Dad Tip of the Day - No No’s

Dad tip of the day - You shouldn't teach your kids something you don't want them to do.

As I have been reminded many times by my wonderful wife, if I show Jacob how to do something, he will then do it. Makes sense right?

The problem is that, while I might have showed Jacob how to do something with good intentions, I cannot always be there to control how he uses this new-found knowledge.

One example is when I taught him how to jump off the couch and land safely on his feet. I figured it would be better for him to get comfortable and figure out how to do it safely under my watchful eye, then to try to do it later when I am not there - he has to figure out how to do it somehow. The problem is that the next day he was at a "mom's group" that my wife frequents, and he was then showing the other kids how to jump off the couch at mom's group. This resulted in some crashes of other kids, of which I could not control. Of course, my wife was quick to throw me under the bus and rat me out to her friends that Jacob's dad taught him that... Ooops!

Another example is when I showed Jacob how to balance grapes on my nose. He quickly got the hang of it, but now whenever he plays with his food, gets it in his hair or food is falling on the floor, it is always my fault for showing him that food can also be for playing instead of just eating! Oops!

Live and learn right? Honestly, as a dad I really enjoy teaching my kids new things and seeing how they learn and connect the dots in their head as they experience new things this world has to offer... so great!

Brian