15 Reasons Why You Should Consider Becoming a Parent

You naturally gain noble virtues quickly after becoming a parent. You barely get to sleep, and once you are asleep, your baby is crying and needing you again. Your needs and wants automatically become less of a priority, but for a great cause! One day you may realize that you haven’t taken a shower in days, and you may also have spoiled milk soaking through your shirt. You just don’t care! It’s not necessarily because you don’t care about yourself, but because you care more about tending to the needs of your newborn. Your selfishness converts into selflessness, and that is one of the most loving traits a person can have.

Before I became a parent, I just couldn’t handle being around crying. If I was out in public and heard a crying child near me, I would probably do either one of two things: I would respectfully move away from the noise or put headphones on. Fast forward through eight years of parenting and three babies now. Crying doesn’t bother me as it did before. Kids cry a lot. They cry for different reasons, and those reasons may be serious or petty. No matter what the reason is, it’s a parent’s job to help their child through it. That’s a lot of helping through a lot of noise. Let’s say a baby cries for only one hour per day every day from birth to five years old. If you combine all of those hours of crying, that parent would have endured more than 76 days straight of crying. I guess you just get used to it. Bringing a crying baby into this world provides you with mental toughness!

Yes, parents are experts. Who doesn’t want to become an expert? You become an expert in thousands of baby-related necessities. You become an expert in singing songs and reading books. You become an expert at answering questions because you answer hundreds of questions every single day. You become an expert in telling jokes because you would do anything to see your child smile. You become the biggest expert at multitasking, board games, and Disney movies. Oh, but let’s not forget about the fun stuff, though! You become an expert at cleaning poop. But really that means cleaning anything because you clean every single day in order to avoid spending an entire day cleaning. You become an expert at refolding clothes because toddlers love to pull clothes out of drawers. You become an expert in bugs because you help your child with their science project. I am convinced by the time a child is 18, a parent has expertise to just about anything. At the end of a long hard day as a parent, I always admire my children sleeping. As I think about the whole day in awe, my confidence boosts when I think to myself, “I got mad skills, yo!”

Raise your hand if you have ever taken your parents for granted. Is your hand raised? Mine sure is, and I bet yours is too. When you become a parent, you truly begin to view your parents differently than you ever have before. The reason for this is because you finally get to experience firsthand what your parents endured. You realize how much love parents have for their child. You realize how much your parents sacrificed in order to take care of you. You realize that you gave your parents such a hard time and probably made them go bald. You realize that your parents did the best that they could, and you fall in love with them all over again.

I have no idea what I did with my time before being a parent. All I know is that I completely wasted it and took it for granted. I think about this concept often. Every single day, I feel like there is not enough time in the day. As a parent, there is so much to do from the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep. So because of that, you gain this great, new appreciation for time. Then you start to think of all these different ways that you can better manage your time and make the best out of it. Time is truly one of the most precious things that we have. If I never became a parent, I might still be wasting my time right now.

Don’t we all just want to be a kid again? I know that I do! When you are a parent, you have another opportunity to experience the good old days. You get to watch cool movies that you watched when you were five. You get to play hide and seek, and I bet that you get excited when you’re hiding in that closet trying not to laugh and blow your cover. You get to build Lego mansions and pretend that you are feeding a plastic baby doll with a bottle. (New parents, you’ll be blown away because these new baby dolls actually pee). So, then you get to change its diaper! You get to eat pudding and drink juice boxes. You get to make forts out of blankets and pillows and pretend it’s a boat. You get to experience childhood fun all over again, and it is so fun this time around.

“Mom, I made you something!” I probably hear those words every day. Can you imagine receiving a personalized gift every day? Who doesn’t love handcrafted gifts that are made out of love? Even better, a gift that comes from your child. You will receive plenty of these as a parent. You could be having the most stressful day, and behold, your child walks up with a drawing that says, “I LOVE YOU!” How is that for a daily dose of encouragement?

Let’s just be honest, children can do and say some pretty offensive things at times. As a parent, it’s your job to teach your child right from wrong and help your child get through all of those issues. That is a very tough job. If you ask me, parenting is the most important job that affects the future of this whole entire world. Getting your child through the hardships that she faces only helps her become a decent human being that this world desperately needs. You know what else happens? You literally become superwoman or superman throughout the process! Don’t you want that “S” on your chest?

Celebrations, birthdays, holidays, and other family traditions all drastically change after becoming a parent. Before becoming a parent, I spent Christmas Eve watching "Bad Santa" with multiple beers in my hand and nachos on my lap. Now, I spend Christmas Eve praising baby Jesus and wrapping presents. I no longer decorate my Christmas tree alone because I have many little hands helping me. I look forward to watching reenactments of the birth of Jesus and seeing my children involved in those plays. I look forward to sparkling grape juice on New Year’s Eve. On Valentine’s Day, I look forward to helping my kids write out their Valentine’s Day cards. I look forward to hiding Easter baskets and doing Easter egg hunts. Last year during the 4th of July parade when the war veterans were moving through the street, I stood up and put my hand on my heart to honor them. I looked down and saw my daughter looking up at me, standing, with her hand on her heart. Later that night I caught myself not even watching the fireworks. Instead, I was too concentrated on my kid’s facial reactions to those fireworks. Oh, and the more kids you have, the more excuses you have to eat really sugary birthday cake throughout the year!

Raising kids is obviously a challenge. I would compare parenting to running a very long race with hurdles. Whether those hurdles are small or large, they are never-ending. Parenting challenges you in ways you never knew possible. You can’t quit, because if you give up, then your children are left fending for themselves. So, you stay in the race, and you get over those hurdles. You may fall and get hurt, but I guarantee that you will get back up and keep on going. In Helen Keller’s book "The Open Door," she says, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” You want a good daring adventure? Be a parent!

Is it just me, or does parenting totally teach you how to pick your battles? When you become a parent, you let a lot of things go. Because if you don’t, you will literally spend all day nagging your child.

“Don’t pick your nose!”
“Don’t eat that, it’s been on the floor!”
“Don’t point at people. It’s so rude.”
“Use a spoon, don’t use your hands!”
“Why are all the baby dolls naked? Don’t they get cold?”
“Don’t talk about poop!”
“Don’t talk about pee either!”
“Don’t climb on that; you will fall and get hurt!”
“Don’t laugh at farts, it’s so inappropriate.”
“Don’t take your clothes off. No, you can’t be naked all the time.”
“Don’t run in the store. Walk…walk….I said walk! Please don’t ride the cart, either.”

There comes a time when you get so tired of hearing your own voice, that you only start speaking when it’s absolutely necessary. You start to automatically distinguish what is worth addressing. You get better at this as time goes on, and you find yourself becoming generally easygoing.

What is unconditional love? According to Dictionary.com, unconditional means absolute or not limited by conditions. As a parent, you love unconditionally because you love with no limits. Let me explain what that means. There is nothing that my children can do to make me stop loving them, even for a second. Before becoming a parent, I really wasn’t exactly sure what unconditional love was. I stopped loving people so many times because they seriously hurt my feelings. Ironically, my feelings are constantly crushed by my kids, but it doesn’t change the way that I love them. I love them no matter what. Being a parent taught me how to love without limits, and the experience has been incredible.

One day, my son came home from school and had something serious to tell me. He said that during his class field trip, one of his classmates fainted! He let me know that she was doing okay, but he felt really horrible for her. He came up with the idea of making a card for her. He also invited his little sister to join him at the craft table and make a card for her, too. I was so blown away by the sweet nature my kids displayed that day. I was also in “mom heaven” because my children were actually getting along and working together. Children can be so affectionate and nurturing. During those moments as a parent, you will find that sweetness provides so much nourishment for your soul.

One of my favorite quotes regarding motherhood came from the philosopher named Osho. He said “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” Whether you are a mother or father, parenting brings out something inside of you that you never knew existed. Also, everything around you rapidly changes. I used to be afraid of change. Parenting has shown me that change is extremely beautiful and the best way to handle change is by simply embracing it! Throughout your journey in parenting, it is a pure delight to look back on your life and see how much you have matured and grown with your baby. You become so humble and grateful, and it all started with the most breathtaking experience of your life that you will always remember. Children are a blessing, and parents are definitely winning!