April 2010

Mocha Dad and Moms: What Happened to Manners

Mocha Dad and Moms is a monthly column where a mom and I give our points-of-view on a parenting topic. Today’s featured mom is Kathy Sena. The Little Princess I was on a flight from Raleigh, NC to L.A. the other day. A mom with three kids sat across from me, with one next to [...]

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Diary of a Poopy Kid

Before I had children, poop was not a big concern of mine. Of course, I tried to avoid stepping in it when irresponsible pet owners failed to scoop, but other than that, poop was something that happened in private. Now, I’m bombarded with poop discussions on a daily basis. “Daddy! I have to go poop.” [...]

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Tough Talk

One night at bedtime, my daughter, Nee, was upset. “What’s wrong?” asked my wife, KayEm. “Tyra and I aren’t friends anymore,” Nee said with disappointment. Nee has always had a hard time making and keeping friends. After her “mean girls” episode at her former school, Nee has been very cautious of befriending other girls. Fortunately, Tyra [...]

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Earth Day: I’m Sorry Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature, On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I’d like to apologize for my family’s lack of environmental concern. They waste water (read this post so you can fully understand my dilemma), refuse to recycle, and leave lights on all over the house all day long. I’ve tried to encourage them to do [...]

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My Cup Runneth Over

When you have a son who plays sports, you become an expert on various protective cups. For those of you without boys, allow me to explain. The cup is a piece of plastic that protects boys’ genitals from harm – very helpful when a baseball is headed straight for your groin area at 90 mph. [...]

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15 Books For Today’s Parents

After reading my The Secret to Raising Smart Kids and Parenting by the Book or By Instinct posts, many people have e-mailed me book recommendations. The most recommended books were NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children and How We Decide. The posts also prompted a friend of mine to share with me a parenting bibliography she [...]

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Mocha Dad and Moms: Fathers and Autism

Mocha Dad and Moms is a monthly column where a mom and I give our points-of-view on a parenting topic. Today’s featured mom is Holly Robinson Peete. Holly’s essay is compiled from an interview with Mocha Dad and other bloggers. How My Husband Dealt With Our Son’s Autism My husband, Rodney Peete, was devastated by [...]

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Baseball Has Been Very, Very Good to Me

I hate baseball. Although there are many reasons why I have no love for America’s past time, I can trace the root of my disdain to an event that occurred on an elementary school playground. When I was a kid, we played baseball in the streets our our neighbor. On defense, we used our bare [...]

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Tales of a Toddler

If you’ve ever read the book, “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” you can understand my life. I think Judy Blume used my son, X, as the inspiration for the mischievous toddler Fudge. Reign of Terror X’s antics started when he found a nutcracker and hurled it at his sister like a ninja’s star. Although [...]

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The Godfather

It seems as if I’m raising a pint-sized Godfather. Yes, he is the Don Corleone of kindergarten. His life as a wiseguy began when he put a hit on one of his classmates. The victim was a girl in his class who aggravated him daily. N always complained that the girl was mean to him [...]

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