And Then There's Dad

1. Love the Team, Not the Player

   by Gary Drevitch
   July 31, 2007, 12:00 am

   I’m raising my six-year-old son, Fellow, to be a sports fan—specifically, a Boston sports fan, even though we live in New York City. And so far it’s gone pretty well. OK, it’s gone so well that he’s become a bit obsessive about it—not that I have a problem with his Red Sox cap, his Red Sox lunchbox, or his Red Sox school folders. But there’s one thing I won’t get for him, and that’s a team jersey with any specific player’s name or number on it. Read More

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2. We the Parents

   by Gary Drevitch
   July 24, 2007, 12:00 am

   If recent news reports are to be believed, thousands of parents across the country are busily writing up “family constitutions.” It had never occurred to me actually to put them to paper in a formal way. I’d always assumed that if I were ever to write out a specific set of rules, then I’d face intense resistance whenever I felt a need to add to it. Read More

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3. The Jujitsu Kids

   by Gary Drevitch
   July 17, 2007, 12:00 am

   My kids have never been to Japan, or to a single martial arts class, for that matter. But they expertly and consistently use jujitsu to keep me from disciplining them. Read More

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4. I Want a Babysitter

   by Gary Drevitch
   July 10, 2007, 12:00 am

   I belong to that group of people known as husbands. I am a husband. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a father. And as a father, I frequently employ and observe babysitters. As I gave a set of instructions to one sitter recently, it suddenly occurred to me that there are times I, too, would like to have a babysitter. Read More

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5. Someday All This Will Be Yours-- Except the Yaz Card

   by Gary Drevitch
   July 3, 2007, 12:00 am

   By all accounts, collecting things is a dying hobby, with few young people today interested in stockpiling stamps or shoeboxing baseball cards. Of the 37 million Americans who identified themselves as collectors in 2000, just 11% were under the age of 36. Read More

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6. Oh, Yeah? Well, My Dad Isn't Nearly as Strong as Your Dad!

   by Gary Drevitch
   June 26, 2007, 12:00 am

   I was chaperoning my five-year-old son--let’s call him Fellow--on a kindergarten field trip when I heard him say it for the first time: “My Dad is stronger than your Dad!” Read More

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7. Chips off a Chipped Block

   by Gary Drevitch
   June 19, 2007, 12:00 am

   I think we can all agree that one of the greatest things about parenting young children is that, well, they love us, and that unlike tweens and teens, they just can’t help showing it. Outside of any quarterbacks or head cheerleaders out there, how many of us ever imagined we’d have the experience of spending our days with people who wanted nothing more than to copy our every quirk and personality trait? (Of course, we do literally have to make these people ourselves, but, hey, any way we can get it. . .) Unfortunately, it’s also a double-edged sword. As much of an ego boost ... Read More

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8. The Gender-Neutral Fellow

   by Gary Drevitch
   June 12, 2007, 12:00 am

   Hi, everyone. My name is Gary, and my son loves ballet. Actually, like many six-year-old boys, my son, Fellow, also loves baseball, rockets, and Tag. But they compete for his attention with ballet, Daisy Meadows’ fairy books—and a stuffed animal that plays “It’s Raining Men” whenever he squeezes its paw. Read More

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9. Tiny Resume

   by Gary Drevitch
   June 5, 2007, 12:00 am

   Here in New York City, getting into preschool or kindergarten isn't child's play. In fact, admissions directors have been complaining of the lengths parents have gone to with the hope of selling their children to schools. Read More

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10. Emotional-Support Fellow

    by Gary Drevitch
    May 15, 2007, 12:00 am

    We’ve all heard of service animals, such as dogs that guide the blind. But there’s another, less well-known, kind of service pet—emotional-support animals. The federal Department of Transportation requires that airlines accommodate people who need their pets by their side for emotional support. I’m not going to protest, but fair is fair. I want the right to take my emotional-support child with me wherever I go. Read More

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