Welcome to this week's episode of the Date Your Wife podcast where married business owners, Garrett and Danielle White, have an entertaining and revealing conversation about the "how to's" of navigating the ever-changing waters of parenthood.
Every week married couple Danielle and Garrett J White share insights and perspectives from within their own lives regarding the following topics discussed each month:
Week 1: Sex
Week 2: Money
Week 3: Parenting
Week 4: Communication
In This Week's Podcast…Parenting
Point #1: The Trifecta of Insanity
- Garrett: You can't be a married businessman with children if you don't have children. Dogs, guinea pigs, and fish don't count. We live in a place where people push their dogs around in fucking strollers.
- To be a married businessman with children means that you have a partner that you are committed to AND you have children. This trifecta of insanity is literally a suicide mission with only two possible outcomes: 1- you win and 2- you lose.
QUESTION
How are you and your spouse handling the Trifecta of Insanity?
Point #2: Once a Mom, Always a Mom
- Danielle: I don't think you really have perspective until you actually start having kids. Before having kids, we both worked hard during the week and were pretty much homebodies on the weekends. Looking back, I'm thinking we should have done more.
- Danielle's mother told her that even with all of her children grown, she still worries about them making good decisions. Once you're a mom, you're always a mom. "Oh shit! But then, you never want anything different once you are a mom, and you can't imagine your life without your children."
QUESTION
How has having children changed your perspective about life?
Point #3: The Love of Learning
- Although a college graduate, Garrett's passion for learning wasn't ignited until he read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in 2001 as a PE teacher, opening up an entirely different world to him. "I'm addicted to and obsessed with learning and cannot consume enough!"
- It wasn't until later in life that Danielle would learn the importance of learning. "You have to have a love for learning, and you have to LEARN to learn. Seeing the person I have become through learning, I wish I would have understood that concept when I was younger."
QUESTION
When were you bit by the learning bug? What was the turning point for you?
Point #4: Consequences & Boundaries
- In parenting, where do you draw the line? When do you let your children come to their own conclusions in life after suffering the consequences of their own choices, and when do you hold them accountable to certain standards of behavior?
- As Garrett and Danielle met with their daughter, teachers, and principal, it was clear that implementing a system of accountability going forward would greatly assist their daughter in achieving her musical aspirations.
QUESTION
Where in your world do you know it's time to set up a system of accountability?
Point #5: Just the Facts, Please
- Garrett: Your kids are not always right. Most of the time as a parent when you try to defend your kids from the consequences of life, what you're doing is defending your own ego and your own self-doubt as a parent.
- What are the facts? Possibly the greatest gift that you could give your children is to get clear about the facts in front of the other people that matter and involve them in the process of accountability.
QUESTION
Where in your world is it time to separate the facts from your feelings in order to progress and move forward?
Communication Challenge:
What is your take on boundaries, consequences, and accountability when it comes to your children? How does it align with your spouse's take? How does it differ?
Date Night Topic:
While you're out on your date this week, have a conversation about how as parents you can instill the love of learning into your children.
Quote of the Week:
"It's one thing to build a business and have nothing else to worry about except building that business. It's another thing to build a business and then get married. And then, it's a whole other conundrum to build a business, get married, have multiple babies, raise those babies, and inside of that, make a decision to have another baby."
—Garrett J White
"Teach your children the importance of learning. If as an adult you want to get ahead in the game or become an overall better human being, life is about learning. If you can teach your children to love to learn, they'll have more success in their life."
—Danielle K White
