But It’s a Story We Need to Start Telling Them
Back then,
our children were still very young.
So of course,
they have no idea how close to the edge we were.
They don’t know that we couldn’t afford the $5 playgroup fee.
They don’t know about the supermarket cards being declined again and again.
They don’t know about the birthday parties we skipped because we couldn’t afford a present.
At home,
we tried to keep things normal.
As bright as possible.
We played “everything is fine.”
Because we were parents.
And that felt like the only option.
I used to think children should be protected at all costs.
That worry and reality were things adults should carry alone.
But now I see it differently.
Protecting isn’t the same as hiding everything forever.
As children grow,
they will inevitably face conversations about money.
About patience.
About choices.
When that time comes,
I don’t want them thinking,
“I didn’t know,”
or “No one ever told me.”
I want them to know:
“This is how our family lived.”
We didn’t borrow money.
We didn’t take shortcuts.
We chose the longer road.
That wasn’t about suffering.
And it wasn’t a heroic story.
It was about judgement.
It was about how we chose to live.
We don’t have to tell them everything all at once.
It doesn’t need to be heavy.
It doesn’t need to be dramatic.
Just slowly.
In everyday moments.
In small conversations.
“There was a time when things were hard.”
“But we didn’t break.”
“And that’s why we’re here now.”
That’s the truth I want to pass on to our children.
Not as a success story.
Not as a tale of hardship.
But as a record of choices.
So that one day,
when they feel stuck,
when they feel unsure,
they can think,
“My parents lived like this when things were hard.”
That’s enough.
This isn’t a story about the past.
It’s a story about what we pass on next.
#parentingtruths #familyvalues #choosingnotodebt #recordofchoices #passingiton
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