Tag Archives: Childhood

Dad’s Work Chair

One of the few realms Dad has a good amount of control over is the desk. It is readily observed as Dad’s desk and everyone treats it as such. Proof of this can be found simply by leaving a mess of books around the house. Inevitably those books, when my wife finds their current placement angering, will end up haphazardly stacked on the desk. Shirts and sweaters left around the house will eventually be thrown either on the desk or in the desk chair. This small little realm is a joyous and necessary place for Dad. The rigors of graduate … Continue reading →

Enjoying the Shadows

Yesterday my son and I ventured outside to enjoy the relatively enjoyable temperature, the sunshine, and some free time together. Since the weather has been uncharacteristically cold and snowy for this part of the country we haven’t been spending as much time outside as we’d like. Coupled with the increasingly busy schedule my wife and I have been encountering lately our family time has mostly been spent cooking, eating, and trying to relax & do work at the same time (something that doesn’t really make sense or necessarily work). As always, I noticed changes in my son from before the … Continue reading →

What Are Your Expectations of Childhood?

Most of us come to parenting with all sorts of preconceived notions and ideas about how our family is going to be, what kind of parent we will make and our personal philosophies about discipline and such. Many of us find that our philosophies shift quite a bit with the realities of actually parenting the child or children that we are blessed with. I do think it helps, however, to take stock of what we expect out of the period of childhood—do we think that childhood is for worry-free play and experimentation? Do we think that childhood should be spent … Continue reading →

Inspirational Animals: Oscar the Naked Cockatoo

I guess because of the situation I find myself in with my mom I’m even more on the lookout for uplifting and inspirational stories these days. The kind where an underdog faces incredible, perhaps even seemingly insurmountable, odds but still emerges victorious. That’s why the story I saw on the news over the weekend caught my eye. It would have anyway because it had to do with an animal shelter harboring a very special bird. But it grabbed at me even more so because the bird was touted the ugliest bird alive –one who shouldn’t even be alive. Yet it … Continue reading →

Who Is Really Afraid Here?

I wrote earlier this morning about how as parents we can have more compassion and understanding for our young children as they start to develop and exhibit what seem like “irrational” fears. As I was writing, I couldn’t help think about how we sometimes create fears for our children or at least contribute to their fears with things that we say and do. Sometimes, the fears our children exhibit and share are really our own… Take, for example, stranger danger and the fears we have about our children getting “taken” or “stolen” from us. Using this strong, fearful language with … Continue reading →

Remember, Childhood Passes

There is no denying that parenthood can be a frustrated, exhausting time. There are those days when we just can’t muster the excitement or the patience to face another childhood crisis. I often have friends and others who share with me their exasperation over certain ages and stages and confess that they just don’t know how they are going to get through another day, week, sickness, birthday party, etc. All I can figure to tell them is that from my perspective here at the end of nearly two decades of parenting is that childhood passes, everything is temporary, and even … Continue reading →

They Are Not Miniature Adults

Now that my children are nearly grown, they can sometimes do darn good impersonations of adults—they can be practical, level-headed, and display a great sense of humor. But, they are not adults yet, and I do not think the tendency to expect children to act like miniature adults is isolated on teenagers—it can be tempting for us parents to have the unreasonable expectations of our children at all sorts of ages and stages. Without even realizing it, we may be expecting them to act older than their years. Sure, sometimes they surprise us, sometimes they delight us with visions of … Continue reading →

Dad’s Parenting Affects Your Child’s Weight

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This is interesting. A friend of mine sent me an update in the mail over the weekend and it detailed a recent study that was to be presented to the Pediatric Academic Societies in Toronto. According to the study that included 5,000 children, in the 4 to 5 year old age range and their parents found that Dad’s parenting style presented a major influence on their children’s weight. The Daddy Game It seems that researchers discovered that permissive fathers (those who offered no limits to their children) or disengaged fathers who were not involved with their children were more likely … Continue reading →

Special Places, Special People, Special Traditions

My girl is a funny kid. We make bi-weekly trips to my parent’s house (they watch her two Fridays a month) and when we arrive she basically denies loving the books and music she enjoys at home. It is as if she morphs into a slightly different child with different interests and new favorite things. Before we discovered this, we would often bring her newest favorite stuffed animal or the CD she just can’t stop listening to over her grandparent’s house. We thought she would be excited to share these passions with her grandparents. Nope. She would have nothing to … Continue reading →

Does Your Child Feel Important?

I watched a fantastic documentary last night called “The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy.” It uses computer animation to recreate the assassination with pinpoint accuracy never seen before. The point of the documentary is to argue that only Lee Harvey Oswald was behind the murder of President Kennedy and that there was no conspiracy. This is the greatest documentary on this topic that I’ve ever seen. A Desperate Need to Feel Important The documentary also reveals details about Lee Harvey Oswald’s life of which most people are probably unaware. This misfit Oswald had an overwhelming desire to be important. From the … Continue reading →