It should be the easiest thing in the world for me to do. As an at-home dad, you’d think all I did was hang out with my kid, right? Yes and no. It’s complicated. While my 2-year-old son comes first, I do work. Real estate doesn’t sell itself (well, kinda, but that’s not the point). I also oversee events, social media and more for the Anchorage Dads Group; I’m on the board of a nonprofit, and I have to jam in time for my wife as well. Life is busy. My son, and his associated care, consumes a lot of time and takes priority over everything during the day. Everything revolves around his … [Read more...]
Judging Other Parents Brings Smug Satisfaction, Regret
There was a time not so long ago, let’s just call that time "yesterday," when I would have judged you. Quietly. To myself in the moment we two shared without your knowledge but not in nearly as creepy a way as that sounds. I would be again judging you later, to my wife that evening after the kids were in bed and I’d become a tad punch-drunk thanks to the lateness of the hour. I’d crack wise and witty about your laziness, about how you’d rather keep your toddler distracted than have to actually engage and be present as a mom, about how your kid is growing up perfectly suited to the modern … [Read more...]
Raising Your Children Without Hovering Over Them
"Helicopter parent" is the modern putdown for the overprotective mom and dad none of wanted as a kid but so many of us have become as adults. Is it too late for us to change over hovering ways? It's not, according to author and former Stanford University dean Julie Lythcott-Haims, who joins us on the latest Modern Dads Podcast to talk about her new book, How to Raise an Adult: How to Raise an Adult, the new book by Julie Lythcott-Haims Lythcott-Haims' book, which City Dads Group gave a glowing review to back in June, recounts stories of young adults who have been left devoid of the basic … [Read more...]
Avoid Overparenting and Learn “How to Raise an Adult”
How to Raise an Adult, the new book by Julie Lythcott-Haims, discusses the many pitfalls and consequences of overparenting. A former undergraduate dean at Stanford University, Lythcott-Haims recounts stories of young adults who have been left devoid of the basic life skills that are crucial to surviving in a dangerous unforgiving world because of their overprotective mothers and fathers. She writes, for example, that many parents today are hesitant to give their children the freedom to play alone outdoors or in the playground the way they were allowed when they were children. … [Read more...]