Disclaimer: If you’re reading this post for advice on how to make yourself the center of the world, then, unfortunately, your search must go on. This post is for people who have young kids or envisage a future where they might like a child or two. This post is not for people who have no desire for kids, you may scroll swiftly past smirking as you do so. Or people whose offspring are already teenagers or grown, you can send us your advice, smirking as you do so.
10 Good Years
I was going to call this post ‘12 Good Years’ but my sister-in-law told me it’s more like 10. And ‘good’ is the wrong word.
For 10 years, you are the center of your child’s world. 10 years. Maybe even 8. Maybe 12 if you are exceptionally lucky. But definitely not more than 12.
Thereafter you are lucky if you get an occasional sideways glance. Usually, it’s accompanied by an eye roll or an inappropriate hand gesture.
At best you might be tolerated. Occasionally.
I may have exaggerated, perhaps it won’t be that bad…
From the Beginning
The moment our babies are born, you are the most important thing in your tiny human’s world.
Occasionally you share that center spot with milk/chocolate/tv, but you are always one of the frontrunners.
You are the person that they run to when they are sad, happy, scared or anxious. The one they want to be with the most. A spot on a golden pedestal.
The center of your child’s world
I should highlight that other than creating/obtaining said offspring, you actually haven’t earned that spot, it’s just yours unconditionally. And in fact, you can actually monumentally screw up and they will still continue to give you the top spot.
It’s generally a nice gig being the ‘center of someone’s world’ but it won’t last.
I say generally because there are some small downsides i.e. like never being able to shower or go the toilet by yourself, but I digress.
How do I know that it won’t last?
If you have read the ‘about us’ section you may know that we are still drowning reveling in the offspring-glory-years, and so have no actual experience of kids older than 8. Therefore, you obviously need to take everything I say with a pinch of salt.
But I have heard enough horror stories from my own parents friends to draw some conclusions about what is to come. In fact, I am 99% certain that ‘no longer being the center of anyone’s world’ is our current family trajectory.
The dark side
Raising a kid is like sending a rocket ship to the moon. You spend the early years in constant contact, and then one day, around the teenage years, they go around the dark side and they’re gone. And all you can do is wait for that faint signal that says they’re coming back.
Claire Dunphy
Why all these apocalyptic thoughts regarding teenagers… well, it recently dawned on me that since we now have an 8-year-old, we have 3-4 more years of being circumnavigated by our little rocket ship.
3 years. Maybe 2. Maybe 1. Time. But not much.
But then that rocket ship gradually creeps further and further out of orbit, out of range. On an independent journey all of their own. To the dark side. (Of the moon – not that actual dark side…)
The journey
And I don’t want to fight that journey or process. I believe our role (as Mr & Mrs Chaos) is to teach our kids to be independent. To build their empathy and confidence. To foster their skills and tools to make good choices.
But I also am hoping against hope that at some point on their journey to exert discover their independence that I might occasionally be consulted. About life. Not just about food and laundry.
Can we avert the crisis?
What can we do with this crucial time where we are still the center of our child’s world? Can anything be done to ease the journey around the dark side?!
Leia has been showing various signs since she was 2 years old, that the teenage years will not be an easy ride. I am under no illusions that the combination of hormones and middle school are a hot mess and difficult to mitigate against. But I do believe hope that there some steps that can be taken now that may make that ride a little smoother.
Time
We all know that time is what kids want most. Don’t we. And food. And hugs and toys. A lot of toys. And candy.
But time spent with my kids intuitively feels like the thing we should be focused on at this age. Time spent with them now will surely create a depth of relationship that will withstand the challenges later.
And yet this time in our kid’s life often coincides with significant expectations from work, middle management responsibilities, career climbing and long hours.
That song, ‘The Cats in the Cradle’ originally by Harry Chapin, has always freaked me out regarding my own parenting responsibilities.
But maybe time is not the thing they want the most…
Less tired and less stressed
There was a study called Ask the Children, where over 1000 children aged 8-18yrs with working parents were given a “one wish question.”
“If you were granted one wish and you only have one wish that could change the way your mother’s or your father’s work affects your life, what would that wish be?”
The majority of adults guessed that their children would wish for more time together. But for the majority of children, their one wish was that their parents would be less stressed and less tired.
Children are often wiser than we give them credit for and tend to see the world more simply than we do. If we were less stressed and less tired, surely the time we actually spent with them would be more focused and of higher quality.
Communication
Last year a Harvard-MIT study found that one of the best things parents can do for their children is to have frequent back-and-forth exchanges with them.
Stronger communication skills seem to benefit children as evidenced by healthier relationships, longer marriages, higher self-esteem and overall satisfaction in life.
But I assume that if you have taken the time to work on your child’s communication, then actually your own communication with them will be better.
Some keys to good conversations
I saw a great idea on the momastry blog for a free printable for a jar of conversation starters for kids at mealtimes or car journeys,
We all know what an epic fail ‘How was your day?‘ is for starting a conversation with any kid.
These ‘key’ questions not only unlock who your kid really is, but at the same time demonstrate that we will keep safe whatever they tell us.
I can’t think of a better way to keep our people safe than to KNOW them. Knowing what makes them love, hurt, feel, help, and dream is the best safekeeping we’ve got.
Erin Waters (Co-creator with Momastry)
Working on it
Whilst homeschooling my daughter for 6 months, as we transitioned between continents, I began to realize that if I taught her nothing other than to communicate better, then it would be a win. Correction: If WE learned to communicate better.
My own daughter knows exactly where my buttons are and she has enjoyed stomping all over them pressing them from an early age. Whether it is by tone, choice of words, facial expressions, or all three at once. My kid can send me to Defcon 1 in 3 seconds flat.
Isn’t it ironic (and sad) that the people you often have the least patience with are often the ones you love the most?
But I was fortunate that homeschooling gave me some much-needed-time and space to work on OUR communication. I was able to take a breath and say to Leia. ‘How could you say you hate homeschool in a way that wouldn’t be so offensive hurtful?’ and ‘Perhaps if you said that in a less whiney kinder voice, I might reconsider?’
I realized that as much as Leia needed to learn some key communications skills/diplomacy – I also need to work on my patience and listening. I have to learn to defuse things better before reacting. Just breathe. The little revolutionary is still my child.
I am hoping that time spent honing this skill might pay off in the dark years. The real ones. These moments are just forebodings.
Don’t avoid the hard conversations
Young kids ask big, hard, difficult questions a lot. And because we are tired or we don’t have easy answers or the questions make us uncomfortable, we avoid them. As they get older, they stop asking questions if they keep getting fobbed off (ignored).
I know that I have missed a couple of key prompts because I just wasn’t mentally available to deal with them. But our plan is to actively initiate and revisit them in the next year: death, sex, drugs, pornography, identity, abuse, anxiety, faith and God. Because a friend’s 11-year-old brother is just NOT a good source of information.
My hope is that if we walk alongside our kids and equip them in the hard stuff when they are young, that they may invite you to join them occasionally on their journey or radio back home a bit more often.
The upshot
Apologies for being the prophet of doom as you look upon your grubby incoherent adorable 3-year-old, in disbelief that they can ever become an unwashed, non-verbal teenager. I don’t have any actual answers just some thoughts.
For our family, we have decided that the next few years are really important. And we want to be around while our kids still want us around. Our intention is not to be helicopter parents or become their own unpaid entertainers.
But to be available, to eat meals together, to hone our communication, to be present for the moments, for the hard conversations and the everyday ones.
For us that has meant…
Taking a step back from some of the high-intensity jobs that had previously absorbed our time and energy. Putting careers on hold. Stepping off the ladder. Digging into our savings.
Will it hurt, yeah financially and professionally. Maybe a bit mentally too, our kids do drive us crazy.
We need to live a bit smaller. We have to give up some luxuries or things that we took for granted. But it’s workable for us for now.
And if to compensate for that lost income, we have to work harder when the kids are in college, or retirement takes us longer – then that’s a sacrifice we are willing to make.
We have a couple more years at best, as our center spot is already waning with our eldest. And we don’t want to miss it.
‘We have a few special years with our children, when they’re the ones that want us around. After that you’re going to be running after them for a bit of attention. It’s so fast Peter. Just a few years, and it’s over. And you are not being careful. You are missing it.’
Moira Banning (Hook)
It is wonderful that you are taking the time to spend with your children while you can. You will never regret it. I lost a lot of potential money by working from home for many years before going back to the office full time, but I am so grateful we had that option. I used that time wisely enjoying and teaching my children.
I always made sure to be open with my children so they know they could ask me anything and I would be straight with them. What does “insert bad word here” mean? I would answer in an honest, age appropriate way. One time I was asked a difficult question by my daughter that had no definite answer and I told her that while she thought I knew everything now, I really didn’t and she would understand that one day. It was a one time conversation that I did not think about again until a couple years later when she came up to me out of the blue and said remember when you said one day I would realize you don’t know everything? I said yes. She said uh huh and left the room. The wonderful teenage years. It got worse before it got better but then something happened. She got married, and suddenly I was a little bit smarter again. Then she had a baby and I was a lot smarter. It took a while for her to get there-at it was at times painful-but kids need to learn to be independent. It has gone from, “How much do I have to call you from college?” to “Can I come visit with the baby today?” I am so grateful for her and my grandson. As she has gained her independence I have had to mature too and keep my mouth shut. From the moment I held both my babies I remember telling my husband that the hardest thing is going to be letting them go and I was right. It was, I mean is.
God bless.
Thank you so much Mary for your thought-provoking comment! I really appreciate your contribution to the discussion. We definitely feel blessed to have the option to take time out from ‘normal’ work at this point in our lives. And like you said the teenage age years are still going to be a trial, but at some point as long as the foundation is there, they come back around again! So glad you able to spend regular time with your daughter and your grandson!
I heard today that the essence of character is formed before children hit 5… ie. regard for honesty, managing your emotions etc! Yikes! Pressure indeed!!
That is a scary thought, particularly since that leaves me 2 out of 4 to work on…Fingers crossed we have ‘slow’ developers! ;D
This post really hits home. My son is 16 months old and we are in the throws of deciding whether I will go back to work or not. I am wracking my brain on how to stay home but still continue on our path to FI. Posts like this are really driving the point home that it is such a short time in the grand scheme of things and even my poor mother still refers to these days as the best days of her life. Some days it’s hard not to take them for granted but I can’t shake the feeling that this is the most important job of all. Thank you for sharing and well done to you both for making the tough decisions and questioning the status quo. Your kids will surely thank you for it, if even once/if they have their own kids and realise truly what you did for them. I definitely have a different appreciation for my parents now that I’m a parent myself!
Hello fellow money hacker! Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. Yes, it is such a short time in the grand scheme of things, although those first few years will feel like FOREEEEVVVVER! We have weighed it and decided that for us, it is indeed our most important job, though that’s not to say it is easy and enjoyable (occasionally ;P ) With our firstborn, I actually initially enjoyed going back to work for 3 days a week when she was a year old. It meant that I was more intentional about the days we did spend together and the monotony of entertaining a tiny person no longer stretched out ahead of me every Monday. However due to the nature of my job, within a few months, I was assigned to manage more complex projects, that just refused to fit into 3 day week. But it was only after I dropped my poorly 18-month off at nursery, when she should have been home, because I NEEDED to attend a weekly site meeting – that I realised I was becoming the parent that I did not want to be. But there are some jobs that are set up in such a way that part-time work is possible and manageable, and can provide some much needs space and relief! Other jobs are not. Each family has to carve their own path. But like you say any time you choose to spend with your kids (either in quality or quantity) is never going to be something you regret!