Advice for soon to be father...

[ottsville]

Best advice I can give:

Be a parent, not a best friend.

Be consistent.

Kids are extremely durable,

Don't leave them at home when you are out having fun. The best way to influence their idea of fun is to have fun as a family..

YES!

Also, everyone has an idea of how to parent, take in what they have to share and find what works for you.

Breathe. There are times I want to strangle my kid, tell him to shut up, or just go away. Patience goes a long way in parenting. But there will be times when you flip out. If your reaction is reasonable, let the moment pass then talk about it when the emotions have passed or simmered down. If your reaction is unreasonable, apologize. It's ok to not be perfect as a parent(there is no such thing as a perfect parent). Admitting you made a mistake and can apologize is a huge positive example to set.

Encourage your kids to make their own mistakes. Learning from failure is better than not doing due to fear of failure.

Let them play with fire. Let them get dirty. Let them play in the mud, swim in creeks, climb trees.

And as someone else said, make sure to take time with your wife. Your relationship with her should be first.

 

[Fireman78]

Let your kid roll around in the dirt and play with sticks and bugs. Don’t helicopter the little dudes. They’ll be fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[donaldcon]

Let your kid roll around in the dirt and play with sticks and bugs. Don’t helicopter the little dudes. They’ll be fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do mot leave them in the dressing room with mom and walk away.

Thry will crawl under the door faster than mom can get redressed and be runnin around the store with freaked out parents

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

I have kids 8, 6, and 4. They like the digital experience, but if you take them outside they will learn to enjoy it all on their own. It helps to have some outside toy's, but it doesn't take much. Most parks have some pretty great outdoor type toys for kidos. Snacks are important, they always get hungry every 2 hours it seems when camping. Try to keep cooking/cleaning to a minimum or avoid entirely as it gets frustrating trying to watch kido's and cook at same time and don't assume your wife will help watch kids while you cook. In fact don't assume your wife will help you with anything. The lower your expectations are of her the better off you will be. Avoid blow up mattress if possible cause the kids will thinks it's their toy and you will end up sleeping on a flat mattress after they jump all over it. It's like taking a bounce house camping and then asking the kids not to bounce on it, they can't help themselves. They also take too much time to blow up and deflate. Bring a small baby monitor when their young so you and wife can relax by the fire when they go to bed early.

 

[VicMackey]

Best advice I can give. Get that kid mobile as soon as possible. In other words, don't be the parents who keep their fragile new human locked up in a house for the first year of its life. Take it home from the hospital, give it a 2 hour nap at home, then toss it in the car and go somewhere. I am not saying to take a one day old kid camping..... take it to home depot for some materials, hit the drugstore, get some gas in the car......Get it used to going places and seeing things as soon as possible.

Not related to camping: Never ever ever let the kid sleep in your bed. They will get used to that fast. Its hard to make a second kid while the first kid is sleeping in your bed if you know what I mean. <--this can have a negative effect on a marriage.

Congrats and best of luck!

 

[slomark]

Strider Bikes!!!

 

[Needin'Advice]

Strider Bikes!!!

Yep

 

[High Country]

Your kids will be as drawn to electronics as you are. I run a hobby business that sucks me to the "net" way to much. My kids see that and want to get on their pads or phones, or whatever. I am working hard to purposely unplug at home. Screens are EASY babysitters, but you pay for it in the end....

 

[RacerAV]

Run...


Okay, I have four 32, 30, 27, 19. Your child will be a digital native, meaning they will have access to digital technology from the time they first open their eyes until they close them for the final time. I fact, they will have technology augmentation in the form of implanted devices during their lifetime. It will be as natural to them as clothes are to you. Don’t fight it, engage it. Remember, they are coming into your life, not the other way around. Many couples make the mistake of thinking the relationship with the child is the most important. It is not. Your relationship with your wife is most important and demonstrating what a fantastic, loving relationship looks like to your children is paramount.

Bring them into your adventurous life and they will adapt. For example, designate them as navigator or technologist when they are old enough, having them use technology to map routes, find interesting sites, book engagements, research adventures, etc. until they are old enough to do this, they are easily influenced baggage. Take advantage of this so they know no better when they are old enough to think. Best of luck, kids are a blast when raised correctly!

well said...

i always tell my wife we come first. sounds mean, but has to be that way! cant put the kid between us, i think it would erode what came first!

our new baby will definitely be involved in our outdoor activities, and we will adapt the tech stuff right along with us!

 

[steviesterno]

same as above, and let the kid help with projects even if they are gonna mess it up. My guy loves trucks, and we found someone throwing away a metal tonka truck. so what it it was rusty? he helped me sand it in garage, he's the one that spray painted it. It's one of his favorites.

we did the same when we pulled a princess FJ cruiser powerwheels out of the trash. He helped clean and wash it, sand it, and then rhino line it so it matched my FJ (gone but not forgotten). we took him on an RV/camping trip this year at 2 years old and while a lot of it was annoying/harder than it would have been without him, he hiked in some state parks, saw wild animals, had some great adventures, and laughs when he looks back at pictures.

real advice, get a 529 account set up ASAP! set up auto contributions and let family chip in for birthdays and stuff. I am not worried about college for him because we have about a full year saved up already. if he doesn't go we can give to another kid or even take the tax hit and buy a house with the money. the $100/month comes out of the gun/off road budget but I don't have time for much of that anyway.

btw day care is expensive as hell! we're at $1k a month for just one kid. that's cheaper for our area, too. so be ready for a pretty solid lifestyle adjustment. Plan ahead, it makes things less scary.

 

[Runt]

Really great advice here. Only thing I have to add is to take your child for walks in the forest when they are a baby. A bug net will be needed and one of those front facing packs. Not sure if this made mine love being out doors or the 30 + days per year they camped with me but what ever it was it worked.

 

[B^2]

Really great advice here. Only thing I have to add is to take your child for walks in the forest when they are a baby. A bug net will be needed and one of those front facing packs. Not sure if this made mine love being out doors or the 30 + days per year they camped with me but what ever it was it worked.

Did you have a specific but net that worked well? Trying to gear up now so when the baby comes August we're ready for some adventures.

 

[Runt]

Did you have a specific but net that worked well? Trying to gear up now so when the baby comes August we're ready for some adventures.

It was a simple outers" brand bug net. Basically its a fine mesh sack with a drawstring.