Ep. 001 - Kids Will Always Come First | Benjamin King
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Description: Today’s guest is actor, writer, and director Benjamin King, who you may know from his roles on shows such as Liv and Maddie, Grey’s Anatomy and Weeds. Jonathan and Benjamin started as childhood buddies at Camp Taconic before they reconnected on Facebook as adults and new dads. Benjamin now has two girls and shares what it is like to go from a “dad in waiting” to a real-life father, the biggest personal challenges of fatherhood, why having a great partner and spouse makes things infinitely better, and his passion for helping people with Crohn’s and Colitis.
Key Takeaways:
[0:53] Jonathan welcomes today’s guest, Benjamin King. Benjamin is an actor, writer, and director, known for many projects and roles including Liv and Maddie (2013), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Weeds (2005). He is also one of Jonathan’s oldest friends from camp. He has two girls, ages 10 and 12 and has been married to Laura King since 2004.
[5:37] Benjamin shares the birth story of his oldest daughter, Morgan, and the relationship that developed between himself and his own father.
[13:55] If you aren’t a parent and don’t understand how it’s easy to mix up names of children and pets, wait until it’s your time and you will!
[14:45] Benjamin’s protective and nurturing side was always there but kicked up into a high gear once he had children. Both guys grew up with a childhood way more independent and less supervised than children have today, and reminisce about the days when play dates were just kids running around outside with their friends.
[19:52] The goal is to continually do better as a parent and as a son, and do better than your parents did for you, no matter what they were like as a parent.
[26:19] The two most challenging things Benjamin has found about parenting so far: learning how to parent his children differently according to their individual personalities, and letting go of how things should be according to his personal past and preferences.
[39:57] Parenting is made a little easier when you have an understanding and selfless partner like Benjamin does. He is extremely grateful and appreciative of his wife Laura.
[40:38] Benjamin has to focus extra on health due to Crohn's, an autoimmune illness. He is on a good regimen now and is passionate about helping others get the education and support they need.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis
Quotes:
“I always thought of myself as a dad in waiting. I knew it was going to happen. Now I can’t believe it’s here.”
“To be responsible for making my daughter laugh and smile, I just felt like the king of the world.”
“I probably took the train to Manhattan when I was 6. I don’t know what I was doing.”