#much like the way he never patronises marty or looks down upon him for being so young - it's a similar thing with his kids

[doctorbrown]

Raising a young infant Jules was arguably one of the most difficult things Doc had ever done in his life. By the time Verne was born about two and a half years later, Doc and Clara knew and understood more about establishing a routine that would work for them (the second one's always easier they say), but with Jules and especially for Doc who had resigned himself to a life and death as a single bachelor, it was a struggle.

When it was confirmed that Clara was pregnant with Jules, Doc was simultaneously overjoyed and terrified. What was he supposed to do? Sure, now he was in very good health after his future rejuvenations, thirty to forty years younger, but all his worries and uncertainties had come out against his will and at times, he was far more nervous than Clara. Would he even be a good father? Could he do this? How was he supposed to do it?

Doc simply didn't know what to do to care for a child. It was an incredibly steep learning curve, one that often got so steep he'd trip and fall multiple times along the way. Clara had known much more about raising/dealing with children due to her upbringing and her expected position in society in the late 1800s, but that was a philosophy far outdated by Doc's time and he'd never subscribed to the notion that only she should/could be responsible for caring for Jules. If they were to struggle, they would do it together, in shifts or waves or whatever worked, switching on and off so one could get some much needed rest when they could.

The problem was, it was difficult and frustrating trying to figure out what children needed when they couldn't communicate. At such a young age, they had no concept of language and neither understood what was being spoken to them nor were able to communicate effectively what they needed. His closest experience to raising a kid was training Copernicus, Edison, and Einie from when they were puppies, but even training the dogs was a far simpler task in the long run than a child. There were times it felt overwhelming in the beginning.

But as time went on and with Clara's help, he learned.

No matter how tough and stressful it was at times, he never regretted it, not even when he and Clara were up for days on end sometimes, walking at the end of their respective ropes.

#doc's family is everything to him; he loves them *so* much #but MAN did he struggle that first time around with jules #&; a great idea can change the world 「 hc 」 #doc and clara aren't the kind who would yell at and discipline/punish their kids severely #they were very fair and they also treated them with the respect they felt they deserved and allowed them a good degree of autonomy without #babying them. like of course they need to be taught and protected but #much like the way he never patronises marty or looks down upon him for being so young - it's a similar thing with his kids #yes he's there to teach and protect them but they're still their own people and sometimes they have to make their own mistakes and learn