Law enforcement officers go through a lot of weird things on the job – and those things are exactly why police officers make the best parents.
Before we had kids, I thought a lot about the fact that I’d be a solo parent when my husband was in law enforcement. I knew he’d work long, inconsistent hours. I knew he’d come home super stressed out and not wanting to talk. I knew he’d sometimes be short with me and the kids because of the stress of the job.
I fretted over it and prepared for it as best I could.
But in all that fretting, I missed something important and awesome about his new job – and that is, all the ways law enforcement would actually prepare him to be an awesome parent.
Surprised? I was a little, too. But as it turns out, being a police officer actually does a really good job of preparing people to be parents – and here are some of the reasons why.
5 Reasons Police Officers Make The Best Parents
They’re used to dealing with gross stuff.
Whether they’re searching a person, a car, or a house, cops tend to come across some nasty stuff.
Seriously. Even with gloves on, some of that stuff is disgusting.
But because police officers deal with that kind of thing every day, they’re less likely to be fazed by a baby’s projectile vomit or poo-splosion.
Not only is it way less gross, but it also comes from someone cute, innocent, and (usually) sweet – so that gives your kids kind of an edge, too!
They’re physically fit.
The days of the lazy donut-eating cop are largely over. Those in law enforcement have to be in good shape to catch the bad guys when they run.
That physical fitness translates well to catching the rogue little boy who decided to run off in a store, or starts wandering into the street… because even with little legs, kids are incredibly fast.
The other bonus here? They’re used to carrying a lot of gear. That means that after running around all day wearing a 20 pound duty belt complete with gun and vest, it’s practically a load off to strap baby in their carrier to a chest so you can get a nap.
They’re used to deescalating ridiculous situations.
How many times has your husband had to navigate a domestic dispute? Whether it’s husband and wife, parent and child, landlord and tenant, or any other combination you can think of, he develops some serious conflict resolution skills.
That comes in handy when you have to deescalate a conflict between a toddler and her shadow – just as a “for instance”.
Honestly, sometimes negotiating with a toddler feels a lot like a hostage negotiation, so being able to deescalate is super helpful in parenthood.
They’re able to adapt quickly to changing threats.
Kids are so, so creative. They’re always coming up with new ideas to try out as they explore the world around them.
Unfortunately, by nature of them being so new to the world around them, they don’t have the foresight to see what their experiments could do to the world around them… or to them. Or to your new couch.
Police officers are used to being kept on their toes and dealing with high amounts of unpredictable stress, which makes them super well suited to the unpredictability of parenthood.
They can function well when sleep deprived.
Babies sleep a lot. No really, it’s true! They just don’t like to sleep all at once, or when you’d most like them to sleep.
Tricky, those babies.
But it doesn’t stop with babies. Older kids will inevitably come wake you up at 3 AM asking, “Is it time to be awake yet?”
Ugh.
In any case, the ability to function well even under severe sleep deprivation is an excellent skill to have. And it’s a skill that police officers are pretty good at.
As a side note, cops are also used to neglecting a lot of their physical needs like hunger and the need to pee for a higher cause. That means they’re an excellent resource to help take care of the baby, all around.
If you’re a new police wife or about to become a parent for the first time with your officer, take heart! You’ve got this – and a lot of it, you’ve got for some weird reasons.
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