For me, it's really changed my conception of what a proper adult/parent is. Well, I guess it's not just personally becoming a parent, it's probably a mix of a

For me, it's really changed my conception of what a proper adult/parent is. Well, I guess it's not just personally becoming a parent, it's probably a mix of a whole bunch of things. When I think back to being younger, it seems to me now that I had quite a specific idea in my head of what "responsible" adults/parents should be. But once you've got a couple kids of your own, and are lucky enough to have several friends who are a decade or so ahead of you (so you can compare and contrast parenting styles, and their results), it's pretty tough to maintain this notion that there is a narrow range of "proper" behavior that you have to adhere to if you want your kids to turn out "right".