Owning a Tamagotchi prepared me for parenthood in a way no parenting book could

I've been training for this moment since 1997.

During my pregnancies I went to my pre-natal classes, I read all the books and I read any articles I thought my be useful. I also browsed a lot of parenting forums to pick up tips and tricks directly from parents themselves. Now, with all of that information and nearly ten years of parenting behind me, I've come to the conclusion that nothing really prepared me better for parenthood than the Tamagotchi I had in the 90s. If your a fellow 90s kid then you probably already know what I mean, but just in case you didn't own one of these pockets demons let me explain. Tamagotchi toys were marketed to us as cute virtual pets when in reality they were way more responsibility than we had signed up for. It felt like hardly a minute would go by without my Tamagotchi saying it was hungry when I knew I had just fed it and don't even talk to me about trying to get them to go asleep. I remember when my eldest child hit his toddler years and went through this phase and all I could think was, 'this is just like dealing with that Tamagotchi'. Then there's the fact that if you take your eye off them for a few seconds, they will try to themselves a grave injury. I honestly don't know who is more of a drama queen Danger Mouse, my three year old or that virtual nightmare I used to keep in my pocket as a kid. I suppose at least my kids give me a heads up of 'mammy look', before trying to dive bomb off something they should absolutely not be jumping off. Actually, just looking back on it all now, my Tamagotchi may have caused my anxiety issues. I've seen some schools give kids in transition year fake babies to practice being a parent with and honestly, I think they should give them a Tamagotchi instead. If you're not able for a Tamagotchi that is constantly looking to be fed and washed, then you're not ready for a newborn who needs several night feeds while also puking and pooing constantly.