The modern dad took center stage last week in anticipation of Father’s Day 2017 with a one-day summit in New York City on the role of fathers around the world and with the release of the latest annual “new dad report” from Boston College Center for Work & Family researchers.The first-ever Dads + SocialGood conference on June 13 brought to Manhattan leading experts, public figures, activists and parents to discuss men, their families and how to support their livelihood. Father and family health as well as the ongoing battle to improve parental leave policies in the United … [Read more...]
Parenting Isn’t Perfection, Failure Isn’t Worthy of Praise
Does hearing how others fail miserably really make us feel better about our faults or is this like a scene out of Jaws where we all compare our scars to see who has the biggest one of all?
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Every day we fail at parenting in some way.It's not mommy brain. It's not because we are the doofus dad. Here's an awful truth we must all face: We are human and we are going to make a ton of mistakes. Parenting is hard.I recently sat in a meeting with other parents, mostly moms, quietly listening to them tear themselves down. They seemed to think that … [Read more...]Part-Time At-Home Dad Feels Full-Time Regrets, Blessings
The whistling I hear breaks my daydreams and delusions of possibility. The whistling is a personification of the years passing me by – the proverbial winds of change. My babies are growing up – and my window of opportunity is closing.I remember when I was 22 and a young student teacher. I completed a semester of my student teaching at my alma mater – the halls of the high school that helped mold me into the individual that I am. We had a set of senior twin boys there who talked about their father being a stay-at-home dad for the first five years of their life. I remember thinking that was … [Read more...]
Dads Can Help Moms in ‘Fifth Trimester’ of Re-entering Workforce
What should a father do if his wife wants to return to her job after she gives birth?Support her all he can and figure out how to make the marital partnership work for each of you, says author Lauren Smith Brody.Brody gives advice on how to achieve those goals on the latest edition of The Modern Dads Podcast where she discusses her latest book, The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, & Big Success After Baby.Based on interviews and input from more than 700 moms who work in a wide variety of occupations, Brody's book is not all opinion and anecdote as she … [Read more...]
How to Suck at Adulting … and Survive
Does anybody else suck at adulting?You know what I mean. The doing of the stuff. Engaging in basic Life Maintenance. Paying the bills on time. Thinking ahead about what my family will have for dinner will be tomorrow. Signing field trip forms on time. Filing things before a deadline. Keeping track of when the oil was last changed in the car. Reminding other people to do things. Reminding myself to do things.Can I engage in active adulting when I have to? Yes. Yes I can. But it's a struggle. I've never NOT paid a late fee for my car registration (which ultimately ends up being more … [Read more...]