If I give my kid a BB gun, I can’t claim to be surprised when the squirrels around the neighborhood are seen limping. Of course I’d tell my little ones to shoot only tin cans or targets, but the accountability for following the rules in my absence belongs to my kid. Although I’d never actually … [Read more…]
Polarizing Major League baseball player Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals is on a mission to bring fun back into the game he calls “tired.” As with most articles I read, I immediately find parallels to my Good-Bad Dad life. I love baseball but this is not a piece about the great American past time … [Read more…]
Fatherhood has changed my life profoundly. I realized this last Friday night as I became frustrated at my inability to simultaneously watch “20/20” and “Dateline.” I became a Good-Bad Dad almost ten years ago and I have come to the realization that I used to poke fun at guys like me. Ten years ago, I … [Read more…]
I am beginning to understand how a zoo-confined gorilla must feel watching the crowds pass by. Some of the spectators breeze by while making subtle comments while others stop to stare. The caged animal has a choice to make – carry on as if they don’t notice the attention or acknowledge the gawking with a … [Read more…]
I welcome all adoption related questions. I love to talk about our process with anyone that is interested. I’m asked two questions most frequently: How much did the process cost? Why did you adopt? These questions are perfectly acceptable – I welcome them with two caveats for the person asking. First, I’m less comfortable openly … [Read more…]
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…]
The Adam LaRoche versus the Chicago White Sox saga has me conflicted. I agree that the owner of the team should make the rules. Managing by exception is not a good way to run a high performing team in any context. All that said, I’m frustrated that there is an assumption that being a great … [Read more…]
It would be disingenuous of me to claim that I take an interest in the NCAA’s March Madness only so that I can teach my kids valuable lessons they certainly won’t learn in school. The truth is, I’m a sports nut and the next few days allow my kids to be as well. Leave it … [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…]