Mama Gigi’s Real-Life Guide to Raising Kids

What Raising 12 Children Taught Me About Love, Limits, Boundaries & Letting Go

There are thousands of books that will tell you how to raise a child.

This isn't one of them.

I'm Mama Gigi, and I've raised 12 children. And if raising 12 very different human beings taught me anything, it's that there is no perfect way to parent—and there certainly isn't one method that works for every child.

This guide is about what parenting actually looks like in real life.

We'll talk about the things parents deal with every day: discipline and consequences, chores and responsibility, sibling relationships, talking so your kids will actually listen, choosing your battles, letting children fail, knowing when to step in, and figuring out when helping too much may actually be hurting.

We'll also talk about something that doesn't get nearly enough attention: what happens as our children grow up.

Parenting doesn't magically end at 18.

The questions just change.

Should you help financially? What if your adult child wants to move back home? Should they pay rent? How involved should you be in their decisions? When do you give advice, and when do you keep your opinion to yourself? How do you continue being their mom without continuing to manage their life?

I've faced these questions with my own family, and I haven't always gotten the answers right.

That's part of this guide, too.

I'll share some of the things that worked in our family, some that didn't, some things I would do differently today, and the lessons I've learned along the way.

This isn't about raising perfect children.

It's about raising children who gradually learn to handle responsibility, make decisions, recover from mistakes, contribute to their families and communities, and eventually build lives of their own.

And it's about remembering that while our role as a parent changes as our children grow, the relationship doesn't have to end.

Whether you're raising a five-year-old, struggling with a teenager, sending a young adult out into the world, or wondering how much help to give your 30-year-old, I hope you'll find something here that makes you think, laugh, feel a little less alone—and maybe try something differently tomorrow.

I don't have all the answers.

But after raising 12 kids, I have plenty of stories, plenty of mistakes, and quite a few things I've learned along the way.

So pull up a chair.

Let's talk about raising kids.

— Mama Gigi