The Miracle of Petty Competition
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The start of first grade for my oldest child has brought something new to my life. The Class Dojo app.
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I started writing down my life goals and it turned out to be a list of places where I want to nap, but haven’t yet
— Andrew Knott (@aknott21) February 12, 2018
Writing about parenting, fatherhood, life, and all things ambiguous
A Tale of Two Treasure Hunts
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My six-year-old made me a treasure hunt to complete one afternoon recently. Making a treasure hunt is the kind of thing you do on hot, stormy afternoons in August when it’s impossible to go outside and your dad finally makes you turn off the TV and electronics for a few minutes.
Read MoreI Changed a Flat Tire, So I Can Do Anything Now
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There are a few key items every dad has to check off his dad list and perhaps the most important one is changing a flat tire on the side of the highway with your family in the car.
And, as of this weekend, I have checked it off.
Read MoreA Different Kind of First Day
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This year’s first day of school felt different. Perhaps it was because of our three first days so far it was the only one that had no true firsts. No one was starting school for the very first time or starting at a school we didn’t know.
Read MoreSometimes Parenting is a Train Wreck
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We took a short ride on the city train yesterday just to have something to do on one of our last days of summer vacation.
What I didn’t bargain for was that after we messed around the park and shops near where we got off the train, when we returned to the train station, the attendant told us that there had been an accident and the trains were shut down until further notice.
Read MoreTell Us What You Did This Summer
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If I had to stand up in front of the class and tell everyone what we did this summer—and thankfully I don’t have to do that—this is what I would say.
We did a little bit of everything and a little bit of nothing.
Read MoreDid We Start the Fire or Not? (First Concert Memories)
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I went to my first concert in July 1990 when I was nine years old. For those of you who know me, it might come as a surprise that I was so young. However, the concert was Billy Joel, so now it probably makes more sense.
Read MoreFulfilling Our Destiny: A Solo Road Trip with Children
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I recently took my three kids (ages six, four, and two) on a road trip from Florida to North Carolina without my wife because I am a crazy person. A funny thing happened, though; it turned out okay. Maybe I’m not so crazy after all (nope, my wife has confirmed that I’m still crazy).
Read MoreSameness
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We must have been hanging around by the muddy lake for at least two hours, but it might as well have been four hours or six or ten. We were well-equipped with two plastic grocery bags filled with Cheez Its, a few bananas and apples, thermos cups filled with water, bread for the minnows that swim near the lake’s shore, and two plastic cups to catch the minnows. The essentials.
Read MoreA Pop Song, a Volcano, and a Frog
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One of my 6-year-old’s favorite songs came on the radio on our drive home from my parents’ house. The car was dark and my two younger kids were already sound asleep as he crooned along, terribly off key.
Read MoreSpending Quality Time With My Kids is Great, But Fatherhood Sure Can Be Awkward
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I’m always looking for fun activities to do with the kids after school and on weekends. It can be difficult, though, because it’s hard to come up with things a one-, three-, and six-year-old will all enjoy.
My wife was out of town for a few days recently and suddenly the need for fun (time-killing) activities felt even more urgent. Don’t get me wrong, because I’ve been a stay-at-home parent for more than six years, I’m as equipped as anyone to solo parent for a few days, but really, no one is suitably equipped.
Read MoreThe End of the Day
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Often at the end of the day, which I define as when I’m finished getting the last child I’m responsible for to sleep and can be any time between 8:30 and 10:30 depending on how things go, I take stock of the day that was.
Read MoreWaiting is Overrated: A Day at the Beach
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There are two primary seasons in Florida: wet and dry. This year, the wet season descended upon us with fury. It rained every day for more days than I can remember.
Read MoreLandscaping with Children: An Update
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Before you read any further, check out Part I of this story.
I know you’ve all been wondering, so an update is long overdue. The landscaping project is still going wonderfully. Thanks for asking!
It’s nice to be seen for once. Our house is tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we don’t get much casual traffic. And even when we had a large number of people over—earlier this month for a kids’ birthday party—literally no one commented on the upgrades to the front yard.
Read MoreDirt is My Parenting Kryptonite
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My children do plenty of annoying things, but perhaps the one that quickens my pulse the most is playing in the dirt. I have no idea why this is. On its face, it is a relatively benign activity. No one is in danger of getting hurt (for the most part, more on that later) and I don’t have to do anything until the fun is over. They have never once asked me to join them in their filthy games, which is a true blessing.
It is inexplicable why this mundane activity is my parenting kryptonite, yet here we are.
Read MoreTechnological Jealousy: A Dad’s Lament
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On several occasions recently, my six-year-old has had me film him doing something fascinating like drumming on couch cushions, scaring his sister, or hitting golf balls in the yard so we could upload the video to YouTube and watch it back on our TV.
I can’t blame him.
Read MorePuppets to the Rescue
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Recently I found myself at a local Barnes & Noble with my four- and six-year-old boys on a weekday afternoon. On most occasions, I would have been less than thrilled about this situation. This time, though, we were supposed to be playing putt-putt and an unexpected rain storm had saved me from that fate.
Read MoreEight Years of Tired
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Today is my wedding anniversary. It is also my wife's wedding anniversary. It's ours. Together.
I swear. For the life of me I couldn't come up with a way to phrase that more succinctly. "My wife and my anniversary?" Sounds weird.
Landscaping With Children: A Cautionary Tale
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It was a beautiful early April afternoon. The temperature was only in the upper seventies and the sky was a piercing blue. Early April is typically late Spring in Florida, when the mercury in the thermometer starts to push its way toward ninety almost every afternoon and the prospect of six full months of simmering heat and dampness begins to haunt my thoughts.
So, on such a fine day, there was little choice but to rush outside immediately after we returned home from picking up the kindergartner on his weekly early dismissal day.
Read MoreHow I Overcame My "Super Dad" Complex (via Fatherly)
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I met a dad at the park recently. It's not unusual for me to run into other dads out with their kids, particularly at the park late in the afternoon, but I usually do little more than nod or say hello.
This time, though, we interacted because our kids were the same age and they started playing together immediately. This guy was extremely outgoing and energetic. He was calling my kids by name after just minutes and later coordinated and participated in a hide-and-seek game involving our four children and several others.
Later, he spun the carousel the kids were riding. When he did, he sprinted and jumped onto the back of one of the seats, holding himself parallel to the ground as he went along for the ride.
At one point, he vaulted over the perimeter fence as he ran to help his 3-year-old at the water fountain.
Read on at Fatherly.com.