The neglectful father strikes again
If there is any “secret” or strategy to being a work at home dad, it would be to take advantage of every free minute you have. I am able to spend more time on my business than most at home parents as I neglect things like personal hygeine and cleaning the house. It is a daily battle to keep the boys entertained and still dedicate time to business.
There are occasions that I allow the boys some “lattitude” in what they do during the day. Perhaps I need some extra time to set up my Twitter Account, make a business call, or just post on my blog . . . so I will let them watch a movie or cartoon for while to buy me some time. Television has been the baby sitter of choice for more than 50 years now, so I figure why mess with tradition.
However, I am sure your parents didn’t plop you down in front of TV while a show about Nuclear Weapons was on. As my wife, Mary, knows very well, I tend to watch nerd TV quite frequently; she views my habit with as much disdain as you might have towards using public toilets. So in this afternoon’s quest to become an expert on fission, I forgot to change the channel when Vin and Simon woke up. Not only that, but I also served them lunch and promptly when back to business as usual. It was only when I became distracted my the show did I realise they had been watching for a good 10-15 minutes. Sadly, I can say that this is probably not the worst thing I have let them watch – not that I can remember any particular show right now – I am just sure there has been something worse!
Come to think of it – Vinny yelled out “Stupid Jackass!” yesterday which I believe he got from Shrek. Perhaps not the best cartoon for a toddler.
Any confessions of terrible parenting made here will be kept in strict confidence – just let me know with some comments below!
My kids have seen Supernatural enough times that my oldest (3) knows the names of the main characters and yells, “SuperNacho!” when he sees photos of them. :S
That’s fantastic! You actually reminded me that my boy, Vinny (3), is a fan of The Office. Even if it is just a commercial or another show/movie that Steve Carell is in – he shouts “Hey, its Michael!”
My son (4) has a favorite saying he got from his dad. “What the hell?” is heard frequently when he can’t figure out what to do on a game or where his sister hid his toys.
Meta – good to hear from you!
That’s a good one – funny thing is that we as parents usually don’t realize how often things slip . . . and it just takes one slip for a toddler to pick up on it.
Just last night my 23 month old Simon blurted out “Son of a bitch!” when he got frustrated with a toy!