How Much to Protect My Son

Article first published as How Much to Protect My Child on Technorati. 

Buddha back when he was just known as Siddhartha Gautam, his father King Śuddhodana tried to shield him from all human suffering. That's a mighty challenge, especially since Siddhartha was married by age 16. Ah, teenage love. Once, he fatefully encountered human suffering during his travels, it was crushing and depressing. It drove him to an ascetic lifestyle and in search of enlightenment. 

I recently channeled the teachings of Buddha in my parenting.

Yesterday morning began like most others. I woke up and began making breakfast for my son Clark (a nice warm bottle) and myself (hard-boiled eggs and oatmeal). I left Clark square in the middle of the bed. He quite recently figured out  rolling. He can roll in either directions. He's still mastering his technique, so it's not exactly smooth, but he seems to have a great time doing it.  

I walked back to the bedroom, which isn't that far away, to check on Clark. I watched him continue to flip and roll ever closer to the edge. I realized there was a 99% chance that he was going to fall off the bed and onto the floor (about 12 inches below.) This was a watershed parenting moment. What kind of dad am I going to be? I had two choices. I could let him continue as he was and eventually fall or I could place him somewhere safe from harm for the time being.

Product Review: Ear Peace

Recently, the Dads had the opportunity to try out an interesting new product (new to us) called Ear Peace. 

I hate to admit it, but I'm getting old, not "grown and sexy," mind you, just old. If you don't know what "grown and sexy" means, ask your Black friends. However, If you're reading this, I probably am your Black friend*. So try urban dictionary.  The signals abound regarding my descent into old age. Two outstanding examples that come to mind are the last time I attended a live concert (Skull Candy Pool Stage @ The Hard Rock Hotel) and the last time I went to a dance Club (Rain @ the Palms Casino).  Both events brought the same thought to mind: "Boy, the music is really loud.  You think they could turn it down a bit?  Maybe we should leave early!"  Classic sign of "oldmanery."  

Back to Ear Peace, cute name, right?  Sound like something you put in your ear, so you can ignore your family and anything else that annoys you when you get home from work. The Ear Peace is technically a set of ear plugs, but to be be cliche, "not your father's ear plugs."  You do place them in your ears, but that's where the similarities stop.

Traditional ear plugs block sound, they're ostentatious, and far from aesthetically pleasing.  The Ear Peace doesn't block sound, it dampens it, but not in the same way as traditional plugs.  The sound you hear isn't muffled, it's transformed.  What you hear is more vivid, cutting out "noise" and distracting background sounds, focusing on what you're trying to hear.  I'm not an ear science major, so I don't know why or how they work, but they do make what you're listening to sound better.  They don't block annoying sounds (crying babies, noisy neighbors, etc.) but makes them sound far less annoying. 

The Ear Peace is smaller than traditional ear plugs. They are easily inserted and removed from the ears. Ear Peace comes in three different shades (vanilla, caramel, and chocolate) to match your complexion, instead of the usual white and construction orange. They blend in and can probably go unnoticed to the unobservant, unlike most ear plugs.  Ear Peace also comes with a sleek carrying case, which is way better than a paper towel, which most people use to carry their ear plugs.

Newborn Baby Football

Go Dad! Go!

Here's a new dad analogy: think of yourself as a running back and your newborn as a football (though unlike mine, yours may not be brown).

• Protect the ball - you'll want to secure the ball with two hands.
• Feel free to stiff arm anyone who tries to handle your baby without washing their hands (sorry, doctors' orders!)
• No kicks, punts, or throws - as guys we love to throw and kick things (beers, keys, balls, almost anything).  Don't toss the baby!
• Do not put the ball on the ground.  
• Do not turn the ball over (onto its stomach) to sleep.
• Sometimes you have to go out for a pass (or groceries or other errands).
• Protect the passer (wife/mother of your child/ren).
• Sometimes you need to carry the ball more to take pressure of the passer.
• If you're an experienced veteran, mentor a rookie. Make the world a better place.

The best running backs in football don't just run with the ball, they're multifaceted - double/triple threats.  When they do run the ball, they protect it and don't lose it.  That sounds like a good start to being a good dad.

   - Clark's Dad