My Son Won't Talk To Me I know he's strugglingI'm struggling with him tooThere's much he's keeping from meAnd making me real blue It's hard I know at his ageTo admit he is having troubleI was there once upon a timeLiving inside my own tiny bubble Afraid to speak up For fear of embarrassmentTrying to … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #181
It's been so long since last I wrote a straight-up piece that this is about as good a time as any to do just that. You're probably wondering what I mean by a "straight-up" piece. I mean one not including sub-headings, images, and captions, all placed to supposedly enhance my piece's Search Engine Optimization or … Continue reading Fathering Softer #4 — Parenting Myself
My firstborn has had his own "screen", aka mobile phone, since the end of 2021. He was 12 then, going on 13. To ensure my wife and I set the right tone to cultivate responsible use of it, we had written up a phone contract which my son had to sign before he could have … Continue reading Fathering Softer #3 — Screen Time Is How Teens Connect
Welcome to my guest post series! (If you are keen to be a guest writer on my blog, please check out my guidelines by scrolling to the bottom of my About page) This year, I was blessed to connect with other stay-at-home dads thanks to a new community of fathers I connected with. One of them is my … Continue reading Guest Post: What One Stay-Home Dad Learnt From His Son’s School Meltdowns (Part 1/2)
Dear J, my Precious Son Guess what? I never thought it'd happen, but I learned recently that I was in fact a bona fide "Tiger Mom" Dad! Okay okay, I hear you. What's that you're asking? Well, in a nutshell, this term was made popular globally by a 'nutty' professor called Amy Chua. She's this … Continue reading Fathering Softer #2 — No More “Tiger Mom” Dad!
Hey, welcome back to my occasional guest post series! (If you are keen to be a guest writer on my blog, please check out my guidelines by scrolling to the bottom of my About page) This year has been a bumper year for me as I was blessed with opportunities to connect with more stay-at-home … Continue reading Guest Post: There’s a “catch” to catching up! One dad’s warning
Dear Mr. Xavier Yap First and foremost, may I call you Xavier? I know it's presumptuous of me to ask since you don't know me. And, up until January 22, 2022, when news about you first broke nationwide, the rest of Singapore and I didn't know you either. This week, however, we found out more … Continue reading Letter To A Special Needs Dad — On Faith. Hope. And Love.
Parenting documentaries are a dime a dozen. All feature kids of course. But while most profile both the dads and the moms (mostly the moms), few focus primarily on dads. Unless it's religious in nature. Like the excellent 2014 documentary by Focus on the Family called "Irreplaceable." As well as most films (War Room; Courageous) … Continue reading Film Review – Apple TV Documentary “Dads”
Sometimes it's hard to put into words how I feel about my sons. Though regular readers here have no doubt seen some of my humble attempts to do that in past blog posts. But this struggle has become even more pronounced as I watch my sons grow year after year and change in ways most … Continue reading As another year ends, two silver linings bring hope to one dad’s parenting journey
Looking back, one of my regrets in life is that I didn't mature faster. If I did, perhaps I could have gotten more done before I turned 50 two years ago. So what brought on this sudden sob story you ask? For one, a lifetime of wondering what if I could have turned back the … Continue reading Parenting motivations #15 — how can my sons mature faster?
