As a very-new father (my son Kunal, pictured here, is two weeks old), I’ve decided to adopt different parenting styles depending on the time of day.
If the sun is shining (and I wasn’t awake to see it rise), I change Kunal’s diaper with a silly song I just made up. When he cries, I say “Ohhhhh nonononono,” and give him little kisses on his forehead. I talk to him with a lot of baby talk and smiles, and there is more singing, often for no real reason. It’s basically a low-budget episode of Teletubbies.
As day turns to night, and night turns to the wee hours of morning, there is less baby talk. When Kunal cries, I ask him straight up: “What’s your deal, man?” There is very little singing. All-in-all things resemble a silent movie more than a kid’s show. A gulag-era Soviet silent movie, not a Chaplin flick.
At first I thought it was Kunal. Why, at 3:12 AM, does he lose some of his cuteness? How does he gain it back by morning?
But he’s actually just as adorable in the middle of the night as he is in the morning. Though not as cute as he is in the middle of the day, especially if I’ve had a nap.
3 Responses to Day Father vs. Night Father
A very wise mother of three used that technique to get her kids to sleep through the night. Mommy & Daddy aren’t any fun at night-might as well sleep. Day time is play time! Smart thinking, Bro.
You don’t wear enough pastels for Teletubbies. And from what I can see, neither does Kunal.
That is so funny i nearly choked.