Back-to-school time brings about a plethora of emotions in children: excitement, anxiety, anticipation, fear, among countless others. Sometimes they bring those emotions home with them, or in the case of my son, Nolan, wear them on their sleeve. Those are just some of the stuff, tangible and intangible, your kid will bring home from school, along with: Germs Your school-aged kids are to blame for any family illness the majority of the time. They bring countless germs home and, unlike their toys, your kids are kind enough to share them with you and the rest of the family, especially … [Read more...]
Summer is Dead, Long Live Summer: A Back-to-School Story
According to Facebook, we are now entering the most wonderful time of the year. Soon, the entire social platform will be virtually overrun with endless photos featuring the hottest trends in back-to-school fashion, unstained and firmly pressed beneath the forced smiles of freshly scrubbed children. Next up: Pumpkin Spice Lattes. The parents, however, are not forcing anything. The reaction shots of ecstatic moms and triumphant dads celebrating the return of academia are becoming increasingly popular. School is back from summer vacation, and the carpool is a small price to pay for the end of … [Read more...]
Remembering Being a Child Can Help You be a Better Parent
Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.
-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
For years I had the pleasure of teaching The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I loved following Tom and his adventures and witnessing his foray into young adulthood. The simplicity that … [Read more...]Sibling Rivalry Overcome with a Future Gift from Your Children’s Past
It was supposed to be a trouble-free paradise. My wife, two teen daughters, and I recently splurged on a family vacation. Their majority vote landed us at a swanky resort for a spa weekend. You would think two days of pampering services with names like “Espresso Mud Detox Wrap” would lead to familial bliss. You would be wrong. By the end of our second day, I could already feel the stress that had been massaged out of me surging back through my body. Why? My daughters could not stop bickering. For some reason their sibling rivalry was on steroids that weekend. I figured part of the … [Read more...]
HomeDadCon 2018 Early-Bird Tickets on Sale Until August 16
Time is running out to purchase a discounted ticket and book an on-site hotel room for the National At-Home Dad Network's 2018 conference, aka HomeDadCon 2018, scheduled for Sept. 13-15, in Orlando, Fla. The convention, now in its 23rd year, brings together fathers who are their family’s primary caregiver. HomeDadCon offers them "professional development" as men who embrace parenting as their most important job, allows them to network with other active and involved dads, and also gives these full-time parents a chance to relax. To that last point, HomeDadCon 2018 ticket holders have already … [Read more...]
Moving from Only Home Your Kids Have Known Tough on All
We’re standing in a house somewhere in Minnesota. It has two more bedrooms than our condo in the Chicago area. It has an extra bathroom (and a half), a yard with a built-in barbecue, basketball hoop, two-car garage and property taxes so laughably low that it’s hard to believe this all comes for about the same price as where we live now. My third- and first-graders are running around claiming bedrooms for themselves and, for a brief second, it’s hard to think of any of the reasons keeping us where we are in suburban Illinois. A casual curiosity to see what we could get on budget during a … [Read more...]
Explaining Evolution, Creation to Little Children is a Science, Takes Faith
Science and religion are on a collision course in my household. Religion. Science. Are they independent or intertwined? How exactly do you explain the confluence of the two subjects to a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old, especially when they’re the ones who bring it up? Naturally, I explained the evolution/creation issue as well as I could, thoroughly confusing my kids in the process. The screenplay goes thusly: Scene: A father and his three kids are driving to a park in a late model SUV SIX YEAR OLD: Hey Dad, I have a question. Who were the first people? DAD: Well, … [Read more...]
‘Star Trek’ Father Loses His Son to that ‘Star Wars’ Thing
“Dad, I don’t like Star Trek,” my son said to me. And right there, at that exact moment, is the moment my heart shriveled up, and the world became a cold dark place. “You are dead to me,” I told my son. I turned away trying to hold back tears. I buried myself in my work; making his lunch so that my traitor of a son could have something to eat today besides his father’s disappointment. “It’s boring, dad,” he said. Boring? Star Trek is boring? Motherfucking Captain Kirk boring? This is blasphemy. “Minecraft is boring,” I said. I usually add three pieces of salami to his … [Read more...]
Comparisons Between Children No. 1 Parenting Mistake to Avoid Making
Ever heard a parent of a 3-month-old say, “My baby is just like me when I was that age”? Of course not. But when it comes to parents of teens, detailed comparisons and contrasts abound. Why do we do this? Probably because we remember the highlights of our teenhood so much better than our toddlerhood. I recently asked one of the wisest parents I know for her No. 1 parenting tip. Her reply? Stop all the comparisons! Don’t compare a child to yourself at his or her age; don’t compare a child to his or her siblings; don’t compare a child to relatives, friends, classmates, co-parents or anyone … [Read more...]
Foul Ball Memories Shared Between Baseball Loving Fathers, Sons
There is this ball that I have sitting in my office. To many, it looks like just any other baseball. On most days it just sits there, without someone even looking at it. There is no signature on it, and I have yet to fill out the placard on the baseball stand. But I treasure that ball. I wouldn’t say it’s Babe Ruth-esque special, but I’d still be upset if William took the ball to the sandlot one day. The story behind that ball dates back to 1996. A good year for me as a young boy. My local high school baseball team won the state baseball championship, and it seems that anytime something … [Read more...]
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