It’s great fun being a dad. Like it or not those little people, display characteristics that are just like us. Sometimes in my head I run the highly unproductive argument of questioning if I’m over compensating for my personal flaws in the way that I parent. But then if I over emphasize something doesn’t that just make them more curious about it and more likely do or try it? Then the time space continuum bends and that photo of me from high school starts to fade away into nothingness. Thankfully before that happens I wake up with my Walkman earphones on listening to Van Halen.
As stay at home dad, in my day in and out dad doings here are the things that I’m paying particular attention to on a daily basis.
Healthy relationships/communication
My wife and I talk- a lot. I kid her about it that because there are times when I like to be more quiet and communicate only by grunts or carrier pigeon. Thankfully that is one of my wife’s strong suits. We talk lots about any age appropriate subject in front of the boys. I want them to know and learn how valuable a well thought out discussion is in life.
Compromise
Of course our discussions don’t always see eye to eye. That’s where the value of looking at the big picture and figuring out what’s best for the family comes into play. I sold cars for a bit and one of the most important lessons I learned is that people have two years and one mouth. The sales metaphor goes on to say that you need to use them in that ratio. The parenting metaphor sometimes follows that ratio, but not always lest you hear the reason “because” for most of their child problems or desires.
Responsibility
Somehow in the course of me being raised I established the bad habit of ducking responsibility or ignoring certain things. I remember as teen with a paper route taking the phone off the hook the morning I threw away all of the newspapers instead of delivering them. Even in my 20’s I remember ignoring phone calls from difficult or annoying subjects that I was trying to avoid.
I’m doing my best to teach our kids to face the music, even when it’s bad or unpleasant. The other day I was especially proud when our oldest told mom about something that he did to get in trouble. He was worried that I would tell mom, but I told him that I wouldn’t tell her if he did. I heard him tell her himself. Even though it was not good news, it was great to hear him say it and my wife handled it like a super mom.
Oral B has a great new spot out on the #PowerOfDad. It’s the kind of spot that moms usually see around Mother’s Day. The Power of Dad spot is honest, real, not condescending and portrays life quite honestly. This is the second year of the Father’s Day program that Oral B has partnered with March of Dimes also. They’ve partnered with Football’s First Family too, New York Giant’s Quarterback Eli Manning, his father Archie and his daughter Eva to celebrate fatherhoods unforgettable moments.
Little moments like this.
We’ve been fans of Oral-B for years. The Oral-B 7000 Black just came out and is the top toothbrush in their lineup. You know that dentist clean feeling that you hear about? The Oral-B 7000 provides that in several different ways. Buying a toothbrush or receiving one may not be on the top of your mind or as a sexy kind of gift, but it should be. As a counterbalance think about the time and money that’d you’d otherwise spend at the dentist or paying for treatments there. Thought about through that lens it’s now a very sexy gift that saves time and money, who doesn’t like that? You can save $7 off the Oral-B 7000, your dentist will immediately notice the improvement.
My wife used to laugh at me for brushing for two minutes at a time with my Oral-B 5000, until she tried it. We talked about it and I reminded her that her dental care was her responsibility. Now she uses it too and I’m in the bathroom with the Walkman doing my best Van Halen Darth Vader.
I partnered with Oral-B and Life of Dad, LLC for the #PowerofDad Father’s Day promotion and was compensated for my involvement.
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