Failure – I Think Therefore I Dad

My Daughters are Liars

Watching your kids grow up is a crazy thing. You’re the one raising them, you see them every day, and in theory you know them better than anyone in the world. Yet somehow you still learn new things about them all the time. For example, I recently learned my daughters were filthy liars. Kids lie.Continue reading “My Daughters are Liars”

A Calendar Never Forgets

There are some things that I’ll never forget – birthdays, home run totals, movie quotes. On the flip side, there are some things I can never remember – passwords, when was the time I changed the furnace filter, what my wife said is for dinner tomorrow. Generally, I tend to remember the stuff that isContinue reading “A Calendar Never Forgets”

Do You Reward the Effort or the Result?

I recently helped my eight-year old daughter learn one of education’s greatest lessons – the importance of cramming for a test. Well, not exactly cramming. Its not like I had her up until 3:00 AM memorizing her multiplication or something crazy. I might be a bad enough parent to let her fall behind on herContinue reading “Do You Reward the Effort or the Result?”

There Are No Off Days for Dad

I was recently reminded of something about being a parent – you can’t have any off days. That is not to say that you can’t get some time away from your kids. My wife and I try to get out for date nights as regularly as we can, and at least once a year takeContinue reading “There Are No Off Days for Dad”

Dad Is a Terrible Tooth Fairy

Of all the areas a father could fail, I never thought I’d fail in the area of the whimsical and fanciful. I think I do a pretty good job of encouraging their imaginations, of trying to protect and prolong their childhood innocence and wonder, and as part of both – belief and participation in imaginaryContinue reading “Dad Is a Terrible Tooth Fairy”

Teach Your Kids How to Eat

One thing I didn’t expect to have to teach my kids was how to eat. I guess I figured that since it is the first and only thing they know how to do when they are born, that it is overall a pretty instinctual process. Well, it’s not. A kid’s eating instincts are limited toContinue reading “Teach Your Kids How to Eat”

My Kids Are Thieves

Kids take stuff from you. Part of it is inherent to their existence and dependence on you. They take your time because they need a lot of attention. They take your money because it turns out that keeping another human alive, fed, and in shoes that fit is pretty expensive. I think I was prettyContinue reading “My Kids Are Thieves”

My Daughter Has a Weight Issue

For the last few weeks, my daughter’s weight has been a topic of interest in our house. If you think that sounds weird, well, yeah it kind of is. Evie, my six year-old daughter, has been watching her weight on a daily (sometimes multiple times per day) in her efforts to hit her target weight.Continue reading “My Daughter Has a Weight Issue”

My Son Won’t Stop Biting

There comes a time in every father’s life when he must sink his teeth into the fleshy pudge of of his three-year old’s arm. No? Is that just me? I know it is a very common thing for a child to go through a biting phase, but it is my understanding that it is alsoContinue reading “My Son Won’t Stop Biting”

A Dad Makes Fire

I recently took my three kids camping for the first time. My big fear was that they would hate it. They wouldn’t want to sleep in a tent, they wouldn’t understand that there is no TV, they wouldn’t be OK with a shared toilet. But they all did really well. Sure, they need to workContinue reading “A Dad Makes Fire”