These Hilarious Parenting Comics Are Almost Too Real
Artist Liesbeth Ton shows what parent life is like through funny drawings
Parenting is wonderful most of the time, but can also be a ridiculous shit-show. A series of comics by a Dutch artist is showcasing a lot of those ridiculous moments in hilarious comics every mom and dad should see.
According to The Huffington Post, freelance illustrator Liesbeth Ton decided to use her life as a parent as inspiration for some of her artwork. Ton, originally from the Netherlands but now living in Los Angeles, creates comics depicting her life as a mom to three kids, ages nine, six and one.
Ton shares her work on both Instagram and her website. The mom says adding a little humor to the drawings helps her “see things in the right perspective.” She shares that she received a comment once that she “shouldn’t be nagging about parenting, as if it’s extremely difficult,” adding, “I never thought of it in a negative way, I just like to joke about the struggles.”
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Oh, and parenting is extremely difficult. Step off, commenter.
As far as what the kids think of her comics, they don’t totally get it yet. “They love to read them, although I wonder if they really understand them. Because my work is mostly about stuff they do all the time, that is weird for grown-ups but completely normal to them (like tantrums because someone else pushed a button first).”
Right, so the kids just think they’re looking at cool artwork about their daily lives. While parents everywhere are nodding along in sympathy — and recognition.
Ton documents the mundane but highly relatable moments every mom or dad can see themselves in. Like when that stupid stroller topples over after you hastily remove its fussy occupant.
Or, when your little one travels a country mile to your bedroom in order to have an escort to the bathroom because they’re “scared.”
She captures the essence of trying to change a diaper on a baby acting like a rabid raccoon.
And the ridiculousness of a woman being asked to pump or breastfeed in a bathroom.
But mostly, Ton illustrates the day-to-day hilarity of being a parent with small children.
As we all go about the business of raising little kids, just surviving one day to the next, it’s nice to see someone else has been there. We might feel all alone wrestling the diaper cream away from a wild toddler or getting an eye poked out while wearing a curious baby. Of her work, Ton says, “It shows we all have the same struggles.”
And it never hurts to be reminded of that — and laugh about it.
