This is the start of a series of articles where I want to do some quick hits on what happened during the week. As I’m sure some have noticed, my articles can go a bit long. Because of that, they take a while to write and publish which has been bothering me. Plus, it doesn’t give me a chance to react to things as they happen. So this will be more topical, I’ll provide links to things I find interesting, and I might even throw in some random tidbits that have little to do with being a father. So let’s get started
Time management
I’m terrible at getting things done when I want to. As a great example, I originally planned to launch The Modern Father in mid October. But even with an extra three weeks, I didn’t have everything in place I wanted to.
This is a problem with parenting, too. As most of us know, kids make everything take longer. They don’t follow our schedules, they hurry when we want to take our time, and they dawdle when we need to get out the door. When I’m added to the mix, things take twice as long to complete.
Things I’ve tried:
- To do lists
- Prioritization
- Delegating
- Outsourcing
The only one that seems to work is outsourcing, but that’s because I pay someone (in money or returned favors) to help me out. And of course, this doesn’t work with kids. So in the interest of crowdsourcing, what has worked for you?
Sickness
We are in peak flu season. This is also the seasons for RSV, which most people never hear about but can be a problem for infants and toddlers. And here at home, we spent Christmas on a bland food diet because some kind of stomach flu virus came through and wiped one of my kids, my wife, and my parents. We even did a podcast on sickness, but that was for Thanksgiving illness… so it was a tough holiday season. If you listened to our 3rd episode you know I have Cystic Fibrosis, which makes colds and influenza hit a bit harder. So to stay healthy, I wash my hands frequently, stay away from sick people, and make sure to keep away from anyone coughing or sneezing. Kids don’t help, since they don’t follow those steps and touch, taste, and smear everything.
So if you need me, I’ll be fitting myself for a biohazard suit and respirator.
Discipline
Another fun development of the last couple weeks has been a sharp rise in stress caused by toddlers misbehaving. The irony is that I thought we had already hit some of this when I wrote about keeping cool during the Terrible Twos… but I was so wrong. The worst part has been that one son has decided being told to stop is funny and an invitation to act out further. We’ve even been told by daycare that he laughs when others misbehave and eggs them on by saying, “Funny!” Timeouts are only somewhat successful, which adds to the problem. We have our 2 year checkup next week, so maybe we can get some other strategies. But for now… my wife and I are at our wits end.
Check this out
I want to finish up with some interesting reads from the last week, to highlight work I find interesting or entertaining.
The Parasite on the Playground – The New York Times
Maybe a little over-the-top to begin the article off, but it’s about a common parasite that isn’t studied much. Some studies on correlation have been done, but nothing definitive. While I wouldn’t freak out about it, it’s something to keep in mind when taking your kids to the playground.
Blogger of the week: Too Many Redheads
Adam is a “future step-dad” to three kids, ranging from teenager to preschooler. He started his blog recently, but has already made a bit of a name for himself by helping connect parent bloggers.
His first post of 2018 was all about coloring pages, specifically the free kind. As a father of toddlers myself, knowing where to find new things to color is a great help. Dollar stores can only get you so far.
In sports: Fangraphs
I’m a baseball kind of guy. I grew up playing and watching it from March to October every year. Never amounted to anything on the diamond, but it’s still on my TV or radio every summer.
Baseball has moved beyond simple stats like RBIs and batting average, and Fangraphs is a great place to learn about them. It’s the Hot Stove season right now, so you can keep up on MLB news and analysis through their numerous daily articles.
Closing thoughts
It’s still January, but it’s never too early to think about warmer weather. I live in the North, but even we have limited tolerance to below 0F temperatures. In the coming weeks, it will be time to plan the garden, start seedlings, and resupply. Since it’s something I enjoy, I hope to get an article or two out before March.
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