There are many things that influence the way we parent. Past experiences, advice from others, internet research, and especially our own upbringing. However, I have noticed in many ways that my blog has affected the way I look at being a parent. It puts pressure on myself and my wife to look at our actions under a magnifying glass, but in a positive way.  Below I have written out the ways I think blogging is helping us as parents.

Research

All new parents do research.  Whether it’s reading baby books or constantly reading online.  The internet has given us the ability to research anything at any time.  However, having a blog intensifies that. When providing information that may end up in the hands of new parents, you feel a certain pressure.  The idea of misinforming a new parent about literally anything is scary. Any information we provide we need to verify is accurate and informed.

Verifying all this information means I am forced to do more research than the average parent.  I believe that it helps me as a parent because naturally you become more informed about all facets of parenting.  Things I would’ve never even read about are now topics I can openly discuss because I’ve done the research. While research doesn’t necessarily trump experience, it gives a nice upper hand when encountering new experiences.  Even choosing baby products for our daughter can be a lengthy process, because we do extensive research about each product. Comparing products and reading hundreds of reviews takes time but pays off in the end. Research helps us feel calm in stressful scenarios and confident in our purchases

Reflecting on my Actions

The hard truth is, writing down my experiences forces me to reflect on the things I’ve done.  Going through a negative experience and then immediately having to sit down and write about it, makes you think about how you handled the situation.  As uncomfortable as it may be, it makes me want to avoid the situation. When I am in scenarios, I remember I may have to write about it later. This can help me stay positive, even in crappy situations.  Even if that doesn’t work, writing about the experiences makes me face how the played out. I know how I handled the situation and how I can handle it going forward. Knowing I grew from the experience, makes me feel like I’m becoming a better parent.  Creating that feeling isn’t something you should take lightly. Anything you can do to gain confidence in your parenting is worth your time.

Online Diary of my experiences

While this sections sort of goes with the one above, I think it is important.  Having my experiences forever cataloged on the internet is a nice feeling. I can look back at any time to relive my experiences with my daughter.  It motivates me daily to have constant positive experiences. If I mis-remember anything or my wife and I are reminiscing and can’t agree on how things developed in the past, we can check the blog!  There isn’t any question on little questions because we have it all documented. I especially think the blog will help us in parenting when it comes to baby number two. Taking advice form other can be a little tough, especially if it feels like criticism.  However, taking advice from our own words is kind of hard to ignore. Everything thing we’ve been through and our experiences would be silly to avoid. Embracing the past experiences is made exceptionally easier by having the blog.

Money

While I didn’t start my blog with the intention of making money, it’s a nice side effect.  Any additional income as new parents helps. My wife became a stay at home mom when my daughter was born.  Going to a single income hurt, the supplemental income you can make from a blog starts very small, but over time and with some effort can begin to add up. While monetizing the blog takes a decent bit of extra work, it is worth your time.  If you’re going to have a blog, you might as well make the most of it. You can use Affiliate Marketing, Ad revenue, and plenty of other avenues to make money on your blog. Adding all the above positive parts of blogging into an avenue to make money seems like a no-brainer on whether a blog is worth it.

Better Parent

Ultimately, I think the blog has made me a better parent.  I provide a little extra money to my family, I am more knowledgeable than I would normally be, I reflect on my actions daily, and I’m providing an outlined diary of how we raised our daughter.