As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t claim to be a parenting expert, but I do have a plan. It’s not a set-in-stone kind of plan where any deviation could bring destruction and ruin. I’m not building a hydroelectric dam; I’m raising kids, and I hope that my parenting style can adapt and grow along with … Read more
Please note off the top that this is not a review of 13 Reasons Why. I haven’t watched the show and have no plans to watch it. But a lot of people have been watching it, and talking about it. It ended up on my radar, which is markedly free of must-watch TV shows (Tell me more about this “Sopranos.” … Read more
I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great mothers in my life (including “biological,” “-in-law,” and “of my children). They are a blessing. I hope all the great moms out there have a great day.
All the Facebook-link-clicking, blog-reading fellow dads out there, tell me if you have this same problem: I like to think I’m a fairly smart guy. I read books, often books with very few pictures, and even some that aren’t about plucky outcast teens in futuristic dystopias. I can explain the separation of powers and the infield … Read more
There’s been a lot of ink spilled about single parenthood in my lifetime. As the number of single parent households went through the roof, a lot of people felt the need to lend them as much moral support as possible. So, for the last few decades we’ve seen a steady stream of odes to single parents — … Read more
My son Graham is a pretty happy-go-lucky soul. He needs structure and is apprehensive about change just like any other kid, but for a four-year-old he rolls with the punches pretty well. So when he started to pitch screaming fits whenever we tried to drop him off at his preschool or Sunday school class, we … Read more
The juxtaposition of two nightmarish incidents in Florida last week provide a harsh life lesson for all of us about how ugly the world can get. But the more I see the general reaction unfold, the more I think that maybe it wasn’t harsh enough. A family, vacationing at Disney World, lost their toddler son … Read more
Tonight on the way to bed, my 3-year-old son said, “I’m going to dream about playing with you, Daddy.” I just wanted to write that down somewhere where I’d remember it.
Something occurred to me the other night when we were in hour number two of our nightly battle to get my 3-year-old to eat his dinner. And it’s not like we ever serve him anything that he doesn’t already like. Nothing makes you feel like a sketchy parent more than yelling at your kid, “Young man, … Read more
My son just turned three, and I am proud to say that he has fully grasped the idea that going in the potty is way better than going in your pants. Yes, he’s a highly advanced child. Soon, we’ll expect him to be able to perform simple repairs on our air conditioner and represent me during my frequent … Read more
We live in an era of wild overreaction. In fact, “overreaction” is too mild a term for it. Our culture churns out hysteria like Old Faithful churns out water — voluminously and with tourist-attraction regularity. Just because people are freaking out about a thing doesn’t mean it’s a significant thing; it just means we’ve got a whole … Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I’m going to tell my son about things like this. And while I don’t think I would buy a used car from this guy, what he says about confidence makes a lot of sense to me. Also, does he break down crying at the end of this video? … Read more
If you can, tell you mother how much you love her. If you can’t, remember how much she loved you. Enjoy the video!
Before I had kids, I was absolutely positive that I knew the right way to raise children. Now that I have a two-year-old son and a two-month old daughter… I still think I know the right way to raise children, mostly because I haven’t had them long enough to completely ruin them yet. Having kids … Read more
Erick Erickson writes of his greatest fear for his kids: I fear my kids might decide to go along to get along. The Bible says, and history bears it out, that the world hates those of God because the world hates God. I fear my children, though, may decide they love the world more than … Read more
Mark Tapson explores the eternal question, “Why have kids?” His answer is more than just tax deductions or having someone in the house with hands small enough to fish lost silverware out of the sink drain. He says children give life meaning: Bringing little ones into this world who depend on you for everything forces … Read more