that being a parent allows you to become more selfless, gives you a sense of real purpose, and allows you to slow down and live in the moment.
However, if those wonderful, life-affirming things don’t sell you on becoming a parent, there are a lot of small, seldom discussed benefits that you never hear from parents, but taken together as a bundle, they can make your life pretty joyous.
A Reddit user asked the Parenting subforum about some of the “unexpected benefits” of having children, and over 2,300 people responded with the small things that they love about having kids. A lot of them have to do with the fun that comes with reliving your childhood. They also enjoy the fact that being a parent gives you an unlimited number of excuses to get out of social obligations.
A little girl hugging her mom.via Canva/Photos
Here are 17 of the best “unexpected benefits” of being a parent.
1. Getting out of plans
"Being able to get out of any plans. Literally anything."
“'Ooh, sorry, my daughter naps at that time.' Narrator: her daughter hadn’t taken a nap in 3 years."
"They are also a great excuse to leave early. My little girl (bless her heart) starts saying “I want to go home” without fail about 1 hr into visits with my in-laws. She is the perfect child."
2. You can be a kid again
"One benefit I noticed is being able to act like a kid again without people judging. You can dance & be silly with your kids in public & people just think you're an amazing parent for being so fun. But what people don't know is the person can naturally be that silly & fun-loving without being with the kids."
"Went to a wedding recently, and I danced with my 7yo for like 2 hours. We had a blast!"
3. Affection on demand
"Hugs and kisses almost any time you need one."
"My almost 5-year-old loves the love attacks. He'll be doing something only to get peppered with kisses all over his head. 'Silly mommy. I love you,' is what I get."
A son and daughter huigging their mom. via Canva/Photos
4. You're 'tired'
"You’re allowed to be a little antisocial without it being rude because everyone assumes you’re tired."
5. Baby wipes
"Always having a baby wipe in my bag when I spill my own food or drink."
"I'm still carrying wipes even my child is 10. If she is not with me. I still have wipes with me."
6. Social opportunities
"For me, as a fairly social person, just her giving me opportunities to interact with other people when I'm out and about more than I otherwise would. My daughter is only 1, so she only has a few words that she says, but she says 'hi' very clearly, with a wave, and will say hi and wave to literally anyone and everyone, and virtually everyone responds very positively. And there's always just kind of an instant rapport with other parents that you meet in your day-to-day, where it's like, I have no idea if we have anything else in common, but this one important thing is something we share. So even when the kids aren't there, say in my running group, for example, all the moms kind of have this unspoken bond that we wouldn't otherwise have."
7. They improve your organizing skills
"If you're not the most organized person, having to provide structure to another person's life will more or less force you into place, or at least that is my experience. I know where I need to be before 9 AM and before 5 PM, and everything I must do alone on a weekday best be done during those times, and to Tetris my schedule goes lol."
"This is exactly what I'm talking about. Never thought such a good thing would be a consequence of one of the wildest times of your life, parenthood. It's crazy."
8. Cup holders
"Always having cupholders everywhere you go if you're using a stroller."
"Whenever we go back to Disneyland, I miss having a stroller so much. Disneyland with a stroller was such a great way to enjoy the park...places for our drinks, bag clips so I didn't have to lug a bag on my shoulders, the kids could cruise around and just nod off if they got tired without having to complain that their feet/legs were tired from all the walking. So many great benefits."
9. Video games
"I have a (moderately controlling) go-to video game buddy!"
"I got to introduce them to my favorite games and play along with them. There’s a lot of really good kid games we’ve played that I wouldn’t have gotten to play otherwise."
10. Free fruit
"Free fruit in the grocery store. In my country, they leave out bins of free fruit for children. No limit on how much you can take. I always grab a small bag's worth of apples, pears, or oranges for my son. Saves money and he gets fresh fruit."
Children grabbing fruit at the market.via Canva/Photos
11. Airport line
"Faster line at a lot of airports, especially if you travel internationally/outside US."
"Just experienced this flying into Nice, France. Dreadfully hot day, long line and then! Children’s line. So lovely."
12. Ending negative cycles
"Drawing the line with toxic people got so much easier."
"I’ve been chasing my dad for 30+ years, trying to get his attention. Had my baby, and he showed up for the first 3ish months, then squeaky tank noises. Hell, if that didn’t infuriate me. I couldn’t do it for myself, but I’ll be fcking had if I let my baby grow up wondering why “papaw” doesn’t come around for him. I’m so sorry bub, your grandpa (my FIL, not my dad) passed away. I wish you could’ve known him, he would have loved you so much."
13. A sense of purpose
"Having a deep feeling of purpose in life. I don’t know if other people expect to get this feeling, but I didn’t. It makes me have a much easier time finding meaning in doing chores and going to work and trying to keep myself healthy."
"I second this. I have lived a pretty wild life tramping around the world. Nothing, and I mean nothing, in the thousands of experiences I have had compare to the meaning I get from being a dad."
14. Joy of Christmas
"Christmas being Christmas again. The joy and traditions all come back full force."
15. Free labor
"I was not expecting how strong my son would become after entering puberty. Last summer, he helped carry so many of our moving boxes. The whole process was a lot less stressful just on the sheer labor he contributed."
16. Brain development
"I felt like I had a lot of new brain pathways after our kids were born. And I find there's a lot I can learn from them."
"So true!"
17. The joy they bring others
"Though my kid drives me CRAZY. Seeing the joy he brings to other people. His smile just lights up everyone's face. Its such a gift that I forget when he's on his 10th meltdown for the day."