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

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