My adult son recently decided it would be fun to play a game I like to call Parental Gotcha. It goes a little something like this. We are just hanging out, and he casually says, “Do you remember that time I told you I was...
Our oldest son has always been a picky eater. When he was 18 months old, our pediatrician said, “Feed him the foods he should eat. When he gets hungry enough, he will eat it.” He refused to eat rice and chicken for dinner a few...
After having his cat for a few months, my son announced that unlike other cats, his cat likes to lie on cold things. So, without my approval, my brain clicked into confirmation bias. I suddenly noticed that everything the cat was lying on was cold,...
Knowing the things to say to kids can be challenging. But most of us dads have a couple of essential one-liners in our toolbox: I love you, and I'm proud of you. And while those two are vital, adding a few other one-liners to the...
After speaking at an event on the power of words, a man said to me, “I’m 83 years old, and I still remember my mother telling me as a child that she loved me, but she didn’t like me.” I wasn’t shocked to hear this....
For some reason, I have the compulsion to overanalyze everything. I blame it largely on Amazon. Recently, I just wanted to order a new pair of running shoes. But, like always, I waded first through the results, and then all the other categories—highly rated, more...
We all try to encourage, guide, and nudge our kids, with the hopes of them becoming great adults. We try to get better at knowing what to say and when to say it. Then your version of something like this happens. You’ve been telling her...
When my kids were younger and would fall and get hurt, I would immediately get frustrated with them: “Why were you running? Kids shouldn’t run!” Then, almost as quickly, I would comfort them. If you are judging me right now, get in line behind me....
One of the first things we hear from our kids is, “Daddy, watch this.” Watching is a huge part of being a dad. We watch them learn to walk and talk. We watch them jump off the side of the pool. We watch them play...
Growing up, my favorite part of summer was playing on the lake. My dad taught me how to water ski as a child, and I’ve loved days on the lake ever since. My kids have grown up playing on the same lake. They get to...