I'm I Ordinary Enough?

Well, I just submitted my article for Ordinaryparent.com. I thought I was about 3 weeks late, but it turns out I sent my "almost done" email April 10, so it was closer to 5 weeks late. Two weeks per kid isn't too bad, I guess. And hey, I have triplets, so cut me some slack. The process of writing it could have been an article unto itself.

But its finished and off. I'll post a link to the article once its up and probably cross post the article here. For the time being I'm posting a short preview below the break.

What is a column from a dad of triplets doing on a site titled “Ordinary Parent?” Well, it is because in a lot of ways I’m no different than any other parent.

I’m aware that the mere idea of triplets scares a lot of people, even parents who raised four or even five kids of their own. People let us know that every time we leave the house. Or as @arweneliza recently tweeted to me: “Just the thought of triplets is terrifying to me.”

But believe if or not, being a triplet dad isn’t the nightmare you might expect. Well, it’s not the nightmare as you probably imagine it, at any rate.

Comments

NIGHTMARE: Three Kids; One Invite

Its a triplet parents worst nightmare, really. I only have triplets, so most of what I;m about to say about singletons is conjecture and assumption, but here goes: I imagine that when you have three kids of different ages its easy when only one of them is invited to a birthday party. Any younger child is probably interested in where an older sibling is going, but is easily refocused. Older children probably just don't care what a younger child is doing, but to the extent they are invested, I'd think its easy to explain to them. After all, they are probably in different schools, or at least different grades. They have different teachers, different classmates, and while they may share some friends, those are largely different as well. Not so with triplets When you have three kids all the same age they attend the same school; often in the same class (as ours do). So when only one of them receives an invite, as our daughter did, its hard not to feel slighted. After all, ...

Thoughts On Breastfeeding

I was going to post in this space about breastfeeding eventually. It started when I joined Twitter recently as @triplethedad (follow me!) and started following a bunch of Mom and Dad types. Although I previously experienced the ferver of the breastfeeding crowd, I was still taken aback by the militartism of some of them and the "us against them" attitude. I knew I would have to address it at some point, but honestly, as a Dad to formula fed triplets, I don't have a lot of experience or knowledge. And further, while I'm not 100% comfortable around breastfeeding women, I have no problem with them/it and realize what they are doing is totally and completely natural. So, between the lack of deep understanding and acceptance, I wasn't sure where to start. What I did know was that I wanted to address the unnecassary ferver around the topic and the seeming war between formula and breast. Luckily, Jamie Lynn of Iamnotthebabysitter.com beat me to it in a post o...

Good parenting /= Stressed parenting

Just more evidence that taking a breather and giving your kids a little room to play on their own is good advice: A new study suggests stressed parents result in obese kids. Why? Well, the study suggests stressed out parents frequent fast-food joints more and are less inclined to plan organized meals. Which makes sense. Its hard to make food to feed two or three kids when you are busy ferrying them each to 3 sports or activities. What can you do to stop the stress? Stop trying to make your child the next Einstein or LeBron James. Yes, you want to provide every opportunity available, but your child's genes set in concrete when sperm met egg. No amount of after-school activities will make a child with a 95 IQ the next Stephen Hawking nor your short, slow child an NFL wide receiver. Relax and enjoy who your child is, rather than worrying about what they will become. Ninety five percent of your role in who your chi...

Triple The Dad

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