Many parents imagine that having children of their own will make them suddenly adore everything to do with kids, but a group of moms have revealed that's not quite the case.
Taking to one of Reddit's parenting forums, several anonymous moms confessed that becoming parents didn't actually make them like children any more than they already did.
In fact, many even said becoming a mom made them like other children less.
A user going by the name 'iamkatbug' started the conversation witha post titled "Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I like kids".
In it she confessed that while she loves her daughter, she doesn't find other children cute and hates when other moms show her pictures of their kids.
"I don't want to watch your kids or have play dates because I quite frankly don't like your kids and I don't have to," she wrote.
"Becoming a mom didn't turn me into a child loving saint. I love my child, but I really don't like yours."
Though many moms may consider iamkatbug's stance an uncommon one, several other parents took to the comments section to agree with her.
One revealed that"having kids actually made me like kids LESS",despite having adored other people's children prior to having her own.
Calling it "an itch that has been scratched", she too confessed that she loves her own kids but couldn't care less about other children.
A different woman said that her disinterest in other people's kids stems from how much energy she spends on her own.
"For me it's because I have to use 100% of my patience for my kid and I frankly don't have any left for anyone else's," she said.
"I dread when the other kids try and talk to me when I pick my son up from day-care. Like please go bother the person legally responsible for you, I don't have the energy to smile and nod while you tell me a story about your toy car while I'm fighting my kid to put his shoes on."
Other moms chimed in saying that they often get frustrated with fellow parents who expect them to dote on every child they meet.
"It's exhausting" one said of being regularly asked to watch or mind other people's children free of charge, just because she has kids of their own.
One even said she has "never been a kid person" and that didn't change when she had her own child, though she loves him to death.
While some moms joined the thread to insist that parents should extend the same love and kindness to all children they meet, not just their own, those opinions were few and far between.