Pros and Cons of Being a Parent | 11 Benefits of Parenting

Being a parent definitely has its pros and cons. As you are raising your kids you’ll quickly find out that all aspects of parenting are not sunshine and rainbows.

Benefits including unconditional love from your kids, reliving childhood experiences, and that rewarding feeling when you teach them things do outweigh the cons hands down. The disadvantages of not always having a babysitter, cleaning up poopy diapers, and spending countless nights awake are just part of the job of being able to raise these incredible little humans.

Read on to find all of our pros, cons, and the surprising benefits of being a parent.

What are disadvantages of being a parent?

Of course parenting comes with some disadvantages. However, when you read through the benefits below and if you are a parent you’ll quickly realize that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Parenting children, especially more than one comes with it’s challenges.

1. You won’t always have a babysitter for date-night.
2. You now have double, triple, or quadruple the chores to do depending on how many kids you have.
3. You’ll have to work harder to provide for your kids. There are more mouths to feed now.
4. All of your money will have to be budgeted now to provide for the needs of your kids… and they come first. You’ll have to sacrifice sometimes to get them things for school, pay for dance classes, or save for college.
5. Raising a child isn’t easy. Every stage of your child’s growth comes with it’s own battles from poopy diapers and sleepless nights to moody teenagers and driving lessons.
6. Your kids will always want what you have. Especially the little ones. Say goodbye to the days of having a chocolate bar all to yourself.
7. Me-Time becomes less and less the more kids you have. Soon you’ll be happy just to have an uninterrupted shower or trip to the grocery store.
8. Discipline isn’t always easy and it’s up to you to find positive discipline strategies to teach your kids to follow the rules, be kind, and respectful.
9. Parenting is a lifetime gig. Your kids may still lean on you as an adult. You’ll be there to help them navigate college, girlfriends, marriage, and being a parent themselves someday.

What are the benefits of being a parent?

Although there are some disadvantages to parenting there are just as many if not more benefits. Raising kids is one of the most fulfilling jobs you’ll ever have.

1. You get to see yourself in your kids. It’s so neat to see how genetics pass down qualities and features from grandma, grandpa, and yourself in your own kids.
2. Passing down family traditions with your kids is so fun. I love reliving my childhood with my kids while we do our special holiday and annual traditions together.
3. Creating a special family bond with your kids is so special. We love getting into the things our kids love so we can bond with them over their favorite things.
4. Watching your kids grow up is bittersweet and rewarding. Knowing that you played a role in the person they are becoming. That you supported them in their hobbies, interests, challenges, and school so they could grow into the adults they were meant to be.
5. Teaching them skills is rewarding. It’s so amazing that you as a parent have the ability to teach your kids to talk, walk, read, and write.
6. When you have a child you immediately become more empathetic. To other parents, to other children, to your parents. You all the sudden have a different perspective of what it’s like to be in the shoes of another person.
7. Having a child teaches you patience as well. You have to be patient when raising your kids. Patience while they learn to tie their shoes, finish their homework, and learn from mistakes.
8. The larger your family grows the larger your team grows. Your kids become part of your family unit and suddenly you have a whole crew to joke with, laugh with, watch movies with, play board games with.
9. Your kids allow you to be a kid again. Going to theme parks, on vacations, to the park, and to the zoo is such a different experience through a child’s eyes. They make everything more fun, hilarious, and memorable.
10. Creating family goals with your kids and watching them help accomplish those goals is so worthwhile. Your kids are capable of so much.
11. There is help available as a parent. You’ll find helpers in your spouse, kids, parents, relatives, friends, church, your child’s school, local mom groups, and online support groups. You don’t have to be alone in parenting and that is the beauty of it!

What are your reasons for becoming a parent?

If you are weighing the pros and cons of becoming a parent, know that it’s a big decision.

Having a child means taking on a whole new load of responsibility that lasts a lifetime. You will have to work harder, make sacrifices, change routines, learn a lot along the way, and lean on your support system.

Before deciding to start a family make sure you are ready for that commitment. But, also remember that although parenting is hard there is a wealth of rewards and lots of help to make up for it.

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