“I can’t do it. I can’t spank our children anymore. I just don’t know how to do it in a healthy way. I don’t know where the line is between spanking your children and beating them. I was never spanked; my parents beat the shit out of me. And they were angry when they did….
Category: parenting
Beyond the Voices in My Head
This morning, an older man, a stranger, gave a tiny bag of M&Ms to my two children that I was accompanying to school. It was so unexpected and so quick that I was completely taken off guard. No time to politely but firmly decline. I had noticed him when he stepped on to the MAX…
Dads’ Guide for Cooking for Kids
The idea that men can’t cook for the family seems archaic and ridiculous, particularly since there’s a long-standing flip side of that sexism where the top chefs in the world have been men – since the beginning of Top Chef-dom. They can’t cook at home but they can dominate the commercial kitchen? That’s just…
When You Don’t Like Your Own Kids
“You don’t have to like Lizzie – but you still have to treat her with respect.” “You don’t have to play with Roger – but that doesn’t mean that you get to be mean to him.” “Could there be something that they are having a hard time with that has hurt them and that’s why…
Night Owl Parent In An Early Bird World
I’m not a morning person. Apparently I was as a child, torturing my parents with cheerfully persistent greetings before the break of dawn. By the time I was 4 my parents started putting snacks out I could easily access on my own in the morning with the hope that they would get another 30 minutes…
So You’re A New Dad? Here’s Some Advice.
Your baby is here! Time to throw all expectations out of the window. As a father of 6 wonderful human beings, I would say that the easiest thing about adding another family member has been adjusting to the feeling of being a father – or being a father again. I can’t say much that most…
Parenting Pioneers
Every national holiday, Americans are faced with the challenge to figure out how to celebrate the holiday while at the same time remembering our country’s history – except for those who don’t get on Facebook, or the internet at all, and don’t read or watch the news. The rest of us face a message that…
When Character Building Tales Are Damaging
Good news for all parents: I have come up with a design for a school that would offer our kids the character building opportunity of having to walk uphill to AND from school. I know parents everywhere are going to jump all over this idea, because none of us want our kids to be wimps…
Note to Parents: “You’ve Got This.”
If you are a parent, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you: “You’ve got this” Parenting is a wild rollercoaster ride. Anyone who tells you otherwise has either never had kids, or never allowed their kids to be kids—or they’re in serious denial. Whatever your journey so far, it is no accident that you…
Safety, Choices, and Unconditional Love
A man—a stranger—promises ice cream to a 7-8 yr old. She just needs to leave the school grounds and come with him. He grabs hold of her clothing. She refuses to go. He pushes her to the ground. She escapes with a minor scrape. She tells no one at school. But she relays the story…