Triple The Dad

Its January, which means we've turned the page on another year. Usually, that means new leaves overturned and resolutions. I did that last year. I did awful.  Some of that is events that transpired in November that I think impacted my writing (No, not the election, but its a story for a different time), but honestly, the failing failed fully before that; likely *checks stats* Yep; probably before that. So this year, I'm not doing Better Bryan. Call it a Better Bryan Break. This year, instead, I'm going to make all of YOU better. How, you ask? Good question. There is one thing that really bugs as a parent that a LOT of you are doing. And I realize, you are doing this as a kind act. You think this makes you a sweet and nice person and you probably pat yourself on the back a little when it happens. I'm here to tell you, you are secretly impeding the ability to raise safe kids while making my job as parent harder. Let me set the scene: I'm crossing the stree...

I hate the Olympics for all the reasons I stated here . I'm just not sure you can be a good person and root for such an awful occasion. Still, I find myself recording events, skipping past the awful commentary to get to the races, explaining to kids that they have  watch Michael Phelps because he is the greatest swimmer they will ever see, and rooting along with my kids for the "pretty girl" - gymnast Laurie Hernandez. Before you jump all over me, we don't emphasis looks. I'll mention that a particular act seems hard, or that the athlete must have practiced a lot and worked really hard to accomplish something. That is my parenting style: I compliment the work, effort and time it took to do something. I didn't come up with the nickname. We were watching gymnastics and one of the kids said "she is pretty." It was probably my daughter, because she is always noticing people's eyes and marking them as "pretty." And as kids will do, that ...

*This article originally appeared @ thebabyspot.ca I had a Cabbage Patch doll as a child.  Go ahead and get a snicker in about that if you want.  Got that out of your system?  Ok.  Good. Because for Easter, the bunny left one of my boys Magic Clip Dolls.  Not one, either, but 8 of them.  This wasn't some some strange experiment or a stunt to get a nice post for the blog; Rand asked for these for literally months.  Every trip to Target resulted in Rand telling us he wants Magic Clip Dolls, and which ones he wanted.  He would ask us at random times if he could have Magic Clip Dolls.  And at a recent birthday party he spent probably an hour in the basement playing with the two Magic Clip Dolls he found. Pure Joy What is a Dad to do?  Well, if you've posted in the past about why you gave up your opposition to your daughter wearing the  color pink  and why you think hating on pink  may actually be doing more ...

UPDATE: On our most recent trip for flu shots, my son picked a sticker of a princess from the tub of stickers they offer patients.  As he picked it up, the nurse says to him... "oh, you don't want that one... that one is for your sister." I was dumbfounded and not looking for a confrontation, but honestly, why would you say that to a three-year-old?  Let him have his sticker! That comes on the heels of what is below, which I previously posted: The triplets were in for their three-year-old annual a couple weeks ago.  The great news is that the triplets are healthy and happy.  And no shots.  The kids actually did great.  They listened and acted politely and were helpful with the exam. Our pediatrician actually said they have the listening skills of 6 year olds, so yeah us! And then, toward the end of the exam our pediatrician went through what I assume is a scripted speech about "private parts" and inappropriate touches and what to do if they get lo...