Every household has its own version of chaos. Some revolve around spilled cereal and missing socks. Others involve four kids, a high-profile NFL career, and a podcast that reaches thousands. But in the middle of it all, some moments stop you in your tracks—those quiet, soul-searching pauses where a parent looks at their child and wonders, Am I doing this right? For Kelly and Matthew Stafford, that moment came not under the Friday night lights or at a glamorous event, but in the everyday rhythm of raising daughters who are growing fast—and sometimes growing apart.

And instead of pretending to have it all figured out, they did something else. They opened up.

The Staffords have always been a sharing kind of family. From Kelly Stafford opening up about her life on her The Morning After Podcast, to Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford singing hilarious parody songs to talk about real-life problems (like boarding a plane with 4 kids) on their family Instagram page. But sometimes, being normal human beings like all of us, they don’t have all the answers. Especially when it comes to parenting. So what do they do? They open up and address the elephant in the room.

Kelly Stafford recently shared a clip from her The Morning After podcast on Instagram where she addressed the trouble she faced with her kids. “I have children that things come very easily to. Then I have other children where it’s not as easy. And because they’re so close in age and they’re all girls, that gets difficult – ones who it comes harder to tend to give up because they see the ones that it comes easier to. And they’re like, oh, I’m not good at this. I’m I, nope, I’m not doing it. And it kills me because all of my kids are very talented.” She then went on to ask the audience if they had any suggestions for her. 

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Younger siblings typically tend to get overshadowed, and it’s a major problem a lot of parents face when raising kids. Kelly also addresses her fears, saying her kids are losing confidence, and she doesn’t know what to do, especially because her daughters are very close in age. Kelly also explains in her video that her own relationship with her sister was kind of similar. “She worked very hard in school. I just kind of coasted”. Kelly’s vulnerability is heartwarming, with one fan commenting, “No advice but I love that you are bringing this up for conversation.”

Many people have DM’d Kelly with suggestions and solutions, and she has commented on the post herself. “The common response is…let them each do their own thing and find carpool solutions. But I also wonder if they weren’t comparing themselves to their sisters…would they love it?” While Kelly tackles these issues with help from across the board, one also has to wonder if there are broader implications for the girls being the kids of an NFL superstar, a Super Bowl-winning QB in Los Angeles no less. That must come with its own set of challenges, right?

Kelly navigates marriage and family

Kelly Stafford is known for her candid and open takes. While this fear of her daughters giving up is the latest, she has always been this open about everything. She recently contemplated how lucky the Staffords are that they have girls. Cause if they had a boy, he’d have to live under Matthew Stafford’s shadow. “Looking at it now, we needed to be girl parents – With a boy… I think the pressures from everyone around him to be like his dad would’ve been hard. Or if he wasn’t like his dad, I would hate for him to feel any type of failure.”

And you know what? She’s not wrong. Just look at Shedeur Sanders. When he first came around, everybody drew parallels with his father, Deion Sanders. He had to work his way up to recognition so his skills could speak for him instead of his last name. Kelly understands this and is glad to have daughters who won’t be expected to chase glory on the gridiron like their dad. It’s not all just about their kids though. On her podcast, Kelly has also spoken about marriage. “Marriage is f—— hard – Before marriage, you put yourself first all the time. Now all of a sudden, you’re putting someone else first. – then there are kids involved.”

But there’s a silver lining to all of this. Just as Kelly is reaching out to her audience for guidance and support, the couple are trying to work on their marriage, too. From counselling to thoughtful gifts on their 10-year anniversary, to simply being there for each other, they are doing it all. And they are choosing each other through all hardships and changes. They’re a team. That’s what love, family, and marriage are all about, isn’t it?