Being (or having) a toddler is a lot of hard work. I mean, you’re raising a human child and making sure they don’t grow up to be sociopaths. That’s a lot of hard work. College is also a difficult time, for students and parents alike. From finding a way to pay for tuition to making sure they’re having a good time in college, a child’s time at either stage is difficult. Here are a couple of ways these difficult times are identical.
1. They need naps.
Toddlers are beyond cranky when they don’t have their daily naps. They scream and don’t want anyone to be around them. College students are basically zombies if they don’t have their daily nap. Just give us more sleep.
2. They don’t eat the healthiest foods.
From mac and cheese and pizza to chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches. College students and toddlers don’t eat healthily. College students do it because it’s cheaper, but toddlers do it because they are just little turds and don’t want anything else.
3. They’re easily distracted.
Toddlers will run after some shiny thing they see in the park, and on the way start chasing a butterfly. College students will run to wherever is offering free food, but stop if they see dogs to pet.
4. DOGS.
Toddlers and college students both love petting dogs. Or touching dogs. Or just dogs. They both will change their current walking route just to bump into a dog and pet it.
5. They both like cartoons.
Toddlers love Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. College students love Bob’s Burgers and King of the Hill. Different content, same idea: animation.
6. They both randomly start crying.
College students will cry because finals are coming up and they need a 213% on the final to make a B in a class. Toddlers cry because their train won’t stay on the tracks. Both are important issues.
7. They both wear their PJ’s to school the next day.
Sometimes you just don’t want to dress a toddler. They’re clean and their clothes aren’t really that different from their everyday clothes. Just leave them in their PJ’s. College students wake up 5 minutes before their class and don’t have time to change. Same thing.
8. They both are financially unstable.
Toddlers have no concept of money. College students don’t have any money because they have to give their entire savings away for tuition. Either way, they both end up having no money.
9. They both make bad decisions.
Toddlers will touch a hot stove. College students will get a tattoo of an anchor that says “I will never sink”. Both regrettable. Both mistakes.
10. They both have a very strict schedule.![]()
Toddlers cannot deviate from their naptime schedule, meal schedule, bedtime schedule, bath schedule, or even school schedule. College students are the same way. College students cannot deviate from their studying schedules, mealtimes, naptimes, review sessions, and Netflix binge time.
11. They’re social butterflies.
Toddlers are friendly to everyone. They will strike up a conversation with a stranger in a mall. College students are the same way. They talk to the people beside them in class that they have never met or sat down next to someone they don’t know in the cafeteria and become best friends.
