Biography
I'm a dad living the American Dream in the Rust Belt. I have three beautiful boys, twins and a younger son, and a partner who carries more than her share of the load around the house. We live in an amazing neighborhood, in a house too small. But we just can't leave our neighbors. I've learned a lot about myself from parenting, and I've tried to read about what others find as successful parenting. I share many of those stories and much of that information here. Besides being a dad, I teach writing at a university and I run our writing center.
About the Blog:
The blog started as a class project. I wanted my students to explore digital technology and writing, and I had failed twice before to maintain a blog. Doing it with my students has been inspirational. I'm motivated because I'm trying to model somethings about writing and digital technology for them, and I want to explore issues in parenting that I think aren't explored enough in our society. This also isn't a bad place to record some of the experiences of my family.
Why the blog title and description? Read this.
Parenting Philosophy:
Our parenting philosophy is often called attachment parenting. You can learn more about it at Attachment Parenting International, The Natural Child Project, and the Attachment Parenting Blog. The more cynical side of me calls it granola-hippie-touchy-feely parenting, but the more compassionate side of me wonders how anyone can do anything else. I have yet to read or hear a good rationale for allowing a six month old baby to "cry it out." Attatchement parenting crosses all kinds of boundaries: socioeconomic, political, racial. At its core it's about loving one's children and putting their needs ahead of one's own. It's not about compliance, it's about compassion. It's not about pushing a kid out of the room, into a crib, and sleeping through the night as early as possible. But attachment parenting is hard, and I use this space to explore some of the challenges and the beautiful moments of our lives.
I'd like to see this site grow into a community of people who are interested in exploring similar issues. So contribute to the blog with comments and suggestions. If you like what you read, invite others to come and have a look.
