🫤 How To Apologize To Your Kids

Dadpack Digest, V7

Dropping your kid off at daycare is one of the worst parts of being a parent, but that doesn’t mean you should feel bad about it. What you should feel bad about is insisting that your kid wears a winter hat, when your big head is out there in the wind.

❄️ Fortunately, we have you covered on both cold fronts ❄️

This Week From Dadpack

• 🤓 Study, buddy: Researchers have discovered the one good thing about daycare, and it's not a slap in the face.

• 📰 In case you missed it: All the news dads can use but don't have the time or energy to doom-scroll for.

• 😕 The delicate art of saying sorry to your kid: It might seem like a chink in your armor to admit that your were wrong, but it's important for kids to hear it.

• 🏂🏂🏂 Great recommendations: One of the most vital pieces of winter gear will cost you $20, so there are no excuses.

• 🍆🍌🍤 No one cares about your penis size: Even if you've overcome a big (or small) insecurity, we don't want to hear about it.

No, Daycare Won't Turn Your Kid Into An A--hole

From the expense to the cesspool of germs, daycare sucks for everyone involved. But there’s nothing worse than the guilt of leaving your crying kid, knowing that they’d rather be hanging out with their mom and dad at home. But you can’t explain to a toddler that stay-at-home fatherhood is relatively rare, and only about 18 percent of parents get to do it, with 7 percent of them being dads.

For once, there is some good news about the fresh hell that is daycare — it’s not going to make your kid any worse.

A recent study of 10,105 toddlers and preschoolers across ​​Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, and the U.S. found that long hours in daycare were not linked with increased negative behaviors like hitting, biting, hair-pulling, and general fighting.

"Our findings speak to both the direct positive effects that attending child care might have on children and also to the indirect positive effects through parents being able to participate in the workforce without the fear of any harmful effects to their child," study co-author Catalina Rey-Guerra, fellow of the Institute of Early Childhood Policy at Boston College, told United Press International.

This echoes past research about how time spent in daycare can benefit children when it comes to academic performance, but they have to be "high quality" daycare centers. And as a scathing critique of child care in The Cut recently noted, the idea of a “high quality” daycare has become a thing of the past because so many caregivers are leaving the field.

But at least when you pick them up from daycare, they won’t bite you.

Good New, Dad News

• 🤒 😷 Scientists want to abolish the phrase "man flu" from our vocabularies after finding that men don't experience symptoms any more dramatically than women. So don't let anyone make you feel like a bad about being sick. That's what the fever is for.

• 🐺 🚨 Local Los Angeles father Ariel Eliyahuo faced every parent's nightmare Friday afternoon when he wrestled his two-year-old away from a coyote in the middle of the afternoon. His daughter Ariya was treated at the hospital with minor injuries and is recovering. But her and the rest of her family are obviously freaked out by the turn of events, which were captured on a Ring security camera.

• 💩 🙏 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever form of fecal transplant therapy for dangerous gut bacteria infections, which is promising for people who's sh—t does stink.

• 🏈🙌 In a true Aaron Rodgers heel move, the Green Bay Packers quarterback saluted Bears fans after coming from behind on Sunday to beat Chicago 28 to 19. He also referred to Soldier Field as his second home and claimed he still "owns" The Bears. If only he owned a vaccine card.

Dad Debrief: How To Apologize To Your Kid

No parent is perfect, but the goal is to model as many positive behaviors in front of your child as you can, in hopes that those are the ones that will stick. And a huge part of modeling imperfection in a positive way is apologizing "easily and often", according to clinical psychologist Laura Markham.

As Markham explains in a post for Psychology Today, parents often make the mistake of associating apologies with a loss of authority. As a result, they avoid saying sorry to their kids. Consequently, this sends a message to children that they should be ashamed when they do something wrong, when everyone makes mistakes.

So how do you apologize to a kid? Well, If your child is actively upset by your behavior, acknowledge their feelings first and foremost. From there, explain what happened from your perspective without making excuses for your actions. Dad got angry because he was tired and hungry, but that doesn’t make it OK. Thus, the apology.

Once you say you’re sorry, then make a plan of action. Next time you lose your cool, you’re going to take a deep breath and count to ten, do push ups and jumping jacks, play a funny song on your phone, or something else both you and your kid can agree to.

Then try to do better, which is easier said than done. But you'll get a lot of opportunities to keep practicing.

Best Winter Beanies For Your Cold Dad Dome

How do you expect your kid to listen when you tell them they can lose 10 percent of their body heat through their heads, when you’re running around with a bare head all day?

While berets, bucket hats, running hats, and even full-face balaclavas, are all warm and on-trend this year, landing on lists from GQ and Esquire, knit beanies remain the most affordable and functional choice.

And for a modest price-point of $19.99 Carhartt beanies reign supreme. Gear Lab points out that the only downside of the product is that it’s a little too warm. For slightly more breathable alternatives, they suggest the Connectyle Classic Winter Hat for only $11.99. Or if you’re looking to spend a bit more, Under Armour Tactical Stealth 2.0 for $25 and The North Face Salty Dog for $27.95. 

Whatever you choose, may it leave you feeling cozy and stylish while trying to put gloves on a baby.

Parting Paternalism: Size Doesn't Matter

Wayne Rooney, a former pro soccer player from the UK who is now a manager for the D.C. United soccer club, has a small penis. But he wont let that stop him using his tiny member as inspiration for his team, which finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Rooney reportedly attempted a strange but inspiring “triumph over adversity speech," much like the father of four has done with his “tiny penis.”

“It was very funny and he hoped using personal references would make it look like the speech was from the heart,” a source told The Sun: But most of the American players were confused and a little grossed out. “A few of the young lads were horrified. They don’t share the same British sense of humor.”

And perhaps they don’t share the same penis size either. Regardless, one study and another survey confirm that women don’t actually care if your penis is considered small. And if Rooney’s spouse doesn’t care, why should struggling soccer players?

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with having a small penis. But that is precisely why you don’t need to bring it up.

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