When my wife was expecting our first baby we bought that book.

You know the book I am talking about…

“What To Expect While You’re Expecting”.

This could very well be the greatest mistake of our lives.

Why you may ask?

Well that’s easy.

Because nobody can tell you what pregnancy and childbirth will bring you.

You can expect it to be like nothing else anyone has ever experienced.

What I have learned after 3 kids, 2 birth children and 1 adopted, is that you can expect chaos.

Now I say all that because there are some truths hidden inside of this thing called parenting.

There are.

How you go about finding them or getting to them, well that is a different story.

But there are truths that once we find our way to them, become the things that lead our children into a place where they have the decision, because of all we have done, to contribute well to this great world.

Here are these truths as I see them…

1.  When you say “later” your kids hear “never”.
2.  When your kids want you, well, they want you.
3.  “Daddy has to go to work to pay the bills so we can eat”, means absolutely nothing to them.  Stop saying that.
4.  Your laptop screen in front of your face when you get home says…”I know I spent all day with other people, and now, I want to spend even more time with other people and not YOU.
5.  They know that a smile and …”That’s cute” is simply you dismissing the effort they put into whatever it is they just showed you.
6.  Dads, kiss your sons.
7.  Sooner than later they are going to stop crawling in bed with you in the middle of the night…let them.
8.  Don’t just tell your daughters they are beautiful, gasp and blush when they walk in the room.
9.  Hide and seek, with a belly like yours, is difficult I know.  But they won’t remember your belly.  They will remember…”SURE I’LL PLAY!”
10.  Your job is not to make your children responsible adults.  Look in the mirror.  You couldn’t even make yourself a responsible adult.  Your job is to make them fall in love with living and the gift of giving life to others.  Do that, and they will win in life.

That’s how I see it.

And that is just 10.

I’d love to hear if you have any more!

Carlos