Before I had kids, I was sure I’d never use screens to entertain my kids at restaurants, I’d never threaten consequences without follow through. And I’d never change the core of who I was just because these little beings entered my life. Oh, the confidence of those pre-parenting days.

Fast forward to today, and sometimes my reality looks more like threatening to cut my daughter’s hair when she won’t shower or accidentally letting my son stay up all night on video games because I fell asleep on the couch.

It got me thinking: what does modern parenting look like to people who don’t have kids? Are we making it look exhausting? Over-complicated? Maybe even a little unappealing?

That’s why, in this week’s episode of Good Enough Parenting, I sat down with my longtime friend Jim—someone who doesn’t have children but has watched plenty of us navigate parenthood. Think of him as a cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead-style, observing our parenting world from the outside.

We talk about:

✨ What surprises him most when he’s around kids
✨ Where parents may be overthinking—or underthinking
✨ How friendships shift once kids enter the picture
✨ What he wishes parents knew about how their choices affect the people around them

And maybe most importantly, Jim reminds us of who we thought we’d be as parents before family life swept us up.

This one’s equal parts funny, eye-opening, and a little humbling. I think you’ll love it.

Sometimes we need our kid-free friends to help us remember that we were never meant to be the perfect parent – just good enough.

To get Carley’s free video teaching you 4 play therapy techniques you can use TODAY to calm your emotional child and bring joy and freedom back to family life click here!
http://www.paceparent.com/play

And follow her @CarleyCounsels on FB & IG!

Advice from a Kid-Free Friend

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