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If you’ve ever chased a toddler all through the house
As he’s swallowing buttons off his favorite toy mouse
You know the adventures that parenting brings
The yelling, and pouting, and other fun things
A small child is a person – yes, that much is true
But have more than one, and it seems like a zoo
The fussing, and fighting, and continuous strife
Wear down the patience of husband and wife
Chaos, calamity, and craziness too
Sometimes mom and dad just don’t have a clue
The soft pitter-patter of cute little feet
Means total disaster they’re about to soon meet
When they’re babies, we change them with diapers that smell
Wow! It’s truly gruesome the stench they expel
But that’s just the beginning. The end it is not
Parents face many years of pee, poop, and snot
Kids refuse to eat veggies and other good food
While chewing gum from the table that for months has been glued
A child won’t try fruit that can possibly squirt
But they’re more than contented to chow down on dirt
Little ones become fascinated by swirling water
Toys flushed down toilet by both son and daughter
Soon the bathroom floods as yuck overflows
Mom yells at dad, “Fix it NOW! I’ve got to go!”
One of the many things that all households hate
Is putting children to bed before it gets late
Kids stall and delay, and they put up a fight
Then keep parents awake all night out of spite
Young girls and boys seem to be drawn to the mud
When they see a large puddle, they jump with a thud
But taking a bath is nothing but trouble
And if you’ve got two kids, the trouble is double
There are millions of questions a child wants to ask
Answering them all can be a difficult task
“Where do babies come from?” That’s the one that you dread
Don’t tell them a lie cause at school, it will spread
When you take a long trip in the family car
Sons and daughters act up before you’ve gone far
They will kick the seat, and they’ll whine, and complain
It’s their three greatest weapons to inflict you with pain
“I’ve got to tinkle!” You hear from behind
Every kid has to whiz whenever confined
But, of course, there’s not a bathroom nearby
“Back at the house, why didn’t you try?”
And so it goes through the years as we struggle
To raise up our children with so much to juggle
Hope they appreciate everything that we do
So that when THEY have their kids, they’ll suffer too!
Poetry At Play 