The Kids (of the Character)

Scott Benson is just an average single father, working hard to provide for his five children. He shares his three older children with one woman and his younger two with a different woman. He’s gone through quite a bit between these two women, their shenanigans, his mistakes, and the normal issues that arise when raising children.

He has to keep himself on such a tight schedule and leash to make it all work, even though three of his children are grown and he only sees them a few times a year. I think his kids make him truly come to life.

Even though, like most men who take care of their children, he feels all of the burden and responsibility, he doesn’t let life stop him from what he believes is best for his kids. In a way, they’ve probably saved him.

Although he loves them, he is still the man he is inside. It doesn’t matter what your intentions are, or how hard you try to fight against the nature of who you really are, the beast inside will always prevail if he’s fed instead of starved.

Some of the inspiration for Scott’s children and their personalities came from my own kids and one of my closest friend’s children. I could probably write about kids all day long, but this is actually Scott’s story, so they simply exist in his world to help him share.

For most parents, their children make up a huge part of who they are, why they are the way they are, their motivation, and their identity. I’d say that’s mostly true for Scott. He also faces the doubts, insecurities, worries, frustrations, and other emotions that come from raising kids.

If you’re a parent, you can probably relate to that. It’s so much easier to be a perfect parent before you become a real-life parent. Most of us judge harshly and make statements like, “My kids would never behave that way.”

Guess what? Good luck with that. Kids are little humans who have their own thoughts, personalities, priorities, desires, and processes. You can teach them what is and is not acceptable, however they still have the choice of how to behave, what to say, and what to do.

Most of us experience some sort of insecurities and wonder how we’re messing our kids up. Others think they have it under control. Others simply don’t care for whatever reason.

I think Scott worries about a lot of stuff, but he hasn’t quite figured out his own life. How can you adequately raise children when you don’t even know what’s going on inside of your own head? Or, perhaps it’s just the stresses of everyday life that lead Scott down the path he goes?

I’m sure if we’re completely honest we can think of at least one or two things we’ve done as parents that we’re not really proud of. Maybe we were selfish in a moment and our kid got hurt. Maybe we hid in the bathroom because we couldn’t take another five minutes of, “mom, mom, mom.”

I guess there is the possibility that you’re a perfect parent and don’t resonate with any of this. Do you judge characters who display flaws in their parenting or make morally questionable decisions? Or do you try to relate to them? Or do you just curse at the author?