As I read with interest the offerings in our March 2009 issue of Valley Parent, I am struck by how child rearing in 2009 is decidedly kinder and gentler than it was in the early 1960s. I remember with startling clarity exactly where I was standing in our tiny Britt David Road home across from the airport when my younger brother, Eric, ended our escalating case of sibling rivalry with one swift, right-handed uppercut.
My teeth clocked together and my wide-eyed view of the world advanced from that moment forward with a greater respect for the wiry, former object of my unrelenting torment. Though the father-of-sons in me thinks Jackie Titus’ treatment of the subject in this issue is a wimpy way to fix the problem — it is also, surely the civil way to do it.
I guess I’m an old-fashioned father that believes the best course of action with squabbling children is “no blood, no foul.” Unless there’s blood or impending real harm, I’d prefer they just work things out for themselves. Thanks, Jackie, for being the cooler head here.
I’m standing alone here guys, the lone male in a veritable sea of 13 estrogen-wielding female office mates. I will not go quietly into that ocean of discussions of hemlines, hairstyles and lipstick colors. I will stand, alone on the beach, with my back to the waves that threaten to wash over me and represent the fathers of the Chattahoochee Valley.
Though I know having night nannies and uncluttered bedrooms are surely favorable things, the man in me wants to declare that there is truly something good that comes from toughing it out. In order to avoid being shredded by all our wonderful female readers, led by the 13 others positioned down the hall, I state here that parenting is not a 50/50 proposition. I agree with Dr. Phil, that the making a successful home must come from an aggressive 100 percent commitment from both parents.
Sometimes the difficult things in a life make the best memories. I just got a call from our son Nick to wish us a happy Valentine’s Day. As I look back on Nick’s early teen years I realize now that our difficulties were more attributable to our being older and more tired from the three brothers who came before him than his being a more difficult case of boy flesh.
We’re so lucky to have these great sons. I only wish we’d had a great resource back then like Valley Parent to help us through the throes of parenthood. Please go to www.valleyparent.com and enjoy this issue. Dads, let me hear from you! Contact me through our magazine websites, or on Facebook or Twitter.