I know because it happened to me this week.

I was in the living room. My five year old was sitting beside her mother on the sofa. All of the sudden, I hear the former speaking in this foreign language. Not an idiom. Music notation! She was reading aloud music! Passing off her piano homework to her mother!

“My kid knows how to read music!!” I thought to myself. “Even I don’t know how to do that!!” (Yes, there were exclamation points after all of these sentences.)

I can only imagine what other things she’ll learn as she grows older — things I never did.

You have no idea how proud this makes me as a father. It makes me want to sing “We are the world” or something. What an awesome feeling.

MLIA

One of the most fascinating things I observe as a father is the seemingly useless genes I impart on my offspring. Things like collecting non-precious rocks at a young age and biting my lower lip when I see something cute or cuddly.

Although still amusing, seeing my temperament traits being passed on is expected. (You know, high energy, strong emotions, stuff like that.) Why on earth, then, is it so important for things like collecting junk or biting lips to persist? Would it be such a bad thing if people stopped collecting crap or making funny faces when they got excited?

Although I no longer fill my bottom drawer with non precious materials, I know my 2yo will. Just like I know my 4yo will probably bite her lower lip every freakin’ time she’s sees a kitten or encounters her cute little baby sister.

Just like her father.

As the father of two girls, with another on the way, I’ll take all the help I can get concerning their well-being and development. And although it could have been written using fewer words, the 197-page Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters was an enlightening wake-up call to some of the challenges my daughters will likely face. After reading it, I felt empowered and reassured of the fathering techniques I already held to be true.

Written by Meg Meeker, a child psychiatrist and mother of four, the book is peppered with personal stories and alarming statistics. The stated “10 secrets” aren’t really secrets as much as their are good advice. To summarize, they are as follows: (more…)

I had a bit of a senior moment this morning. While crossing over a contoured section of the sidewalk, I tripped over my toes, lunged forward, and overturned the jogging stroller. I landed in someone’s flower bed. The girls landed in the gutter—on their heads!

Moments before, a lady in her forties was approaching us. Being the gentleman that I am, I crossed onto the street to let her pass. I don’t know about other runners, but it takes my legs a good five minutes to warm in the morning. So at the time of the accident, I was dragging my feet a little. Hence, the stumble when crossing back over to the sidewalk.

Outside of insecurity and one hurt ego, everybody was fine. But I’ll be using that wrist strap religiously froim now on, so as not to send the girls rolling into the road the next time I trip.

The rascal you see pictured above is my 1 and a half year old, Maddie. Lindsey and I often call her “The Destructor,” because she’s so rambunctious.

She also teases her elder sister Sadie—quite frequently.

I first noticed Maddie’s habit several months ago. If the girls are ever meant to share something, Maddie will usually dangle it in front of her sister, then rip it away at the last minute with a cute little chuckle grunt. Like her mother, Sadie would never do something like this, nor does she find pleasure in doing so.

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Last month, after an unresolved argument with my wife Lindsey, my three year old (Sadie) walked into my home office and on her own initiative asked, “Dad, are you being a jerk?”

Ouch. Her assumption was dead on. Out of frustration, I had been spiteful with her mother only moments before. I bashfully answered in the affirmative, and with her outreached hand in approval, proceeded to make amends with my better half, who was calmly sitting in the next room.

I knew from experience that kids say the darnedest things, but I had no idea they could cut to the core at such a young age. In any case, I’ll take all the help I can get.

As a parent, one of my biggest fears is having either my three or one year-old get into something nasty, like human secretions. So you know I squirmed in my feed reader after seeing this story, courtesy of a family friend. Take it away, Susan:

Yesterday, I went with a friend to the local jumping place with the kids. Of course the trampolines get old after a bit and the kids tend to wander into places they shouldn’t go. Maya decided to try the bathroom out. I followed her in there not seconds after to find she had just taken the lovely green tampon applicator out of the nasty toilet trash. Yes..in the mouth it went. GROSS. Okay, so I made this big scream and pretty much barfed in my mouth and am still barfing right now, flicked the NASTY green lollipop tampon applicator on the floor and washed her mouth out until she squirmed out of my arms screaming.

As if I needed more motivation in developing Nazi public restroom habits pertaining to my kids.

Confession: We do not shut bathroom doors in our house while relieving ourselves, that is unless guests are over.

Lindsey and I inadvertently started the bad habit as newlyweds living in a small condo, wanting to maximize our conversation time. The practice has stuck, and often times one of use will even sit in the hallway to carry on a conversation, as if the other was merely sitting down as opposed to going to the bathroom. I guess we’re a modern day Adam’s Family.

Last week, I was making lunch for the girls while Sadie, our three-year old, dispensed u-boats in the guest bathroom toilet. As usual, the bathroom door was wide open so Sadie and I could talk should the “urge” arise. It didn’t take long.

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