1KHO 599: The Antidote to Entitlement | Kristen Welch, Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

Summary

---

Podcast Summary

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Episode: 1KHO 599: The Antidote to Entitlement | Kristen Welch, Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
Host: Ginny Yurich
Guest: Kristen Welch (CEO of Mercy House Global, Author)
Release Date: October 17, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Ginny Yurich welcomes Kristen Welch to explore the growing epidemic of entitlement in children—and parents—in today’s instant gratification society. Drawing from Welch’s book, "Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World," and her own journey founding Mercy House Global, the conversation delves deep into how comparison, overindulgence, busyness, and technology contribute to ungratefulness. The episode’s message is clear: intentional parenting, authentic modeling, and prioritizing perspective can help families raise grateful, grounded children, even amid a self-centered, consumer-driven culture.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kristen’s Origin Story: From Blogger to Global Nonprofit Leader

[02:11]

• Kristen recounts how motherhood and her early blogging days (“We Are That Family”) were transformed after a pivotal trip to Kenya with Compassion International in 2010.
• The experience highlighted a stark global contrast: “I didn’t know I was leaving my normal and I was going to meet the world’s normal and it was going to break everything wide open.” (Kristen Welch, 06:43)
• Her response led to founding Mercy House Global, dedicated to keeping vulnerable families together and offering opportunity, primarily in Kenya but also in the U.S.

2. Entitlement: Not Just a Kid Problem

[06:45]

• Welch emphasizes entitlement often originates with parents: “This is a parenting book. But it’s not so much like your kids are entitled. It’s really a book for parents who are entitled.” (Kristen Welch, 07:05)
• Children inherently mirror adult behaviors, particularly hypocrisy around screen time and technology.
• Admitting her own past of being unsatisfied, Kristen draws a direct line between parental attitudes and what is modeled in the home.

3. The Kenya Trip & Life-Changing Perspective Shift

[09:30]

• The trip shattered Kristen’s “bubble,” revealing that abundance wasn’t buying happiness—instead, hoarding created misery.
• She recounts meeting mothers making impossible choices for survival, underlining the universal parental desire for children’s well-being.
• Returning home, she sought to connect the abundance in North America with global need: “When we share what we have, we don’t have less, we have more.” (Kristen Welch, 11:31)

4. Incremental Yes: The Reluctant Nonprofit Founder

[14:46]

• Ginny highlights how many bloggers had meaningful experiences in Kenya, but few started their own global ministries.
• Kristen describes her journey as simply doing “the next right thing," using her gifts and circumstances rather than a master plan: “If I had known 15 years ago where I would be today, I might not have said yes. This, it’s been so hard … but incredibly fulfilling.” (Kristen Welch, 14:53)

5. Mercy House Global: Mission & Impact

[22:22]

• Mercy House Global provides maternity homes in Nairobi for girls traumatized and trafficked, creating avenues for reintegration through family jobs.
• Stateside, Mercy House employs survivors of trafficking, providing “second chance” employment.
• The organization operates with an ethos of perspective—remaining acutely aware of their privilege and calling, grounded in gratitude.

6. Comparison, Contentment & Perspective in Parenting

[25:37]

• Welch discusses how comparison—whether to those with more, or those with less—directly dictates contentment or entitlement within families.
• Ginny references Welch’s method of eating “rice and beans every Monday so you can remember how the rest of the world lives,” as a tool for fostering perspective.

7. Modeling Vulnerability & Authenticity at Home

[27:19]

• Welch shares candidly her reflections as an empty nester: she wishes she’d modeled more vulnerability, letting her kids see her pain and process.
• Quote: "If we are not grateful, we will not have grateful kids. If we are entitled, we will have entitled kids." (Kristen Welch, 31:40)
• The best gift to children is unconditional love, not possessions; overindulgence creates entitlement, under-indulgence creates joy.

8. The Power of Boredom, Imagination & Space

[33:11]

• Ginny and Kristen discuss how “busyness” and over-scheduling kill gratitude and stifle creativity—kids require boredom for growth and contentment.
• “Boredom is a gift.” (Kristen Welch, 34:10)
• Kristen describes practical family rules (reading yields screen time) and shares about cultural shifts—screen dependency is now the norm.
• Cites a Harvard study where adults, left alone with their thoughts, would rather shock themselves than be bored, illustrating society’s addiction to distraction.

9. The Selfie Society, Trophy Culture, and Resilience

[46:51]

• Welch explains how the social media-driven “selfie society” and the rise of “everyone gets a trophy” culture damage resilience.
• Youth now aspire to be “influencers” as their top career, a notion unknown a decade ago.
• “We have this very small window…to pour into them… If we don’t start preparing our kids to leave, they won’t leave, ever.” (Kristen Welch, 54:59)

10. Failing Forward: Preparing Kids for the Real World

[51:07]

• The necessity of failure: Only by facing difficulty and setbacks do kids learn confidence and competence.
• Kristen shares a poignant story of sending her youngest daughter to college, letting her face discomfort to learn resilience and resourcefulness.

11. Underindulgence as a Joy Multiplier

[57:52]

• Both Ginny and Kristen stress the long-term joy generated by underindulgence (saving “special things” for momentous milestones, like flowers or salon visits), buffering against consumerism.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If we are not grateful, we will not have grateful kids. If we are entitled, we will have entitled kids.”
  (Kristen Welch, 31:40)

• “Entitlement didn’t start with my kids. It began with me.”
  (Kristen Welch, quoting from her book, 32:13)

• “The only thing a child is really entitled to is his parents’ love. If a child has your unconditional love, he has the greatest asset in the world."
  (Kristen Welch, book excerpt, 32:38)

• “Boredom is a gift.”
  (Kristen Welch, 34:10)

• “If we don’t ruthlessly eliminate hurry, we are doing damage to our souls.”
  (Kristen Welch, 38:55)

• On social media and self-absorption:
  “Taking pictures of yourself all the time is a really weird self-interested thing to do, especially if you put them on the Internet and expect feedback.”
  (Kristen Welch, 46:51 & 48:05)

---

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 02:11 — Kristen’s background and the pivotal trip to Kenya
• 06:45 — How entitlement originates with parents
• 09:30 — Firsthand accounts from Kenya & the impact of privilege
• 14:46 — Reluctant path to nonprofit leadership, “doing the next right thing”
• 22:22 — Mercy House Global’s mission and outreach
• 25:37 — The power and pitfalls of comparison
• 27:19 — Modeling authenticity and the importance of parents’ own transformation
• 33:11 — Busyness, boredom, and how slowing down cultivates gratitude
• 39:51 — Direct ties between busyness, gratitude, and complaining
• 46:51 — The evolution to “selfie society” and the trophy culture crisis
• 51:07 — Letting kids fail and learning to launch
• 54:55 — Kristen’s emotional story about sending her daughter to college
• 57:52 — The beauty of underindulgence and delayed gratification

---

Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, honest, and practical, with both Ginny and Kristen trading authentic stories and real-world strategies. There’s gentle humor (about parenting blunders, cowboy boots, and learning the difference between “who” and “whom”), but the subject matter remains purposeful. Listeners are both comforted (“you’re not alone in struggling with entitlement”) and challenged (“do the hard work, model gratitude, let kids fail”).

---

Takeaways & Practical Applications

• Model the attitude, habits, and self-reflection you hope to instill in your children.
• Use boredom, underindulgence, and device limits intentionally—their discomfort fosters creativity and internal resourcefulness.
• Counteract consumerism and busyness by slowing down, introducing family rituals of perspective, and embracing a less-is-more parenting philosophy.
• Prepare kids for real life by letting them experience—and recover from—failure.
• Focus on building lasting connections inside and outside the home, practicing both gratitude and service to others.

---

For more about Kristen Welch’s work or to support Mercy House Global, visit Mercy House Global’s website.

---

Transcript

[Ginny Urich]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets. Mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Ginny Urich. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. And I am so excited for today's guest, recommended by a dear friend named Rebecca. Kristin Welch is here. She is the CEO of Mercy House Global, author of many, many books. But we're gonna be talking about raising grateful kids in an entitled world today. Kristin, welcome.

[Kristin Welch]

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.

[Ginny Urich]

So I was at a friend's house, this is like maybe a year, year and a half ago in Pennsylvania, out of the state, we're in Michigan. So I was visiting her and actually, it's an interesting story, Kristin. We were speaking at a conference there and then we left the conference in Pennsylvania and I don't know, it was like a Friday night or something. And we were trying to figure out where to take our kids to go to dinner. We've got five kids, so we're like leaving this conference. We're in an area that we don't know very well. And I had opened up my social media and someone had sent me a message that was like, this is probably really weird, but, well, would you want to come over for dinner? And we were like, trying to figure out where to go to dinner. We got these five kids and it's a busy Friday night, no places, taking reservations. So we were like, this is so weird. Like, we don't know who these people are. We're just going to go to their. And they. And they were so hospitable. They've had some hard family times since. But while I was there, Kristen, you know, I got this podcast and read a lot of these books. This friend, Rebecca, handed me your book. It is covered in, like, food or something. Like how a lot of my books are. I don't even know what's on the front of it. And she said, this is the book that has most changed my parenting. And so I'm so honored that you came to talk to us today. You've written a lot of books. You do the Mercy House Global, and you have got new books that are coming out next year. Can you Give us just a little.

[Kristin Welch]

Bit of your story. Sure. Well, thank you. And thank you to Rebecca. I actually know exactly who you're talking about because we're friends. So it is a very small world when you think about it. She's been telling me, you need to go on Jenny's podcast. And. And then when you reached out, I was like, oh, I wonder if that is connected. So I'm, I'm glad that the world feels smaller today. Yeah. So I am a mom of three young adult kids who are now 18, 23 and 25. Just launched my youngest to college four weeks ago. So I am sitting fresh and empty nest. About 15 years ago in the throes of parenting, I was wr blog called We Are that Family and just living life and trying to navigate what it looked like to raise Christians in a world that sometimes, you know, we feel alien to. And, and so raising my kids was invited by a Compassion International to Kenya to write about poverty as a blogger in 2010. And that trip turned into really a lifelong calling. Came home, started Mercy House Global, which is now 15 years old. Our primary mission is to empower vulnerable families with opportunities that create hope. And we really do that through the family unit. We believe that the family is how the world can be changed. And so we try to keep families together. And when families are vulnerable, we reach in with opportunities. And so that's my day job and then writing books and really just chronicling my journey as a mom, as a wife, as a woman in these current times. So some of my books are about a lot of different things, but Raising Grateful Kids is my. It's my favorite book that I've written. It was also the hardest book I've ever written because I was in the middle the trenches. Right. The hard parts of parenting. And so it's been very fulfilling to, you know, that book's been out for 10 years to kind of come full circle and reflect on, on the content and, and realize that, yeah, you know, I wouldn't change a lot of the, of the book. And it's neat now to be living that out.

[Ginny Urich]

Ah, I've got a couple books and they're newer. Ish. And so as an author, you think, gosh, in 10 years, wouldn't it be neat? You know, because those books have such staying power and you don't know when someone else is going to interact with it, like when it's going to intersect with their story. So it's just got such a ripple effect, such a long term ripple effect. And I know you say even now, like so many people are still asking you about this book, it's actually become even more and more pertinent as the years have gone on because we live in such an instant gratification culture. Can you talk to us about when you first went to Kenya with compassion? Had you done anything like that before?

[Kristin Welch]

No, that was the bravest yes of my life. I actually said no to the. They used to do these trips where they would. This was like back in, you know, the early blogging, years before social media. They would invite bloggers to these developing countries to write about poverty kind of in real time and sort of harness the audience's, you know, response to sponsor children. And so I said no because it was so scary. I had a two year old, a seven year old and a nine year old and I just couldn't imagine spending three weeks in Kenya. But after reflecting on it for a couple of days, I knew that I wanted my life to change. I knew it would change my life, which is why I said no initially. But I wanted it to change because I was not content. And not being content was spilling over into raising children who weren't content. There was this appeal to. Of course, I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know I was leaving my normal and I was going to meet the world's normal and it was going to break everything wide open. But there was something in me that called to me because I knew there had to be more than just focusing on my family. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, right? Like that, that's good parenting. But we lived a very closed off life where we weren't missional, we weren't inviting people into our home. We were being really intentional inside of our home and having dinner together and doing, you know, the things that, you know, memorizing scripture, going to church, teaching kindness, doing all of those things. But it was a bubble and bubbles just pop, right? Like they're, they don't last forever and you only can stay in that bubble for so long. And really it was becoming unhealthy because it was fostering a sense of entitlement. Right. Like I deserve this. I. And really the. This is a parenting book. But it's not so much like your kids are entitled. It's really a book for parents who are entitled. Right. Because we are modeling if we're having problems with ungratefulness or complaining or even kindness. I mean, we have to look at ourselves first because we are the example. And a lot of times, you know, we're Modeling the very behavior that is troubling to us. And we don't always realize that, right? Like we're scrolling, scrolling, scrolling on our phones all the time. And then we're telling our teenagers, you need screen time. And so kids sniff out hypocrisy more than, you know, hound dogs. So they know when we're being authentic and vulnerable and they know when they're watching us. All the time. All the time, right? Like they're smart, smart, smart. And so they know what. When we're saying, you should do xyz, but we're not doing it. And so that's really my story. It's a story of I was unsatisfied, I was not content, the Lord was not my shepherd. I was very, I was buying into the American dream. And I was beginning to see that in my home and I didn't like it. And so I said yes to that trip and it changed everything.

[Ginny Urich]

I haven't been to Kenya or on any trip like that, but my parents have and didn't go. I guess they were probably in their 50s. And now my mom says, you know, every person should, you know, if at all possible, take a trip like that. For those listening who haven't, can you give a little more insight as to what it was like? I mean, here you are leaving your young children at home. Three weeks is a long time. It's like almost a month. She's going to pack and go for this trip. It is wild to think about the before when you have no idea what to expect from this. You think you're going to write a couple blog posts on it, come home now you're the CEO of Mercy House Global. It's been 15 years. What was the trip like? What were the big impacts on you? What did you see when you got there?

[Kristin Welch]

Yeah, first I just want to say you don't have to go on a trip because we have vulnerable people in our communities. You probably have a vulnerable person on your street, right? An elderly person who can't mow their lawn, a single mom who's trying to make ends meet. And I think sometimes God has to take really stubborn people across the ocean to get their attention. And that's really my story of I needed to be jolted awake. And so that, that's what that trip did for me. And it was just, it's hard to describe what it's like to not have opportunity and not to have choices. And I met, you know, mothers who were selling their children and putting them into modern day slavery so that they could Provide for the rest of their kids, right? Impossible choices, sacrificing one so that the others could live. I'm this middle class mom writing stories to moms like that's what I, that was my day job. And I'm meeting moms who want the same exact thing for their kids. They want them to have an education, they want them to be healthy, they want to provide for them. And it just was so confusing to me as to why I landed in North America with so much abundance and why I was meeting people on the other side of the world who neither one of us got to choose where we were born. And so I really just felt this overwhelming call to respond and to do something with what I'd been given, right? Because when we share what we have, we don't have less, we have more. And I had missed out on that. I was hoarding, really, and I was scooping up all the, the things for myself and giving them to my kids. But there was a sense of not just entitlement, but misery, right? Like when you don't share what you've been given, you just get comfortable and lazy. And so meeting people who had less but had the same just authentic desires as parents, it felt unjust and it felt like an opportunity to connect people who have with people who don't have. Because I thought if I feel this way, right, and I'm not a bad person, if I feel this way and I don't know what to do, maybe I could create some systems that connect the dots. And as I later learned through strength finders that I'm a strategic problem solver. So I like to identify problems and solve them. And I stumbled upon this really big problem and been working, you know, for 15 years trying to solve problems, really connecting the north and south, right? Like the, the normals of the world and, and helping parents learn it's okay to step out of the bubble. What we think is safe and comfortable is actually going to trip up our kids in the future, right? It's going to cause them, they, they're going to land outside of that bubble at some point. And so we have this opportunity to walk with our kids and expose them at our own pace with the comfort and the wisdom as mom and dad being able to say, this is what poverty looks like, this is how we respond. And so, yeah, it just reoriented me by first, it held a mirror up, right? Like I saw myself in a way that I didn't like what I was seeing. And it helped me understand that I was just replicating that in my home by meeting my kids needs in a way that was, you know, there's, there's grit, there's determination, there's like this scrappiness that happens when kids figure things out. But we live in a day and age that's instant gratification and we don't want our kids to be unhappy and so swooping in and solving their problems and. Right. Like calling the teacher and rearranging the homework and like we're going to make it easy for them because we, we love them. Right. Like we want to give them the world. And so we can cross that line though, and really create more problems for them. And so it was really just a domino effect. Went on this trip, saw something, saw myself, saw my family and then came home and decided to do something about it.

[Ginny Urich]

I think that's a really remarkable part of the story. Kristen. Like, I would imagine there were a lot of bloggers that went and a lot of bloggers that came home and connected people with compassion and connected people with sponsoring kids and did really wonderful things. But you went on to create this global ministry. What do you think are the characteristics I know you talked about strength finders, but what are the characteristics that lead to someone saying, I'm a writer, I write on the Internet and now I'm going to attempt to do something that I don't know how to do and figure it out?

[Kristin Welch]

That is a great question. I have thought about that question a lot, even recently. I went on a sabbatical a couple of years ago and just thought about like, what would my life be like if I hadn't said yes and what would my kids be like? I mean their whole, our whole DNA as a family changed and even my, my kids are in on career paths now that help people and you know, did that shape them in some way? I really think we don't know what we're saying yes to. Right. We're doing the next right thing. And so starting a nonprofit was the last goal of mine. I never planned to do that. I'm an English major. I never thought I would, I would do it. I think it was like you start on a path and you say the next. Right. Yes. And if you knew, like if I had known 15 years ago where I would be today, I might not have said yes. This, it's been so hard. It's been very challenging. It's been incredibly fulfilling. But I don't want to paint a picture that it's been easy. And I also don't, you know, at the time I I tried to find other people who could come along and just take the idea that I had and run with it. And I couldn't find anyone. And so it was really kind of like a very reluctant yes. But it's so interesting how God, he just. He redeems everything and he uses our circumstances for his glory. And I think that's really a huge part of my story, is doing the next right thing and using, I call it my sweet spot. Like, the skills that I have, the timing and offering all of that to something bigger than me. Right. Like, it's just this. It was the. The right time, the right place, and am I the only person who could have done this? No. At the time, I said yes to it. And there have been thousands of people who helped me since. And I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful because it was the catalyst that, you know, when you say yes to something like that, you think you're going to change the world and change lives. But it's my world and my life that has been changed. It's my children. And there's been a ripple effect and there are other people who have been changed. But that's not because of me, right? That's that I'm just one tiny little part of that big story.

[Ginny Urich]

Wow. Who could have imagined? You start a blog.

[Kristin Welch]

Yeah, we call it a social media love story because social media did. Let's see, I'm an old, like in dog years, blogging years or like I am a senior citizen. And so way back when, before X was Twitter, when it was Twitter and Instagram started and. And Facebook was brand new. And that's how we started our. A lot of our communication over between the US And Kenya was Facebook messaging. And so we called it a social media love story. It's one of the good things that came out of social media. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It probably wouldn't have been possible if, you know, we were. It was a more disconnected world back then, which was a good thing in a lot of ways. It's hard to even think how much the world has changed in the last 15 years.

[Ginny Urich]

Right. Like at the beginning, there was this beauty of connection, this beauty of utilizing connection in a way that you couldn't have before. And then it got cooperated, adopted by algorithms and money, you know, but yeah, there was a sweet spot there for a little bit.

[Kristin Welch]

It was literally the purest. It was. And it was not very long and not even 10 years, but it was so pure. And it was community. It was true community, like where we linked arms and, and so this sweet little non profit was born out of that time. And so it could probably never really be repeated exactly in that way again, you know, because it's, it's so unique. Now.

[Ginny Urich]

Ginny here with 1000 hours outside, if you're like me, you know that the best gifts aren't the ones that end up on a shelf. They're the ones that get muddy, sun soaked and full of memories. That's why I am so excited to tell you about our friends at Womb Bikes, a family focused company that truly gets what childhood should feel like. Womb makes the lightest, smartest, safest bikes on the market. Designed specifically for kids. From their very first balance bike all the way to those confident neighborhood cruisers. Detail is built for little riders, from easy reach breaks to perfectly balanced frames. So kids don't just learn to ride, they learn to love the ride. And this holiday season, you can give a gift that leads to a thousand hours of joy, confidence and connection. Outside, head to womb.com and use the code outside 10 for 10 off new bikes and accessories. But hurry. It is only good until November 15th. That's womb w.com and use code outside 10 for 10% off by November 15th this year. Don't just give a bike. Give them a reason to ride and a lifetime of adventure. You know, sometimes I laugh at all the things I wish I'd done earlier in life. Like buying bitcoin back when it was less than a penny. Or learning to code instead of learning French. Or learning to just let my kids play freely when they were young instead of dragging them to all those enrichment programs. Honestly, I think a lot of us feel that way. We are the FOMO generation, after all. But here's the truth. You don't have to miss out on everything. Protecting your family's future is something you can do today. And it costs about the same per month as one of those streaming services we all forgot to cancel. That's right. I'm so glad I found select quote. For over 40 years, they've helped more than 2 million Americans secure over $700 billion in coverage. Their licensed agents compare plans from top rated companies to find the policy that fits for your health, your lifestyle and your budget. And they do it for free. Even better, many families get covered the same day. Up to $2 million worth. Sometimes with no medical exam required. And if you've got health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, you are not out of luck. Selectquote works with companies that specialize in that too. Life insurance is never cheaper than it is today. Get the right life insurance for you for less and save more than [e-mail] 1000 hours save more than 50% on term life [e-mail] 1000 hours today to get started. That's SelectQuote.com 1000 hours. You know what I love about this time of year? The air gets crisp, the days feel cozier, and suddenly I realize, oh right, the entire family is coming over. Hosting is such a joy, but it can also feel like a marathon if your home isn't quite ready. This year I got ahead of it all with Wayfair and honestly, I don't know why I waited so long. I found the cutest light fixture, some wreaths, and a new comforter set for our guest room for when our son's friend came and stayed with us for a week. And and that made it feel like a little bed and breakfast. Everything came fast, shipping was free, and it all looked even better in person. Wayfair really has everything you need to make your home holiday ready. Like Christmas trees, cookware, throw blankets, twinkle lights. Even those little touches that make your guests say wow. Whether you're hosting family dinners, cozy movie nights, or welcoming guests from out of town, Wayfair makes it easy to make your space shine without blowing the budget. So don't wait until the week before Christmas. Start now. Enjoy the process and make your home a place you can truly settle into this season. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W a Y F A I R.com Wayfair Every style, every home. Tell us more about Mercy House Global.

[Kristin Welch]

So we are an organization that steps into the lives of vulnerable people and we provide hope. So we have three maternity homes in Nairobi, Kenya and we have had almost 100 girls as residents who are ages 12 to 16 who've gotten pregnant due to human trafficking. And our staff there in Kenya help them have their babies and work with their families to provide job opportunities so that they can eventually go back home. That's our global initiative. We have a local initiative in the US that works with overcomers of human trafficking and women who are really vulnerable to becoming trafficked. And so about eight years ago we began providing second chance employment for survivors of trafficking. And so many of my co workers and people that I do life with, that's part of their story. And so that's been just an incredible honor to walk with the marginalized and you know, the the difference between the marginalized and those not in the margins is a very thin space because so, you know, anything can happen that could change your life, right. Overnight you can lose everything. And, and we work with people, whether they're refugees from other countries or women who are coming out of a very difficult, you know, where their choices were taken from them. And so we never forget. I think that's the danger, right. When we forget where we've come from or what, what we've been given, we end up pushing people into the margins and so remembering what God has done for us. And I think it is a part of our calling to do that for other people. Right? That's, that's how we have gratitude. When I was raising kids, I remember, I think I share this in the book, going to my next door neighbor's house and they were like 10 years older than my husband and I and they were getting new floors and they were finally like pulling up all the kid carpet and doing hardwood floors. And I remember just being so overwhelmed with jealousy. I was just like, oh, this is what you do when you're, you know, I want this came back home, my floors were fine, but I just started talking about, we got to get new floors, we got to get new floors. And I was just comparing myself to people who had more than me. And I think that's really where not being, you know, you know, complaining and entitlement, a lot of it is born there. But when we compare ourselves to people who have less than us, that's where perspective is born. And so just living in the balance of that, right. Of when our life has both kinds of people in it, we can be in the middle and, and it gives us perspective. And so we're not so one sided and living in a vacuum and thinking, if I just had more, I would be happy. And then it's just so easy for that to trickle down into, you know, our kids seeing that. Right. And reflecting it in them thinking, like, if I just had X, Y, Z, I would have, I would be content.

[Ginny Urich]

Mm, yeah, you write about that in the back you say it all depends. Everything depends on who you are comparing yourself to. Whom. I don't even know about the grammar there, but you wrote whom, so I'm assuming that that's correct because you are an English major and I have a math degree. It all depends on whom. I never know when you're supposed to use who or whom on whom we compare ourselves to. You and your kids are comparing yourselves to some of the most wealthy people in the world. Then you talked about how you would eat rice and beans every Monday so you can remember how the rest of the world lives and eats. So you wrote this book then. Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled world. How one Family Learned that saying no can Lead to life. Life's biggest yes. You write this after your Kenya trip, and there's a story that kicks off the book about getting cowboy boots. So you're talking about, like, you know, this is, like, Texas, and we do these rodeo things, and the kids didn't appreciate them. And I think sometimes. Here's what I wonder. Here's what I wonder. Kristen, do you think that your experience in Kenya affected your approach to responding to your kids when they're like, we don't appreciate these boots or whatever. You know, whatever's going on with these cowboy boots. Okay. I live in Michigan. Cowboy boots are, like, not a thing. And we were going to. I was gonna speak at this thing in Texas. I was like, I should probably. I'm just gonna go to the store, get a pair of cowboy boots. I was like, these are expensive.

[Kristin Welch]

Yes. I had. No.

[Ginny Urich]

I had no idea. Like, I thought, oh, it's gonna be $40. And it was like, no, there's. These are 400. There's a pair that's a thousand. I actually had no idea anything about cowboy boots.

[Kristin Welch]

Yes. It's like a rite of passage. And you get one pair.

[Ginny Urich]

Yeah.

[Kristin Welch]

Hopefully you can wear them a long time. Yeah. I. It definitely. Whereas it. Before the trip, I probably would have been irritated that I probably would have given what they wanted. Yeah. And then after, I think, this huge life change and. And this book came out. You know, I had been living this for probably four years, so it was a little bit of time of going back to Kenya again and again, again and starting a nonprofit and just delving into the world's normal, where it. It just changed me as a parent, as a. As a human, which I think that is part of. That's part of this process of. Of parenting. Right. Like, we are forming our kids. The world is forming our kids. We are being formed by what we are putting in as humans. This is a human condition. Right. Like, whatever we're putting into our mind and our body, that is what is shaping and forming us. And so when I stopped putting in what I'd always been putting in, my output was different. And so it just. It was this shift that I was like, oh, this is. This is entitlement. Right. And why are they entitled? Well, isn't that interesting that my shift happened because I Was entitled. Right. So I do think parenting is a big mirror. It holds up, you know, like some of our own fallacies and, and shortcomings and. And so we have an opportunity to shift that. I mean, hearing your kids say something that in your accent, your vernacular, you know, every once in a while you hear them and you're just like, oh, is that how I sound? You know, it's. But they are following in our footsteps. And I think that's why, if I could go back, I think one of the most critical things that I would do different as a mom, you know, sitting with an 18, 23 and 25 year old, two of my older kids are. My son's getting married next week. My. My second is right behind him. I mean, and then we're in call. I mean, it's just like, it's such a fun, incredible season. Like, this is what you work for, this is what you prepare for, is where I am right now. And so I've really been reflecting the last few weeks on what, what would I do different? And I would. As much as I wanted to practice gratitude. And still that is a posture that I think honors God and honors people. I think just being vulnerable and authentic in a way that let my kids. I think I protected my kids from seeing me cry and my own suffering and my pain. And I think that was a disservice to my kids because they need to know how to navigate it. And we have this opportunity to show them how to navigate it. The idea of we are modeling who our kids are becoming is so true. It's just incredibly true. And it's such a gift and an honor to be able to be the best people that we can be and know that they're going to be better. Right. Like, I want to be there. What is the saying? It's like a therefore, yes, their floor. I don't want to be their ceiling. I want them to go past me. But if we don't do our own work as parents, we can't expect our kids to do theirs. And that is really the heart of this book. If we are not grateful, we will not have grateful kids. If we are entitled, we will have entitled kids. If we have no perspective, our kids will have no perspective. Right? If we aren't kind to the people in traffic, our kids are not going to be kind on the playground. It's a high and holy privilege. And it is so hard. It's so hard because we're human, right? And. And so I think where I wish I had been a little More just like step into the mess with me. Like, this is hard and I sin today. Would you forgive me? I got this wrong. I don't know how to answer this question. I don't know how to do this. I'm gonna ask God for help because I am gonna get this wrong. Right. Like that. I think showing our kids that we don't have all the answers, but we have someone we can go to who can give us the answers. If we want to raise kids who follow God, we have to follow God. Yeah. And that's. If we don't, then we don't. But you know, that's right. They're gonna. Odds are they're gonna follow whatever we're following. Yeah.

[Ginny Urich]

It's so good you talk about all of this in the book. You say when we protect kids from unhappiness, we make life down the road harder for them. It can be summed up in one word, entitlement. Entitlement didn't start with my kids. It began with me. I entitled them because I was entitled. The only thing a child is really entitled to is his parents love. If a child has your unconditional love, he has the greatest asset in the world. If we as parents can realize it's love that our children need most and not things, we will stop trying to buy our children's happiness with possessions. You talk about overindulgence and under indulgence. I would love to hit this topic though of busyness because it's pretty interesting in a book about raising grateful kids that you would hit the topic of busyness. You talked about hectic lives and busy schedules and how they affect the way we parent. Being busy all the time tends to make us depend on shortcuts. Can you talk about the power of boredom as it relates to gratitude?

[Kristin Welch]

Yeah, I think our kids don't know how to be bored anymore. I probably. Cell phones were really becoming popular when I wrote this book. They weren't as you didn't see them with, you know, small children like you do now. But it was so alarming to me even 10 years ago how accessible and how inner we were. You know, you couldn't go to a restaurant without seeing someone child a phone or a tablet. And of course, as time has gone on, it's become more and more accessible and more the cultural norm. It's. You're now the odd family if you're sitting at the table in a restaurant and all four of you aren't on your phones. Right. Like you're having real conversation. And so we just From a very early age, wanted to fight against that enticement. And that not even realizing how addictive it was and how this was before an algorithm. Right. Was like, yeah, telling you what to watch and what to believe. But it was. You know, I grew up reading, and books are how I learned and escaped and took adventures. And so we started very early on, like, if you want screen time, you can earn it by reading time. And just felt like we would help our kids fall in love with reading. And so they began. They became these ferocious readers and then would forget about screen time. Right. Because they would get so. In a book or. And so it's just really. It was a very normal part of our life. But, yeah, boredom is a gift. Boredom is a gift. The book that I'm working on now is about fighting the noise. And so I've really been digging deep into what it looks like to have a silent journey and to have long periods of solitude. And, you know, we don't ever have to be alone again. And that may sound great to people, but that is not good for us. Right? We can take the whole Internet to the bathroom with us. We can. There are, like, waterproof bags that you can watch movies in the shower. There's a lot of negative health effects of noise all the time. We don't know how to sit still. We don't know how to be silent. There was a study at Harvard a few years ago that they put some adults in a room, and they wanted them to sit there in boredom for 10 minutes. And the only thing in the room was this buzzer that if they touched, it, would shock them. And so then they put cameras up to see who would get so bored they would rather shock themselves than sit there without anything to do. And it was. A very huge percentage of people actually shocked themselves because that was more entertaining than being alone with their thoughts. And what. What I really believe is we don't want to be alone. We want to be distracted because we do not want to sit in our pain, and we do not want to process our emotions, and we don't have to with distractions. And so we. We're modeling this for our kids as a culture of adults who are addicted to our technology. We. We never have to be alone. We never have to sit with our thoughts. But all of that unprocessed pain, those wounds, they are going to come out sideways, somewhere down the line, right onto people. And so by allowing our kids to be bored, right, like, go outside, or here's a piece of paper and a pencil, go at it, right? Draw, have fun, build something with blocks, use your imagination or just go for a walk without anything. We are, what we're doing when we do that is we are preparing them for the future. Like for a life where they are going to know how to be alone with themselves. And when we are not alone with ourselves, I mean, I think we just have to look at our, our culture and our country and all the things, right. Like we're so influenced by whatever voice is prevalent and whether it's good or evil and we aren't grounded in truth and we're double minded and we are like the wind is, you know, we drift, we go wherever. We're not anchored in anything and, and so we're letting people tell us they're filling the space that boredom would. Right. Like we would have this, you know, conversation with God, with ourselves, with, you know, our. We would go deep internally if we allowed ourselves the quiet and the spirit space to do so. But busyness fills up that space. And when we are planning our kids schedules and we are so busy and we're going from one thing to the next and we're eating dinner in the car and we're rushing and we're just going from this practice to this activity to this event and everything's in a hurry and we're not connecting, we're killing our souls. If we don't ruthlessly eliminate hurry, we are doing damage to our souls. And so nobody, you know, no parents want to do that. That is not, it's not intentional, it's not our goal. But it is a byproduct of not being intentional. We might not intend harm, but we are intending harm by not creating some space for kids to like, you encourage them, right? A thousand hours outside to get outside to play, to use your imagination, to be bored, to make a Ford in the living room. Right? Like, but we don't want the mess, we don't want the. It's easier to just put them in front of a device and, and I think there's a price for that. And that's not to say that, you know, I'm not, I don't live a life without technology. I think there we can parent ourselves instead of screen, you know, times for ourselves. Like there are things that we can do to try to resist, resist the urge just to give ourselves over to this pool that we really don't even know how it's gonna, it's truly going to impact us and especially our kids and their brains in the future.

[Ginny Urich]

So isn't that interesting? How certain things can be related to something like gratitude. And you wouldn't necessarily connect the two, like being busy and being having this hectic life related to gratitude. But yeah, you're not. There's not enough time to slow down to be grateful.

[Kristin Welch]

Exactly.

[Ginny Urich]

And that creates a culture often of complaining and grumbling and where there's some resentment there often. So then you're irritated with your kids. So yeah, they do go hand in hand. You know, healing takes courage, but it also takes the right support. And sometimes it even takes a puppy. Capstone Wellness is unlike anything I've ever seen. For over 24 years, Capstone has helped thousands of families by combining faith, clinical excellence, and some truly creative approaches to healing. At Capstone Treatment center, teen boys and young men struggling with trauma, mental health or addiction are given something extraordinary, a Labrador retriever puppy. On admission, that puppy stays with them through the program and goes home with them when they graduate. It's not just a dog, it's a partner in responsibility, in attachment, and in bringing families back together. And if residential care isn't what you're looking for, vine and Roots intensives offer individuals, couples and families months of world class counseling packed into just a few concentrated days. It's designed to trace hurt back to the roots and begin real healing. Healing is possible. Start your journey [e-mail] 1000 hours. That's capstonewellness.com 1000hours. If you're anything like me, your kids can spend hours outside rolling in the grass, digging in the dirt, and finding every single bug that's in the yard. Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for anything. That's the good stuff, the stuff I want more of. And that's exactly what Earthly believes too. When you love nature, you start to trust it. And that's how they make all their products. Simple, plant based and straight from the earth. Their herbal remedies, lotions, and even cleaning products are made with ingredients you can actually pronounce. No junk, no fillers, no nonsense. I wanted my family surrounded by nature, not chemicals. So using Earthly just made sense. My husband was skeptical until he caught a cold that was going around and I handed him feel better fast one night. A few drops and by morning he was hooked. Now he's the one reminding me not to run out. And honestly, they're way more affordable than the other over the counter stuff I used to buy. So if you're looking for clean, natural products that actually work and fit real life in really muddy kids, check out earthly.com. that's E-A-R-T-H-L-E-Y.com natural living made for real life.

[Kristin Welch]

This episode is brought to you by Marshalls, where you never have to compromise between quality and price. The buyers of Marshalls hustle hard working to bring you quality, great deals on brand name and designer pieces because Marshalls believes everyone deserves access to the good stuff. Visit a Marshalls store near you or shop [e-mail].

[Ginny Urich]

I had read, I guess about. I think I read or I talked to someone, can't quite remember, but they were talking about how there is this teacher who taught English, like high school English, and it was like, you know, you have to. Sometimes you just have to sit with your thoughts. Like, that's what we used to have to do. I remember when I would write papers because I'm not a big writer. I got a math degree. So I, you know, I remember sitting at my little desk in my room and you've got to write a paper. And this is right long before the Internet. No one has a computer. And I would be like, what if a thought never comes? You know, you're just kind of like sitting there. You're, like, waiting. Like you. But you. You have this expectation, like, at some point a thought will come to me. It will come through my mind. So this teacher was saying that the students are so uncomfortable with that feeling of waiting for a thought for even a couple seconds that they start to freak out.

[Kristin Welch]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally believe it. I mean, yeah, we can get so busy and fill up every moment that we never reconcile what has happened to us. We miss it. Yeah. And the reason slowing down is connected to gratitude for me is going fast. Makes us miss all the gifts in our lives.

[Ginny Urich]

So true.

[Kristin Welch]

Right? Like, you're not picking flowers and smelling them and looking at the petals and who created this? How did this flower get here? Right. Like, you're not noticing because you're in a hurry, and then you're complaining because nothing good's happening in your life and you've missed the thousand gifts that are right there. And so, yeah, we. We are in a culture that is just constantly rushing around, and it's to our detriment. Right. It's hurting us.

[Ginny Urich]

Yeah. Yeah. So I love what you wrote in here. Our children need to be bored. They need to be sent outside or to their rooms to play. They need to turn over the bag of tricks and find it empty. That's when they discover they don't need stuff to fill their time. That is a huge statement that they don't need stuff. And I can even. I was just talking to. We've got five kids that are ages 17 down to nine. And I was talking with. And they span two generations. So I've got kids that are in Gen Z and kids that are in Gen Alpha. And the older ones had less exposure to screens. We are. We're pretty limited here. But then the younger ones still, they had more exposure to screens. And the younger ones know more about. Like, there's this new candy out, it's called Joyride. And like, you know, every once in a while a kid will be like, there's candy and it's at Target, you know, and it's called Joyride. And you're like, wait, wait a minute. You know, like. And the older kids didn't know about that kind of stuff. So you can see those influences changing. But to know that is probably one of the biggest gifts that you could ever have is to know that you don't need stuff to fill your time. You don't need a plan for entertainment. You can create your own entertainment. So you talk about lots of unplanned days, lots of empty hours. Make up your own fun. Sometimes we just have to wait for our kids to remember just how fun having nothing to do can be. So it's hitting several things there, actually, Kristen. Like, you're hitting the imagination piece. And what do you have inside of you? I talked to this woman named Sarah Clarkson, and she was talking about in her book that when she hit her teen years and they'd done no screens and low screens or whatever, lots of reading. And she said, when I hit my teenage years, I discovered I have a world inside of me. I got all these worlds, I've got all these thoughts, you know, and they're from all these inputs that she'd have. So you're talking about that world inside of you. And also it's combating consumerism because I don't need. I don't need anything.

[Kristin Welch]

Right.

[Ginny Urich]

So it's so many benefits there from slowing down.

[Kristin Welch]

Yes.

[Ginny Urich]

It's incredible. It's such good reminders. Okay, so then also with the. Okay, did you something else to say there?

[Kristin Welch]

Go ahead.

[Ginny Urich]

Okay, so, well, in line with the phones, if we're just on the phones for one, a little bit more. So talking about how that takes up a lot of the time. This is 10 years ago, you were already talking about selfie society and the age of trophies. You know, the trophy industry is $3 billion a year. I had no idea, Kristen. $3 billion a year for trophies and now it's like you're in eighth place. Here's your trophy. So can you talk a little bit about. I actually think these are maybe two of the biggest keys and things that have changed quite a bit in the last couple decades. One is that we're so busy and people did not used to be this busy. Parents had one car, there wasn't as much disposable income. And then the second thing is this self esteem switch right to the everybody gets a trophy in combination with the selfie society where you're. Everyone is taking pictures of. You say taking pictures of yourself all the time is really weird. A really weird self interested thing to do. Especially if you put them on the Internet and expect feedback. You're like yeah, that's like what we're doing all the time. So can you talk about that? One other piece is not letting kids fail. Sort of in combination with this. Look at me, look at me. It all kind of relates, I think.

[Kristin Welch]

I think so too. Yeah, it's, I think we've seen this shift even more and yeah, 10 years ago a selfie was kind of a new, a new oddity and now it's.

[Ginny Urich]

Isn't that wild? Yeah it is. It's so wild, Kristen, to think like okay, in 10 years here is this thing that was kind of odd. I could talk about. I used to teach high school Math and in 2008, 2007 is like my last couple of years in the classroom and it was when black series were coming out so not iPhones and the kids were like hiding them in their shirts. Like they would put it under the desk and kind of lift their shirt around it and try and hide it. They would take pictures of the test and then try and send it to like the next class. And they're texting and I like that was just the cusp and no one had any idea that like at some point these kids are going to be watching pornography. They're going to be holding that phone in their store shirt in class. They're going to be playing Minecraft. You know they're going to be seven years old and have that. So it's so interesting like when you read that like this selfie society and you say taking pictures of yourself all the time is a really weird self interested thing to do. Especially if you put them on the Internet and expect feedback. And now it's table stakes. It's what everybody does in just a ten year change.

[Kristin Welch]

Yeah. And this was before the influencer culture. So I wrote this the Word influencer was not really because people weren't getting paid to write and be on social media. It was the very beginning of like brand partnerships where like one time I got a washer and dryer in exchange for. But it wasn't, you know, I never really made money and I didn't know how to monetize my blog or anything. And then money really made the influencer, you know, because you've got selfie society where people are like, watch me. I mean, it's so crazy to me, it's like millions of followers where kids are like unpackaging toys and playing with toys or the YouTube channels and it's just like everyday life. But we've, you know, you have the reality TV component and we've just decided everyone can be an influencer. And I think that's so dangerous, right? It the influential people 20, 30, 40 years ago or 100 years ago, these were like the community leaders, these were the heroes, this was the change makers. And, and so when we turn that around and just start talking about ourselves, everyone becomes an influencer. And recently I read that a group of kids were pulled in elementary school and they asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up and the number one answer was influencer. Isn't that terrible?

[Ginny Urich]

And it's just wild because it didn't even exist ten years ago. So. And then you're like, well, what are the other things we're on the cusp of?

[Kristin Welch]

Right, with AI and Yes, exactly.

[Ginny Urich]

With AI they're gonna be like, remember when you first got GPT, you know, and now it's whatever.

[Kristin Welch]

You don't know though, you don't know.

[Ginny Urich]

But, but there are these pieces of humanity that you cover so well in your book that will always be there. Like it's important to fail. That's one of the things you talk about in here, that losing is good for you. We have to let our kids fail. It's the only way they truly learn how to succeed. So this selfie society, this trophy culture is not necessarily going to help our kids in the world long run.

[Kristin Welch]

No, we're really at the. When you peel it back just to state it simply, we're setting them up for failure. Not every boss they have is going to be like, you're special, you're the best I've ever had. Not every company is going to value them. And right, like that's real life. They're going to get laid off, they're going to have diagnosis, they're going to have abusive relationships. Like if we don't teach our kids who they are. And it doesn't. You know, we're not really preparing them if we're rushing in and rescuing them all the time. And so we have this very small window that we've been given, you know, 18 years, really 20 years to pour into them. I mean, four weeks ago on Saturday, I dropped my youngest off at University of Texas. This 90,000 freshmen applied. They took 9,000 freshmen. So it's massive, massive university. And we're sitting in the car with her, all of her stuff. We've got two cars. Half of the family's in one car. I'm in the car with her. I made her drive the three hours because I was like, you've got to figure out how to get home. She didn't want to drive. She was nervous. She was like, my stomach hurts. And I'm like, no, you have to do this. Even if we're late, you have to drive, because the next time you do this, I'm not going to be with you, right? And we're sitting there and we're about to get out of the car, and she was just like, I can't do this. Like, I don't think I can go to college. I don't think I can move in. And my heart just, like, she had big tears in her eyes. And my other daughter, who's my oldest, got out of the other car and came and got in the car with us. So it was the three of us girls. And we just listened to her. And she. I said, why? Like, why don't you think you can do it? And she said, because I'm gonna miss home. Home is comfortable and safe. And I said, you're right. Except last week we had a pipe burst and water was pouring in our ceiling. Did that feel comfortable and safe? And she was like, no, that was awful. And I said, so it's not home you're gonna miss, really? Because homes change. What are you gonna miss? And she was like, I'm gonna miss you. Like, you're. You're home. And I was like, honey, as much as I want to be home for you, I can't go with you everywhere. And I've spent the last 18 years preparing you to leave home. And you can call me anytime you want, but there is someone who is going to go with you. There is a God who is with you, and you can reach out to him, right? And she said, I want to make him home. I don't know how. And I was like, I think this is how you have to leave, you have to leave home. Right. Fully expecting. I wasn't sure it was honestly touch and go. Is she gonna get out of the car or not? She did, and she is figuring it out. And she's already grown and matured so much in four weeks because she's not calling me with every little thing. She's figuring things out. You know, like, she tells me after the fact now, yeah, my car didn't start, but they have this thing on campus that helps you. And, like, she's troubleshooting her life.

[Ginny Urich]

Right.

[Kristin Welch]

And I'm getting the highlights now, or I'm getting the low lights.

[Ginny Urich]

Right.

[Kristin Welch]

Like, this is the really hard thing, but if we don't start preparing our kids to leave, they won't leave ever, you know?

[Ginny Urich]

Right. And that's happening. That is happening. Yes, that is happening. Or they're leaving and coming back because they couldn't make it and they ended up playing video games the whole time and didn't leave their room. So all that matters. It all matters.

[Kristin Welch]

We have to prepare them to launch. And the only thing we get to offer them, really, I think that's healthy, is hospitality after they launch. Right. Like, you're always welcome here. This is your home. But this is. These are the expectations. This is the requirements. This is the respect level. Right. Like, this is the boundaries. Because we are trying to create, you know, we want to create a safe environment, but we want to launch kids who are independent. That is the ultimate goal. As bittersweet as it is.

[Ginny Urich]

Yeah, totally is bittersweet. Because I'm sure.

[Kristin Welch]

So bittersweet.

[Ginny Urich]

Especially since she's your youngest. I'm sure there was a part of you when she was like, I can't do it. You're like, no problem. Let's just turn around and go home right now.

[Kristin Welch]

I was like, I think you have to spend the night tonight, but call me tomorrow. Yeah, you know, I'm going to be. I'm going to stay in a hotel tonight.

[Ginny Urich]

Yeah.

[Kristin Welch]

Like, and I fully told her, listen, it's too late today to back out. Like, we're going to try this, but if you hate it and it's not the right fit for you, I'm going to be the first one in line to get you, not to rescue you. But, like, there is that fine balance of, like, is there a mental health crisis? Is there a dangerous situation or whatever? You know, like, we can still respond as parents, but they have to try.

[Ginny Urich]

Yeah.

[Kristin Welch]

And I think that is the disconnect is we don't even. We don't Let our kids trayboard. And we don't let them try because it's uncomfortable. We don't let them try. A day without screen time. When I suggest that to people one day a week, oh, my kids would be furious.

[Ginny Urich]

Well, oh, gosh, they would thrive, wouldn't they thrive? Oh, my goodness. I know. How can you send your kid into adulthood without a solid experience of what extended time without screens is like? They have to have that. They have to know what that feels like because it feels like freedom and it feels like peace. So they have to have that. That's so interesting. There is so much to think about in this book. 10 years old, more pertinent today, probably, than the day you wrote it. Raising Grateful kids in an entitled world. How one family learned that saying no can lead to life's biggest yes. You talk about how under indulgence has led to great joy for our family. And I just think that's a North star. Can we under indulge? And you had this one sentence where you said, we save flowers for graduation or really special occasions. Like, I think someone was like, hey, I'm going to my middle school graduation. Are you going to bring me flowers? You know, and I felt like that. Like, I never got my nails done or my makeup done until I got married.

[Kristin Welch]

Right.

[Ginny Urich]

Part of that was because my mom, you know, my mom kind of would say things like, you know, you don't want to. Don't do it when you're 12. Then there's nothing special for when you, you know, when you get married. And it was a really special thing.

[Kristin Welch]

Oh, true.

[Ginny Urich]

And then also, I've hardly done any of that ever since. So you also learn that you don't really need it.

[Kristin Welch]

Right? Right.

[Ginny Urich]

And that helps with consumerism, too. So, you know, you kind of wait it out. Can you be under indulgent? I love that phrase. Kristin, what an honor and huge thank you to Rebecca for connecting us. I'm so glad that we're connected because you have all sorts of other books, too, and other books that are coming out. I'll make sure. I'll put the link so that people can connect to the Mercy House Global if they're interested. We always end our show at the same question. The question is, what's a favorite memory from your childhood that was outside.

[Kristin Welch]

Oh, my goodness. We were not an outside family. I did not grow up in a family that liked to go outside, but I loved it. My parents didn't, and we went camping one time only once because it rained. And, oh, gosh, build our Tents up. And we were just laughing about this the other day. My parents are almost 80 now and my son and his fiance got camping equipment at their wedding shower. And oh, fun talking because they are big outdoors. Were my kids love the outdoors and it's our favorite thing to do together now as a family. Go hiking, get outside. But we were laughing because that I didn't grow up that way. And remembering getting we actually left in the middle of the night and drove home and we're sopping wet. And I remember thinking I'm going to camp with my kids. And I did. And now my kids are camping and so it's really fun. Yeah. Love being outside with him.

[Ginny Urich]

I love that story, Kristin, because it just goes to show how a small touch point can change things. Even if it was an awful one. Even if you left in the middle of the night. It planted a seed. I'm gonna try this again with my kids someday. A lot of people do it. There's probably a better way we can do it. We can probably get a tent that's a little better, waterproof or whatever. And then you did. And now you raise these outdoor kids. What a great idea to give. To give a camping gear for a wedding shower. I was like, why haven't I been doing that? That would be so on brand for.

[Kristin Welch]

Me because I don't have any money. So they're like, we can take all of our vacations camping. But my future daughter in law was like the president of the outdoor club at college and and I learned a long time ago that any family vacation goes 10,000 times better if you do it outside. So anything outside, skating, swimming, anything you can do outside, there's way less sighting. So that's just a free and it's cheaper.

[Ginny Urich]

So then there's not as much pressure attached. There's so much pressure attached if you go to the theater theme park because it cost you $800, but if you go camping for $8 a night, there's just not as much pressure. So I love it. Kristen, what an honor. Thank you so much for being here. It's so great that we've connected. I highly, highly recommend this book. It really is so pertinent for any family raising grateful kids in an entitled world. Thanks for being here.

[Kristin Welch]

Thank you.

[Ginny Urich]

And Doug, here we have the limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Kristin Welch]

Cut the camera.

[Ginny Urich]

They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail]. liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings Ferry. Underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.