I love my kids, I just hate parenting
The other day, some guy messaged me, all worried that my constant jokes about hating parenting aren’t jokes. He’s concerned that I truly hate being a dad.
And guess what? He’s right. I do hate it. It sucks!
It’s hard. It’s exhausting. It’s expensive. It’s stressful. It’s frustrating. It’s boring. It’s loud. It’s demanding. And I’m terrible at it.
What sane person enjoys an activity like that?
You may have noticed that I don’t blog as much these days. I have a lot going on, between my day job, my side jobs, my podcast, my social media empire, this quarantine, etc. I feel like I’m forgetting something… oh right, my wife has been self-isolating with COVID-19 symptoms for going on three weeks so my kids and I are stuck at home fending for ourselves.
I’m busy. Get off me!
Finding time to write isn’t always easy, but sometimes something comes along and I simply can’t resist putting together a response. That something happened today, when I stumbled upon an article on PopSugar titled: I’m a Homeschool Mom Who’s Been Doing It a While — Here Are My Top 10 Tips
Let’s get into it.
Read more about Homeschooling Tips? Sell Crazy Someplace Else! …
Over the last few days, in the aftermath of Kobe Bryant’s tragic death, a touching clip has been making the rounds. It features an ESPN anchor losing her composure while recounting a conversation she had with the NBA legend about his role as a father to three daughters (he hadn’t yet had his fourth).
The popular, and polarizing, player gushed about how much he loved being a “girl dad,” and after her story went viral, dads and daughters everywhere gushed about their own relationships, using the #girldad hashtag. It’s been trending for days.
You know what you don’t see? The term #boydad trending. As if there’s nothing special, or challenging, about the father/son relationship.
But there is.
Last night, after we’d gotten the kids to bed, Mom and Buried and I sat down to talk.
It was the end of a long day and we had things to discuss. Adult things. We were in the middle of it when suddenly – it’s always suddenly – Detective Munch ran out of his bedroom to ask some innocuous question, for probably the 100th time that day.
And I lost my temper.
Entertaining your kids isn’t easy. Ask any parent getting barraged with “I’m bored!” two days after Christmas.
Even here in New York City, where there are a hundred activities, events, outings, and experiences at every turn, kids can be hard to please. My 9-year-old likes going to movies and the occasional play, but he doesn’t really like to participate or join things. My almost 4-year-old wants to interact and engage with everyone and anything, which makes movies and plays impossible. That gap – in age, interests, and attention spans – can be hard to navigate, and finding fun things to do that everyone can enjoy is a challenge.
That’s why I can’t recommend Pip’s Island enough.