Having a Child Should Triggers Personal Change

Upon learning that my wife was expecting our child, I didn’t take things too seriously at first. You know, people have children everyday, and they make it look easy. For the first three months, I just coasted through the situation as my wife talked and talked about making plans for this or that. Having a typical male attitude, I just took everything in stride thinking that I would worry about things when it is time to worry. Then, my wife hit the four month mark, which is sonogram time. Seeing the baby on that screen began to make becoming a parent very real now. What I was seeing on that screen was not just a baby, but my child, my flesh and blood. For the next 18 years I am responsible for the life of that child. I am responsible for making sure that that baby has everything that he he/she (It’s a boy by the way) needs to be successful in life.

Since seeing my child on the sonogram I began thinking about how I can ensure success for my child. The first thing that I thought about is spending as much time as possible with my child as he grows into an adult , caring for, teaching, and raising him to be a good man every step of the way. Then I asked myself, “How do I ensure that I teach him to be a good man?” Ultimately, the answer was to lead and teach by example. Now, most parents strive to raise their children to be better than they are, but we must first better ourselves in order to teach our children to be better than us. The “do as I say and not as I do” mentality should not be applied under any circumstance. I have come to the conclusion that I must make sure that I am the best that I can be so that I can show, not tell, him how to be the best that he can be. I am preparing myself to commit to sacrificing “me” time in favor of “family” time. I know that no man is perfect, but when I examine myself, I know that there are attitudes and habits that must change. As I conclude this post I know that I can no longer be the same old person that I have been for 31 years. It is time to transition into becoming a father. Being a Father does not mean being a sperm donor. Being a father means more than just being the male contributor of the creation of a child. Being a father carries great responsibility. If you are not mentally ready or able to take on the role of mother or father, do not conceive and wait until you are mentally ready. There are too many children out there whose parents have not stepped into the role of mother and father, and our communities are paying the price. Kids are beating up and killing each other, destroying property, disrespectful, rude, under educated, and under achievers to say the least. Our children are a product of who we are as parents. They will represent you, so lets to make sure that our children honor our efforts and sacrifices. Take a self examination and make a choice to raise children that we can be proud of and ensure that this world will be a better place in the future. 

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I like this post.. and I know you will see that the change you plan on making will become a very natural change. I think people can buy their babies all this 'stuff' but once the basic needs are bought (food, diapers etc), then the most important need can't be bought, and that's quality time and attention. Remember, you can't spoil a baby! So love him and squeeze him and kiss him and build that trust in him early on that you are there for him.