Thomas Rhett Shares the Biggest Way He’s Grown Since Becoming a Parent

Thomas Rhett is a father of three daughters with another on the way, and the country star has now had years to adjust to a major change he’s experienced since becoming a parent, namely the fact that things rarely go as planned. “I’m not a very organized person, but when I make a plan, I need to see the plan come out exactly how I planned it — and when you have three kids, that’s just impossible,” Rhett explained to PEOPLE.

“I could plan to go to the beach tomorrow and then someone will wake up with a stomach virus, and I have to be okay with that,” he continued. “The biggest way that I have grown is learning how to laugh through that stuff rather than get frustrated with it. That’s been a huge change that took quite a bit of work, but man, things just don’t frazzle me as much as they used to, and it’s just such an easier way to live when you’re not so concerned with the little stuff.”

He’s also learned the importance of spending individual time with daughters Willa Gray, 5, Ada James, 3, and Lennon Love, 1, as well as wife Lauren Akins. “I just love getting to spend one-on-one time with each of them, which is something that I didn’t think was really important before,” he said. “I just thought as long as the five of us were together, we were good. But I think the longer I’ve gone as a dad, it’s like each child really does need that one-on-one time — in the same way that Lauren and I just need time with each other.”

The “Country Again” singer added that time with his daughters seems to be flying by. “There’s that saying of ‘the days are long and the years are short,’ and I’ve never heard a truer statement as a dad,” he shared, “because you get into these days, and they feel like they last a year, and then the year’s over and your child is already a year older.”

Though it’s far away right now, Rhett admitted that he doesn’t love thinking about his kids eventually heading out on their own. “Man, I have a hard time thinking about their futures because I don’t want them to go anywhere, to be honest with you,” he said. “I just want my kids to get out and make a way for themselves knowing that they can come home anytime they want to.”