parenting humor

Tech-Savvy Dad: Blending Fatherhood, Writing, and Self-Care with Mark Welfley | Episode 110
Ever juggled a career, a passion project, and a family, all while trying to be the best parent you can be? Mark Welfley, a man who wears many hats including that of a professor, author, and IT firm owner, joins me to share his unique perspective on fatherhood, captured in his insightful book "Fatherhood in 60 Minutes or Less." (https://fathers101.com/) We navigate through the laughs and hurdles of being a dad, while Mark dishes out how his diverse professional life has sculpted his approach to parenting. It's a blend of heart-to-heart and wisdom from the trenches, as we unravel the fabric that makes up the modern father, all with a generous dose of Mark's signature humor.

Strap in for tales that hit close to home, as we tackle the spectrum of parenting – from the transformative effects of mental health awareness to the tender process of nurturing a child's own literary pursuits. Mark candidly shares his daughter's budding writing career and offers a slice of life from his guide for parents, spotlighting the universal joys, like the magnetic pull of a hotel swimming pool on a family vacation. This episode isn't just about fatherhood; it's about the art of writing, self-care, and connecting deeply, whether it's with your audience or your own kids. So, if you're curious about how a tech-savvy educator turns life lessons into legacy, you won't want to miss this heartfelt conversation with Mark Welfley.

Voices for Voices is the #1 ranked podcast where people turn to for expert mental health, recovery and career advancement intelligence.

Our Voices for Voices podcast is all about teaching you insanely actionable techniques to help you prosper, grow your self worth and personal brand.

So, if you are a high achiever or someone who wants more out of life, whether mentally, physically or spiritually, make sure you subscribe to our podcast right now!

As you can see, the Voices for Voices podcast publishes episodes that focus on case studies, real life examples, actionable tips and "in the trenches" reports and interviews from subscribers like you.

If that sounds like something that could help you grow personally or professionally, then make sure to join me by subscribing!

—
Thanks for listening!

Support the Show: https://bit.ly/3XPWeMm

#Fatherhood #TechSavvyDad #FamilyFirst #ParentingHumor #DadLife #AuthorSpotlight #WorkLifeBalance #SelfCare #FatherhoodJourney 

Ever wondered when a compliment might actually be offensive, or why certain phrases make no sense at all? Join us as we navigate the delicate art of complimenting and dissect some bizarre sayings in everyday conversations. But that's not all – we also dive into a Walmart shopping cart debacle involving a mother of three and explore the potential for legal action.

Listen in as we analyze the pronunciation of 'lawyer,' the St. Louis Cardinals, and even share some camping adventures. This episode is a wild ride full of laughter and thought-provoking topics you won't want to miss! So, sit back and enjoy as we unravel the complexities of language and debate the merits of suing Walmart over a simple shopping cart incident.

www.vufaith.com
https://www.instagram.com/faithandcommunity/

Millennials are so... special. Believe us. We have one. In the Millennial generation, everybody gets a ribbon and everything gets a sticker. They even have a word for growing up. It's called "adulting." In fact, there's a book and about a million articles all about the subject.  

There's really nothing new about growing up or adulting, but there is certainly enough to talk about! Especially since we have one "adult-ish" son, another who is in full-fledge adulting mode, and a third boy on the precipice of the whole thing. 

What does adulting entail, you ask? Well, if you want to know whether or not your teen is adulting, here are a few questions to ask:

• Do you regularly have the oil in your car changed?
• Can you neatly wrap a gift?
• Do you know how to write a cover letter?
• Do you know how to sew a button back on?
• Do you make your own doctor's appointments?

That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It is possible that you read that list of questions and admitted to yourself that perhaps — at 35, 45 or 55 —  you're not adulting so well yourself. Uh-huh. That's right. It's not EASY growing up, so cut your burgeoning adult some slack.

If you want to take some of the pain out of nudging your teen toward independence, and realize you're not alone in the struggle, this week's episode of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids should help. Well, at least it will make you laugh. That's because our boys have faced or are facing all of the adulting challenges and they've made plenty of mistakes along the way. And believe us, so have we. The silver lining is that it makes for some damn funny stories, and we're bringing them to you on the show this week.

So pour yourself a glass of wine, put in your earbuds, and take a break with us as we podcast for parental sanity—ours and yours.

Links
YouTube: Trailer of the 2019 movie, Judy
Q13 News Website: Story and Video  About the Capture of Asian Murder Hornets
UK's Metro News Website: 10 Tips You Need to Learn About Being A Grown-Up from the Adulting Manual

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Imaginary friends and freaky role in the family

Uh, honey? Who are you talking to? Cue Twilight Zone music as your son or daughter turns around slowly, looks at you, cocks their head and asks, "Can't you see him, mommy?"

What does it mean when a child has an imaginary friend? One with whom they spend the bulk of their time. One that plays the role of confident, family member, and trouble maker all at once. "But Mommy, Wiggy doesn't WANT to nap, so I have to stay awake with him.."

Is it a sign of brilliance? Mental instability? Creative genius? Is it freaking you out just a wee bit?

Truth is, you don't have anything to worry about. In fact, some studies have found that nearly 65% of kids have an imaginary friend at one time or another. It looks like the experience is nearly as common as finding a Trump supporter in the state of Idaho. Poor Idaho. Good potatoes, though.

Anyway, back to the invisible. We look at imaginary friends through the filter of Tigger's experience with his own BFF, Wiggy. And until this show, neither of us ever asked Tigger about that invisible friend. His answers blew our collective minds!

Join us for the story, and as an added bonus, Bonnie is bringing a handful of stories about supernatural invisible friends kids have claimed they saw. By the time we're done with you, the hair on the back of your neck will be standing straight up—and that somehow seems totally appropriate for election week 2020!

Show Links
YouTube video: Can I pet that dog?
The Washington Post opinion piere: Kavanaugh has wild ideas about voting
Bored Panda Website: 50 of the Creepiest Things Kids Have Ever Said to Their Parents

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

A woman runs down a dark street screaming in terror.  She races up the steps to her best friend's house and pounds on the door. As the door creaks opens, the woman pulls out her (hot glue) gun and trains it on her friend.

"Hot toddy. Stat!" she pants. "Oh, and I need to borrow some orange felt. I just ran out."

The joy that many parents get in the planning, buying, cutting, and placating that goes into one night of tricks and treats has always been a head–scratcher to us. Halloween gives our kids two hours of joy, sure, but by the time it's all said and done, we're exhausted and they have cavities. Don't get us wrong. We know that some people literally L-I-V-E for Halloween. We just would not be those people.

We played along for years, however, all in the name of good parenting. And we've got the stories to prove it. We cover it all on this week's Halloween edition of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids, along with a little Halloween trivia and a whole host of characters. They include:

• Steve Jobs
• King Boo 
• Giant Dinos 
• Holly Hobbie
• The Blues Brothers
• And, a Freudian slip

So, grab a handful of your favorite Halloween candy and let us get you in the mood for Halloween 2020. Let's face it; between the pandemic, the Republicans, and the addition of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, 2020 is about to go down as the most terrifying Halloween on record. No costume needed.

Show Links
YouTube Video: Movie Clip from Nightmare Before Christmas
YouTube Video: Dave Niehaus, Voice of the Mariners—Get Out the Rye Bread Grandma!

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

One day they're in diapers; the next they're nervously picking up their first date, standing on the doorstep with sweaty palms because they're about to meet the parents. You, meanwhile, are sitting behind the wheel of the car trying not to stare. No, you're not stalking your child. You're actually the chauffeur because someone has to give these 13-year-olds a ride to the movies!

You read that right. Dating at 13. It may be hard to believe but before you know it that sweet child of your loins will disappear into a hormonal pile of yearning and frantic text messaging until the big event itself: The first date. Then there's a second. And, as the third date comes barreling down the tracks, suddenly the soundtrack of your mind is all Marvin Gaye singing "Let's Get It On" over and over and over again. What is happening here? This is not your beautiful life!!

That's when you understand that there MUST BE RULES—all kinds of rules—and you have no clue where to start. That's why you have us. We've already made all the mistakes a parent can make while navigating the dating years. We've got you. Ready to roll?

Links
World Wide Words website: What in the world does "bated breath" mean, anyway?
YouTube: Trailer for Moonrise Kingdom

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Parenting in normal times is hard enough, but then you add in a little pandemic, a three-state inferno, political division the likes we've never seen, deadly policing, and for a little kick how about the start of a new school year with, yet again, distance learning and no one around to supervise. In the words of our current favorite meme:

"At this point, if a clown invited me into the woods I would just go."

Since that's not an option, couples are turning to an age-old response to stress. Fighting. Or, as we call it this week, Quarantine Quarreling.

We're bringing insight, a few coping strategies and, as always, lots of laughs to this week's episode. So go ahead. Put in your ear phones, tune out your spouse (sorry, spouse, sometimes it just has to be done) and join us for 60 minutes of zero arguing!

Links
NPR: Zoom Towns and the New Housing Market for the 2 Americas
New York Times article: How to End Pandemic Fights With Your Partner

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Mommy’s new boyfriend.

Mommy's new boyfr– wait. Whut??!! 

It’s our 40th show—the Ruby episode—and we are celebrating with a topic hand-selected by one of our OG PodSquad listeners! How in the world do you introduce your children to a new love interest?

Let’s get real. Dating after divorce is a bit of a minefield. And that’s on a good day. Throw in kids, however, and suddenly the landscape becomes shrouded in an I-don’t-know-what-the-hell-I’m-doing-mist. 

When to let your kids meet the person you’re dating is just the first complicated decision you’ll face. Should the new love of your life spend the night? What role should they play in your family life? And when do you tell your ex about the interloper into his or her child’s life? Most people would rather poke their eye out with a fork than call up the ex with THAT news. 

We have insight. We have experience. AND we have our first bona fide guest on the show this week! It’s a good one so pop in your ear buds and get ready to listen as we drop a little divorce drama on I Shouldn't Have Had Kids.

Links
Divorce Mag blog: How to introduce your children to your new special friend
Divorce Mag blog: Introducing your kids to a new partner
Portland Press Herald: Ex Etiquette
Website for a little sleuthing: People Check

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

When the social media platform NextDoor came on the scene, it seemed perfect. It provided a place for people to connect locally, share neighborhood information, and look out for one another. You know, a total love-they-neighbor kind of opportunity.

But that Nirvana was short-lived. The platform has slowly devolved into a bickering, mean-spirited place for people to shout at each other in all caps, compete for the snarkiest comment award, turn any and all conversations into a political rant. It literally begs you to pour a glass of wine and curl up to watch the slugfest—unless of course, Fluffy goes missing. Then it's all hands on deck and everyone agrees that all cat lives matter. 

On this episode we share the good, the bad, and the ugly as we deconstruct a NextDoor bickerfest about whether or not there should be sex education in our schools. We would venture to bet that 80% of the people you’re about to hear from are 70 and older, with no kids in the house anymore!

Links
Smithsonian Magazine: The real story of Pocahantas
Social Media Platform: NextDoor
Washington Post Article: The cost of an unwanted pregnancy

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

You are a parenting ninja. You know it. Your friends know it. And, someday, your children will know it, too.

So you're feeling a little cocky one day, throwing down wisdom you feel sure will shape your little darling into an amazing human being, when all of a sudden, BAM!!

The tables turn. You become the student, and the 9-year-old standing in front of you, the receptacle into which you pour your knowledge and experience much as Yoda does with Master Luke, has become the teacher. Unexpectedly, you've just been handed a lesson from the crib.

This week, we talk about the fact that we learn as much from our kids as they learn from us. It's a symbiotic relationship—think Nemo and the sea anemone. They help each other. They grow because of each other. We do the same with our kids.

And when it comes to the symbiosis between parent and child, I think we both know who plays the clown fish. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.

Show Links

• CNBC Story: Dr. Faucci's baseball cards bringing in a cool $10K
• YouTube Proof! Boston Whalers are unsinkable
• Entertainment Weekly celebrates 15 Emmy nominations for Schitt's Creek

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

You spend nine months nesting, making your everything just right so that your beautiful newborn will know, from the very beginning, that home will always be the safe place.

Then, 18 years later, that little chick you've been loving and coddling and providing for graduates and you burst with pride. Next stop: Leaving home. And then it happens. Your beautiful child morphs into a surly, argumentative and disrespectful pain in the ass. We call it soiling the nest. 

If you're not familiar with the term "soiling the nest", you've probably never graduated a high school senior preparing to start college, never had kids, or are one of the lucky few whose son or daughter is a mature, well-adjusted teen. It's what kids do to make saying goodbye to their childhood home and life as they know it a little less painful, a little less scary. 

This year, teens across America are continuing the age-old tradition of being difficult (and sometimes downright obnoxious) in preparation for the transition. Parents are doing their part by becoming ever-more controlling and clingy. This parent-child dance that often happens when a fledgling is about to fly the coop makes it easier for everyone to let go. 

Everything is different in 2020, however, as families come to accept that there may not be a move-in day, a tearful good-bye at the curb, or mom's ugly crying over the baby book once she gets home. It's pandemic parenting in our new reality. Your freshman is home for the foreseeable future. 

Now where the hell is the wine?

It starts out so innocently.

Your baby boy or girl joins a team of 5-year-olds running onto the soccer field and chasing down a ball for the sheer joy of it. Before you know it, however, you are shelling out bank for private lessons, equipment, fees, and an airline ticket to some ball field in Arizona, hoping that a big athletic scholarship is in your superstar's future.

What in god's name has happened to kids' sports?!

We share all the mistakes we've made encouraging our kids to chase the proverbial gold ring in every sports arena known to mankind—soccer and baseball fields, basketball courts, and swimming pools are just the tip of the iceberg. And we answer the question, once and for all, of how our 6' 8" son could make it through high school and not be a baller. Hint: It all started with a bad coach.

Links

• YouTube Hilarity: Every High School Sports Parent
• Kent Murphy on YouTube (LANGUAGE): Bunting with Kent Murphy

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Kids hear "no" from the time they can reach out and rip an earring out of mommy's ear until the night they ask an adult to buy them alcohol for the senior prom. Who knew it was all training for the biggest "no" of them all?

"No, honey, you can't have a social life during a pandemic." Ouch.

It's time to be firm. Telling your kids "no" teaches them boundaries, respect, responsibility, and—these days—how to be a good citizen and help protect the lives of people they will never meet. Nobody ever said parenting was easy.

If you're a bit of a pushover in the "no" department, it's time for an intervention from the irreverent hosts of your favorite comedy parenting podcast. We have stories. We have life hacks. And, as always, we have wine.


Links

• An Associated Press story: Masks Don’t Decrease Oxygen Levels
• ABC News: Woman has a fit in a Trader Joe’s When Asked to Mask Up
• YouTube Video: Dallas Shopper Melts Down When Asked to Mask Up

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Riddle me this Batman: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

The world has produced incredible kids' cartoons and live action shows over the years: Mr. Rogers, Avatar, Sesame Street, She-Ra, and the like. They are shows that inform, entertain, educate, break the mold, and make us think differently about the world.

Caillou is not one of them.

That whiny little turd and his 30-minute animated show top our list of crappy kids' shows this week in a salute to the good, the bad, and the ones that tried but really missed the mark in children's programming. We're looking at you, Barney.

If you need a laugh, you're in the right place. As long as you don't come looking for parenting expertise, we got you!

Links
New York Times article: History of Pride
YouTube video: Mr. Rogers meets a boy in a wheelchair
YouTube video: Mr Rogers is inducted into the TV Hall of Fame

Follow us on social media!
Instagram @ishouldnthavehadkids
Facebook ishouldnthavehadkids
Twitter @SHHKids

Or, email us :)
ishouldnthavehadkids@gmail.com

Find all episodes of I Shouldn't Have Had Kids wherever you get your podcasts
Buzzsprout
Apple Podcasts
Spotify