BABY, I'M BORED by Lisa Duggan

Last Sunday morning the hubby and I played another round of My Reason to Leave The House Is More Urgent Than Yours. Winning entries have included Desperate for Dry Cleaning and I Have a Prescription To Fill. The victor — usually the first person to get dressed and find their car keys — gains a few parenting-free hours. Two or three hours where one might drink coffee while it's still hot, play The Stones, not The Wiggles, as loud as you like, or read an entire article and actually remember what you read.

It ain't easy being part of the iParent generation, the 'i' here meaning imperative. "But Lisa!" you might say, "We worked so hard to have children!" Injecting, in-vitro-ing, adopting, pumping, cutting-back, or cutting out our careers, altogether. Is it really okay to admit that we're not thrilled to be a parent every barf-stained minute?

And I'd answer that it's more than okay to be honest with yourself, and your children, about the daily realities of parenting — it's the healthier alternative. Consistently masking, or denying, your (temporary) frustration or fatigue is bad for you and bad for your kids. It sends the message that some emotions are more acceptable than others, and urges them to ignore, hide or deny their own anger and frustration.

Let's show this generation that being a parent can sometimes be difficult, lonely or just boring — so they might know what to realistically expect when they're expecting — and not still be playing games when they become parents.