The Senior Dadvisor.

Introducing new guest author, the Senior Dadvisor.  Figured we needed the voice of a good  husband and father–and fortunately, we found someone practically helpful and brilliantly supportive.

The ideal role for any good husband and daddy in his wife’s momtrepreneur ventures is that of senior advisor — or senior dadvisor, if you will. The senior dadvisor’s roles are multitudinous. You need to be ready with business advice, logistical support, and, perhaps most importantly, moral support. 

Practically, this means long conversations about clients and expenditures, trips to Kinkos to pick up copy jobs that likely felled several acres of trees, and the development of skills such as cooking a three-course meal in ten minutes or less.

As a general matter, though, perhaps the most significant responsibility the Senior Dadvisor has is the assumption of entertainment responsibilities when Mom is taken up with a pressing business matter and cannot mind the little ones in the house.

Ideally, this means going to the park, building a three-story chateau out of legos, or going to the children’s museum for some education and adventure. Realistically, though, you will find yourself on many occasions shuffling through stacks of DVDs, wondering what would be the ideal show for your child to watch. Sometimes, that’s the only thing that will help your little ones make the transition from wild child to chilled-out toddler. 

For this purpose, I recommend any DVD produced by The Wiggles, that famed Australian four-piece in the colorful shirts. The Wiggles are great, primarily because they will neither hype your child up, nor slow your child down. They provide just the right amount of stimulation. They are fun: they dance, they sing, and they do not bounce around the room like hyenas on speed. The result is that your child will be entertained but also soothed. And that is an exceedingly rare combination. 

-From the desk of the Senior Dadvisor