Tags
behavior, Blogging, Blogs, boys, Child Development, child-rearing, children, Fatherhood, Parent Development, parenting, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotary, Young boys
by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]
I am a Father three times over, but my first two were girls, which were relatively simple to raise and well-behaved…at least that is what I choose to remember. But the young boys I have known in my life are anything but well-behaved and I was nervous about being the Father of a boy. My son will turn five in a couple of weeks and I have realized that my nervousness was justified. Here are a few of the things I didn’t expect about being a Father to a 4 year-old boy:
- I didn’t know I would have to justify which route I took home from Starbucks. When the little guy in the back seat says, “Dad, why do you go home this way?,” you have to either play the ‘I’m-the-adult-and-that’s-why’ card, or you have to try to explain the subtleties of traffic, time of day, and the desire to travel on surface streets with the sunroof open. Wise or not, I usually try to explain things, because I’m a teacher at my core … but I’m rethinking that approach.
- I didn’t know I would have to answer questions that force me to defend the stupidity of our language, like, “How come we say the alarm is going off, when it is on?” (i.e.; making noise). It’s a great question. Anyone want to field that one?
- I didn’t know that going to the bathroom is a wait-until-you-only-have-seconds-before-disaster event and under no circumstances is possible upon suggestion by a parent.
- I didn’t know little boys really did ask, “Why is the sky blue?” and expect an answer that they can understand. Have you ever tried to be the first person to explain the concept of a planet, the sun, photons, the atmosphere, and light absorption to someone? It is worse if someone else is present because it is like making lasagna, everyone has a better way of doing it.
- I didn’t know that a four-year-old boy could flirt … and he’s really good at it … when the girl is at least three times his age.
- I didn’t know how well a boy could manipulate …uhm, his Mom. This one happened today. “Mom, could I have another treat…because you love me?” Fortunately, I’m immune to such ploys!
- I didn’t know a boy could have such joy over catching grasshoppers and bugs. It seems a cliché about a boy and bugs, but the desire to catch and detain anything smaller than him is hardwired in his behavior.
- I didn’t know I would become aware of every child around me even when my son is not there. Why should I care? These other kids have parents keeping watch on them, but when I see a child about to do something hazardous the urge to usurp the other parent’s authority is sometimes overwhelming.
- I didn’t know I would have to wait to mow the lawn until he would be there to ‘help’ me. This was a recent quote, “Dad, I’m glad you waited until I got home to mow the lawn because I would be really angry with you if you had done it when I’m not here.” I have my orders.
- I didn’t know that I could be attacked and beaten on with such zeal. I’m really hoping he learns to pull his punches before he gets too strong.
- I didn’t know that a boy could change my attitude … about being the Father of a boy. Still, if you’re about to be a Father of a boy, we need to talk.
- Negative Time: The Self-fulfilling Prophesy a Scientific Possibility?
- Thank you, Mr. President
- Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy
- Dear Business Person: It’s 2010, please update your brain.
- Riding Reno: The Ladies of Reno
- America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico
- Selling watered-down beer: The best spin campaign in advertising
- Rotary@105: Grieving change
- Communication: Repetition of message does not increase awareness
- Millennium Hotel: Go away, spend your money elsewhere
- Is it time to fire yourself?
- Up in the air down in Texas
- I mow my lawn because…
- Rogue Flight Attendant shows his arrogance, Airlines dislike for the customer
- Nevada I-580: An Interstate by any other name
- How Rotary can..must..will plug into Social Media
- Physics in 2010: The more we understand, the less we know
- Nevada’s oldest brewery opens a Reno location
- Rotary Membership/Public Image Challenge
- 2Q 2010 Social Media Tools: Facebook/Twitter sail on, LinkedIn/MySpace don’t
- Epic Fail: PR ‘Experts’ don’t get Twitter
- King of Anything: Social Media vs Traditional Media
- Rotary PR: Disrespecting the Club President is a PR/Membership issue
- WiFi on Southwest Airlines: Is it ‘Shovel Ready’?
- Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
- Two Barbecues and a Wedding
- Foul Play: FIFA shows what less regulation offers to business
- Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
- The Shock of the McChrystal Story: The story is over before the article is published
- Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
- Rotary@105: A young professionals networking club?
- One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
- War Declared on Social Media: Desperate Acts of Traditional Media
- Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation
- Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance
- Relationships and Thin-Slicing: Why the other person knows what you’re really thinking
- Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground
- Rotary@105: What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
- Twitter is the Thunderstorm of World Thought
- Signs of the Times
- Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
- How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education
- How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
- Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service
- Death of All Salesmen!
- Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
- Social Media: What is it and Why Should You Care?
- Social Media 2020: Keep it Personal
- Social Media 2020: Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
- Social Media 2020: Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
- Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
- Publishing Industry to End 2012
- Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
- Fear of Public Relations
- Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
- Does Anybody Really Understand PR?
- Rotary@105: April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
- Rotary@105: What kind of animal is Rotary International?
- Rotary: The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
- Rotary@105: Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
- Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
- Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
- Best Practices: Become a Target!
My little boy (first child) is on the way, but I’m hoping that, in addition to everything else I need to know, I won’t have to understand photons or light-absorbtion. Do you think an explanation involving “cloud people” and blue dye will be enough…until he hits 19 or so? More to the point, what was the difference between his questions, and the ones your girls asked?
🙂 Yes, by all means try the ‘Cloud people’ and ‘blue dye’ and let me know how that works out for you, but be forewarned, a son is liable to brag to everyone in preschool about what he learned from his Dad about why the sky is blue. Then you walk in and get strange looks and snickers from the school staff and you won’t even know why they start talking to you like you are five years old!….not that it ever happened to me….
Seriously, I’m not sure there is much difference due to gender in intelligence or types of questions they ask. The difference I’ve notices is in energy and aggressiveness. Alexander is typical of many boys I’ve seen. He loves to compete with me (who will be first to the car, etc.) and he wants to understand everything. My daughters are adults now, but as I recall, they often were content to play imaginary games on their own. Alexander wants to be involved with everything we do and/or have us play with him in order to observe how we ‘play’. He likes to mimic what we do and I don’t remember that as much with my daughters. Today, when I was taking him to school in the car I reached back to tickle his knee and he laughed and said, “You need to pay attention to your driving.” That is a statement he did not come up with on his own, but it was funny to hear him say it.
Congratulations on your new child! It will be fun!
Paul
Pingback: Sandoval/Reid campaign money not a stimulus for Nevada « Paul Kiser's Blog