Like a regular robot, but with more defects.

Now that I have 23 months under my belt, I’m obviously an expert on parenting. Ok, maybe not, but I am grateful for having such a happy daughter and although I can’t take full credit, we’re doing some things right. Other than being one myself, I don’t have a lot of experience with fatherhood so I wasn’t sure what the right roadmap was for me. None of this is suggests this is the right approach for every father, it’s just the roadmap that I ended up writing for myself along the way.

1. Never raise your voice in front of your child
2. Never let your child cry more than 30 seconds without comforting her.
3. Ask questions and listen, even if you don’t understand what she’s saying.
4. Go to the library together and read every day
5. Write her letters for her to open up when she’s older.
6. Remember, she will measure all other men against you.
7. Sing and dance no matter how atonal or uncoordinated
8. Make tents and conjure all of your imaginary forces
9. Teach her about animals, how to respect them.
10. Practice with stuffed animals
11. Be the bath time parent
12. Take pictures together and talk about themwith her
13. Listen to good music with her, not just kid music.
14. Remember, she will repeat the things that you say.
15. Be affectionate to others in front of her.
16. Let her create her play, her own way
17. Help her see how her actions impact other people.
18. Remember, Santa is scary at 12 months old
19. Don’t worry what other parents think about you.
20. Measure your success by your child’s trust and happiness.
21. Surround yourself with parents that share your values.
22. Model compassion, create structure – don’t worry about discipline
23. Let her be messy – just about everything can be sprayed off in the bath
24. Be playful, learn about who she is through laughter
25. Take her outside, teach her about the moon, let her pick the flowers

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