Have you ever noticed how songs seem perfectly innocuous until your child is singing the lyrics? They’re suddenly horribly suggestive and filthy and disgusting. When did the transformation take place? When did everything change? The same type of logic applies to movies that you’ve seen a dozen times, sometimes even as a kid. Out of… Continue reading Parent Eyes
Have you ever noticed that, when it comes to taking your kids out to dinner, the selections in your average place are pretty much the same: macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, hot dog, cheese quesadilla, hamburger, pizza? Every once in a while you’ll find somewhere that has a few more “out of the box” suggestions… Continue reading Credit where it’s due
A long time ago I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t write anything that would make Daughter feel embarrassed were she to read it later in life. I am not going to break that promise, though I might get close. For my sanity, this needs to be written. It is shocking to me to… Continue reading I’ve got my red shoes on
The other morning I made the usual drive to drop Daughter off at school. We made our way through the line of cars to the drop off area, and I said my usual morning words. I told her she’s awesome and intelligent. I told her she’s strong and funny. I told her to go… Continue reading Go be amazing
When I was a student teacher, I was fortunate enough to work with some pretty amazing masters in their classrooms. One of them, a wise and hilariously sardonic intermediate teacher who was nearing the end of her career, noticed my leanings towards anxiety long before I had any clinical diagnosis, and pulled me aside for… Continue reading It’s all in the cards
Lately I’ve been feeling pretty frustrated about the attitude that Daughter has had with me. I’ve written about it in a few ways, and I’ve written about ways that I have attempted to handle it. Some of them have been successful, and some have been less so. Even when I have a day or a… Continue reading We’ve all got problems
I’m a sort of obnoxious parent. For reasons that are right for my family and me, I rationalize and reason with Daughter so that she is sure to understand the consequences she receives for her actions almost all of the time. This goes for positive and negative consequences, and it works for us. Daughter is… Continue reading To reason or not to reason
Like many people during this time of year, I like to watch some of the award shows televised for those of us not famous enough to score a ticket. I enjoy the gowns and tuxes in a sort of old Hollywood way. I also really like to see what movies look great as a… Continue reading And the award goes to…
A version of this post can be found on the Kindermusik blog site. As a parent, finding the balance between protecting your child and allowing for safe risks is a constant struggle. If we don’t allow risks, we logically know that it will not end well for our little ones, yet, all we want to… Continue reading Risk and Growth
Ahhh, love. As yesterday was Valentine’s Day, it’s sure in the air. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in my social media feeds all about what dads should do for their wives in order to show their daughters how a man should treat them. I was preparing to write all about how… Continue reading Flowers for everyone
Elephants in the Room 