Happy Easter. Or I should say, I hope you had a happy Easter. Happy Easter Monday! Easter Monday is a holiday in some countries. Australia considers both Good Friday and Easter Monday a holiday, closing most tourist attractions and public areas. South Africa has renamed Easter Monday as Family Day, giving most workers the day … Continue reading Easter Monday Full of Hope
Helicopter parents. We all have seen them at the playground, hovering around their child's rear end as they climb a ladder. Or constantly reminding their child to be careful at various platforms throughout the jungle-gym. I've been there. The last thing I want to experience is my son or daughter getting hurt, and it's only … Continue reading Trust Children When Engaging in Risky Play
There are many things I didn't prepare myself for when I became a father. Among these is the great wonder of what I did with all of my free time prior to children. I also didn't prepare myself for the fact that children can bring the worst out of you. But the idea that I … Continue reading An Eye for An Eye vs. Turning the Other Cheek
My son and daughter are four years apart, so I haven't experience fighting exactly. I have experienced the my four-year-old becoming jealous and/or hogging toys, utilizing his physical power over the situation. The conflicts I experience have a lot to do with obtaining parental attention and blockading the crawling 10-month-old away from small toys. But … Continue reading When to Referee, When to Coach and When to Sit the Bench
My four-and-a-half year old son is as independent as it gets, unless we're visiting extended relatives that are new to him every time we visit, every couple of years. So he's rummaging downstairs in our unfinished basement. This place is full of treasures to a boy his age and full of junk waiting to be … Continue reading That’s Nice. My Pre-schooler Has a Powerdrill! Put It Down. And Now He Hates Me.
The nightmare was real. I had pulled up to my house after ending the work day naked. Not without clothes naked but without technology naked. Stripped of Facebook announcements, text messages and the ability to check my email five times per minute. I'm ashamed to admit there was anxiety about missing some important phone call or … Continue reading Fatherhood Stripped of Technology, for at Least One Night
I want what I want and I want it now. Thanks to the Internet I can instantly look up the answer to table topic questions. I want my burger well done and on my plate as soon as my mouth starts watering, and I lean toward going to the farmers market rather than grow my … Continue reading Can Patience Be Taught?
I write about the the necessity of God in my life to be a good father. And I believe it, after all that's what keeps me writing about it over and over. However, there are times where I feel like an absolute fraud, wondering why anyone should even take my advice. There are times when … Continue reading Forgotten Matchbox Cars and losing My Sanity with My Parking Ticket
The scene was one of laughter and joy, reading the Berenstain Bears Go To School book. Sister goes to get on the bus, and my son imagines himself being in her place. "What if I just stood there and didn't get on the bus?" he asked. "The bus driver would say, 'come on,'" I said, waving my … Continue reading It’s In His Blood and There is Nothing We Can Do
I've written before that I've always been a little more of a pushover than someone who stands up for what they believe. At least this has been true up until my mid-thirties. I've recently heard hindsight as described as 10K rather than 20/20 vision, and I am feeling like that is true. I can now … Continue reading Which is more Fatherly? Parenting So They Like You or Giving Them What They Need
