Parenting Resolutions

More activities – Seems like with the oldest child, I was more prone to go out of my way to create or host some kind of special activity or outing with the kid. Now that we have three, I find myself more in a sit back and watch the madness unfold mode. I really should put down the cocktail and get down on the floor with the kids. Or just go on a nature hike, or get one of the dozens of little “kits” we have accumulated over the years. Lets put the goal at one per week.

Travel very little – Being away puts huge pressure on my working spouse, and increases stress for everyone in the family. Seems like half the time I travel, the kids get sick, which is even worse. This is a tough one because we’re getting asked to speak at conferences and events more and more, and with the book coming out in June, this is just going to pick up. It’s tough to turn down a great opportunity, but I resolve to. No more than one business trip per month, no more than two nights per trip.

Find tradition with youngest – I’ve created special one-on-one traditions with my older two kids; a fishing charter on the Cape with Bubba, and going to the Nutcracker with Ri-ri. The kids love these events out of all proportion with how much fun they actually are. Me, too. So now that Coop is four, it’s about time to think one up or him. The ideas came pretty clearly for the other two. Coop may be tougher. He loves puzzles and pirates and animals. Maybe a trip to the San Antonio Zoo? I resolve to have this picked and ready to execute by his birthday in May.

Make sure “discussions” with wife are understood – My wife and I both have forceful personalities and we have our moments of disagreement. But that’s not really the issue. We’re so spirited in our opinions that when we are in complete agreement on a subject talking after dinner, the kids sometimes think we’re fighting. They’ve said this on a couple of occasions. I know that worries that parents are fighting can be deleterious to kids. So my wife and I need to tone down our agreements. Resolution to take place immediately.

Keep sports/extra-curricular involvements in balance – From the moment our oldest first started with 3-on-3 soccer when he was about 5, my wife and I decreed that we would never fall into the trap of over-scheduling or over-programming our kids lives. No more than one activity per season! Period. End of paragraph. Problem is we started to doubt ourselves. Other kids seemed to be progressing faster because of deeper involvements. Maybe we were holding our kids back with our philosophy (dangerous thinking). So we’ve had some Activity Creep. Letting a little overlap between seasons seep in – a few little extra training camps…But no more! It’s back to the one activity per season rule. Starting with the Spring season in 2009.

Get back on track with college savings – Nice fat returns on the college accounts we’ve established over the years had lured me into easing back on our monthly savings discipline. By the time the crash came, I hadn’t invested in our 529 funds in months. Now, with those funds decimated, it’s time to get back to socking away the cash. I’m going to look at vehicles other than 529s, but those tuition bills aren’t going to go away just because the Dow has tanked. Resolution: to set up a vehicle with the first automatic monthly withdrawal on January 15.

Lose weight – The classic Resolution, but this year it’s serious. At DadLabs we are launching a HQ-wide contest/initiative: The FitFatFit Dad challenge. It wasn’t so much the “big fat daddy” lines from the kids as it was being forced to watch myself get slightly larger with each successive video on DadLabs. I know that I would be more active with the kids (see #1) if I shed a few. My goal is 20 lbs. If you want to join in the FitFatFit, you can register at DadLabs and slim down with us.