The other night, our little girl had what my wife and I call a nuclear melt-down of a tantrum while we were in a store. It was one for the history books. It was our fault in that we went to the store with her after her bedtime, so the littlest thing was guaranteed to snowball into a melt-down of at least some proportion. This one, however, was a monster.
Because I won’t tolerate a tantrum in a store or similar public place, I left my wife doing the shopping and took our girl outside. Normally, this separation from the venue and a firm talking to will start her calming down. This time, calming down wasn’t in the cards.
I still thought it was “paper or plastic?” but John Badalament has set me straight in his new book,
The Modern Dad’s Dilemma: How to stay connected with your kids in a rapidly changing world.
The dilemma for many, if not all, modern dads, as Badalament sees it, is how to be a great dad and still fulfill the requirements of jobs that require us to be “on” or at least “on-line” seven days a week.
Which of the following is a common sign of jaundice in an infant:
…If a baby’s eyes tear up while drinking from a bottle or breast, it can be a sign of: A.
…In a test of more than 200 noise-producing toys, how many had an unacceptable noise level and could increase the risk of hearing damage?
…D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan, Authors of Baby Body Signs which contains a myriad of medical information that can help parents and other caregivers prevent and detect various disorders in their babies. … The answers to the following questions can all be found in the pages of Baby Body Signs , as well as in medical textbooks, journals, and history books.
February 2, 2010 – 6:30 pm
Second Chance – Kip Moore tells a true story that is one part a compelling story of a family’s never-wavering support of a sick child and one part warning on the dangers of food-borne E. coli bacteria. Large parts of the book are about spirituality and may provide comfort for those in similar situations. Share on Facebook
SMILE WHEN YOU SEE THEM The Nancy Armato Rule Antonina’s mother, Nancy Armato, is the ultimate child greeter. She smiles and beams and bursts with pride at the sight of her three children and her six grandchildren. No child who enters her home has any doubt whatsoever that he or she is completely welcome-there is no room for doubt. Grandma Nancy’s hugs, kisses, compliments, questions about a new toy or shoes, recognition of a sterling report card, or her recalling a goal in a recent soccer game-all are part of her fabulous greeting. Every child gets his moment. The children around her respond in kind. They feel so loved and welcomed by her that it literally and physically changes them. They open to her like roses bathed in the warmth of the morning sun. She adds a patina of grace to their lives when each one realizes they have given her reason to smile. Watch your son walk into a room. What is the first thing he does? He looks around at the faces watching him walk in. He is instinctively searching for the visual cues that tell him that he is welcome and a part of the family, that he is loved and wanted, and that he was missed while he was gone. The easiest and simplest way to give him the approval and welcome he seeks is to smile when you see him. A smile instantly sets him at ease. A smile says, “Yes, I love you.” A frown, or only a grunt of recognition, faint praise, or sheer disinterest, sends a message of dismissal. Let your son feel welcome from the first moment he sees you. Let him know that he is loved and important to you, always and forever. When you see him, smile, and leave no doubt that at that moment he is the most important person in your world.
TREAT HER LIKE YOUR BOSS No matter how tired or fed up you are with how things are going at the office or store or school, or wherever you might work, if the person who signs your paycheck walks in, somehow there is a little reserve of goodwill saved up, just for him or her. … This is the source to which you might consider turning when you are completely fed up with your daughter, when she has found your last nerve and is standing on it, when you realize you have memorized the phone number of the private military academy over in the next county. But instead of raising your voice to her, instead of saying some things you may regret later, instead of reminding her that you brought her into this world, instead of embarrassing her in front of the entire family, even though that is precisely what she deserves, just imagine . . .
While some of the tips are just plain practical (4 times to wash hands) and seem a little out of place compared to the more emotional issues he faces, such as how to communicate your love to a sixteen year old boy without embarrassing him. Other advice, such as the importance of thank you notes, also seems like filler though I can tell from other parts of the book that social conventions are important to the author. I tend to share his views on the importance of teaching basic social habits like saying “please” and “thank you,” but you might be surprised to see this advice sandwiched in between other more sentimental issues.
Our friends at DadLabs.com are at it again with a new book that tries to put in prose what they do so well in video. … It has many practical tips on subjects like picking a baby name and how to change a diaper, just as you will find on DadLabs TV, but much of the value of this book is the ability to laugh at the early stages of parenthood, just as your pregnant partner is taking it so seriously. There is a time for soulful feelings about incipient fatherhood, but also a time for having a beer and making some crude jokes using all the new vocabulary you’ve just learned in Childbirth class.
September 17, 2008 – 5:30 am
"The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance by Polly Young-Eisendrath is out and it will be a good read for parents frustrated by the "every child is a winner" mentality that has taken over our schools and playgrounds. ... However, if you recognize yourself as one of these types of parents, you may be setting your child up for self-esteem issues later on: * Laissez-faire parents - "indirect, non-confrontational, vague, and friendly in their attempts to be authorities" * Helicopter parents - "hover around their children" trying to be close friends with them. ... Some readers may be put off by her chapter on "Religion and Reverence," where she has a section entitled, "Why we need religion," and patronizingly insists that "spirituality" is not a substitute for organized religion.
My daughter has two or three books that feature dads and daughters and it makes me feel very special that she reserves a special place on her shelf for them. While we have not read any of the titles listed in this article, I’m going to check them out before next Sunday…. Another dad lives away and a fourth works late but has a great lullaby in a wide-ranging selection of children’s books for Father’s Day.
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