education
NO BREAKFAST THIS MORNING
29/03/16 22:26
“If you’re not going to eat your cereal, let’s go upstairs and get changed,” I said. Conor didn’t like that. “I am going to eat it. Just not right now.”
“You slept late. There’s no time for later,” I replied sternly. The line in the sand had been drawn. The duel was on. This is where we cue the suspense music.
Conor called my bluff. I turned and walked upstairs to get dressed. He hates being alone. And he left the table to join me. At a distance.
I closed the gap between us and extricated his pajama top. And replaced it with thermals. It’s still cold outside. Even colder than his demeaner towards me right now.
The omnivore was ready to return to the feeding trough after he got dressed so we headed back to the kitchen. He wanted to sit on my lap.
“No time for that now. It’s time to make lunch.” The Mexican stand-off resumed. Conor whimpered, “I’m not eating unless I can sit on your lap.”
“You’d better eat now because when this hotdog is safe in its bun, we’re off to school. Breakfast or no breakfast.”
“Mom gives me 6 chances,” he dared to say. I volleyed, “I’m giving you two. And one chance you already passed up. Time to decide.”
He paused too long. I wrapped him in his coat like a burrito and guided him out the door. “Wait, I haven’t eaten yet,” he pleaded.
He cried louder than John Lennon was singing “Hey Jude” on the radio as we rolled down the street. I guess it’s just one of those teaching moments.
I dropped him off and came back home. All that teaching has made me hungry. Time to eat his breakfast.
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DAD, I ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING
23/03/16 23:22
Yesterday, Conor and I were having a talk and I was trying to tell him that during a full moon, the tide gets really high because of the moon's gravitational pull. He told me, "Dad, I already know everything." I got a bit perturbed at him and said, "You know what Conor, you may think you know everything, but the truth is, you don't. We never stop learning. We can learn something new every single day of our lives." He got quiet for a second, then said, "You know what Dad, I already knew that, too." That boy is too smart for his own britches! I was pissed off and done with the conversation. Conor 1; Dad 0.
IT'S NOT DEFIANCE, THE TESTING IS HEALTHY
29/12/13 22:43
At 2 years old, Conor is in full swing of testing Valerie and me. Just last night, I told him to stop jumping up the stairs so he wouldn’t accidently fall. He jumped up the next stair and looked back, grinning. I repeated my request and it triggered him to jump up the next step and turn around, grinning. I wondered if I should put him in a timeout for disobeying or pick him up and get him out of the ‘hot’ area.
According to Susanne Ayers Denham, a developmental psychologist, kids aren’t being defiant when they ‘test’ us. She points out that toddlers are trying to grapple with the rules of the family. They’re still trying to figure out if you need to be there to correct them each time and how they can ‘own’ the rule so they follow it even when you’re not there.
When you figure that this ‘testing’ coincides with their increasing need to be independent, it’s hard to read when a child needs to be reprimanded and when a child needs some room to learn and grow. I find this line increasingly blurry and need a constant dose of psychologists to remind me that my amazing son is following human instincts and isn’t just trying to be a pain in the ass on any given day. So thank you, Susanne, for your help today.
CONOR THINKS I HUNG THE MOON
15/10/13 21:29
There’s something special about a dad and his son that just seems to make the world make sense. I feel like all the stuff i learned once upon a time has a purpose again. And if my son doesn’t like that I’m always imparting bits of trivial knowledge into his brain, he doesn’t show it. In fact, he acts like he relishes it. He’s only two but I thought he might like to know that the moon is only 270,000 miles from Earth. And when i took a picture of it this weekend with a powerful Nikon lens, I pointed out the acne spots were really places where asteroids collided with the moon. He laughed and clapped. I never really thought of it that way but I decided it was funny and thought applause was in order. I mean it really must have been quite a sight to see two foreign bodies crash into each other 270,000 miles away. I mean, it’s not like anyone got hurt or anything. He was playing with the wheel of my bike this weekend and as it spun, I explained that once an object is in motion it will continue that motion until an opposite force makes it stop. He rubbed his finger along the rubber until it stopped. He laughed. I said, “exactly”. Then he realized he burned his finger on the spinning rubber and he lifted his finger for me to kiss and make better. I did as told and he smiled. I didn’t tell him of the phenomenon ‘placebo effect’ because that would ruin everything.
It’s a brief time that my son is a little boy thinking that his dad hung the moon. I’m going to milk it for everything it’s worth. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-oct-2013.html#sthash.csgaEp8K.dpuf
PANCAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN
13/10/13 21:32
Conor doesn’t like when I ignore him in the morning when making breakfast. But if I include him in the process, he’s happy as a clam in mud.
CONOR GOES TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. AGAIN.
10/10/13 21:40
Today, it got a little breezy in the back when Conor was admitted to Children’s hospital because of a super painful stomach cramp.
I got a call from Conor’s daycare that he had been crying for an hour, holding his stomach and saying that it hurt. They had tried to call once and now was trying again. I jumped in the car and headed to pick him up. Only two days before, he had the same issue and we took him to the hospital to get checked out. But because he was no longer in pain, they decided to just watch and see.
Today, we headed straight to Children’s Hospital and had him checked again. This time, thoroughly. It started with x-rays which he hated but it wasn’t painful. It was just a scary looking room with a big machine that looked like a monster. They really need to get in there and paint that room to look like something fun. It wouldn’t be hard at all. Then, they sent us all upstairs so he could have an ultrasound. He was so over that x-ray room that he wasn’t pleased to have to lie down and have jelly rubbed on his tummy so they could slide that plastic paddle around on his tummy. So he cried crocodile tears even though the procedure was painless.
Eventually, they decided he may just be really constipated so they gave him an enema to make him poo. He cried some more but was so tired from the other two experiences that he was resigned to let the nurse do her thing and he just laid on the pillow and cried. Valerie and I felt bad for him but we had seen him in pain when his stomach would cramp up so this didn’t seem like such a difficult decision. And now we are pretty sure he’ll be okay.
READING STORIES TO MY SON WHILE ON THE ROAD
19/09/13 21:54
Foresight of my 10 days away from Conor motivated me to drag out the video camera and the tripod and read some of Conor's favorite stories before I left for Stockholm on business. This one is called Holler Loudly and I love hearing my son try to say, "Loudly". I called my wife to see how the two of them were doing and she said that Conor had started to ask about me on a regular basis so she played these videos on the TV and he calmed down and settled into half a dozen videos that I have stored in the section called, "The Reading Corner."
A BIG TRUCK MISUNDERSTANDING
08/07/13 16:17
Conor has a little trouble saying, 'truck'. The result is embarrassing. We're working on it.
BUZZ ALDRIN CALLS ON AMERICA TO GO TO MARS IN NEXT 20 YEARS
07/05/13 16:32
I can still remember that exciting day at 2pm on July 20, 1969 when my teacher wheeled the school b&w TV into our 3rd grade room. It meant there was no work for an hour as she announced that man was about to land on the moon. She turned on the TV and you could just see TV snow as she adjusted the rabbit ear antennas on top. Slowly, an image began to appear. It was hard to make out at first. All those tiny pixilated white and black squares trying to create a shape. And us kids begin to make out a shape of a space craft landing on the moon. It was unbelievable. You could see the grown-ups at Cape Canaveral acting like kids, whooping and hollering as they realized their mission had been accomplished. The teacher started clapping and so did all the kids. It was super exciting. As kids, we believed anything was possible and easy to believe that Americans had landed on the moon. The two astronauts were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Oh man, what a day.
Today, Buzz Aldrin, now 83 years old, is calling on America to get to Mars within the next 20 years. It harkens back to the day when John F. Kennedy came on TV and challenged fellow Americans to get to the moon before the end of the decade. And no human had ever done so! Thanks to Mar's Rovers Curiosity and Opportunity, we have never been closer to getting there.
Buzz points out the scientific advancements of the moon program are still in effect today. Products such as baby formula, phone cameras, computer mouse, cordless tools were all born out of NASA. Imagine what new technologies and products we can create to help people all over the planet?
To read more about Buzz Aldrin's vision, visit; http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/07/buzz-aldrin-get-to-mars-within-20-years/
Additional Resources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/everyday-items-developed-by-nasa-2012-8
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/first-person-on-moon.html
THE CHURCH HAS A NEW POOP
13/03/13 06:57
Today, I told my 17-month old son the Catholic Church got a new Pope and we were going to go upstairs and see him on TV. He looked at me and said, "new Poop?"
As I thought about his miscalculated mimicry, I understood how insightful his comment was. For 600 years, there hasn't been a pope who has stepped down from his duty as Pope. And with Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI stepping down but living only kilometers from the new Pope, who knows what kind of affect that may have on the new Pope or even the Church itself? I hope that Pope Francis from Argentina is able to lead the Church in the humble way from which he has lived his life to this point. No doubt it's exciting to watch a new Pope ascend the balcony after the white smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel. Let's just hope he's not stepping into 'new poop'.
HOW LONG TIL CONOR CAN START PLAYING THE PIANO
21/02/13 11:20
Studies show children don't have the dexterity, patience for repetition or mental capacity to learn piano until the age of 5. Until then, they're just playing. Wait, since when do we have to study how to play? He's already playing. It just doesn't sound that good.
CONOR MEETS A BOBCAT FACE TO FACE IN TEXAS
16/02/13 11:54
On Saturday afternoon, the rumor started in the neighborhood that a bobcat had been caught in a neighbor's trap by the Resaca. Not one to be left out of a good adventure, my dad, myself and Conor headed over to see if the rumor was true. Sure enough, a couple of neighbors had gathered 'round to see the frustrated cat in the trap. After a call to the animal control unit, a fearless Mexican American cowboy showed up and asked the neighbors if they minded if he just let the bobcat loose in the neighborhood instead of taking it away from it's natural habitat. After the neighbors agreed, the ten gallon hatted cowboy took the bobcat to the edge of a wooded lot and before he could set the bobcat free, the bobcat banged himself out the back of the trap and busted out. He ran so fast he landed in the lake and had to swim out and run like crazy for freedom. It was pretty exciting to watch. I captured the moment on the iPhone and was surprised at how well it turned out.
CONOR MEETS A BOBCAT FACE TO FACE
16/02/13 09:31
On Saturday afternoon, the rumor started in the neighborhood that a bobcat had been caught in a neighbor's trap by the Resaca. Not one to be left out of a good adventure, my dad, myself and Conor headed over to see if the rumor was true. Sure enough, a couple of neighbors had gathered 'round to see the frustrated cat in the trap. After a call to the animal control unit, a fearless Mexican American cowboy showed up and asked the neighbors if they minded if he just let the bobcat loose in the neighborhood instead of taking it away from it's natural habitat. After the neighbors agreed, the ten gallon hatted cowboy took the bobcat to the edge of a wooded lot and before he could set the bobcat free, the bobcat banged himself out the back of the trap and busted out. He ran so fast he landed in the lake and had to swim out and run like crazy for freedom. It was pretty exciting to watch. I captured the moment on the iPhone and was surprised at how well it turned out.
RAISING YOUR KIDS TO BE ENTREPRENEURS
10/11/12 14:24
Do you ever look at your child and wonder, "What's he/she going to grow up to be?" And do you wonder what role you play in that decision? Well, I sure do. I play the piano, the guitar and the flute for my son daily in hopes that he'll get interested in playing music when he gets older. I'm not saying I want him to be a professional musician, but I know that music has been a great communication tool for me when I need to get things off my chest. Or I want to tell others what's inside my head.
I read him books and tell him stories so he understands words, speaking and inflections of voice. I think it may help him enjoy books and reading when he gets older because that's where all the answers are. I try to pick out toys that are wooden, and fabric that are texturally interesting to the touch so that he appreciates aesthetics and design.
My wife and I talk and laugh around him and are affectionate so he sees that these are the ways we treat others that we care about.
But there's still something lacking as I try to teach my son how to think as an adult. I was always taught to work hard and everything else will follow. And it has worked out okay for me to some degree. But as I grew older, I saw that there were others around me that were not working as hard as me but were just as successful or more so. And I wondered, 'what do they know that I don't?" And one day I picked up the book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," and it began to sink in. I have come to believe that it's not necessary to work hard as it is to work smart. And this means understanding the world around us. It means to discover what others around us need or want and find ways to provide it. And when we discover how to provide it, delegate those tasks to others so it frees us up to make other discoveries. It's called being an entrepreneur. Since I have moved to Boston, I have met dozens of entrepreneurs and am friends with many of them. And i'm intrigued with their belief system.
Most of these entrepreneurs are no smarter than your average Joe and sometimes, not as smart. And they don't pretend to be smarter. It is their natural ability to think of an idea and hire someone to find the solutions for them. It doesn't dawn on them that they don't know enough to run a company. It doesn't cross their minds that they are in over their heads. They just know that they have an idea and that if someone should be able to make money from that idea, why not them. In essence, they claim their prize, they step into the ring with both feet and only then do they ask, "How in the world am I going to succeed. And one step at a time, they find solutions to each problem.
I began to wonder if I could teach my son to think this way. And in my search, I came across a TedTalks speech by Cameron Herold that really made me think that perhaps there is a road map. I think the speaker is a little too quick to assume some of his points. But that's exactly what an entrepreneur does so I cut him some slack. But I took many of his points to heart and will incorporate those examples that make sense to me as I teach Conor to be self sufficient, independent and to think bigger in a world that needs big answers.
Here's the speech and examples of how to get your child to think like an entrepreneur.
WWII MUSEUM IN NEW ORLEANS
18/09/12 14:59
The old lady in the elevator didn't think the WWII Museum was appropriate for a baby but we had fun. The museum focused on the invasion of Normandy and the war with Japan. We highly recommend the museum if you're a WWII buff but Conor was only good for about an hour of it before he got antsy and wanted to stand in the stroller instead of sit. Considering he's only 11 months old at this point, I'll consider that a victory. After he waived the white flag, we gracefully made our exit.
CONOR GIVES THE NEW ORLEANS AQUARIUM TWO THUMBS UP
18/09/12 14:57
It's our fifth day in New Orleans and we're staying about 5 minutes away from the New Orleans Aquarium. We decided it might be a good way to start the day. So we took Conor. He enjoyed the fishes for about 5 minutes but was really interested in crawling through the aquarium. This didn't seem like a really good idea so we let him sit or kneel but kept the crawling to a minimum. Here he is saying hi to the local eel. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-sep-2012.html#sthash.fuCD9zcQ.dpuf
WHY KIDS PLAY PEEK-A-BOO
06/09/12 15:24
Conor has enjoyed the peekaboo game since he was about 6 months old. He would pull a blanket up over his head and then drop it and laugh. Then pick it up again and do this about 5 times before he had enough. But there’s something especially cute now that he can crawl and can hide from a distance. Why do kids find this so exciting? Because they are testing a new concept as their brain matures called, ‘permanence’ which is a fancy college word for ‘things still exist even when I can’t see them.”