Dads of Rokslide

[ianpadron]

This is an awesome thread. Baby girl due 10/17 and I'm equal parts pumped and intimidated.

 

[RaggedHunter]

Man this is a great thread. Tons of great advice on here. I am about a month away from having 3 boys, 3 and under myself. The thought of being outnumbered is weighing heavy on my wife and I.

So much of what has been said in this thread resonates with my own experiences. I am still learning the ropes and rolling with the punches myself. One thing that I have noticed to piggy back off what someone said about each kid being different and having different needs. This is true, but also as kids grow, their individual needs change and what was working for that kid may not be working now. What a kid needs at 1 is much different than what they need at 2 and 3 and so on.

Hunts will certainly look a bit different now than they did before you had kids. I try and take my kids along for fishing and stuff like grouse, squirrels, and turkeys. They love being in the hills. I cannot wait to start taking them on bigger hunts, but for now my biggest priority is making sure they have fun, aren't miserable and making it something they look forward to doing. We pack lots of snacks, dig up lots of worms under cow pies, all the stuff that a 3 year old things are fun. Sometimes we spend more time digging worms and untangling lines than we do actually fishing , but man when you get to watch him reel one in and see how excited he is, it's better than the biggest fish you ever caught. My 3 year old also loves to take his bow in the woods "hunting" which primarily consists of looking for arrows... He also loves hunting grasshoppers with his Red Ryder, and to be honest he has bagged a couple that would probably make net book.

The first year or so is tough, you are limited on what all you can do. But once they are a bit older, In my experience, it is easiest way to watch the kids if you are doing fun engaging things with them. If they are cooped up around the house, those are the most trying times. But if you are outside, doing things they find fun, they listen better, and are flat out easier to handle.

This past spring I took my oldest turkey hunting. We got one, took it home and cut it up in little strips, breaded them and made little turkey fingers, he got to help with all the steps. For a kid that can be a bit of a picky eater, he absolutely crushed that meal. He ate 4 big helpings of turkey fingers that night. He asked me the next day if we could go shoot another turkey and eat that for dinner again tonight. He was baffled when I told him we could not shoot another turkey and had to wait till next season.

My wife is incredible, and knows that hunting fills my cup. So she takes on the full burden of both the kids to allow me to get out for a day or two on some big game hunts. It's certainly different now, not being able to backpack in and get lost for multiple days at a time. It has forced me to learn some new country closer to home and approach things a bit differently than I used to. This has not been all bad though, as I was fortunate to kill my best buck this past weekend. I had been telling my 3 year old about the big buck I had found, showing him pictures of the buck and hyping it up. When I called my wife to tell her I got him, she had me on speaker phone and I could hear my son in the background cheering, "YES! my dad got the big buck!" man, that got me. My wife said he ran to his room and got his camo on for when I got home so he could get his picture taken with the buck. There is nothing better than making memories with your kids, and seeing them get excited. Include them any way you can.

But just as much as hunting fills my cup, my wife knows this and she steps up to give me that opportunity. It's just as important to know what fills her cup and return the favor. It takes a conscious effort to maintain your relationship with your wife. Remember you are a team, tackle things as a team, lean on each other, and don't work against each other.

You're going to make mistakes. The biggest thing for me has been learning to recognize these mistakes, own them and work on correcting them.

 

[asimpso94]

This is an awesome thread. Baby girl due 10/17 and I'm equal parts pumped and intimidated.

Congratulations! Our due date is 11/4. I definitely have a mixture of emotions

 

[RockAndSage]

As soon as your kid is old enough to stand, one of these is worth their weight in gold - on sale these go for $50, but it’s worth the $100 full price. Kids love to watch and emulate adults - this little gem lets them stand and be a part of what’s happening at counter or work bench height, rather than just be at your feet looking up, and they are fenced in pretty good. A little ball of flour and water the consistency of play dough gives them something to do with their hands. With a cutting board to put finger food on, it can also be a nice change from eating in a high chair once they can pick up food well. I’m not going to lie - it works well next to the reloading press when watching our grandson.

View attachment 769205

This is great. What's is actually called?

 

[cnelk]

Just wait till grandkids come along

 

[amassi]

Raising kids is really no different than training a dog...

You get out of them what you put into them

And the crate trained ones are easier that the ones that sleep on your bed.


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[hunt1up]

routine.
Figure one out that works for you and mom and train kid to it. Stick to it every day. Start it as soon as possible in life.
When you have it down and the kid is trained, your afternoons, evenings and nights will be amazing compared to all your friends that will be bitching about their horrible evenings and nights.

This x100. My wife was very diligent about setting proper routines for our two kids. Dinner is at X time, bath/shower is X time, bed time is at 8:00, no later with the exception of some event. My kids are 11 and 13 and are just accustomed to this. Kids need proper sleep. All of the people I know that have wild kids or are always complaining let their kids stay up to all hours of the night, eating crap food, and using their electronics. My daughter has a cell phone that is taken away in the early evening. In the morning she'll have missed texts and calls from her Jr. High friends from 11-12 at night. What the heck people?!

If people with younger kids ask me my opinion I say the key is to simply give a crap. I know a lot of people that just pawn their kids off on technology and it shows. I've made a point to keep my kids actively engaged in the outdoors from a young age. There's no better time spend than in a deer blind or getting up before daylight to go chase turkeys. It's just you and the kids.

Oh and as mentioned, read to them all the time. And when they're old enough to read, make them read!

 

[lintond]

Seems obvious but know that things will be different! You’ll wonder where you spent/wasted all your time before.

Work with mom to figure out a few things
- Are you going to be on a baby schedule or just go with the flow. Both have pros/cons.
- Realize that moms are biologically wired different. Baby crying causes physical pain and anxiety but dads can tune it out.
- Many moms tend to get baby tunnel vision and forget to invest in themselves. Make sure you make space/time for her to workout, spend time with friends, etc.
-Everything is a toy to toddlers (my boy is obsessed with mops, shovels, and the salad spinner) don’t get hung up on buying them every wiz bang toy that social media advertises you.


It is a fun and wild ride! I can’t wait until he can go hunting with me.


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[Yoder]

I had my kids really young, and I did not appreciate them nearly as much as I should have. This is what I should have done better:

Be patient
Be kind
Be interested
Be involved
Be disciplined
Teach them about God.
Make sure you know what the school is teaching them.
Make them the priority over everything else.
Do little kid's versions of the things you love. Short hunts, hikes, whatever you are interested in. Make it fun.

I would literally give my right eye to go back and do things over. Don't take it for granted. It goes so quick.

 

[MallardSX2]

#1. Do NOT scream at your kids.

Worst part of my life are the memories of my dad SCREAMING at me. I remember it like it was yesterday 30+ years later. I told myself I would never scream at my kids. Sure, I bitch a little bit, but I do it in a normal voice. They may be hard at understanding, but kids are NOT hard at hearing......
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#2. Turn everything (good or bad) into a learning opportunity.

A week ago, my kid started sulking going up a hill in Colorado because "it's steep and this sucks" and I stopped, and I turned around, and looked at her and I said, " You know, nothing worthwhile comes easy in life..." I turned around and pointed uphill and kept walking.....20 minutes later she was holding the horns of an elk..... When she walked up to it, she was so happy. I looked at her and I asked her if she remembered what I told her on the hill. She nodded her head and smiled. I said, "Now you understand......."

 

[lintond]

With a new born. If baby has a clean diaper, is fed, and is in a safe place (crib with no pillow or smother hazard) it's OK if they cry.

If you go running to the crib every time they whimper, it's going to be rough.

Read to them every night.

My wife reads to our son nightly and it’s amazing to watch him learn and absorb everything. They are sponges!!


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[TaperPin]

This is great. What's is actually called?

Everyone calls it something different. Lol

 

[Fork N Horn]

As a dad, don’t let your wife do all the early hard work. You start bonding with your kid the moment they are born (before that, actually). A lot of dads fall into the trap of letting mom do all the comforting, putting to sleep, diaper changes, etc. Get in the game from day one! Develop that bond. Even babies have personalities… get to know yours. You’re already at a huge disadvantage compared to mom… so you need to work at it. That bond will pay dividends when they hit school age, the teens, the 20’s… but it starts on day one.

Solid advice.