10 Things That Make Parents Feel Guilty

Harry Belafonte and Marlo Thomas got it right back in 1974, when they sang "Parents Are People." Just like everyone else!

Their children may not know it, but before they became parents, Mom and Dad had lives of their own. Indeed, those lives sometimes pop back up and interfere with family obligations.

Here's a list of 10 things that make parents feel guilty:

1. They give their children smartphones at restaurants to keep them quiet during dinner, even after spending all day telling them they need to disconnect from screens.

2. They decide to skip out on their kids' class trips, and instead have a cup of coffee on the terrace. Because frankly, trying to get a whole class of kindergartners into swimsuits borders on torture.

3. They order fast food meals for their children, knowing full well that they're too fatty, too salty or too sweet.

4. They use threats and blackmail along the lines of, "Fine, you can go to bed hungry," even though their parenting philosophies forbid them from doing so.

5. They enjoy gourmet meals while their kids nibble on tater tots seasoned with ketchup.

6. They pretend their kid is sick just to skip a day of work.

7. They start worrying about homework right before its deadline.

8. They half-listen to their kids as they tell them about their day, all the while checking their Facebook accounts to make sure they haven't missed anything of critical importance.

9. They stay in bed on Sunday morning, listening to the muffled sounds of generic cartoons. God created the TV, after all.

10. They take two tablets of Tylenol while preparing food on the holidays, all the while vowing they'll never take any more.

All this under the watchful eye of their children, who often forgive them... for being brats!

This post first appeared on HuffPost Maghreb and has been translated into English.

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