Love and Logic

I am hesitant to write this post, only because I know corporate dads don't have a lot of time to read parenting books (no parent of small children does, for that matter). However, I recommend at least reading something at some point, if for no other reason than to have a tool in your belt. In other words, have you ever been at a loss or caught off guard by a situation that pops up with your kids at home? I'm certain I'm not the only one. In fact, I feel like I get caught off guard more than most. I used to be a very patient person before one child turned into three and some of them are now older than two and smarter than me. Plus, it is truly frustrating for an attorney to explain something with perfect clarity (as is our practice when not getting paid by the hour), only to have it disregarded in 2.5 seconds, if it was ever understood in the first place. It feels at these times that I turn from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde just as quickly. I appreciate my wife recommending a book, the title of which even appeals to lawyers, called "Parenting with Love and Logic." As I've read the book and put the tools into practice, though imperfectly, I've already seen a difference. I believe the reason is that it acts as a substitute for Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll gets to hang around a bit longer. Because frustration is a common reaction for a corporate dad, probably because it's nearly impossible not to bring work home--it always weighs on our minds--we typically have a shorter fuses than we might have had before having kids. I'm not planning on recommending more parenting books, but if you don't already have some kind of back-up to quick frustration, this is a good option.