One of the biggest changes you can make in life is having a child. From the time of their birth, your life will always be linked to theirs in some way even when it is no longer as intense as those first early weeks and months. Below are a few of the biggest changes you will see.
Financial Changes
Contrary to what many people imagine, an infant is not necessarily expensive. There’s the cost of diapers and clothes that they constantly grow out of, but small babies do not need a great many things even if the world is trying to persuade you that you need to spend a lot on strollers and high-end cribs. This quickly changes though. Your child will keep growing fast, and you’ll need to clothe them in something other than inexpensive onesies when they’re no longer a baby. There will be extracurricular activities, cell phones and much more. You may also need to think ahead to the big expense of college and start planning when they are young how you will pay for college. One way is for you to take out a low-rate Private Parent Loan, which can mean that they don’t have to graduate from college burdened by debt.
Your Sense of Time
One thing many parents comment on after having kids is how much free time they had prior to the birth of their children even though they did not realize it. Children will claim your time in a way that nothing else really has because their needs are largely non-negotiable. Make sure that you still take good care of your health though and understand that this is critical for successful parenting. It can be easy to skip a meal or never exercise and blame it on the hectic schedule’s parents have to have but in the long run making time for these things is well worth it. Another way your sense of time will be affected is that the passage of years will be measured by the age of your kids. You’ll feel simultaneously as though certain stages will never end and also like the years are flying by far too quickly.
Planning and Spontaneity
If you’ve always been a spontaneous person, some of that will go away when you become a parent. Suddenly, you’ll find that you have become a planner if for no other reason than because you have no choice. You have to think around things like nap times and meals, and leaving the house, especially when your child is very young, can turn into a big production of making sure you have a diaper bag, toys, pacifiers, snacks and much more. You definitely can’t drop everything and take off on a vacation or go out with friends whenever you feel like it any longer. As your kids get older, you might find that spontaneity comes back, but you might also find that your values and how you approach things is different.
Relationship With Your Parents
After having children of your own, you may see your own parents in a whole new light. You might find that you appreciate the things that they did for you or the challenges you created for them in a whole new way. Your kids can bring your closer to them as well, especially if they form a bond with their grandparents.
