Dinky22 Helmi

Regretful Parents: “I Thought Life Was Worth Living… Now I’m Not So Sure” | Reddit Stories (Ft. The Girl With The List!)

What happens when parenting regret doesn’t go away… it just evolves?In this episode, Erika is joined by fellow childfree girlie Abby Porter (aka z00mie, aka “the girl with the list”) to unpack a brand-new post from a parent whose regret has shifted from newborn exhaustion to something much heavier: existential anxiety, fear about the future, and the pressure of shaping a child’s entire life.

We discuss:
• Why regret can become more philosophical as kids grow
• The crushing pressure parents feel to “not mess up” their children
• Anxiety about AI, social media, and the modern world kids are growing up in
• The myth that motherhood comes naturally
• Why some people realize the realities of parenting too late
• How comparison culture and mommy influencers make parenting harder
• Whether thinking deeply about parenthood BEFORE kids could prevent regret

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro + Meet Abby Porter
01:00 How parenting regret changes over time
03:00 Fear of traumatizing your kids (even if you’re a good parent)
05:00 Generational patterns, anxiety, and breaking cycles
07:00 Parenting anxiety about the future, AI, and safety
09:00 “Philosophical garbage” — unpacking that take
12:00 When motherhood isn’t what you expected
14:00 The myth that parenting comes naturally
16:00 Social media, mommy influencers, and comparison
18:00 Kids, screens, and the “iPad generation”
21:00 Therapist advice: stop spiraling or think deeper?
23:00 Why these conversations matter BEFORE having kids
24:50 Comment reactions + final thoughts

FOLLOW ABBY PORTER
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@z00mie
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@z00mie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/z00mi.e/

MORE FROM US
Website: https://www.dinkypod.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/dinkypod

regretful parents podcast, parenting regret discussion, motherhood reality, childfree podcast, parenting mental health, motherhood expectations, modern parenting struggles, should I have kids, honest parenting talk, parenting anxiety, raising kids today, social media parenting pressure, AI future kids

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dinky--5953015/support.

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Jaksot(140)

Regretful Parents: "I Don't Wish This On Any Woman" | Reddit Stories

Erika is joined by friend of the pod and special guest Ashton to react to a Reddit post from a woman who is absolutely DONE being pregnant — stretch marks in places she didn't know could stretch, a pa...

20 Maalis 27min

‘Love Is Blind’s Emma Betsinger Sets The Record Straight

Want more exclusive content from Dinky? Join the Patreon! Dinky listeners have been flooding our inboxes lately pressuring us to watch Season 10 of Love Is Blind — because it featured not one, but TWO...

17 Maalis 1h 15min

Regretful Parents: "Birth Destroyed My Vagina & No One Will Fix It" | Reddit Stories

Erika and Kristen react to one of the most harrowing posts from the r/regretfulparents subreddit — a woman's decade-long battle with serious birth injury damage after a midwife failed to suture a seco...

15 Maalis 17min

Regretful Parents: Am I Overreacting To My Husband Interrupting My Solo Shower? | Reddit Stories

This week, Erika and Kristen take a brief detour from the usual Regretful Parents subreddit and dive into a viral post from the “Am I Overreacting?” corner of Reddit. The situation? A mom who hasn’t h...

12 Maalis 15min

Author Nicole Louie On The Women Who Inspired Her Childfree Life

Want more exclusive content from Dinky? Join the Patreon! Today we are chatting with Nicole Louie, a writer and translator originally from Brazil and now based in Ireland. She is the author of Others ...

10 Maalis 1h 2min

Regretful Parents: Love Is Blind — Emma, Mike, & The Childfree Debate | Reddit Stories

Is Love Is Blind accidentally telling a regretful parents story?In this solo episode of the Regretful Parents series, Erika dives into the viral Reddit discussion about Love Is Blind Season 6 and the ...

26 Helmi 12min

Christmas Markets Are The Ultimate DINK Winter Getaway

Want more exclusive content from Dinky? Join the Patreon! We’re kicking off Season 10 with a recap of our 2025 Christmas Markets trip and getting a sneak peek ahead at our next adventure. We cover wha...

24 Helmi 1h 11min