https://youtu.be/MYk0lHw4aPk

Parenting is a maze we’re all trying to navigate. On the surface that sounds true. However, think of a maze. There is one way in, one correct path, and one way out. That is not so true of parenting. I’ve learned you can’t have tunnel vision. There is more than one way to correctly navigate this maze and no two families are going to take the exact same path.

As we continue through this ever-changing parenting road map, I’ve realized that it’s important to have different perspectives and different teachers involved in our kids lives. I’ve observed my kids in gymnastics, dance, preschool, and now kindergarten. Each teacher they have had has provided a different perspective on similar uncomfortable situations. At times, we as parents don’t want our kids to be uncomfortable. We may not push them to their limits because we are uncomfortable. Having an experienced instructor who sees this difficult situation day in and day out is invaluable for our kids.

As it turns out, I was not that instructor when it was time for our kids to learn to swim. I thought to myself, “I can teach my kids to swim”. I’m at home with my kids during the summer and I have all the time in the world. From the start, I was stressed having two kids in the pool learning to swim, which was creating tension between the kids and myself. Because I was uncomfortable, I was being overly cautious and not pushing them to learn. Our pool time quickly turned into playing and splashing in the shallow end.

About 9 month’s ago I decided I needed help and we started swimming at The British Swim School. This was the ultimate test. I wouldn’t be in the water with them. They were on their own with their instructors. Would having an “outside” teacher be good for them? Would they be uncomfortable learning to swim from someone who would push them to their limits?

From the first day there, they were listening, following instructions, and pushing themselves to improve! The tension went away which made learning to swim fun. My kids went from not wanting to put their faces in the water, to swimming the length of the pool in 9 months. I think having instructors who are experienced working with kids in uncomfortable situations was the key. My kids now embrace the challenge and want to get better in the pool. Check out their progress in the video above!

Disclosure: We have developed a partnership with The British Swim School to help document our progress through their lessons.

A very important part of our dads group is to partner with local businesses and events that have similar philosophies as we do in regards to our kids. We enjoy talking with business owners who help promote a healthy, interactive, and fun environment. Piccadilly Play Café fits each of those criteria. We hosted our first Columbus Dads Group meetup there last week. Piccadilly was gracious enough to provide each dad with a free cup of coffee and the kids had a blast.

We only took advantage of their open playtime, however they also have a variety of classes available. They have anything from HipHop for big kids to Messy Art for the little ones. There is a pretty cool art studio in the back of the space, and I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the 20’ slide in the Playdium!

A huge plus for Piccadilly is their staff. They were all amazing! They even have Play Coaches during busier times to help monitor the play space. By the time we were headed home there was a sleeping princess in my back seat.

Piccadilly has provided a $5 coupon if you’re interested in trying out one of their classes!

Summer is in full swing and the sounds of kids splashing and playing in the pool remind me how stressful it can be to have your kids at the pool! Last summer we had to hold our girls every time we were in the water and they were scared to try anything on their own, even though we were right there. They wouldn’t let go of us! I told myself there was no way I was going through another summer without them knowing how to swim.

In the spring I enrolled them in the entry level swimming class at our local community center. They loved it! They played in the water and practiced blowing bubbles. They crawled on their bellies and became familiar with the water. But that was it. We were in the class for weeks, and they were having a lot of fun, but they weren’t really learning how to swim. I was frustrated because I wasn’t looking for a class that taught them how to splash in the shallow end. I wanted them to be confident and safe around water. I wanted them to be ready for summer at the pool!

Luckily I met the folks of the British Swim School at the Baby Bonanza. They seemed to be exactly what I was looking for and they invited us to try their classes. At the very first lesson my kids were in the water (without me!) practicing their “blast offs” and rolling over onto their backs and they were floating with the help of their instructors. By the third class my 3 year old was floating on her back while singing the ABCs all by herself! My (almost) 5 year old was more timid during those first classes. I was so impressed by how patient the instructors were with her. They pushed her to try things outside of her comfort zone, like jumping in and putting her ears underwater, and now she’s so different around the water. She’s not timid anymore and she loves going to her classes.

We just finished our eighth week of classes and both girls are jumping off the side and rolling over to their backs so they can float. The British Swim School has helped them so much. They’ve come so far! Now when we go to the pool they’re comfortable in the water and they’re so proud of themselves as they practice their new skills.

The British Swim School has classes for babies as young as 3 months and for all age groups all the way up to adult classes. We were in a Minnow class. My favorite thing about this class was that there is a maximum of four children to an instructor. The instructors were incredibly efficient, so they had a lot of one on one time with each child. I was required to be there but I sat on the pool deck to watch the class. Every week the instructors talked to me about my girls’ progress, as they girls listened in, beaming with pride. I’d recommend the British Swim School to anyone looking for swim lessons in Columbus.

We were provided complimentary swim lessons at the British Swim School. However, these opinions are my own.

We love to read in our house! To highlight our favorite books I’m starting a Children’s Book Highlight here on the blog. Each month I’ll highlight one of our favorite books that we read to our kids. I’d love to hear some of your favorites as well!

To start off the series we’ll take a closer look at My Name Is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? by Jennifer Fosberry.

As a parent of two little girls, I read the title and had to see what it was about. We’re constantly on the lookout for books with strong female protagonists. We also want our kids to use their imaginations as much as possible. This book fits the bill on both fronts.

Isabella is a little girl who loves to dream. From the moment she wakes up her imagination starts running. Through each interaction with her mom, Isabella transforms herself from one iconic woman in history to another. From Sally Ride, to Rosa Parks, and several others, you’re given a brief snapshot of these women and how they made their marks in history. As Isabella goes to sleep she dreams about who she will become tomorrow.

I want my girls to know that they can be anything they want when they grow up. No limitations. None. If they learn to dream big now there’s no telling where that can take them in the future.

Growing up I played sports year round. That was my life. I don’t think I’d ever seen a stage performance until I was cast as an extra in my high school’s production of Annie Get Your Gun during my senior year. There I was dancing onstage in cowboy boots! My wife, however, grew up loving theater and now, more than 15 years after my stage debut, we’ve seen countless Broadway shows together. Theater is a big part of our lives and is something we wanted to introduce to our kids at a young age. Thanks to CAPA Columbus we have access to some of the best shows running. From Broadway Across America and the summer movie series, to a variety of traveling productions, there are shows for everyone!

A few Columbus Dads Group members had the opportunity to take our kids to Daniel Tiger Live at the Palace Theatre. My daughter couldn’t have been more excited. Children of all ages filled the seats. Lighted wands were flashing and candy wrappers were being opened. All of that faded away once the opening music started.

From the moment Trolley crossed the stage, my daughter did not stop singing, dancing, and smiling. Throughout the show Daniel and his friends traveled the neighborhood while singing old favorite and new-to-me songs. The best part of the show was that it brought Daniel to life right in front of us! We learned right along with him about sharing, helping others, and being a good neighbor. We also got to see some of our other favorite characters, like Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday, and “O” the Owl. My daughter couldn’t stop talking about them, that is until we got in the car.

Taking her to see this show made me want to do it more often! She had such a wonderful experience, and it was one that I will never forget. I hope it was the start of a lifetime of seeing performances together. Although I also hope that she never sees the tape (yes, tape) of her dad on stage in high school.

My wife and I grew up in the same small town in Northeast Ohio and had been living in Columbus for several years when we decided to do something crazy: we moved to New York City. My wife had dreamed of living there since the first time we visited together when we were 18, and I was up for the adventure. So we sold our house, two cars, and almost everything we owned and headed to the Big Apple. We brought our six-week-old daughter along for the ride, my wife started her first job after more than a decade in school, and I left the workforce to be an at-home dad. I guess if you’re going to make a life change, you might as well make all of the changes at once, right?

But when my wife went to work I found myself in a 750-square-foot apartment with our new baby, winter approaching, and not knowing anyone else in the city. Was this the adventure I had signed up for? My wife encouraged me to join the NYC Dads Group, and it isn’t an exaggeration to say that it changed my life. I felt kind of weird about it at first, but I met NYC Dads Group co-founders, Lance and Matt, and other dads that wanted to socialize and support each other. In the group I found adult conversation, the friendship and connection I’d been looking for, and a whole lot of fun! It got me out of our apartment and exploring the city in ways I don’t think I would have done without them.

We had our second daughter in NYC (my wife laboring in a taxi, sure she was going to have the baby right there). Our apartment suddenly felt smaller, but we were still having the time of our lives in New York, and the support of the NYC Dads Group was a big part of that. But an unexpected job opportunity for my wife had us thinking about moving back to Columbus, taking us closer to family and long-time friends. Around this time Lance and Matt created the City Dads Group to expand the concept of the New York City Dads Group across the country. I talked to them about starting a group in Ohio, and with their support the Columbus Dads Group was born.

The first meetup of the Columbus Dads Group was at a play café and one other dad showed up. Fast-forward to today and we have more than 200 members and have had almost 200 meetups all over the city. Together with our kids we’ve gone to COSI and the Columbus Zoo, explored metro parks, museums, and libraries, and seen shows downtown. We’ve had Dads Nights Out and tried breweries all over town. More dads are organizing meetups and helping our group grow. We’ve become a group of dads that doesn’t like to sit around. We love to get our kids out of the house, connecting with each other, and exploring the greatest city in the Midwest!

I have a piece of advice for dads out there: Don’t let this group pass you by. I almost did when I was living in New York, and that would have been a huge mistake. We welcome dads of all kinds: at-home or working, married or single, gay or straight. We’re here to help each other navigate parenthood while enjoying everything Columbus has to offer!