The joys and trials of raising kids.

**Becky** · 05-13-2005, 01:29 PM

what are the pro's and con's to having kids?

**Role Modlin** · 05-13-2005, 07:09 PM

I didn't see this until now.

There really are too many of both to list, but I will say that in my case, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Gracie Love · 05-14-2005, 10:27 AM

I agree with Lee. I think in most cases no matter what you go through that is a con the pros like the first time your child smiles, says mommy or daddy, hugs or kisses you all make pretty big pro thatn out weigh any of the cons.

**Role Modlin** · 05-14-2005, 04:10 PM

I have had an extremely frustrating weekend. Christopher is sick and I've been thrown up on. I've had to clean up carpet three times. On top of that, Geoffry has been in one of his moods and I've been going at it with him for two days. If ever there has been a day when it sucked to be a parent, it was today. But it was worth every minute and I'd do it again without hesistation.

bobthecockroach · 05-14-2005, 04:14 PM

Psalm 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

So, what are the pros and cons of gifts and rewards from the LORD? Oh wait, there aren't any cons; God is good at picking gifts. I can see it now, someone standing before God in Heaven when God gives rewards (though the glory will certainly be given back to God when the time comes) and saying, "Ok, God, but before you give me that, what are the pros and cons of accepting it?"

Now, I do not speak from experience, but I would speculate that compared to the joy of having kids, all sacrifices are irrelevant.

KFBobInsanesMom · 05-18-2005, 12:04 PM

There are NO cons with having kids!!! Kids are blessings , they enrich your life, they teach you patience, how to love unconditionally, etc. I have been a mom for the last almost 21 years and I could not for the life of me come up with a single con to being a mom.

Amen to what Daniel said.

sparklystuff · 05-18-2005, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KFBobInsanesMom

There are NO cons with having kids!!! Kids are blessings , they enrich your life, they teach you patience, how to love unconditionally, etc. I have been a mom for the last almost 21 years and I could not for the life of me come up with a single con to being a mom.

Amen to what Daniel said.

no cons? I mean, I'm sure that the pros make up for any cons, but can you really say that being thrown up on (as lee said) is a blessing?

loriborealis · 05-19-2005, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparklystuff

no cons? I mean, I'm sure that the pros make up for any cons, but can you really say that being thrown up on (as lee said) is a blessing?

Or having your twelve year old daughter say for the first time "I hate you!"?

(I had to witness a poor mum in that moment of her life a few years ago.)

**Role Modlin** · 05-19-2005, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparklystuff

no cons? I mean, I'm sure that the pros make up for any cons, but can you really say that being thrown up on (as lee said) is a blessing?

There are plenty of negative moments that come along with having children. I would imagine that the women would saying the birthing process itself is nothing to laugh about. However, in my nine years as a parent I have yet to experience anything so bad that it made me question ever having children. The puke, dirty diapers, and the temper tantrums are small stuff in the grand scheme of things.

BurntHombre · 05-19-2005, 08:37 AM

I'll start off by reiterating what Lee said -- the pros far outweigh the cons! It's sort of like (warning: bad analogy ahead) buying a new car -- it hits your pocketbook, there's inevitably going to be trouble along the way, but it opens up so many new experiences and pleasures in life that you wouldn't think of going without. Or I wouldn't, anyway. (Yes, I already said it was a bad analogy.

)

That said, as the father of a two-year old, here are a few things that come to mind:

Cons:
-Spur-of-the-moment and late-night spontaneity is limited because you have to schedule around naptime and early bedtimes.
-"Vegging out" time is extremely limited. This may not actually be a bad thing, but I look back in wonder at Saturday afternoons, pre-child, where I would do nothing but sit on the couch, nap and watch TV. No more!
-Worrying what bad habits or traits I may be imparting to my child.

Pros: (There are so many, but here are just three)
-This morning, I peaked into my daughters room before I left for work. She sat bolt upright in her bed, smiled at me, and ran over to give me a hug.
-Coming home from work, the first thing I hear is "Daddy!" and a little person runs over and wraps her arms around my legs and smiles up at me.
-Watching her develop a joyful, happy little personality, teaching her about Jesus, singing Bible songs with her, praying with her.

KFBobInsanesMom · 05-20-2005, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparklystuff

no cons? I mean, I'm sure that the pros make up for any cons, but can you really say that being thrown up on (as lee said) is a blessing?

I have had people not my children throw up on me so......

In all honesty I cannot come up with a single con to having children. I could give you a list a mile long however for the cons of not having them.

There are things that are a challenge, things that are frustrating, etc.... but life is that way in general. I don't consider those things cons to being alive any more than I consider them cons to having children.

Maybe I'm just extremely blessed, but my boys have never really done any terrible things. They are now, and always have been , an absolute joy to be around. Sure they all tested the waters at some time, but I never had problems like them saying they hated me.

KFBobInsanesMom · 05-20-2005, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurntHombre

That said, as the father of a two-year old, here are a few things that come to mind:

Cons:
-Spur-of-the-moment and late-night spontaneity is limited because you have to schedule around naptime and early bedtimes.
-"Vegging out" time is extremely limited. This may not actually be a bad thing, but I look back in wonder at Saturday afternoons, pre-child, where I would do nothing but sit on the couch, nap and watch TV. No more!
-Worrying what bad habits or traits I may be imparting to my child.

Your first con assumes this was ever a part of your life. For some people they simply don't like spur of the moment anything and plan everything ( like my ex). I had to laugh at " early bedtimes", my boys never went to bed early. I'm not even sure I ever had a set bedtime for them. I guess thats just how we did things.

Vegging out, I actually did more of when the boys were little . We spent hours reading, listening to music, etc ( no tv until Nate was 7 so we did other things ). Before they were born it was more planning how to save money, getting a house together, etc. I loved all the hours I had just playing with my boys.

Now the worrying I can understand. That was the greatest fear of my life , that I would somehow mess up my kids ( fortunately it seems I didn't

). I don't see that as a con though, I see it as learning to trust God that He knew what He was doing when He gave me my kids. I think we worry in relationships all the time... will the boss be satisfied with my work, will I make a good wife/husband, how will I deal with my parents getting old, how do I be a good neighbor, etc.

Nate · 05-21-2005, 12:00 AM

Perhaps this thread should be renamed "joys and trials of having kids?" or something along those lines.

loriborealis · 05-24-2005, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KFBobInsanesMom

Maybe I'm just extremely blessed, but my boys have never really done any terrible things. They are now, and always have been , an absolute joy to be around. Sure they all tested the waters at some time, but I never had problems like them saying they hated me.

You're just extremely blessed.

Gracie Love · 05-24-2005, 07:05 AM

Trials I can agree with but not cons. Speaking of trails. I woke up this morning after a night of very little sleep because Ethan is sick and running a pretty good fever which scares me with him having a seizure in Feb. Anyway when we woke up, Ethan's pull up didn't quite work right, then he started coughing so hard he threw up on my, then to top it off 5 minutes later, Ethan spit his medicine back on me. So in a space of10 minutes, I was peed on, puked on, aned spit on. But none of that matters to me. I have to go because Ethans wants to bed rocked.