Dear Child-Free Friends Who Are Sick To Death Of Kids: I am a parent and I get it. I really do. Kids are annoying. They're loud, they're uncouth, they're always sticky and their parents are obsessed with them regardless, which almost seems to defy logic and science. I'm aware that you might feel like you're all alone in your irritation towards tiny humans, but please allow me to assure you that no one understands you more than literally all mothers and fathers. We live with these little monsters. We know. However, there are some things child-free people need to calm down about. I mean, even though we get it, sometimes y'all get just a little out of hand.
Yes kids can be annoying, but recognize that as someone not actively involved in dealing with them (and I'm not even talking about child-free people vs parents, but rather someone dealing with a particular situation vs someone watching a particular situation) there is information you do not have; there are things you do not know;there are assumptions you make that are, perhaps, completely out of line. Then again, maybe not. Maybe a kid is being truly terrible and their parent isn't even attempting to do anything about it. It definitely happens. Some parents and children are awful. Then again, some kids just have bad days and some parents are just so exhausted that what looks like a horrific situation is really just a mother or father at the end of their proverbial rope. See what I'm saying? You can never truly know unless you're that person, in that particular situation.
Which is why my plea to you all is this; try to give the benefit of the doubt, reach deep down into your soul, and pull up a little zen while simultaneously thinking to yourselves, "Perhaps there are factors here outside of my understanding." In other cases, when you find yourself annoyed by little "Aidan" at a restaurant, there are certain things we parents would like for you to understand about kids that certainly didn't cross my mind before I actually became a parent, and may not cross yours either. Then there are some instances where, for real, and I love you, you need to get some damn perspective and be a compassionate human.