If someone says they have no regrets about the way they’ve parented, that person’s pants are, indeed, on fire. Regrets dot the road of parenthood like billboards, displaying in big bold letters the things you wish you’d done more but didn’t. Raising decent human beings is hard work. Mistakes and regrets come with the territory. And while dwelling on them is not a healthy way to go about life, it is helpful to interrogate them and extract lessons where we can. That’s why we spoke to a variety of dads about their regrets and what, if they got a parenting do-over, they would’ve done differently. One wished he would’ve yelled less; another wished he’d cut himself a bit more slack. All offered up their perspectives to help others learn from their mistakes. |
