These Funny Animal Memes Explain the Stages of Parenting Perfectly!

No one said the teen years would be pretty!
No one said the teen years would be pretty!
9/19/23 - By Shari Simpson

Cat memes, dog memes, and more funny animal memes tell the story of the stages of parenting...

Bawling babies, terrible twos, sassy school kids, petulant pre-teens, terrifying teenagers—let’s be real, no matter where you’re at in your parenting journey, it feels like the toughest stretch, right? That’s why we’ve got you covered for the entire ride with 20 of those delicious, bite-sized morsels of humor known as memes.

Sometimes all it takes is a good laugh to get through a rough patch, and what’s funnier than our trials and errors depicted through the animal kingdom? Get your giggles on with a tour of the stages of parenting as told through cat memes, dog memes, and other funny animal memes.

For more parenting humor, check out Funny Parenting Memes That Will Make You Feel Seen and 25 Funny Mom Jokes. It's all in our Jokes and Humor Guide.

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The Stages of Parenting Explained in Animal Memes

1. How it all begins (aka “nobody warned me about the fourth trimester”).

I'm so ready to have this baby meme with orangutan

Courtesy of TheMomBeat

2. Congratulations, you made it through the pregnancy and now you’re a mom!

cat and dog meme with too many babies

Courtesy of deMilked

3. And you realize immediately who’s not going to be much help.

funny dad dog meme

Courtesy of Digitalmomblog

4. But it doesn’t take too long to discover what does help.

before coffe after coffee cat meme

Courtesy of Canva

 5. Okay, now you’ve got the hang of it! Sorta!

croc carrying baby croc meme

Courtesy of BouncyMustard

6. Sure, it’s tough, but it all makes sense when you hear the magical word “mom” for the first time. And the second. And…

mom mom mom mom cat meme

Courtesy of Cheezburger

7. Aaaand we gotta be honest, in the parenting timeline it doesn’t take long before your kids have got your number.

cute puppy meme

Courtesy of iFunny

8. Like, really got your number.

dog winking meme

Courtesy of Lifelearn

9. Like, really got your number.

diabolical cat meme

10. And they use it to, well… basically, drive you bonkers.

drive you bonkers dog meme

Courtesy of KnowYourMeme

11. But that’s okay, because it also doesn’t take long to figure out your response:

goat kid meme

Courtesy of 411pain

12. And before you know it, you’ve got a mini-me!

mini me horse meme

Courtesy of BouncyMustard

13. Yeah, a chip off the old block.

just like me cat meme

Courtesy of quickmeme

14. Listen, you’ll have some good days...

camel meme

Courtesy of bestlife

15. And some not-so-good days...

lousy day to be a squirrel meme

Courtesy of animalmemes

16. But as they hit all those special age milestones, like “tween”:

cute fluffy chubby bird meme

Courtesy of Cheezburger

17. And "teen":

don't wake me cat meme

Courtesy of Wallpapers

18. And “grown-up”:

baby duck adulting meme

Courtesy of SayingImages

19. Make sure to take the time to congratulate yourself...

raccoon meme

Courtesy of Wings4U

20. Because you were a “good enough” parent. Hey, they’re still alive, aren’t they?

quokka meme

Courtesy of DigitalMomBlog