We think we know, but we don’t. The irony is, we say the same about children. How many times have you said about a teenager, “they know nothing but think they’re the smartest person on the planet.” By the time we’re old enough to have kids, you’d think we’d “get” irony. We should. We don’t.

Sure, parenting could come naturally to some, but to most…(read: me), it’s akin to someone dropping off a drunk monkey @ your place to constantly run around getting into stuff – all while you live in constant fear of them cracking their skull open.

The big thing i’ve learned happened before our son was born. I looked around at friends who had had kids and realized, “I don’t know these people anymore.” It was as if they’d become parent-bots, trying to act like the vision they had of what parents should be, instead of being themselves.

I learned – be yourself; the people who decided to have a kid. That way, YOU are raising your child, not some weird version of yourself that you don’t recognize. Your child will thank you for it.

Once you accept that you know nothing, the learning can begin.

(man, that sound’s heavy and kinda “yoda-ish” – did i just coin a child-rearing phrase?)

thom

Damien

One thing that I’ve learned is that different things work for different kids (even in the same family), and I don’t have it all figured out.

It’s so true that it’s a lot easier the 2nd+ time around. Sure, you’re busier and have another child that demands all your time — but you’re smarter and can let a lot of things go (namely: worry) that you would obsess about with the first one. (Speaking from personal experience.) I have friends telling me they’d never have a second child b/c they can barely keep up with the first–but it wasn’t until I had more than one child that I actually started to enjoy parenthood (who, me?) and relax a bit.

And in random closing, if you guys haven’t read the Baby Blues comic strip you need to getcherself to the library and get started. It’s my all-time favorite in that genre. Start at the beginning when the couple has their first child.

So say we all…

Lesson: There is nothing you can do about a code brown from a 1.75 year old. They do what they do. Get your emergency control in place. Usually hardened in the fires of experience.

Lesson: Don’t be checking your emails during bed time. It throws off your game and you gotta stay sharp. Poop is hardcore.

Lesson: Scan the stairs on your descent and stay in shape. Steps are a mine field. My soccer fu skillz saved me a trip to urgent care.

Fathers Unite.