Welcome to A Father’s Voice for April 2007. This month’s column, Comforting Elmo, came about because once Gem told me about it, I couldn’t get the image of my little girl comforting her Elmo out of my mind. It was simultaneously adorable and heartbreaking.

There is only slightly more than one week until my workshop on The Power of Involved Fathers in Long Island on Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 9:30am. If you are interested in attending, please send me an email. Nickelodeon’s revamped ParentsConnect site is almost ready to be unveiled and will feature, among other things, parenting experts (including myself) answering questions from parents. Littlies, New Zealand’s most popular parenting magazine for parents of young children, is going to publish an article they requested me to write this Summer on how dads can still bond with their children even if they are far away from them.

A Father’s Voice is my chance to share my voice with you about the challenges and rewards I experience trying to be a very involved father while overcoming my childhood and having to work full-time away from our home. I write during the only disposable time of my day – my train ride to and from home.

Comforting Elmo

By Jeremy G. Schneider, MFT

My wife and I were taking a few minutes to catch up with our days when she said, “Did I tell you what Jordyn did today during nebby?”

“I don’t think so.” Nebby is what we call the nebulizer. We have to nebulize our two-year old twins every night to try and prevent asthma from developing and to decrease the congestion in their pulmonary system.

“She was holding her Elmo in a blanket and patting him on the back saying, ‘It’s okay, Elmo. It’s okay. It’s almost over and then you’ll feel better. You feel better, right?’”

Tears were welling up in both of our eyes and we couldn’t say anything at all. I had no trouble picturing my little girl doing that, hearing her voice in my head, seeing Elmo snuggled up in her arms.

“That little girl has been through so much.” My voice sounded hoarse, cracky and my wife looked like she hadn’t heard me.

“I know. I know,” she said, her voice sounding far away.

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