Things I want my son to know.
Lesson #15 – Follow your heart, create your path.
Out mowing the lawn on a gorgeous sunny Sunday, I look back and find that you’re mowing the lawn right behind me!
Like. A. Boss.
Things I want my son to know.
Lesson #15 – Follow your heart, create your path.
Out mowing the lawn on a gorgeous sunny Sunday, I look back and find that you’re mowing the lawn right behind me!
Like. A. Boss.
This is quite something to keep your little ones amused during half term!
Lesson #14 – Punch above your weight, launching dadessentials.co.uk, just for you.
It was a conversation that I had with a friend some months ago that inspired me to share this message with you. Continue reading
So I’m not a huge fan of foul language, (in front of children), but sometimes the little things can really annoy the sht out of you at times. One such time was a couple of nights ago when my phone decided to play silly buggers and not connect to the Wi-Fi at home. The story of what happens next will crack you up…
Its late in the evening, and I’m about to take my son for his bath. I decide that some music is in order because, well why not, and go to get my phone from the kitchen where it was sat charging. I had left it for about 40 minutes or so, and it had only picked up about 10% charge which was infuriating, as Sid’s bath would take at least 8% of the charge.
Anyway I realise that it is also not connected to the Wi-Fi and so I turn the Wi-Fi on on the phone, and wait. And wait. And wait.
By this time I’m seriously hacked off and under my breath, seeing that my son is now buzzing around me I mutter “why the fk isn’t the phone connecting to the Wi-Fi?!?!?!”. He was about a metre away from me and I immediately realised I had said those magic words a little too loudly. He suddenly stopped what he was doing, stared me right in the eye and said “Daddy don’t say that. Don’t say fk. It’s not nice to say it. Instead say .. Hmm (looks at his book of planes) instead say helicopter.”
I was both amazed and mortified at the same time.
I wanted to swing my genius son around and at the same time cut off my tongue for using such profane language in front of my angel with horns child.
There was an itching curiosity within me as I rested that evening.
How did my son, my 2 year old, whom we never swear in front of, know that fk is such a bad swear word? No-one told him, and certainly not me. I wondered – did my son realise that my frustration, linked to the extremely well placed F-Bomb meant that the word I used was a naughty word? Or has someone secretly been teaching my son things to just wind me up?
I did a very crude experiment with him the next morning. I pretended to get really angry and shouted out “What the chin!?!?!” – and lo and behold – he stopped what he was doing (eating) and said – “Daddy – don’t say Chin. It’s not nice”.
Could it be that children are that more sensitive to the way we say things compared to what we say?
If it is so, then it is both sentiment, emotion, AND language that has an impact on a child.
This relates quite nicely to what we hear about communication and arguments – most of the time arguments occur not be cause of what we say – but because of how we say it.
It seems like this is not a learned construct – It’s almost innate and we know what this “feeling” of negativity is, from a very young age.
If there’s anything I have learnt from this experience, that is to never underestimate 2 things.
We heard on the news that 5 young men tragically lost their lives out on Camber Sands Beach in Sussex, England while in the sea yesterday, 24th Aug. They appear to have caught out in a possible rip-tide which dragged them out to sea.
My thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their sons, siblings who have lost their brothers in this tragic accident.
Speaking on the BBC Asian Network this morning, I was joined with Aaron Dhanda who is a Community Drowning Prevention Officer with The Royal Life Saving Society UK who gave some great advice on safety when out at the beach, and in particular this applies to parents with young children.
Here are his top 10 tips for beach safety shared with daddydze.co.uk
This is not an exhaustive list – but with all things, be sensible, know the risks and precautions, and be safe.
Strategically positioning the main gate to the resort so that sun sets directly inside it is a stroke of genius.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen (Maldives had a phenomenal one), this was just luckily captured as we walked past the main doors.
The doubletree at Marjsn Island is a fantastic resort for kids and has an abundance of facilities to offer… As I compile a fuller review of the resort, here are some pictures of our fun time this week…