Wondertime: Dad on a Lark Blog: Rand Richards Cooper, Stay-at-Home Dad - and More Joys of Parenting Young Children

Dad on a Lark

Lark (lärk): noun. 1. a carefree or spirited adventure. 2. a harmless prank

Rand Richards Cooper, father of one-year-old Larkin, isn't convinced that parenting is a carefree adventure (maybe more of a prank?). Check in with him as he navigates the journey as a writer, husband, and stay-at-home dad.

April 30, 2008

'Sploring!

Larkin is way overdue for a trim; her hair hangs in her eyes, and when she plays on the couch it goes crazy with static electricity, so that her head resembles a giant dandelion. "My haaaaiiirrr!" she shrieks — barely two, and already having bad hair days.

April 16, 2008

Nurturing and Measuring

I'd hate to turn Larkin's experience of talking and reading into a road race. I wouldn't want to be the language equivalent of, say, Tiger Woods' taskmaster dad. And yet...the temptation is there. What if Larkin could become the Tiger Woods of American writing? And by the way, is it really true, as the Your Baby Can Read! language development system claims, that some two-year-olds are already reading? Oh no, Larkin's actually behind!

April 02, 2008

Unearthing

One of my few giant regrets is that my mother's life and my daughter's overlapped by a mere six months. There are scenes I'll remember forever, like standing at my mother's door with our brand-new baby, as my mother, already gravely ill, wept with joy; or propping four-month-old Larkin up on the bed at the nursing home, and watching her topple over like a little doll, which my mother found so amusing. "Do that again!" she laughed.