I see what I want for my own children: always to have love in their lives ... whether that be in a monogamous, lifelong relationship or whether their evolutions take them on journeys with multiple partners — or other forms I can’t even imagine. _____________ I have been to a couple of weddings in the past few months. As one who has been married and divorced twice, I have felt myself wince each time when the couples pledged to be together for life.The wince registers on many levels. An abiding sense of failure on my part, particularly with my second marriage. I have two sons, now ages 10 … [Read more...]
I Don’t Regret Giving My Baby a Weird Name
I’m one of those parents who gave his kid a weird name.I know. It’s kind of weird. The wife and I weren’t sure about it either. In fact, there are days where I’m still not sure we made the right decision.Our first two kids have regular names. Sure, they’re kind of hipster-cool/over-popular, but we like the names we gave them just the same. She’s Harper: Her name was inspired by author Harper Lee and musician Ben Harper. He’s Wyatt; we gave him a laid-back name that could fit easily on the nameplate of a future judge’s office or on a blue-collar work shirt. And the Weird Name is … [Read more...]
Raising Children to be Bilingual in Baby (Sign) Steps
Like all first time expecting parents, I knew everything. Not as much as people who don’t have kids, they’re the true experts. But one thing I knew for sure was that my children would be bilingual.My wife and I are both sign language interpreters. Her parents are deaf. On top of that, we both have backgrounds in education and linguistics. We understood language acquisition. Our kids were going to learn American Sign Language (ASL). It was a no brainer.“Oh! You should look into baby signs!” people would say to us when they found out our backgrounds.This would be the cue for my wife … [Read more...]
Christmas Wishes for My Children and Yours
Editor’s Note: City Dads Group is proud to occasionally feature writing from members of The Handsome Father, a support community that helps connect, prepare and inspire gay fathers. In this piece, Patrick Roth writes about the Christmas wishes he has for his children.Always strive to see the good in the world. It’s easy to read the headlines of the day and see only darkness. There is hatred, intolerance, corruption and destruction all around us. But there is also love, acceptance, honesty and creation. The good outweighs the bad in big and little ways every day. Neighbors offer their … [Read more...]
Christmas from the Jewish Perspective
Editor's Note: NYC Dads Group member Larry D. Bernstein writes this post about how he handled the Christmas season while growing up Jewish. Enjoy and happy holidays to all.I love Christmas lights. Always have.Kind of ironic, right? After all, I’m Jewish and therefore, I don’t celebrate Christmas. Yet, it’s hard to avoid Christmas and all that goes with it. Between the advertisements, television shows, music, etc., Christmas is everywhere. However, for me, Christmas is just another day.And that is why at this time of the year, I feel very much like a minority, an other and an … [Read more...]