Parents needing breaks

Twice today I had conversations with different parents who all pined for a “break” from their children. The frequency of this conversation is astounding to me.

These are parents who were adamant and desperate to have a baby and now when asked how they are doing they lead with “well I’m out away from my kids so I’m great!”. Like, did you not understand what you were signing up for??? One of the major reasons I am not having children is a clear understanding of how all consuming and 24/7 the undertaking actually is.
There are no breaks, that’s what you signed up for.

And no, I don’t have sympathy for them. They want to have their cake and eat it too, meanwhile those of us with enough intelligence to make a different decision are judged and considered lesser by society.

And the answer actually is, no, the majority of these people did not understand what they were getting themselves into. They just blindly went ahead with something as significant as raising a human being with little to no concept of the weight of what they are doing. It’s so frustrating beyond words. And these are usually the same people who make being a parent the center of their personalities as well.