On today’s episode of the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson focus on one of the most important decisions we’ll make in life: the choice to become a parent.
They focus on what good parenting looks like in practice, the key difference in thinking of a child as a “means” or an “end,” and how to know whether becoming a parent is the right path for you.
Key Topics:
- 0:00: Introduction
- 2:20: The significance (and uniqueness) of this choice
- 4:50: Being aware of your motivations for having a child
- 16:55: The influence of primal biology
- 20:50: Qualities of a good parent
- 30:30: Mirroring, idealizing, twinship, and the process of differentiation
- 36:35: Optimal frustration, and a healthy parental work ethic
- 41:25: The rewards of being a parent
- 46:45: If you don’t like __ you shouldn’t become a parent
- 48:50: A word for current parents who wish things had been different
- 53:00: Community, partnership, and resources
- 55:10: Meaning and fulfillment with or without a child
- 1:00:50: Recap
