Parenting
What’s Scarier at a Beach? Sharks or Bad HR Policies?
Every time my daughter asked if there were sharks in the water, if jelly fish were going to sting her, if there were fish biting her toes, I said no. At this beach, I said she needed to worry about angry, mini-Bernadoodles running along the bottom of the ocean floor and nipping at her! When […]
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Why Mom Doesn’t Need To Be Called When Dad Is There
When my daughter finished her checkup at the orthodontist, I moved toward the front desk to schedule the next appointment. “Should I call mom?” the receptionist said, smiling, proud, like she was saying something clever. “That’s a bit sexist, isn’t it,” I said. “Well, you’d be surprised.” No, no, I wouldn’t be surprised. Not at […]
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Why This Is The Best Round of My Golf Year
If you’re going to succeed – and ultimately be happy – as a Lead Dad, you get one hobby. Event Dads can master more and dabble in many, from racquet sports and golf, to skiing and boating, to running or cycling with some occasional hunting and a fishing trips thrown in here or there. As […]
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Teach Your Kids The Randomness Of Life
Trips with kids are meant to expand their minds, to show them something different. We took our three daughters to Paris where we stayed at a friend’s apartment. It was also their first time to Europe. That alone would have been mind expanding. But we had three random encounters that got them thinking about how […]
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What I Actually Want For Father’s Day
As all mothers know, and most children have to be reminded, Father’s Day is celebrated every year on the third Sunday of June. To be clear, I think Father’s Day is a great idea. But I’ve got a few issues with this holiday that I’d like to be entered into the record. First of all, […]
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A Dad Fighting The Good Fight – To Be Called First By School
When the phone rang from my daughter’s elementary school, with just two days left to the year, I scrambled to answer it. By some iPhone quirk it went to voicemail after just a ring. I wasn’t overly worried. I figured there was a 90 percent chance that the school nurse was calling with a reminder […]
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How To Be Clutch As A Dad
I was talking to a high school athletics director this week from Trussville, Alabama. He had reached out to discuss a book I’d written 15 years ago. It’s about pressure and why some people excel under it and others don’t. There are five things that people who are good under pressure do, and each one […]
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How Parental Uncertainty Can Help In Uncertain Times
Uncertainty abounds – in the economy, with trade, around jobs. It’s something working parents are acutely aware of. Uncertainty is never a good state to exist in. When you know for sure that something is going to happen – good or bad – you can make a plan and work toward executing it. When one […]
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When There’s No Reason To Say No, Don’t Say It
There’s no get-better-at-work message here. It’s more about listening. And more precisely talking ourselves into listening before we answer when work and parenting calls at the same time. This week my youngest daughter had three days of out-of-school testing. I’m taking her because my schedule is easier to shuffle around, and as long as I […]
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Waiting For A Call That Reaffirmed a Pause
On Monday I had two goals in mind: eat an enormous, filling meal, way more than I’d normally eat for lunch, and do as much work that required focus as I could possibly get done. I had five hours to myself while my wife was having hip surgery at HSS so I went to a […]
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One Nugget To Enjoy Spring Break
I don’t like to scoop myself, but a piece that’s going to run in a month has a nugget for how to think about work when your kids are on vacation that’s helped me this week. Maybe it can help you too. This is our second week of school break the one that comes after […]
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How The Paper Test Can Improve Life At Home
Do you know what your spouse does around the house? Does he or she know what you do? How much do your work schedules influence what you can do? A lot of couples don’t know, and not knowing has never been a recipe for marital bliss – or professional success. (How can you focus at […]
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