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Riley Gaines and her husband, Louis Barker, talked Wednesday about becoming parents to a baby girl and how they plan to raise their child in the future.
Gaines and Barker welcomed their daughter Margot into the world last week. This is the couple’s first child. The two appeared on the latest episode of OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast to talk about a number of topics surrounding their births, including parenting philosophy.
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Riley Gaines and her husband, Louis Barker, opened up about their parenting style on “Gaines for Girls.” (Kick)
Gaines said she and Barker talked about how they were going to raise Margot as she grew up. Barker said it was important to show their daughter that he and Riley were on the same page and working together as a team rather than individually.
“But for us, I always wanted to set an example of what a relationship should look like. I’m probably going to get some hate for that,” he said. “But the way I described it to Riley is that I want Margot and however many kids we have to look at us and be like, ‘Oh yeah, mom and dad together and then we’re all here, hanging out together.’
“I want them to see that Riley and I are part of a team, that we’re on the same page. It’s not mom versus dad. It’s mom and dad together. We’re one. The one thing I would hate more than anything is Margot running up to Riley and saying, ‘Hey, I can do that.’ She says no and she comes to me and I say yes. That inconsistency is something that would make me crazy.”
Riley Gaines has championed fairness in women’s sports. (XX-XY Athletics)
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Gaines said she agreed with her husband’s approach.
“It makes sense and I think giving that example shows that kids don’t have number 1. We see it for example if it’s the kids who think there are no consequences,” she said. “We see it all the time – kids who lack direction or example at home. And we see it in the world, in our culture, or in society, or in school or whatever. And I think that’s really important for our kids.”
Barker made it clear there would be no “generational trauma” in their household.
“And so, I think it’s important to have an example of what a romantic relationship looks like. And of course, do we bicker about things? Absolutely,” he added. “One thing I emphasized when we got married is that no matter how irritated we are with each other, no matter what happens, we’re not going to be that couple that sleeps in separate rooms. There are so many parents who do that now and the kids think it’s normal and it’s not a healthy relationship.”
Riley Gaines gives a speech at Penn State. (Riley Gaines)
The passionate parents talked about, among other things, the birth process, the hospital stay and the first week at home with Margot.
