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The unique joys and challenges of stay-at-home dads

by Jon Coe

  • Writing Level Star

I was a stay at home Dad for about two years. It was a completely new dimension for me and with many advantages!

My Wife had returned to college when our two Daughters were young. I learned how to improve my cooking and I learned a lot about myself.

My Daughters were both in grade school. Prior to this, we had them report to a day care facility for a few hours after school. In no time at all, I found that their grades were suffering. As soon as I started to stay at home, their grades escalated. I am not going to accept credit for this, as I am sure the same thing would have happened, even if my Mother-in-Law had been here for them.

Taking them for Doctor's appointments was very interesting! After watching my Daughters screaming and kicking for their lives, whilst the nurse took their blood, I realized that I, the Father, was not the ideal comfort and their Mother's presence would have been more suitable.

My Wife would stay at college late into the night and when she was home she locked herself away in order to study. Home work was great! I got to learn a lot about American History, as I am not from this country. I learned how to spell again and I learned that my children loved to do most things with me.

I soon learned that children get tired of food quickly so I had to find a lot of new recipes. I managed to get hold of some recipe books and I soon became Mr. Mom-Chef De cuisine!

When I was child, I liked some food on some nights and some on others! My Mother had a set routine, so I always knew that on Fridays (my favorite) we always had Fish Fingers and Baked Beans. For my Daughters, if I cooked the same thing again in the same month, I may as well have just pack up my bags and left the house.

Making the lunches was a chore. One Daughter, the youngest, always liked a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My first born wanted something different every time. Very challenging!

One day, I accidentally put a can of Bud Light in my youngest Daughter's lunch box, instead of a can of Pepsi. The Pepsi was a once a week treat. Both cans were sitting next to each other in the fridge. When she came home that day, she let out a big sigh of relief! I asked what was wrong. She had had quite an ordeal trying to conceal the can of beer during her lunch break and she was glad the day was finally over. Luckily, none of the teachers saw it.

My fondest memory was the Halloween of 1997. I found myself exploring the creative world. My children came home from school to find an array of Halloween


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