For now, my dreams are those I imagine for my kids. Aspiring to run a marathon, being promoted to Vice President by forty or backpacking through Europe are not in my mind for now. I have only one dream: for my children to live for their passions. I don’t want my children to focus on … [Read more…]
I’ve messed up my kids – we’re one day into Spring Break and I am sure of that fact. Staying home with my family today, I’ve realized that my Good-Bad Dad fast breaking pace might need to change – and change quickly for the benefit of the little ones I thought I was serving. Today … [Read more…]
My Good-Bad Dad skills are on display during my endless “well-baby” checkups. As with most of the tenets of being a GBD, these skills will go generally unnoticed but are no-less valuable – particularly for my starting five. There is no better way to illustrate the tempered down nature of my parenting over time than … [Read more…]
I have become one of the older parents dropping off my infant daughter at daycare each day. My daughter’s tattered onesie against their daughter’s dainty outfit with matching headband are a dead giveaway that this is kid #5 for me. When I catch myself in these moments of snickering, I’m quickly ashamed that I’ve now … [Read more…]
I will never forget having to enter a “health coaching program” as a sixth grader. I was 4 feet 2 inches tall and weighed just short of 100 pounds. I remember the stats well – those were the numbers I wrote on the cover of my food journal and activity book. Given this experience, you … [Read more…]
My kids do not have recess during their school day and that is ridiculous. I have lived with this lunacy for two years but have had enough. In typical Good-Bad Dad fashion, I had accepted the status quo because I was too busy to do otherwise. I have been an obedient steward to rules and … [Read more…]
I have stood in the delivery room of a hospital four times. Each time I felt the same way – both thrilled and terrified. The excitement is obvious, the terror is sobering. During this precious moment I come to a daunting Good-Bad Dad realization – I am now responsible for this beautiful (but screaming) bundle … [Read more…]
My second grader has reached the second phase of the application process for the Gifted Program and my Good-Bad Dad muscles are pulsating. Whether you know such a program as “Gifted” or “Extended Learning Program (ELP)” the concept is the same – providing more, different and focused learning to kids that show early educational promise. … [Read more…]