Originally published on BabyCenter.com November 1, 2013
My wife has given birth without painkillers for a second time. This terrifies me, because I don’t know what else she might be capable of.
Continue reading “Baby Number 2 is Here, and My Wife is a Warrior”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com October 23, 2013
I have discovered a way to make my son do what I want, and it involves using funny voices.
Continue reading “How my Toddler Turned me into a Clown”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com October 6, 2013
I’ve had a few recurring dreams in my lifetime, but none were as terrifying to me as Cookie Monster with teeth.
Continue reading “My Warped Dreams, My Son’s Thoughts, and My Wife’s Solution”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com September 27, 2013
I don’t need to produce a list of mass shootings that have occurred in America over the past few years – they’ve been reported on plenty. Another one occurred in my home town this week, in which a road rage incident wound up with somebody getting shot six times.
Continue reading “Talking to Your Kids about Guns”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com September 14, 2013
When I did my introductory video many months ago, I mentioned that my interest in my son would make sure I had an interest in anything he got involved in, even if it was something totally foreign to me. I was thinking more along the lines of him getting into sports instead of my nerdy activities. I didn’t think I was talking about Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
Continue reading “Taking an Interest in my Son’s Activities: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com August 19, 2013
I’m a man, and I like the color pink.
Were I in elementary school, this might be the cause of quite a bit of ridicule.
Continue reading “Raising a Boy Who Likes Pink”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com August 9, 2013
“More book?” is the boy’s rallying cry at bedtime. He knows it’s hard for us to say “no” to him wanting to read.
Sometimes, we read until he falls asleep. Sometimes we leave him with a book in his crib and let him look at the pictures until he finally shuts his eyes. And sometimes he wakes up screaming at 3:30 in the morning and only a story will calm him down.
It’s on those nights when the whole family is sleep deprived and I don’t want to risk turning on a light that I turn to the stories I know by heart – the simple fairy tales that almost all of us hear at one point or another in our childhoods.
And it’s usually in the middle of reciting these tried and true fairy tales that I realize how badly they need editing.
Continue reading “Editing Fairy Tales for Your Kids”
Originally published May 10, 2013 on BabyCenter.com
As Mother’s Day approaches, I’m reminded that it’s good to be a moderately competent dad.
My wife is a stay at home mom, so she does everything. To prevent her from completely melting down, I sometimes start the weekend with a grocery run or shopping expedition that’s just me and my son. I call it merrands. That’s short for “man errands.” I’m clever like that.
Continue reading “The Merits of Being a Moderately Competent Dad”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com July 26, 2013
We went to the park so I could show the boy how to hit a baseball. It seemed like a simple and traditional father/son bonding moment. There was only one problem: I didn’t count on the dandelions.
Continue reading “Overcoming My Son’s Fear of Dandelions”
Originally published on BabyCenter.com July 4, 2013
It’s only been about a month since I blogged about depression, but as with most mental illnesses it’s a topic that needs to be revisited frequently. In this case, Lisa Firestone recently provided a reminder in the Huffington Post that depression is a major problem that moms face. It’s a good reminder not only because there are many moms who know that they will have to deal with depression before and after pregnancy, but also because there are many expectant moms who don’t realize that they are already dealing with it.
Continue reading “Moms and Depression: Help is More Effective than you Think”