comment: >
  
  ^ Conservatives when they're told to wash their hands
context: This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.
  Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"
  (For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
  Rule-breaking posts may result in bans. >
  
  Every time I take a shower I hear the faint sound of my kids crying for help. They are fine ...but my brain loves to convince itself the sounds in the walls and pipes are my kids  in danger when I'm in vulnerable places.
  Edit I am curious how many males experience this.  I hear this happens a lot with mothers but as a dad myself, I hear this all the time.  My wife no longer hears it but with kids at 12/6 I occasionally hear "daaaad" or "hellllp" or I am convinced I heard a window break or something broke and I have to get out and check it out. >
  
  Phantom cries while in the shower are so bizarre. >
  
  What that's a thing? ಠ_ಠ >
  
  My kid is a year and a half old and it's much less common now, but yes. I will occasionally hear him cry while in the shower even when I have his monitor right there and he's asleep. >
  
  The baby monitor is just something additional to obsess over. Especially when they're lying still, then you gotta go wake them up because they're too still. >
  
  Nah, you go over there, stare for a minute to verify they're breathing normally, then creep away. 
  Then you hear sounds and accidentally wake them up while they're doing their active sleeping. 
  It's a vicious cycle of self inflicted sleep deprivation. >
  
  Just fixate your gaze on a spot on whatever is covering them. It's going to move as they breathe. Hopefully. >
  
  We use a patterned swaddle so that it's a tiny bit easier to see the movement. But man, you really can go nuts with the fear. >
  
  My son is almost 7. These have not subsided. Every phase of his life they just morph and grow. When he was <3 I had a fear of returning the shopping cart in the space NEXT TO MY CAR because I was sure someone was going to drive off and he was too little to verbalize it.
  It never gets easier. >
  
  My son is 22 and I still get them. Even more once he got a car and became more independent. >
  
  My 'children' are 26 and 19 and I still get anxiety when they are out of contact for a while.  I know it is irrational but it is not something I can just turn off...  I do not let my anxiety interfere with their lives and just keep it to myself, but I definitely breathe a sigh of releif when they get back. >
  
  I can be weeks without contacting my parents and I live 2h drive away. Your comment made me think that maybe I should call them more often. >
  
  Going to the park? Be paranoid that someone is following you to snatch your child?
  Going to Target? Be paranoid that your child will walk out the doors with a stranger when your back is turned. 
  Driving by yourself to your best friend's house for a much needed girl's night? Panic about a semi hitting you head on and you dying and your kid has to grow up without you. >
  
  Don't forget all the potential diseases! >
  
  We mask and are vaccinated. He's a covid toddler. He's been obsessed with washing his hands since he could run.