5 Ways To Be A Better Stay at Home Father

At first, the decision to be come a stay at home dad seems like an awfully daunting task. Having full responsibility of your child's growth and development is a heavy burden to bear. As society starts waning from the traditional "Dad's bring home the bacon, and wive's stay at home", men need to buckle up! A common issue though is men don't take the responsibility for their child even when they aren't the stay at home parent. Here are a few tips to make sure you are doing the best for your son/daughter.

Think of Them As An Adult

When you view your child as an adult, you have a greater respect for them. You talk to them normally, interact with them as you would anyone else, and you will be increasing their knowledge because of that. I never quite understood why people do "baby talk". First of all, "baby speak" is a higher tone than the average voice. Higher tones hurt babies ears because they are so sensitive. So why do it? Second of all, you never make the same "baby speak" sounds every time you speak unlike your normal voice. This makes it harder for babies to grasp onto pitch, syllables, and enunciation.

How about reading? Do you read to your child everyday. No, I don't mean picture books. I mean novels. From Day 1, my son and I learned ABC's and read the Bible daily for 15-30 minutes. By 2 months, he was just a chatter mouth trying to read with me. This ties into the "They'll Mimic Everything You Do One Day" section.

A Mix Of Alone Time and Together Time

Children need to learn self-pacification. When things don't go their way, they need to learn how to understand the entire situation and not lean on someone else always. Give babies alone time to just study their surroundings. They have no experience, no ideals, and no thoughts. Let them start absorbing information by themselves to understand not always will someone be by me, and that's okay. I always hear stories of how parents have to wake up every hour for their kids because they need comfort. Start at Day 1, help them find comfort within themselves.

It's no doubt that children need Love, hugs, and together time. Make it strong. Be extremely active and not just have them play on the side of the room while you're sitting reading a book. Together time is important. It builds the bond of trust between two people (just like adults).

Don't Be Afraid Of Affection And Strangers

I don't understand why this has to be a point, but it is. I find some parents to become scared out in public to continue to teach their children good morals. Like "say excuse me when you sneeze" or saying please/thank you. They just want to get in the store, and out ASAP. Every moment with your children is a learning opportunity. Saying "hello" to the person walking the other direction on the sidewalk is common courtesy. When your child is with you, you have that much more responsibility to take action and lead by example.

Don't be afraid to hug and show Love to your child either. Especially when they're newborn. If you don't do it early, and you decide you want to later. You'll probably get the "uhh, what are you doing" look from them.

They'll Mimic Everything You Do One Day

Children are sponges. Though they may not seem full of water, they will poor out all that knowledge and actions one day. I can remember when I was just a few years old how my father sat at the dinner table. How he leaned on one elbow, slightly forward arched back, and chin up. Well, I do that too now. I saw him do it for so many years, and now I copy him. Its that way for anyone in life. We are filled with influences all around us, so make sure to give your child positive and good moral influences to outweigh the bad ones they will undeniably see.

Patience Is Key

This one is a hard one. I've been there. Day 2 is just filled with crying and screaming and not knowing what's going on. Fathers, it's okay to step away. Call your wife over to help. Set the child down for a moment and go to a quiet place for a minute to regather yourself. If you have a fast heart-rate, they will too. If you're breathing hard, they will too. If you're upset, they will be too. Do whatever you have to do to stay calm and patient. This will be tested near daily at all ages. Find what works for you to keep you at a somewhat stable inner peace at all times in the day. It's always best to ask someone for help, then to try and continue calming your child when you're not even calm.