Two Terrific Years

This past weekend marked the two-year anniversary of the end of my wife’s maternity leave and the beginning of my emotional and most rewarding journey as Stay-At-Home Daddy to my precious Madeleine. I cannot stress enough how grateful and honored I am to be with her every single waking minute and watching her grow into a wonderful and very intelligent little girl.

But for this post I wanted to share some of the things I learned in these two years as a SAHD. Some quick little tips for the other SAHD’s out there.

1. Keep smiling. No matter how bad a day you may have or a bad week even, tomorrow will most likely be better. The laugh and smile of a child can erase the worse feelings.

2. Maintain composure. I will be the first to admit that this is the toughest for me with my bad temper but the guilt I feel after yelling or temporarily losing my sanity to a toddler outweighs the anger. Try not to feel so bad because your child’s love is just as great as yours and will soon forget the minor incident after his/her nap. But don’t think this is a good reason to lose control.

3. Always be prepared. I was going to write a whole post based on my SAHD Survival Bag. I’m still on the hunt for a nice MALE-style diaper/baby bag [I SHOULD INVENT ONE MYSELF RIGHT?] but for now I’m using [appropriately or ironically] my work messenger bag. Some of the essential items besides wipes and diapers are:
Bendy straws; I noticed most diners and restaurants only give kids’ drinks with straight straws and thus creating more mess and frustration for us and Maddie.
Napkins; Self explanatory but always needed.
Kleenex; See Napkins
Batteries; You never know and a toy that doesn’t run is like Hell for a toddler sometimes.
Roll of quarters; Does your kid love those dumb arcade rides outside stores and inside malls? Well not everyone takes dollars or has a change machine.
Crayons; I really started putting these in again for dining out. On two occasions the diners’ crayons were so old and dry they didn’t even write.
Burp cloth; For larger spills and heaven-forbid vomit.
Juice Boxes; Always a good idea, especially for the car.
Snacks; Again like Juice Boxes, in case they are extra whiny or stuck in the car for too long. I prefer Goldfish or Craisins.
Utensils; Not every place has decent plastic kind plus it’s always better to supply your own.
Fast Food/restaurant coupons; Not so much for them but for you in case you need a quick lunch or for the mall food courts.
Small First Aid Kit; Especially with band-aids!

4. Bring a towel. Ever go to the playground and forgot it rained a lot the day before and pools of water have collected at the bottom of every slide and on the swings? Good idea to keep a cheap towel in your vehicle.

5. Don’t give up. Kids could be more relentless and demanding then any crack addict on withdrawal. The more you as a parent give in the more the kids will take. Never let up and never worry about being the bad guy because they will learn and have to learn that no-one ever always gets what they want. This could go for sleeping as well. Yes the crying is heart-breaking but they need that nap or a good nights’ sleep. You give them that extra inch you will lose a foot. Believe me. Which also leads to…

7. Choose your battles! Not every little thing they want/need/whine for is important enough to us to fight them over. I learned that some things aren’t worth the aggravation as long as I feel that letting Mads have her way will not lead to worse behavior. I tell myself countless times “It’s OK she plays with [such-&-such], it’s not a big deal.” For instance Maddie used to go over to my bookshelf whenever she followed me to the office and would routinely pull out a dozen or so books just for fun and curiosity. I never let my tidiness get the better of me and would often let her b/c she’s not ripping the books up. Most times I would even leave the books on the floor for weeks until I felt the need to clean them up.

6. Mind your manners and watch your tongue. I’ve seen kids repeat the most innocent of phrases to the worst words imaginable. I’ve learned to bite my tongue, especially while driving and to cut out the cussing. I now use words like ‘poopy’, ‘bozo’, ‘creep’, and ‘imbecile’ more often than I used to. Also Maddie is very good at saying ‘please’ ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me’ appropriately more and more as she’s learning to communicate and it’s not just because we force her to use those phrases but because we, too, use those phrases. Kids pick up on our behavior a lot so what you do and say has to be decent.

7. Have Fun! I know this is corny and sounds unnecessary to say but the more fun you have with your kids makes all the difference. I can’t imagine just sitting around the house simply watching Maddie do her thing alone. I seldom wake up unenthusiastic with my day with her. I wake up happy and looking forward to playing and laughing and learning with her. She is my life and she’s making it a happy one despite being home alone with a toddler and my career on hold. If I make her laugh it’s worth more than a weeks’ paycheck. I play with her toys and puzzles, watch her shows and movies countless times and beam when she tries and likes a new food. I marvel at the life I co-created and how patient, generous, smart, happy and loving she is, not just at me but our family and friends. It’s not always easy being a big kid at heart but my daughter makes me one more-so and for that I cannot thank her enough.

And it’s only getting better and better…