Welcome to the February 2007 column of A Father’s Voice. This month’s column, Parenting Is A Team Sport: Do You Back Each Other Up?, came about because I realized once again how hard parenting was, but that working together, as teammates, can make it just a little bit easier for all of us while sending a pretty powerful message in the process.

The biggest news this month is I’ll be appearing on the brand new Nicklodeon-owned web site for parents, called ParentsConnect. They are recreating their FAQ section, filling it with questions from parents…with answers from experts. One of those experts will be me. It should go live towards the end of March, but I will certainly let you know when. I am conducting a workshop on The Power of Involved Fathers in Long Island in April (if you would like to attend, email me). Littlies, New Zealand’s fastest growing and most popular parenting magazine, is publishing one of my articles, First-Time Dads, in March. Clever Parents has featured me in their new Questions and Answers area, which hopefully will only grow bigger. DadLabs, a fatherhood web site, is publishing one of my pieces this month entitled, Parenting Never Ends. NY Metro, the largest New York area parenting publisher, has officially posted a number of my posts in their new Parents Blog Network.

A Father’s Voice is my column to voice the challenges and rewards of trying to be a very involved father to my twins despite my childhood and working full-time outside of my home. I write during the only disposable time of my day; I write during my train ride to and from home.

Parenting Is A Team Sport: Do You Back Each Other Up?

By Jeremy G. Schneider, MFT

“You do not speak to Daddy like that!” Gem scolded Jordyn, our four-year old daughter. She has just yelled at me out of anger and that is not acceptable in our house.

We were all sitting at the dinner table and a standoff had begun. Jordyn was refusing to give an inch.

“Jordyn, go to your timeout,” Gem reminded her. Jordyn knows screaming like that is a timeout, but she didn’t want to go.

I remained seated and silent at the table watching my little girl figure out what her options really were. While observing this I was struck by something to which I have been giving a lot of thought. How often do you back each other up as parents?

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