evidence: Watching my child struggle without stepping in to fix things for him was one of the hardest parenting challenges I’ve personally experienced as a mom, even though I knew it was the best thing for him. Parents face many challenges. And as we all find out, there are many, many challenges that we never expected or knew about before having children! As a mom and therapist of 30 years, I’ve found the following five the most difficult. [...] One of the hardest things parents face is when their child is mean, rude, or disrespectful. Your child may have always been this way. Or the change in their personality might have seemingly happened overnight—perhaps when they hit the pre-teen years. One day your 10-year-old loves being with you. The next day they’re screaming, "I hate you," calling you names, and refusing to go anywhere with you.