Parents - Do you have any advice for Employee 1.1 who just became a first-time Dad?

Soak up the first year.

Work can wait.

Give it back now before the wife gets too attached to it.

Advice for all fathers: Love the mother of your children.

Do that and everything else will take care of itself.

Congratulations!

My advice: Make sure your wife gets enough quality rest. Take some turns on the night shift where she doesn't have to get out of bed, if possible.

Birdlegs wrote:

Advice for all fathers: Love the mother of your children.

Do that and everything else will take care of itself.

^^^wise man, listen to him

He's either going to need to get a real job or a raise to at least minimum wage.

Coach Gee wrote:

1. Life is now about your baby so don't expect to have any free time for yourself for years. Don't whine about it just get use to it.

2. Be the parent you wish your parents were.

3. Take your baby to restaurants and get them use to behaving and eating properly in restaurants from day 1. trust me you'll thank me in a few years.

4. Start a 529 Plan and put the maximum you can afford into it and keep contributing,

5. DON"T FORCE YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS THAT YOU DID OR WANT THEM TO

Don't listen to any of these. Each one is terrible advice.

1) The world hasn't changed with the birth of your child. Yours has. Still, life is about your family, not any one member, including the helpless infant. Both you and your wife can continue to live outside the bubble of your home. Each of you can go out occasionally.

So many young people are EXHAUSTED by one kid. Ridiculous. Stop over-parenting and life will be better for you and them.

2) If your parents were baby boomers, which it's likely they were, realize that they were some of the worse parents in the history of man, excepting of course the next generation, which was worse than that, and now the millenials, who are setting new standards for the worst generation of pansies in history.

Try to use common sense, which most parents used to have. Your babies might not have thousands of followers on Instagram or virtual friends on Facebook, but they'll be more mature, independent, competent and even possibly happy.

Or do what the idiot millenials do now. Fill them with psychotropic drugs, meddle in every part of their lives, try to avoid every pitfall your kid might stumble upon, project your neediness onto them and treat them like your best friend instead of your child, load them up with electronics that move them into a virtual existence and lastly, delay their step into adulthood as long as possible.

3) There's no reason to take your little kid to restaurants. Save the money and eat at home. Let everyone else eat the meal they paid for without a whining infant who can not help himself.

4) No. There is no law in the universe that mandates college in order to be prosperous or happy. Plus, as others have noted, if you're simply middle class, you've diminished that kid's financial aid by whatever you've saved.

Here's an idea. Let him pay for his own school if he's motivated to go on. He can become responsible, avoid the 6 year plan (or not but it's on him so it's not your responsibility) and he can either get scholarships or go to community college for a couple of years.

5) This one is mostly correct. If you do it right, you never have to force your kid to do any sport. Organized athletics are great builders of body, mind and character. Subtly move them in that direction.

So far in this thread, Agip has had the best advice by a long shot.

The greatest gift a father can give to his kids, is to love their mother.

You are never off the clock as a parent.

Teach your son to respect girls/women.

Let your kids know that you will take a bullet and die for them.

Teach them right from wrong.

Your kid's innocents will be lost when you tell them about Santa.

Be a real man and have "the talk", with your son. When the time comes.

Kids get sick. Find a great pediatrician you trust.

Real men do not hit their kids. Physical punishment is abuse. Find a better way to make your point.

You will never sleep well again because you will never stop worrying about their safety and well being.

Get a "Bob" running stroller. The one where the wheels don't move. Get the weather shield for days 50-70 degrees. Don't go out colder than that. But it's a great way to get your run while giving the wife a break.

The poop is black the first few days.

You will never, ever sleep again. You will be tired.

You're ok until the second kid comes. Then you get the dad bod.

Kids suck. It's hard being a parent. But then the smile at you and it's all good.

Good luck you'll need it.

1) Sleep when the baby sleeps. Baby's sleeptime is NOT when you do all the things that you've been putting off; you have to learn to do those while Baby's awake. (Kids are highly adaptable and you'll be amazed at what they can adjust to.)

2) Eating does NOT make up for lost sleep. Sadly, experience speaks.

Those are for now. A little later (not that long!):

3) Use Baby Sign Language with Junior. There are lots of good books and videos available for learning this nowadays. Start this earlier than not! Intelligent kids (as yours is likely to be) get especially frustrated by not being able to vocalize; giving them BSL allows them to communicate much earlier. This one is important, actually.

4) When Baby is eating at table with its parents, always have a roll of paper towels at the table, so that you can use one *without having to leave your seat*. (Install a paper towel rack under the table, if you have to.) Kids spill stuff; much better to be able to take it in stride without making it a big production.

Don't let them visit this message board.

Pull out next time. Ones enough.

Society is not progressing wrote:

minong wrote:

Had me in 100% agreement until the end. Your hobby jogging is extremely important. Just not more important than parenting.

I approve of this correction.

Thanks. Hopefully you're the same person that posted originally under this name.

read to your children a good deal of time every day, keep them away from screens most of the time, talk to them (this means listening to them talk much of the time), and take them out to play every day. you'll see enormous long-term and short-term benefits from this over the typical parental methods in today's America.

also, the running stroller is key (anything with a big front wheel that does not turn will work). you take the child with you to a park; you get exercise; and you can bring balls and a bat (I always had enough so that other kids could play too), as well as food and drink and diapers. get paper and crayons out for them to play with first thing every morning so that they get the basic skills for writing and drawing early and they will be advanced when they start school.

Coach Gee wrote:

1. Life is now about your baby so don't expect to have any free time for yourself for years. Don't whine about it just get use to it.

Total crap and the EXACT way to make everyone including the kid miserable.

Great advice, "Coach."

You and the mother are still independent people and if you live only as some wannabe 'super parent' you're a delusional fool.

Birdlegs wrote:

Advice for all fathers: Love the mother of your children.

Do that and everything else will take care of itself.

And if you're too busy for that, give me a call-- be glad to "help"!

chatturbater wrote:

Pull out next time. Ones enough.

x2

I should have pulled out, baby; too many dependents!

Why is He wearing all that hospital gear in the front page photos? I was in the delivery room and was never asked to don anything over my civilian clothes, and certainly no hairnet, lol.