Real talk from real dads
Essays, diaries and stories about raising kids as gay dads — the good, the bad and the “we should have known.”
Zen and the Art of Diaper Changing in Public Places
One of the brightest insights I’ve had during my recent two-week trip with the kids to Israel was that if you are not lucky enough to have toilet-trained kids at two years old, you have to master diaper changing in more… interesting and unfamiliar configurations. Until recently, a “number 2” diaper change was a relatively…
Our Kids and “Gay Music”
When my boys were only a few months old I placed them nicely in their little Daydreamers and entertained them for an hour showing them a carefully-selected list of Kylie Minogue music videos, while enthusiastically updating them about the three decade career of the pop princess that they had missed having not being born yet.…
On strict and Consistent Schedules and Knowing When to Break Them
Some parents will disagree, but having a consistent schedule–and especially night time schedule–for the kids, is not only healthy for everybody, it also makes parenting so much easier. My late aunt Rachel was a sort of magician with children. Never having children of her own, she karmically compensated by working her entire life as a…
Desperate Parents Los Angeles: What To Do With Your Kids
Los Angeles parents! Kids wake up early on the weekends? We are no longer desperate to try to keep them busy! Here’s some activity suggestions around the city that can keep your kids entertained. Indoor Activities for Kids in Los Angeles Snooknuk Arts & Indoor Play Cafe Cute (though small) play area for kids, ideally…
Frankie and BJ: Raising A Child In An Interfaith Home
BJ Barone and husband Frankie Nelson from Toronto became unexpectedly famous when their son’s birth photo went viral on social media and led to their story being shared around the world. They later created the website, Family Is About Love, that documents their journey as a same sex family, and also published a children’s book…
Vic Tellez: Adoption vs. Foster Care; Being A Stay-At-Home Dad
Vicko (Vic) Tellez from New York and husband Kevin adopted daughter Chloe when she was 4 days old. In this article, Vic shares his story and explains the difference between Foster Care and Adoption. Vic also speaks about the decision to quit his job and become a stay-at-home dad, and about facing the fear of…
My Yearbook: Creative, Fun, Concentrated Documentation of Your Child That Will Be Remembered For Life!
Encourage in-door creativity: work with your kids to create and decorate a notebook that is all about their lives; A year-round pictorial guided diary that will remained as a memory for years to come. Here’s an idea for hours and hours of kids creative activity: A whole book dedicated to a year in the life…
That Time When We Had a Huge Fight in Front of the Kids
Yes, we fight. We’re not the picture perfect couple. Sometimes we even fight in front of the kids. And when we do — we also kiss and make up in front of them. Alex and I don’t fight a lot. We fight, but since we started couples therapy it’s been so much better. I think…
Matt Mason: co-parenting with ex-wife and future husband
The story of Matt Mason from Wisconsin is very interesting: He was married to his high school sweetheart before coming out as gay, and by the time they decided to separate (in good terms), they’ve already had three kids. How did he come out to his 11-year-old son? and how him and his now fiancé…
That Time My Husband Went on a Three-Day Working Trip Out of Town
I worry I whine too much about how hard it is to take care of two babies (now toddlers), especially when for some parents it seem like a piece of cake. I think that to some extent the pain and suffering Alex and I are experiencing is related to the fact that both of us…
This Parent is Broken: There Are Days When You Just Want to Return Them
I had a great idea for a blog post. It’s been circling around my head for a few days now. But just as I opened a new document and was about to type in the first word there was a knock on my home office door. It was our nanny. “Hi, sorry to bother you…
Navigate the Sea of Baby Toys
I remember the day when I finally realized that the two poop-machines in the house need entertainment too. The first three months had pretty much passed with a couple of knitted rattles, and a lot of music and singing my childhood’s pop songs to their faces. But now they’d started moving and we wanted to…
How We Kept Our Sanity After Babies Were Born
There’s a growing theory by celebrity gossip-lovers that celebrities getting pregnant with twins is no coincidence. Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Rebecca Romijn are on the twins list, and then there’s the recent celebration of Beyoncé and George Clooney’s (separate, of course) twins announcements. That’s an awful lot of twins. The theory banging around is that…