It's not always about the kids | 2011

Contrary to popular belief, fatherhood is not all about a father and his child/children. Fatherhood is also about family. More than anything, a father must always keep into consideration his family as a collective self. And he should keep in mind to keep it whole.


This may mean a lot of things and may involve different means. The point is to keep things in check. As always, there should be a balance. It is not a job to keep the wife and kid/s happy and content. It is common sense. And if one has to be reminded of this every so often, then it's time to re-think your priorities. Seriously, kids can absorb the mood of the parents. A happy mum, or dad, will almost always give you a happy child. It is not 100%, but it is a large enough percentage to be considered.


So what happens when only one of the parents is happy? Does the child become half happy and half grumpy? Definitely not (it would be silly having a face half frowning and half smiling after all). But the child is still affected. And whichever parent the child is close to at the time will influence his mood for the day. Luckily for us, Jakjak always favors to be with the happy one. When he feels a bit "roughed up" when one of us having a bad day, he is quick to turn his attention to the happy one. But before that, he does his best to make the grumpy one smile (or be even more frustrated, depending on his mood at the time). Of course, usually the grumpy one is grumpy because of some ridiculous stunt that he pulled in the first place, but let's just say he doesn't really mind that.

So keep the wife happy. Check. Keep Jakjak happy. Check. Keep dad happy. Mum, I believe, will check on that. ;)