Parental Performance

How well would you rate yourself as a father. How well would you rate yourself as a parent? Lets be honest here. Is there something you could do better? I sometimes wonder if I'm doing this dad thing right. I'm not saying that I leave my kids in the car while at the mall, but is there a philosophy or method that I haven't thought of yet?

I remember how I felt after my son was born. It was a feeling of helplessness. He was our first and there were no instructions in how to raise him. There are plenty of books and people to tell you in a general sense how to raise a family, but there isnt a mechanism in how to handle the specific person you just brought into the world. After my second child was born I didn't feel helpless. After all, how different is it to have two children over just one child? It took a little longer with the second one, but then it hit me. I felt helpless again. I found that the second child, this time a girl was totally different than the first. Again no instructions. My experience has shown me that the helpless feelings soon leave as you are busy dealing with the new life forms you have in your house; so much so that I now have three children. But that’s for another day. As for me now, I don’t feel helpless. I just wonder if i'm on the right track in raising my family. Being a dad can be a real rollercoaster ride sometimes.

I find it fascinating how people interact with their children both inside the home in private, and outside the house in public settings. I think by nature I'm a people watcher. Whenever I am out at a restaurant, it's interesting to watch how the mom or dad keeps their child from misbehaving, or calms a tantruming child down while waiting for the check. You can feel the patience, or fear, or even rage sometimes with the parents in these situations. Sometimes it seems parents do little if nothing when children are running amok inside the dining room. I myself have been the parent in the restaurant trying to gain control of a child. It’s embarrassing and stressful knowing that you have an audience who will watch and see how well you perform. Is this how I gauge my parenting prowess? Are these the moments when I need to rate myself as a father?

To me parenting is a moving target. Just when you think you have it figured out, things move on ya. Over and over again I take aim only to lose site of the target. It’s amazing to see the different tactics and techniques that people utilize in rearing children, especially Mr. dads. So if you are a stay at home dad or a single father, or a dad of a traditional family, now is your chance to weigh in on all subjects pertaining to the life of a dad. Even you chicks out there are welcome to stir the pot. The important thing here is that we will all have a chance to learn a few things about being parents and “Mr. dads”.

Speaking of rating dads, watch this guy with his great instincts. Some of us might need some help.


-Brother Jared