21–24 of 24 posts
I've got 4 kids, from 14 to 5, and have always treated it as a "grand experiment". We've made some decisions that are a bit "outside the norm" - mostly the choice to home educate. It's been scary, but seeing the results as the oldest enters adulthood is fascinating, awesome, and rewarding.
To anyone who is not a parent reading this, please note that not everyone's experience of parenthood is blissful. The first few years of fatherhood were, for me, the unhappiest of my life. Don't get me wrong - I've always loved my kids, but the physical and emotional demands they put on you, and the relentlessness of those demands, are impossible to understand from the outside. My youngest was almost two before she s…
Thanks for the feedback.
To anyone who is not a parent reading this, please note that not everyone's experience of parenthood is blissful. The first few years of fatherhood were, for me, the unhappiest of my life. Don't get me wrong - I've always loved my kids, but the physical and emotional demands they put on you, and the relentlessness of those demands, are impossible to understand from the outside. My youngest was almost two before she s…
That you. I am constantly annoyed that most parents aren't honest about how much babies suck. Even after they have admitted that they basically killed their own children by beating them to death they will still claim that they are good parents and absolutely love their children. Please don't get kids and treat them as an experiment. Don't get children, at all, unless you have spend significant time with kids and are…
Thanks for the feedback.
Great post! As a father of a 2.7 yo and a 1.3 yo, I agree with your points and would add the following (among others): - Having kids makes you a better communicator generally. It's easy to get frustrated with kids and adults when they don't do what you say. Having kids makes you realize that you need to look at yourself first. Repetition matters. Consistency matters. Being the best example of what you want them to be…
Great points, totally agree. Regarding the meditation, it's really interesting - could you tell a bit more about how it has helped you, do you do it every day, how long, what exact meditation technique and where did you learn it?
Ideally, I'd like to do it twice a day for 20 mins each, but right now at least I average every other day or so for 20 minutes after the kids are asleep.
I first heard about it when reading stuff by Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. He called it the best return on investment he ever made so that piqued my curiosity.
There's a great online resource at http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/medita...
There are a couple of different types of techniques that seem to be variations of each. Transcendental Meditation is possibly the most famous (or notorious). It's expensive and has a "secretive" air to it.
Sara Lazar, who does research on the effect of meditation on the brain, was really helpful. Check out her talk here: http://www.tedxcambridge.com/thrive/sara-lazar/
She recommended a few places that eventually led me to the Insight Meditation Center.