Wednesday, January 25, 2017

MDC 22:Leading by Example




Leading by Example


     This week we discuss the best way to raise the kind of children you want. We're not talking about how to get you kids to behave, or how to make them stop fighting with their brothers. Those sort of things are pipe dreams. We are playing the long game and talking about how to turn your children into the kind of adults you want them to be by leading by example.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

MDC 21: Dads are Parents Too




Dads Are Parents Too


     What is your image of a "traditional" family dynamic? Is it the one where dad goes to work all day while mom stays home to raise the kids solo? Or is it the one where mom and dad both go to work and leave the kids with a nanny or babysitter resulting in a total detachment from raising the kids? This week we are talking about how our family dynamic functions in a much less "conventional" way.
     In our house, we have a sort of topsy turvey system. We function in a way that turns both traditional family and gender rolls on their heads. We both work full time, but we also don't use babysitters. ReAnna works a traditional day job in an office and Adam works overnights. Further flipping convention, ReAnna makes more money. What's more, Adam is essentially a stay-at-home dad in the day and works a full time job at night.
     We find it strange that this is so strange. Why is it that in 2017 men are still thought of as being inept as parents? People still seem to think that it's mom's job to take care of the kids while dad sits in his "man cave" watching sports. In our house ReAnna is the one that can't be disturbed during a football game, and Adam is the one doing ALL of the cooking. But for some reason today, simply being a capable father on any level makes you a "superdad." A dad that actually takes his kids to doctor's appointments without his wife is some kind of magical unicorn. This should be the rule, not the exception. If a home has two parents in it, they should both equally parent. There is really no excuse for being an inept parent. You have a kid? Raise it! The end.