Have you ever thought before making the decision to have children, or experiencing unexpected pregnancy, that parenting was going to really be a challenge? I remember being nineteen years old, and not thinking about having a child, but enjoying a sexual relationship. With exploring this avenue at nineteen resulted into having a child. I had some exposure to children; babysitting relatives, working as a Camp Counselor, and taking a Child Study course at my local High School.

I figured it couldn’t be far off from what I experience taking care of other children. What I did not know was that “parenting” was not like using a microwave. Now I’m sure at some point in our lives we have had microwave or fast food right? Unfortunately there is no such thing as microwave parenting. The instant results that we want to see in the development of our children, just does not happen in parenting. What we expect and anticipate to see from our children is not instant, and takes longer than popping popcorn in a microwave. Moms, Dads, New moms/dads, and aspiring parents. I don’t want to discourage or deter you from wanting to be a parent. I want to remind (us) today that we have to have more than a microwave mentality when it comes to parenting. In this Twenty First Century, we have to be patient, and not to always look for instant results or out comes in parenting. We have to remember to be hopeful so what we want to see in the end, we have to put down the ground work now in parenting. M