If we could go back and tell our 23-year-old and 24-year-old selves something when we had our first child, what would we say? In this episode, we share some candid thoughts on what we wish we had known before having kids.
We discuss how I entered parenthood thinking I was in control of our kids and I’ve had to learn the hard way that I can’t control our kids’ outcome or choices — especially as they get older. We also share how we wish we had known loving our children was so much more important (and more effective!) than lecturing them.
And we close by sharing how we wish we had focused more on building relationships with our kids from the start and how we had no idea how FUN it would be to have teenagers (unlike what we thought).
I’m giving an update on what is saving my life, and it just happens to be a special moment with one of the kids. I’m also giving an update on the book I’m currently listening to. Jesse and I discuss how different it must be to live in certain situations and how to function in difficult times.
In this episode
[00:34] – Welcome to a new episode of The Crystal Paine Show.
[01:10] – I share something special that has been so important to me lately.
[03:48] – I am now also listening to a really fantastic book.
[05:47] – It’s a quiet unfolding of the story that’s really important.
[08:53] – Jesse reads the temporary rules in 1941 for the Richmond Golf Club in London England.
[11:12] – Sometimes the best thing, instead of living in fear, is to put your head down and do the next best thing.
[11:55] – What we wish we knew before we had children; this was a request that came in from someone and she asked if we wanted to talk about it.
[13:00] – Most importantly for me, I wish I knew beforehand that I was not in control of them.
[14:58] – As parents, we would take responsibility for those bad decisions, when that is not our responsibility to bear as well.
[16:04] – I think there is a fine balance between recognizing our responsibility, but also recognizing God’s sovereignty.
[16:30] – Loving them is more important than lecturing them.
[18:06] – The relationship is so much more important than the end result.
[20:55] – I wish I had known how much fun they would be and that I could just enjoy them.
[22:18] – Choose your perspective and choose your mindset.
Links and Resources
This post What we wish we had known before we had children
was original published at “https://moneysavingmom.com/what-we-wish-we-had-known-before-having-kids/”
