“Bye Honey! Have fun and don’t worry about it, the kids will be fine…”
Mom looks awkwardly at her keys as she thinks twice about that evening girls night out. Yep, Mom could call it off and easily say she had one of those pesky 24 hour cold/flu/death diarrhea bouts. The brutal truth is that a night of “poopuking” might be better than 3 kids home alone with Dad. Dad is on duty. Say it twice and get used to the idea. Dad. Is. On. Duty…
Not only is Dad on duty but he is proud to be doing his part and pitching in. Because your chosen male might be different than others, he may attempt differently from the list; thus be warned this list is neither exhaustive nor comprehensive. So here is your top 10 list of reasons to just let Dad do it his way while you’re out of the house.
1. Laundry will never be the same again
C’mon, it’s an adventure not knowing whether your navy blue socks are actually half navy and half black. When your coworkers note the subtle shift on your feet, you can calmly and excitedly tell them how you and hubby got to do exactly what you wanted to do AND the laundry got done. The week after Dad helped out and while he watched a football game while you were at yoga was ALSO the day your sock drawer turned into a box of chocolates. Life is an adventure and you never know which mismatched socks you are gonna get.
2. The park will be a crazy new adventure for your children
Nobody knows why your stroller is caked in mud. Including poppa bear. What is certain is that nobody likes cleaning strollers, especially Dad. Face it, you were eyeing that new stroller with the bigger wheels because you wanted to start running again anyways. So you might as well give your husband a reason to go to the park “off-road 4X4 style” and now everyone is happy – you get a new stroller. For your kids, they may never make it to the park, and instead end up throwing rocks in the creek and chasing prairie dogs. Face it, they get bored on slides anyways.
3. The floor needed to be cleaned anyways
Mom: “Well I am not gonna clean it up.”
Dad: “She was just having so much fun!”
Mom: (One eye raised) “Oh really? What were you doing while she was having the time of her life?”
Dad: (Nodding head in shameful, but oddly gleeful agreement, shrugs shoulders)
Mom: “I’m calling the cleaners.”
Everyone wins!
4. There IS nutritional value in cheese
Because you know he is gonna do it. Cheese, after all, is the dad’s easy way out to get the kids to eat. Here are epic cheese facts (albeit from the biased
National Dairy Council) that every Mom should have in her hip pocket come dad-day:
A) 16 percent of teenagers and 26 percent of adults are reducing or not eating meat in their diets and both are looking for additional sources of protein – and cheese is a great source of protein. Cheese contributes high-quality protein as well as calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin A to the American diet.
B) U.S. preteen and teenage girls 9 to 18 are at risk for not getting enough calcium according to the Institute of Medicine. As part of a healthy, balanced diet, cheese can help fill this gap. Most cheeses are a good to excellent source of Calcium.
C) Other countries have higher cheese consumption, yet lower incidence of hypertension and obesity. Here’s looking at you France! Hypertension affects 16.5 percent of French adults compared with 31.3 percent of U.S. adults and they eat cheese like it’s going out of style!
D) Cheese is gluten free! Woohoo!
Just let the cheese flow. And speaking of dairy…
5. Butter is a great non-sugary snack
Another in the “you know it’s gonna happen department”. Your toddler may even get his full teeth marks into a stick of butter.
But if your Dad is going to give a snack, butter is WAY better than anything sugary. Because sugar is addictive and runs your kids in circles – for days on end. All males know this and nobody wants a revved up kid they gotta put down for
sleep/nap. So he gives up and heads for – what else – the butter! So what? For all the reasons cheese above is nutritious, butter offers a very good source of fat, which is needed for development for kids anyways.
What you might consider doing is talking poppa bear into giving a spoonful of coconut oil instead. Coconut oil is chock full of antioxidants and saturated fats which do real-life wonders on cholesterol levels. Coconut oil actually lowers the bad cholesterol and increases the good one! In your head you might feel like your children are eating 1 foot square cubes of butter, but in reality, it’s probably just a bite into a stick here and there.
6. You had too many toys anyways
Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, July 4th… the events to attract another toy seem to be never-ending. But when was the last time you had a reason to make space? Let dad go nuts and dissect a toy or 13. The Daily Dad recommends blunt and soft objects to throw, cut, maim, torture or destroy. Just remember, it’s his job to clean it up!
Losing a toy to a great night out with your girlfriends may eventually help to de-clutter the house. Perhaps you are considering firing the nanny and hiring Dad by now, aren’t ya?
7. You are ready to be listened to
Funny how much your husband doesn’t want to talk about what happened when you were gone. He seems so very receptive to hear about your day/weekend/evening out of the house. If it appears as if he could listen to you for hours on end – you are probably right. Just don’t ask how things went for him. It’s as if you are on a first date again! Ahhh love.
8. The kids did nap
Innate is strong, they will find a way to close their eyes. Trust in the forces within. Even Dad has to heed the obvious eye rubbing. Right? Ok so he missed the eye rubbing, but he was certain to pick up on the other signals, like falling asleep in the car or on the teeter-totter. Worst case the nap schedule is off a bit.
9. No, he won’t put your baby in harms way
It is all in your mind. He probably is just putting the kid on the counter for a quick butter break.
Blunt butter knives and sharp steak knives are all safely stored and out of harms way. You must have certainty in this. The loving man who took your hand in marriage til death-do-you-part is still the same responsible
business owner and philanthropist whom you trust. Don’t let your imagination get the best of you.
10. You can’t control the kids, or Dad… just face it
Sometimes messes happen. Sometimes the diet and the nap schedule get thrown off. But the more challenges your
family gets and the more unique the experiences are, the more likely it is everyone will be happier, healthier, and more together. Face it. You just gotta let Dad do his thing.
Photo credits: Tamara, Troy Cochrane & Jay Breitlow @ Happys Dad’s Inc.
