18th
ALL THE SINGLE PARENTS (all the single parents)
Child leashes?
I WAS PREPARED TO IMPLEMENT A HAMSTER BALL 3 MINUTES INTO IKEA NAM.
Fanny packs?
I WOULD WEAR A TORSO PACK AT THIS POINT TO KEEP READILY AVAILABLE THINGS THAT CAN WIPE STUFF OFF OF STUFF OR HYDRATE A CHILD.
Life has become very much about function, and not at all about form.
You want I should send you the backpack that got me through early ventures such as these? It’s roomy, yet organized to neatly hold changing equipment, a spare set of clothes, snacks, beverages, and a few emergency books and toys. And amazingly, it’s small enough to stylishly and comfortably fit on the back of the average 8’10”, 480lb. male.
In my experience, single dads face an uphill battle here that newly single moms don’t: we’ve got to gain control of our kids in a way that parenting with their mom simply didn’t demand. We’re no longer the pinch hitters of discipline, brought in occasionally to impress upon our kids the extreme seriousness of talking to mommy that way or putting your hands on the stove, we have to establish and maintain even discipline. That’s a new trick for newly single dads - whether our pride will admit it or not - and problematically for us, our kids know it. They know it better than we do.
The bad news is, establishing and maintaining this kind of discipline is hard work, and it is a major change in how we relate to our kids, and when we’re newly single, the last thing we’re seeking out is another big change.
The good news is, it’s the best thing you can do for everyone’s sanity (and health, and well-being, and, and, and), and you will all bond through that change. No kidding. They’ll understand. They’ll get it. And they’ll appreciate your disciplined approach to parenting sooner than you’d think.
Hammer time.
