Daddy Go!

Our kids at St. Marks Park

Every Saturday morning, our 6-year old has a swimming class.

I always take our toddler along, to get him out of the house (even though there’s not much to do while big sis is swimming). We find something to do to keep him busy for the 30-min of class, then the three of us go to a play park, or something. Our kids, like most kids their ages, love the play park. There is talk of what play park to go to with the older kid, who likes to go to what we call ‘the faraway play park’ (for obvious reasons); I like the faraway play park, but it’s kind of far when lugging around two kids by bike. Our toddler also has a favourite park, which has the ‘big slide’, but both are happy enough to go to any play park, as long as it’s not the crappy one that’s part of a housing complex that I’m never sure we’re allowed to be using in the first place.

Every Sunday, our toddler and I drop our older kid off at gymnastics, and I take him to swimming class (he loves swimming class). After they are both done, we sometimes go to the beach (even when it’s probably way too cold), or go to soft play (when it’s definitely way too cold) or go to a play park (when it’s not too cold). Both kids have fun; the toddler explains the fun to Lauren when we get home, in the best way he can: ‘my jump swimming’ (I jumped in the swimming pool); ‘daddy water’ (daddy went under water); ‘slide in the park’.

The point of all this is, I take our toddler to things that he seems to really enjoy. Lauren doesn’t like taking the kids out (especially when it’s cold), so I’ve been come the ‘take-the-kids-out’ parent, which I’m fine with because I don’t really like sitting at home.

Atop Arthur's Seat

Then, you get us at home.

With Lauren around.

Our toddler generally wants nothing to do with me.

In the morning, he wakes up by saying ‘Daddy Awake!’ or ‘Mummy Awake!’ or shouting for his sister (he’s a very loud kid). If I go in there, he says ‘Daddy go! Want Mummy!’ I tell him Lauren’s in shower, and he starts crying, or shouts ‘Nooooo!’.

He’s eating breakfast and Lauren has to do our daughter’s hair so I go into the kitchen to keep the toddler company and get stuff for him; ‘Daddy go!’ He’d rather sit at the table, in the room by himself, than have me around.

In fact, the only time he ever wants me when Lauren is home, is when it’s time for him to go to sleep, after he has fussed and argued about not wanting to go to sleep for 15-30 min. He wants me to put him to bed, where I sit, in silence, and we do nothing fun.

I think this sort of rejection would bother me, except that I went through almost this exact same thing with our daughter, 4 years ago. Down to the wanting me to lie on the floor next to her cot at bedtime.

Our daughter still occasionally says I’m ‘no fun’, which isn’t a lie, really. I don’t think anyone would ever describe me as Mr. Fun or the life of any party.

Our kids think I’m the best when we’re out of the house, so in public, I look like Daddy-o Primero, but at home, I’m just some guy no one wants around.

In my head, I tell myself the lie that the kids don’t want me around at home because they know I’ve lugged them around town, from Portobello to the faraway play park to places in between, and they just want to give me a break at home.

At least, that’s what I tell myself. When you tell a lie enough, it comes the truth.

On that note, this daddy is now going to go.


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