In many ways we are lucky to have full-day junior kindergarten in Ontario. It saves us a ton of money over daycare, provides an amazing opportunity to give our daughter a head start on a lifetime of learning, and starts kids on a road to independence.
I have always been a relatively hairy man. I grew facial hair quite young as a boy and persevered through the manscaping trend to protect my alabaster skin from harm. However, I have never been able to summon the fortitude to maintain structured, coiffed facial hair on a regular basis.
One of the best things about being a parent is the fact that it gives you the freedom to act like a kid under the guise of engaging with them, teaching them, sharing their interests, and so on.
Of course, parents really know that’s all just psychobabble—playing with toys is fun!
When it comes to our health, we always want to have the latest information. We want data, answers, results, studies, and tests. But does all that information really make us healthier?
One of the things I like the most about sports is how it so truly reflects our society. For all those people who think sports is a lowbrow, opiate of the masses, I say you’re missing out on a lot of depth.
As she walked towards the school bus, the look on my daughter’s face turned from pure excitement to a mix of apprehension and uncertainty. The thing she had been anticipating for weeks was finally real. It was right in front of her. Undaunted, she climbed the stairs and found a seat, her parents trailing awkwardly behind trying to take pictures. As the bus pulled away, a wave of sadness swept over me. It was done. The next chapter of her life had begun.
This week my eldest daughter, though she’s only three, starts school for the first time. Her birthday is in late October, so she will be one of the youngest in her junior kindergarten class. The idea of her going to school still boggles my mind a little. She’s so small. That said, she’s definitely ready, and super excited.
Dad, however, has a few questions. We have a meeting with her teacher later this week and I have some things I’d like to ask.
The food service industry is tough. The business is relentless, the competition is fierce and the margins are slim. I worked for six years in the restaurant industry and I know just how tough it can be. One of the more controversial subjects in restaurant circles has to do with kids. Do you allow them or not? How do you accommodate them? Does welcoming them help or hurt your business? A debate on those subjects could take days, there are a lot of emotions on both sides. However, if you are going to not only allow children, but actively encourage them, how should you do it?
Before you become a parent, you are already well aware of the various firsts that will form major milestones your child’s life. First steps, first words, these are the things parents obsess over, paranoid that their child may be missing out on the development curve. Of course we all know in hindsight that, within reason, a few months early or late hitting these milestones makes no real difference in the long run. Kids have their own pace.
It’s funny how the nature of road trips changes as you get older. As a young adult, when you hop in the car with some buddies the only thing on your mind is whether or not you have enough beer. You may or may not have even packed any clothes. The road itself provides the entertainment. However, when you have kids things get more complicated. Not only do you have to pack and plan for every eventuality, you need to have a clear plan of attack for how to keep everyone happy and occupied for several hours in a cramped space.
The way dads are portrayed in the media has long been an issue of mine. While moms have their own stereotypes to fight, dads have the likes of Homer Simpson and Al Bundy as their pop culture archetypes — a burden that has haunted us for decades.
As parents, we like to envision ourselves as paragons of proper child rearing. We educate, we engage, we enrich. We have patience beyond reproach.
But sometimes we just need to stop the chaos. Sometimes the best practices of Montessori-style child enrichment take a back seat to your toddler screaming bloody murder in a sushi restaurant.
“Archibald Bartholomew Griffith the Third! Put down that infernal book right now, it will rot your brain!” Undoubtedly, a concerned mother in the 1400s said something along those lines when faced with the rapid technological change and the avalanche of knowledge unleashed by the invention of the movable type. Damn you, Gutenberg! So how have things changed?
It’s OK ladies, we know how it is. You’re busy, and sometimes things get forgotten. Why do you think they sell flowers on the side of the road on Mother’s Day? The good news is the magic of the Internet provides all kinds of amazing digital gifts and awesome subscription services that don’t even look last-minute.
Something that has become an interest of mine since becoming a dad is the changing definition of the role and how I could put my own spin on it. I have several role models that I look up to for different reasons, and each one shows me how the traditional definition of a dad is no longer relevant. In fact, there is no one bucket you can put all dads in, and I think that is fantastic.
I like to think I’m a pretty good dad. I could always improve, but overall I’m pretty sure I’m not scarring my kids for life (yet). That said, I always like to try to do more. I’ve never been a big celebrity watcher, but I’ve always found it interesting to see how certain high profile people handle the day-to-day of fatherhood. Not that I have anything other than a superficial look at their life, but I still like to try to take whatever lessons I can from other dads (non famous ones too) to try to broaden my perspective on what fatherhood is all about.
In 25 years, when my eldest daughter holocalls me from the surface of Mars to update me on the status of the terraforming venture she is leading, will I be able to credit my passion for mopping? That’s the gist of a study from the University of British Columbia, which found that dads who do chores are more likely to raise daughters who pursue gender-neutral careers.
I'm a fun guy, I really am. I play dinosaur with my girls, rampaging around on my hands and knees, risking imminent joint seizure; I've been known to partake in a tea party or two, though the service is often lousy; and I may or may not have developed a comfort level with wearing a tutu. However, no matter how much fun I try to be, I have a serious problem—toy overload.
Is Your Child Victim To An Over-Crowded Kindergarten Classroom? 
