D A D B L O G S
A dad blog by a geek dad with two geeky kids.
A close pal's kid just had his birthday the other day and because I'm the usual go to handyman around the block, I was naturally in charge of setting up the kid's play area. With all the guidelines out there for childproofing homes, you'd think this would be a pretty straightforward task. That's not entirely true anymore. I've had to exert a great deal more work and effort into childproofing tasks these days. I'm not sure but I think the kids of today have become increasingly more mobile or active. I have no studies or stats to backup this observation but growing up, I've had to help take care of three younger siblings and I remember them being less of a handful than kids these days. Whether or not there is clear proof to back my observations, I prefer to be on the safe side and ensure that I adjust my childproofing standards to match what I observe to be a higher level of energy among kids. That said, I wonder now if we should make the effort to get kids to tone down. Some parents don't agree that kids should be restrained. They say that's just how kids are and that's their way of learning. I think though that to some extent we should make an effort to introduce discipline. What do you think? The kids are growing up fast and the bigger they get the more their needs get more complicated. One thing we'd have to contend with in recent months is the lack of storage space for their clothes, toys and other things. When they were very little, we used to just get by with one cabinet and one bin for all their stuff. I think it's time though that the kids each get their own closets. I'm usually pretty good at putting things together but I need good ideas to start with. I got this cabinet idea from my pal John whose father is a master carpenter. The whole body is made of hardwood and is nicely finished with a dark brown tint. He says this isn't quite done. The original idea was to have sliding doors up front. The design already looks challenging enough but John suggested I should go one level higher. His main regret was not making this a no nails structure. In short, he would have preferred to get the wood pieces to simply fit together like puzzle pieces without having to use nails. Of course the doors and drawers still need to be fitted with screws and rollers to work well. I've never seen furniture setup without nails. I've seen a house though that the owner says was built without nails. I was in Vietnam then and I lived with a host who says he could just pick his house apart and assemble it again quickly and easily wherever he wants because the parts of the structure fit without nails holding them together. This project might take me five months to complete but I like things to be done nicely. I can't be happy with a cardboard box for my kid. I'm an extremely busy person. I work eight hours a day at my regular job. In my spare time I do on call carpentry, maintenance and electrical work. All other hours I can spare I devote to my family and to staring at my fish. I find that extremely therapeutic. So with a lot on my plate already, what am I doing blogging? I've heard its a demanding pursuit too and yet here I am. I naturally don't want to complicate my life but somehow there's this urge to document what I go through everyday as a working dad. I don't expect people to notice me or even my kids to read my posts when they're grown up. I guess I just want a spot I can go back to when I'm old and weary. So here goes nothing. Here's to a fresh start at something new. |
Hey there. My name is Jim. I'm a dad & I know some dad stuff & I like to write about them here. More about me.
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