Papa Notes

Become a calmer dad. Subscribe via RSS.

29 articles, most recent first.

Like a helium balloon

Papa Notes
Young children have no problem letting things go. It's a flaw built up over time, and it takes us years to unlearn it as adults. To correct a behavior, parents intuitively reprimand them when...

Dealing with frustration

Papa Notes
Living with an 18-month-old is never boring. My son, Lucas, swings from one mood to another in less time than it took me to write the end of this sentence. One moment, he's happy reading a book....

Parenting is improv theater

Papa Notes
Parenting is as live as improv theater. The rest of the troupe is here, the audience is here, and there's only one take. When I started my job as a dad, I thought I'd always be able to give it my...

It's fixable

Papa Notes
It was super windy last weekend, and I was a bit agitated. I was on my way out to join my family at the playground. But as I was stepping past the wooden gate (I built it myself, and I'm a bit...

The best $4 ever spent

Papa Notes
Kids get excited about things that are very different from those of adults. You probably remember your kid's first birthday. The members of the extended family all wanted to spoil her. They...

Everybody struggles

Papa Notes
Life is tough. Most weeks come with their share of issues. From a tiny aggravation to an enormous problem. Human beings have been trying to find ways to accept it since... well, probably since...

Careful with that exaggeration

Papa Notes
The language we use matters. Hyperboles and exaggerations can be tempting to use to make a point. Or if you're French... oh yes! Some of us have a sweet spot for drama. But our kids have yet to...

Giving up parenting

Papa Notes
Today's essay is a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's meant to achieve one thing and one thing only: to relieve you and me from a specific parenting guilt. It's for all of us dads who feel slightly ashamed...

Throw them a proper parade

Papa Notes
I don't know about you, but some days, it feels like all I do is tell my kids not to do stuff. Or to be careful with stuff. Or to do stuff. Most adults implicitly know to abide by the etiquette...

Instill enthusiasm

Papa Notes
Winston Churchill famously said that success is "the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." No one ever cruised through life without facing challenges, hardships,...

Men don't hug their kids

Papa Notes
I remember this weird story my mum shared with me. When I was a baby, my father's mother got really upset because my dad was changing my diaper. To her, this was something a dad did not do. It was...

Vacation expectations

Papa Notes
The moment you became a dad, you waved goodbye to your old way of vacationing. I recently talked to Jamie about vacationing with kids on the Papa Notes Conversations podcast. One thing stood out:...

Like looking in a mirror

Papa Notes
You are flawed, and so am I. We carry our defects of character into fatherhood. But there's hope. Before we get kids, it's easier to ignore some of these flaws. People who care about us might give...

Good dads are researchers

Papa Notes
Each of us adheres to an education principle that will act as a north star. This principle is often modeled after or against how we were raised. To some, this principle emphasizes the authority in...

You can't filter it all out

Papa Notes
Humans are controlling animals. They try to shape everything to their liking. The environment, themselves, and the people around them. Especially their offspring, whether they admit it or not. As...

Bonding took time

Papa Notes
Some events in life anoint you with a mission. You experience tragedy, luck, forgiveness, or grace, and you know that you won't be allowed to shut up about it. You have now inherited a...

Talking to strangers

Papa Notes
Most adults don't like interacting with strangers. Some don't know how to open the conversation or are afraid to bother the person. Others live in a past trauma of being ridiculed at school as a...

You will NEVER not worry

Papa Notes
My friend looked me in the eye and said: "Now that you have a kid, you will NEVER not worry." Sophie, my daughter, was just a few weeks old, but I had already experienced more worrying for someone...

Attention is a proof of love

Papa Notes
We can't stand regular stimulation anymore. We always want to be entertained. Reach into our right pocket and access an infinite list of things to watch, read, or listen to. People get sore thumbs...

Find your group of dads

Papa Notes
Being a father is an incarnated experience. You can explain what you are going through or share your emotions with guys who don't have kids yet. But they won't get it. It takes living the...

Back to home • All articles • Subscribe to Papa Notes