Five Reasons Why My Husband is a Better Parent Than Me

I saw an article going around on on Facebook this week and I finally clicked on it.  I started to read through it, but once I got the general gist of it I closed it down because my husband is so much better than hers.  Or at least I found myself completing her sentences instead of reading them.  But overall it was some good-dad cheerleading and I decided to jump on board.

Why My Husband is a Better Parent Than Me

1.) He takes Jayce and Hannah to swimming.

Jayce is the swim class student and Hannah merely a spectator at this point, but that does not mean that she requires less effort.  Hannah is full of energy and chatter and wants to twirl in her skirt and high five Jayce when he walks by and we are just sitting on little benches with limited seating on the side of the pool.  It's a little stressful.  That is after the whole getting there in the stroller/scooter combo, getting Jayce undressed, dressed, and then dried off, undressed, and re-dressed at the end while Hannah is singing/dancing/slipping in the same changing room.  I did it a few times when Chris was out of town and it really made me want to quit my day job.  Not really, but it really pushed me to my limit, particularly when I realized that once I wrestled them home I still needed to make food, get them to eat it, and then do bath time/ pjs/ story time alone.  

But Chris does this every week.  I wouldn't describe Chris as overflowing with patience, but he pulls this off and is barely rattled.  That and it gives me about 45 minutes of peace in a time of the day that isn't typically peaceful, which is just amazing.  

2.) He does shoulder-ride/scooter-pulling double duty.

Hannah is at that awkward (for us) stage now where she doesn't really need a stroller because she's certainly big enough, able, and eager to be running alongside us when we're out.  But her little legs can't keep up, sometimes tire easily, and are definitely worn out by the end of any excursion.  She's too big and heavy to carry for any length of time so onto Chris' shoulders she goes.  Chris is usually already pulling Jayce on his scooter which he keeps on doing.  This leaves me to walk with both arms free, only toting the enormous amount of snacks and water bottles that are always in my purse, which is so much easier to do with my hands free.

3.) He does the end-of-the evening wrestling duty.

No matter what we have done during the day, including days when we have been out running around from one place to another, the kids expect to have an evening wrestling time with Chris.  Despite the fact that they have been doing this in some form for about five years now, it continues to evolve with new games creeping up all of the time.  Right now the popular versions are mattress slide (riding Hannah's mattress down the steps into a pile of pillows), or a Couch Dodgeball sort of game where the kids run back and forth across the couch and Chris tries to hit them with a pillow.  There are points for hits, misses, and pillow catching.

I am usually involved in these games, but never as the aggressor.  I am always home base, or one of the spotters if they are bed-jumping, or sometimes I am sitting in a nearby chair with a snuggly blanket to appease whichever kid isn't being tossed onto the bed.  It's okay, I'm very happy with my role, and I'm glad to be the snuggle-r instead of the thrower.  

4.) He does the dishes and folds the laundry. 

I imagine this should fall into the "spouse" category instead of the "dad" category, but I don't think so.  It is something that I appreciate so much because they are the two chores that I just cannot tolerate.  I vacuum every other day, I'm the only one to do the bathroom-scrubbing, and I am constantly reorganizing/de-cluttering.  But the dishes…uggghhhh!  

They don't bother Chris very much and so he does them without any fuss.  I appreciate it so much because not only does this relieve me of my most dreaded chore, but it models to the kids that both parents can help out around the house.  Jayce and Hannah, it's okay if boys do the dishes, and it's okay if girls do the dishes. 

5.) He makes us all happy.

On Saturday mornings Chris and Hannah take a little trip to get doughnuts for all of us and she adores this little outing.  Chris helps Jayce with his games on the iPad when he's stuck.  He brings me tea at the end of the night.  He takes care of us and meets each of our unique needs.

He's a great parent, and I'm so glad to have him. 

**I think we all know that the 'Reasons My Husband is Better Than Me' is simply a writing prompt, and not that he's actually better than me.  But he is good… **
Is your husband a better parent than you?