A father of a nearly 5-year-old has sparked a raw conversation about parental burnout after admitting that his toddler’s constant crying has made him dread walking through his own front door. In a post that quickly spread beyond the parenting subreddit where it began, he confessed that he is “starting to dislike” his daughter, even as he insists he loves her and wants to do better. His dilemma captures a growing tension for many parents who feel trapped between affection for their children and the relentless noise, conflict and exhaustion of early childhood.
Behind the viral shock value is a quieter story about mental health, family dynamics and the pressure to be endlessly patient. The father describes himself as “at the end of my rope,” torn between guilt over his reactions and resentment that home has become a place of stress rather than rest. His words have resonated with parents who recognize the feeling of being pushed past their limits, even if they would never say it out loud.
The Reddit confession that exposed a hidden parenting taboo
The turning point came when the father took his frustration to a parenting subreddit, choosing the blunt title “I’m starting to dislike my kid.” In his post, he explained that he dreads coming home from work because he knows the evening will be dominated by his nearly 5-year-old daughter’s crying, arguing and emotional outbursts. He described a pattern where even small transitions, like leaving the playground or getting ready for bed, can trigger meltdowns that set “the day off badly” and leave everyone on edge, a dynamic later detailed in coverage of his subreddit post.
What made his confession stand out was not just the behavior he described, but the emotional line he admitted he was crossing. He wrote that he loves his daughter but is beginning to feel a growing dislike toward her, a feeling that scares him as much as it disturbs readers. That admission, later summarized as “Now, He Admits He’s ‘Starting to Dislike’ His Daughter,” underscored how far his resentment has crept into his relationship with his nearly 5-year-old daughter and how urgently he is searching for a way back from that edge, as highlighted in reporting on how he admits he feels.
“At the end of my rope”: how constant crying reshaped home life
In his account, the father describes a home life that feels like a pressure cooker. He says his daughter cries so frequently and intensely that he has begun to associate the sound of her voice with stress rather than joy, and he now anticipates conflict the moment he turns the key in the door. He characterizes himself as being “at the end of my rope” with his nearly 5-year-old daughter, a phrase later repeated in summaries of how a man sought advice after sharing that he felt overwhelmed by his child’s behavior, as noted in coverage that emphasized he was starting to dislike her.
He does not claim that his daughter’s behavior is extreme by clinical standards, and he even acknowledges that, compared with serious crises other families face, their struggles might seem minor. Yet the relentlessness of the crying and arguing has changed how he feels about his own home, turning what should be a refuge into a place he wants to avoid. That shift, from looking forward to seeing his child to dreading the nightly battles, is at the heart of his distress and the reason his confession has struck such a nerve among other parents.
“Small potatoes” that still feel unbearable in the moment
One of the most striking parts of the father’s account is his awareness that, on paper, his problems might not look catastrophic. He reportedly wrote, “I know in the grand scheme of things this is all small potatoes, but in the moment it’s making me want to drive away and never come back,” a line later quoted in detailed write-ups of his plea for help. That contrast between perspective and emotion, between knowing others face worse and still feeling desperate, was highlighted in coverage of how he framed his struggles as “small potatoes”.
That sentence captures a common experience in modern parenting: the sense that one should be grateful and resilient, even as daily life feels unmanageable. By labeling his own problems as minor, he is trying to talk himself out of his anger, yet his fantasy of “driving away and never coming back” reveals how close he feels to emotional flight. It is a reminder that the severity of a situation is not measured only by objective hardship, but also by how much it erodes a parent’s sense of self and safety in their own home.
When partners clash: different coping styles, shared resentment
The father’s frustration is not limited to his daughter. He also describes growing tension with his partner over how to respond to their child’s crying. In his account, he says that when their daughter melts down, his partner often gives in to the demands simply to stop the noise, while he wants to hold firmer boundaries. He wrote that “She gives in to my daughter because she doesn’t want to hear the crying and I don’t,” a line later cited in reports that detailed how their differing approaches have become a flashpoint, as seen in coverage of how She gives in during conflicts.
He goes on to say that “Then we wind up blaming each other,” describing a cycle where each parent resents the other’s coping strategy and the child’s crying becomes a proxy for deeper disagreements. That pattern is familiar to family therapists, who often see couples pulled into a triangle with a child’s behavior at the center. In this case, the father’s sense that his partner is undermining boundaries, and the partner’s apparent need for immediate relief from the noise, are feeding a loop of mutual blame that leaves all three members of the family feeling misunderstood and alone.
The physical toll of noise: why crying can feel like an attack
Part of what makes the father’s situation so volatile is the sheer sensory impact of a child’s crying. Prolonged, high-pitched noise can trigger a stress response in adults, raising heart rate and flooding the body with adrenaline. For some parents, especially those already stretched thin by work and lack of sleep, that sound can feel less like a communication from a child and more like an alarm that never shuts off. Commenters responding to the story have suggested practical tools to blunt that impact, including earplugs that reduce volume without blocking sound entirely, such as products from Flare and Loop, which were mentioned in social media reactions that noted Dad needs some to cope.
These suggestions are not about tuning children out entirely, but about giving parents a small buffer so they can stay calm enough to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively. For a father who already feels on edge before he even walks through the door, reducing the intensity of the sound could be the difference between engaging with his daughter and snapping at her. The fact that such basic sensory tools are being discussed alongside emotional support underscores how intertwined physical and psychological stress can be in early parenthood.
From love to resentment: how burnout warps a parent’s feelings
The father is explicit that he loves his daughter, yet he also admits that he is “starting to dislike” her, a phrase that has been repeated in coverage of his story because of its stark honesty. That emotional split, between deep attachment and growing aversion, is a hallmark of parental burnout, when chronic stress and lack of recovery time begin to distort how a parent sees their child. In his case, the constant crying and conflict have become so central to his experience of fatherhood that they are overshadowing memories of affection and play, a shift that was captured when reports summarized how asked for advice while feeling overwhelmed.
Resentment often grows in the gaps between what parents expected and what they are living. Many fathers imagine coming home to hugs and quiet routines, not to nightly battles over dinner, bath time and bedtime. When reality diverges sharply from that picture, and when support systems are thin, it can be tempting to blame the child rather than the circumstances. The father’s willingness to name his dislike may be alarming, but it also opens the door to addressing the burnout underneath, instead of pretending that love alone can carry him through.
Online reactions: empathy, alarm and hard truths about parenting
As the father’s post circulated, reactions ranged from fierce criticism to deep empathy. Some readers were alarmed by his admission that he sometimes fantasizes about driving away and never returning, seeing it as a red flag that he needs professional help before his frustration turns into neglect or emotional harm. Others, including many parents of young children, recognized their own unspoken thoughts in his words and praised him for voicing what they had been too ashamed to say. Coverage of the story emphasized that he was seeking guidance, not simply venting, and that he explicitly asked for advice on navigating the situation with his nearly 5-year-old daughter, a detail highlighted when reports noted he was asking for help.
Many commenters urged him to seek therapy, both individually and as a couple, and to explore developmental or behavioral support for his daughter to understand whether her reactions are typical for her age or signs of deeper challenges. Others focused on practical strategies, from consistent routines to sensory tools, and on the importance of carving out even small pockets of rest for himself. The mix of alarm and solidarity reflects a broader cultural shift: parents are increasingly open about their mental health struggles, but there is still intense stigma around admitting negative feelings toward one’s own child.
When parenting strain threatens relationships and separation
The father’s story also sits within a wider pattern of relationships strained, and sometimes broken, by the pressures of raising children. In another account shared through a family support organization, an adult child recalls that their Dad later said he felt the marriage had broken down because of the stress of having children. That person describes how, even now, their father’s comments about how hard it was to be a dad made them feel guilty, a dynamic detailed in a narrative where Dad has made linking parental stress to separation.
That testimony shows how children can carry the emotional fallout of parental burnout long after the immediate crisis has passed. When parents frame their separation as the result of the stress of having kids, children may internalize the idea that they were the problem, rather than recognizing the broader context of adult conflict, lack of support and systemic pressures. For the father on Reddit, the risk is not only that his current resentment will damage his bond with his daughter now, but that the way he talks about this period in the future could shape how she understands her own worth and role in the family story.
Finding a path back from the edge
For parents who see themselves in this father’s confession, the path forward often begins with acknowledging the depth of their exhaustion without turning their child into the villain. That can mean seeking professional support, asking partners and relatives for concrete help, and experimenting with tools that reduce sensory overload, from noise-dampening products like those made by Flare and Loop to structured breaks away from the home. It also means reframing a child’s crying as communication, however clumsy, rather than as a personal attack, so that parents can respond with boundaries and empathy instead of reflexive anger.
The father who said he is starting to dislike his daughter has already taken one crucial step by naming his feelings and asking for advice instead of suffering in silence. His story is a reminder that love and resentment can coexist in the same parent, especially under chronic stress, and that admitting those contradictions can be the first move toward change. Whether he and his family can transform dread back into connection will depend on what they do next, but his honesty has already opened a window into the private strain many parents carry behind closed doors.
More from Decluttering Mom: