A year ago, what started as a live blog of the birth of my daughter four years ago, turned into a book that I launched "Poop Flies at 35 m.p.h.: The Expectant Dude’s Participation Guide." It’s done well on Amazon and a few libraries are now carrying it across the nation.
Since then, I’ve had a number of dads say to me, "I want to keep participating, but I’m out of ideas. What can I do?"
That’s where the idea for this book came from.
I know that I struggled with the same problem. Shortly before my daughter turned one, I lost my job, and became Mr. Mom for a number of months. That meant, I had a lot of time to come up with a lot of ideas of things we could do together that didn’t break the bank (really, because I couldn’t afford to do much else). When I went back to work, I made sure that I kept Fridays off so I could have a dedicated Daddy Day with my daughter.
I was very fortunate to have a kid who liked making her own adventures, finding new things and loved to learn. And now a second that is just as inquisitive and wants to keep exploring, I’m finding some of the old tricks are just as enjoyable the second time around.
The ideas in this book are targeted for dads with kids ages 18mo-8yrs. Why that early or late? Well, each child has different developmental speeds, interests and can sit patiently for varying spans of time. Something that might interest a two year old might be what interests my four year old. Or, things that we put in this book can be universal for anyone in the age range.
Some of the activities also have follow-on learning objectives so you can keep doing it after your Daddy Day is over. Also, if your child really likes the activity, you can keep repeating with new variations so you don’t get bored with the same old thing.
One tip: get rid of your pride. It’s hard not to be the tough guy, or the strict parent, or whatever your self-prescribed parenting role is. But the more you can eliminate the barrier of what’s "appropriate" for your parenting character, the more you can let loose and your child will enjoy some of these activities. Nobody else is looking except your child. So,don’t be afraid to be silly. Don’t be afraid to dance. If it’s bad, so what? Make your child look good, or at least have more fun because you’re participating with a full heart and clear mind.
I hope you find something that gives your child, and you, a smile.
Enjoy your Daddy Day!