Three of the men dearest to me, my actual brother and two close friends, recently had their first child. Here's what I know about having your first child that I shared with them. First-Time Dads Tip 1. Babies don't come out looking at colleges. You have time to learn and time to make mistakes. The first three months are mostly about poop, food and sleep. It will get more complicated, but it all seems to come one complication at a time. First-Time Dads Tip 2. Know what goes into your child. You'll be hearing a lot about what comes out -- it seems poop is the Rosetta Stone for every … [Read more...]
About Christopher VanDijk
Potty Training Requires Practice (and a Drop Cloth)
Someone from the Denver Dads Group recently asked me a question about potty training his son. I thought I'd share some advice. Dear Potty Frus-Training, Here's something really important to remember: You're not "training him" to pee in the potty, you are help him practice skills. Our pediatrician shared that with us when we expressed our frustrations. Think about it, we are expecting a 3-year- old to do something an inebriated adult can barely do. So, we treated it like practice. Here's my set up: Go to Home Depot and buy a plastic lined paper drop cloth in the paint section. Lay it … [Read more...]
Denver is for the Dinosaurs
Editor's Note: Denver. The Mile High City. Dinosaurs? Our week-long celebration of "Summer in Our City Dads Group Cities" heads west as we get prehistoric on you. When you think of Denver, you think of mountains, craft beer, the Orange Crush, and altitude sickness. If you have kids, maybe you think of the myriad of things for families to do at 5,280 feet: the Children’s Museum of Denver, the Colorado Railroad Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s new Discovery Zone, The Denver Zoo, parks, splash parks, plenty of hiking trails … But dinosaurs!? Denver sits on a high plain … [Read more...]