Tim & Whitney Scarborough: processing 12 years of parenting

Whit's End: Real People, Hard Questions

Tim and I reflect on our past 12 years of parenting and share mortifying moments, hilarious travel stories, and wisdom we've picked up from those further on in the parenting journey. We talk about faith formation over behavior modification, our strengths and weaknesses as parents, and pushing against the constant temptation to find our worth in our children's performance. What's the best way to discipline? How can we cut through conflict between siblings and get to the heart of the matter? How do we practice serving and living out our faith with little humans watching? How can we bring our kids into the adventure of life without making them the center of our universe?

Quotes

“I remember feeling, ‘Am I cut out for this’?”

“I thought, 'I must be terrible because I don’t really enjoy being around my kids right now.'”

“We saw the importance of it taking a village and having people come around us to stand in the gap for our kids. It wasn’t just that we needed people to bring us meals, it was that we needed people to love on our children when we were not at our parenting best.”

“I think one of the best things we can do is take interest in the things that interest our kids.”

“Our kids are not the center of our universe, we are bringing them into our family and our life and we are on an adventure together but they are not our life, not the center of our universe or the source of our joy.”

“Our marriage is the relationship that takes priority.”

“What’s more important? This thing, or your sibling?”

“Spiritual formation should trump behavior modification every time.”

“Our kids are capable of understanding a lot more than we give them credit for.”