After months of preparation, the due date for our second baby has finally arrived. In this period of calm before the chaos, let me share a few ways we have been preparing to become parents for two under two.

In 2024, a hurricane of events has forced us to scale back our ordinary observances. It all began in May when we found out that my wife Angie was pregnant with our second child. This miracle news of our new baby turned our plans upside down.

Whatever your Christmas looks like this year, remember that clutter and chaos have always been part of this ancient celebration — and that God is with us in our mess.

Our culture has embraced many myths about fatherhood that make men hesitate to settle down, marry, and start a family. It’s time to bust those myths — beginning with these four.

Moments of laughter are delightfully frequent in our household. I’m not sure if that’s normal but I believe it should be, because family and fatherhood are among the funnest things in the world.

By being mindful of the example we set — both in the habits we encourage and the behaviours we avoid — we’re not only guiding our children’s actions today, but also building the foundation for the kind of person they will grow up to be.

To the extent that we have helped Squish on her language journey, I can think of a number of strategies we’ve employed that are worth sharing — some which are obvious, and others you may never have considered. Here are my top 5 tips for toddler language learning.

What will Trump’s America be like for kids? In answering this question, three issues come to mind. For the sake of alliteration, let’s call them: guns, gender and gestation.

Birth rates across the West are plummeting, and our economies will suffer untold carnage in the years ahead — all because we have failed to assign value to the unseen work, that most important job of child-rearing. Still, we have an opportunity to turn this mess around.

For Squish in particular, the arrival of number two will be a game-changer. Here are three things she has to look forward to — three things that will change her life for the better.

There are many ways for us to spend time together, but I believe the most bonding of these is when we read together. There in my lap, she feels safe, secure, close and loved. What more could a toddler want?

The toys my 14-month-old chooses to play with confirms my suspicion that girls and boys are born with in-built predispositions towards different activities and skills.

Twelve weeks ago, my wife, my 12-month-old daughter, and I packed up our apartment in the United States for Squish’s biggest adventure yet — three months of travel, missions and adventure from the Great Lakes to Sydney, Australia and the jungles of Indonesia.

One of the highlights for us has been watching our little Squish enjoy her time in the Early Learning Centre — a school we initially built for other children, but that our own daughter now attends!

The West’s fertility crisis is ultimately an identity crisis. If Western civilisation is fundamentally oppressive, why would we want to perpetuate our existence? If we Westerners are destroying the planet, why should we continue populating it?

Three years and three months after we began trying, Angie is finally pregnant! In the end, Angie and I cannot take credit for this miracle of pregnancy. There are no silver bullets, but there were three things that seem to have made a big difference in our case.

With so many rapid geographical and cultural changes, the learning curve has been steep, both for us as parents and for our 13-month-old daughter. Here are three tips from our travels so far for navigating cross-cultural travel with your baby.

This weekend, Squish met her Australian cousins for the first time, and the experience was as fun as we had anticipated, for babies and parents alike. To set the scene, let me tell you a bit about my family.

The lesson we learnt is not to worry too much about our child’s milestones, especially if they’re within the broad, acceptable ranges. Every child is different and might bring their various skills together at odd times and in odd combinations.

Being the father of a toddler came at me fast. Before the next big phase arrives, it’s time to slow down and reflect on four simple things I have learnt during Squish’s first year about some parenting basics.