dewde.com | Category Archive

It's a [Insert Gender Here]!

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 01. Aug, 2009 | 18 Comments

Today we discovered the gender of our third child. Naturally, I made a video in Target.

Extreme Parenting: Vandalism Edition

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 13. Jun, 2009 | 16 Comments

Sometimes advice stands on its own. You read it. You poke it. You lift its flaps and test its zippers. You give it an apprehensive sniff. You compare it to your experiences, and then move on. Maybe you add it to your mental bag of tricks, maybe you don’t.
Other times, you hear advice and your [...]

A Question Twice The Size Of My Large Intestine

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 03. Jun, 2009 | 26 Comments

And there it was. The moment. The kind of moment that, as a parent, you both long for and fear at the same time. But as an Uncle, you get utterly blindsided by its very existence. One second I’m sucking down a hot dog twice as long as my large intestine, the next I’m staring down a once in a lifetime opportunity to validate this boy’s very existence.

You Labeled Me, I Label You

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 25. Jan, 2009 | 21 Comments

I was thinking about our daughters tonight. Danielle from the blog 6yearmed, which I eagerly follow, told another touching and poignant story about young twin sisters, one of which is dying. She changes the names when she tells her stories and the names she chose caught me off guard and made me think about my [...]

Parenting Tip #5: Explaining Consequences

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 18. Nov, 2008 | 3 Comments

We have a time-tested routine for discipline in our household. First we administer the consequences, this is typically a timeout, and then we follow this pattern:
1. We get down at eye level with our little one.
2. We ask her to explain what she thinks earned her a timeout.
3. We praise her when she gets it [...]

Parenting Tip #4: De-fussifying a Fussy Toddler

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 18. Nov, 2008 | 9 Comments

On Sunday, our younger daughter Savannah was thoroughly inconsolable. Now, I’d like to think that Dewdette and I are analytical people. I write software and she is a research associate for a bio-tech company. I do my best to eliminate virtual problems (bugs!). She does her best to eliminate physical problems (bugs!). Surely, SURELY between [...]

Parenting Tip #3: Setting Expectations

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 15. Nov, 2008 | 2 Comments

Kids are not like us adults. We adults like to be surprised. We love to be thrust into situations we don’t understand and can’t control with no warning or opportunity to prepare. But kids… they are different. Did I mention I am fluent in sarcasm? Well I am. I even joined the “I’m Fluent In [...]

I Wrote The Constitution

Posted by dewde in Christianity, Marriage, Parenting on 21. Oct, 2008 | 20 Comments

Before I had children I read a book by my pastor, Andy Stanley. In one chapter he challenged me to think about the goals I had for myself and my family. So I reflected on them momentarily before continuing about the usual enterprise of life.
Then we had our first daughter.
Fathering children has a way of [...]

Parenting Tip #2: Thanks For Asking

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 19. Oct, 2008 | 2 Comments

At some point between the ages 2 and 4 our kids realize that sometimes they should take matters into their own hands, and sometimes they need to ask us for permission. When one of our kids rightly asks us for permission to do something, my wife and I thank them for asking. It’s a small [...]

Parenting Tip #1: Walk Away

Posted by dewde in Parenting on 04. Oct, 2008 | 5 Comments

My wife and I try our best to parent with purpose. It’s sort of a hobby we have together. We read parenting related blogs, science journals, books, etc. We’ve also been fortunate enough to stumble upon parenting methods ourselves. One of these is The Walk Away Technique. It applies mostly to toddlers, but we still [...]