The Dad Adventure: From Swearing Toddlers to Gaming Teens

We've all been there, the heat of the moment when a swear word slips out and suddenly, your toddler is echoing it around the house. As parents in an age dominated by digital content and online gaming, we're navigating uncharted waters and finding our way can be a real adventure. Pull up a chair and join us as we share our personal stories of the unexpected parenting curveballs like this, and how we're learning to balance the wild world of gaming, our personal identities, and our responsibilities as parents. 

This isn't just about surviving the chaos, it's about thriving and finding joy in this journey. We'll discuss how we've adapted to the digital age, how it's changed our parenting styles, and how we're learning to control our emotional responses (yes, even those pesky swear words). From social media madness to unexpected diaper disasters, no topic is off-limits. Let's face it, parenting isn't a solo game, it's a massively multiplayer experience that requires patience, adaptability, and a sense of humor. Come and join the conversation.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Stand by, stand Barred. Switching from Human Mode to Dad Mode, initializing Sequence In 3, 2, 1. This is Dad Mode, the podcast where we navigate the chaotic realms of parenting gaming, content creation, work and hell, just life in general. We're diving into the challenges of raising kids in the digital age, from social media madness to navigating the gaming landscape. We're talking about it all, especially from a dad's perspective. Whether it's conquering the littest game, creating content that's more than just a hobby, or just trying to keep up with the ever-changing tech landscape, we're right there with you. We want to help you navigate this wild journey of parenthood and modern life, from balancing family time to managing your career and still squeezing in some gaming and content creation. It's all about fun, some dad wisdom and a whole lot of dad mode. Now your hosts Bearded Nova and more.

Speaker 2: 1:18

So Bearded I was thinking the other day about, you know, my kids are. You know they're 10 and 12 now and my oldest son is going to be in high school, probably in the, probably, I think, here or so, and it's interesting watching him grow and you know seeing how like I've changed as a person as he's been growing in my younger son. I've been raising my younger son too, and every now and then I stop and think like as I say something that my mom or my dad would have said, and I'm like wait, where did that come from? You know, and like there's just things that I do and things that I say that I never thought I would do or say before I became a parent.

Speaker 3: 2:02

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:03

And I'm just trying to figure out when the hell did that happen? You know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 2:07

It's, it's like it just happens overnight. You have this parent, you become a parent. Let's just say the first six months is fantastic, you know smiles and excitement. And then, as they evolve, I guess, and that's they grow up and they mature and they start walking and talking. It's like you slightly change yourself at the same time. You're not new anymore, You're. You're progressively evolving too to handle what they're coming back at you at.

Speaker 2: 2:35

Absolutely, and I think one of the one of the weirdest things too is like when that switch flips it doesn't go off, Even when I'm not around my own kids, like I'll be in public somewhere and I'll be in a store and I'll see a kid. Should I stop or?

Speaker 1: 2:53

not Okay.

Speaker 2: 2:55

I'll be in a store somewhere and I'll see a kid in a carriage, in the cart, whatever kind of hanging out the side a little bit and I'm like you might. You might want to get your kid for the fall out of the carriage or the cart. Yeah, I'm parenting other people's kids and I don't know why I'm doing that. Because, if I'm honest, I love my kids. I would do anything for my kids. I don't like anyone else's kids, so I'm weird that I do that yeah.

Speaker 3: 3:26

I'm a, I'm a judgey parent in public. I guess I look at me and I do things differently. If I was you that's not me, definitely not me, but it's, I guess have you changed in a way that you promote or disapprove of things that you did at that similar.

Speaker 2: 3:43

That I did, or that my parent or parents taught me to do it Both, both. So, however, I disapprove of anything that they do that I did. Okay, so I was. I am lucky to be alive, given the things that I did as I was growing up which is topics for multiple future episodes.

Speaker 2: 4:06

But I parents, I was forced to be very everything was around religion, and so I wouldn't do that to my kids. Because you know, yeah, you're a kid, yeah, you have to do what your parents say, but something like religion is very touching. Forcing someone to be to do things is like I don't know. I just don't agree with it.

Speaker 3: 4:28

I find it the same. So who would? I was actually went to Catholic school. Okay, not because of beliefs, it was purely because that was the best school out of the two options, that one's a better one than that one. They got into that whole saga as well, one one more so than the other, and I found I had to change what I thought in myself around it. How, how I acted, how a change.

Speaker 3: 4:59

So we never, never went to church. We'd have to go, though, for like graduation, for example, for our elders. We had to go sit in this church for five hours, I think. It was non air conditioned. We live in the furnace that is Australia Hell in summer too. Like it was. It was just a mixture of everything and on because it's a pretty formal event, they had a nice dinner and stuff. After I'm still in the three piece suit, I've got the trousers on jacket, I'm sweating my sink, they're off basically trying to sit in there and do it in the most happiest way possible, I think by the way, that's the title of this episode Sweating and washing.

Speaker 3: 5:38

Yeah, but um, yeah, that's something I never saw myself in my future, Like it's just adapting on the way and saying so. She ended up going to a Catholic school for a little bit as well, and it was the same same deal, except for I'm sorry, it's why this for a second we have to have an interview Period. You take your here here with high schools, you got to take your students there if you're out of catchment or out of area To have like an interview with the principal and that, and she was really nervous and I still give a shit for this every day. He's gone through, gone. Okay cool, what do you like at school at the moment? What don't you like at school? And she goes religion, just yelled religion that she hates religion.

Speaker 3: 6:25

Like school is a principle. It was. It wasn't like just said it, she yelled it at his face because it's like this is really nervous 12 year old, I don't know what I'm doing, thing. No, I'm trying to sit there with straight face the whole time. Yeah, afterwards come. Hey, maybe next time we go to the school and you talk to be like she got in. He kind of joked and laughed it off, but I was shitting myself for her, basically also embarrassed for myself, like a crap, like I know that's not us, but like you know, we gotta play it. We gotta play a part here.

Speaker 2: 6:54

Yeah, cuz that's, that's the thing, and I I will argue against this in certain circumstances, but everything your kid does kind of reflection on you. Yeah, everything your kid says is kind of a reflection. Like I will argue that no, they're their own people, because you know your kids are gonna say shit. You would never say no. I'm like, where did you even get an idea to say that?

Speaker 3: 7:22

Oh you know what I mean in saying that. Let me put it this way Is it they wouldn't say things that you would say down, or Things that they say, things that you probably would have said at their age?

Speaker 2: 7:33

well, so I'm careful what I say, because my son has started to watch. Watch YouTube.

Speaker 3: 7:42

I'm sorry to be very careful embarrassed by.

Speaker 2: 7:46

But no, but that am. I know they say weird things, man, weird things, and I know if I would have said those weird things. The only thing I do know is that they're. Both of them are sarcastic. I'm like where did you that's?

Speaker 3: 8:01

from me that's a pair, and then I hear that back.

Speaker 2: 8:05

That's that sarcasm, that wit, and I'm like, want to call my mom, be like I'm so sorry, because this is what I did and I get it now.

Speaker 3: 8:15

Yeah, what about that? So you see a lot of yourself in them, I guess. But, like redefining yourself, did you find you changed over time, like the things you like to do as a parent, as a parent I'm not just as parents as a person, as yourself, like where the things so hobbies or something like you kind of put aside because it was just something that didn't line up with Parenthood?

Speaker 2: 8:41

here's the part of the show where I, we get the hate or I get the hate. You know, the common theory thing is like you know, when you have kids, you know your life revolves around your kids. I had kids and my kids life revolves around me, because I'm like I was older when I had kids, I was in my 30s, yeah, and I'm like I have things I want to do and things I like to do and I don't want to change that stuff. I and there was a lot of things that I did then that I haven't changed about Hobbies I have and things I want to do and taking time out to go to see the movies every week with friends or going out and like hanging out. I Kind of refused to change, to lose that part of me and yeah, it's kind of drama my house, not with my kids, but with, with yeah, yep.

Speaker 3: 9:23

I get that you just you just kind of do what you want to do. It's what is it? Probably what you're hearing like you know it's it'd be not. Yeah, I think the words I get is sometimes it'd be nice to be you where you just think about what you want to go To do and you just go and do it.

Speaker 2: 9:35

Have you been listening in our conversations in my house?

Speaker 1: 9:38

Is that yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:40

Yeah, and so then I'll say shit like oh, you can do it now. I hope I like this. A listen to this. I'll be like well, go out with your friends more and and get some hobby, do it just do it. I'm not sorry that I have a hobby.

Speaker 3: 9:55

Yeah, I keep that one a little bit to myself, but I do kind of. I do that like I respect my life. I try, and I put that out subtly oh, yes, is my way to do it, like there's nothing stopping that. Why don't you? It's more so. Why don't you organize to go do this? Hey, I'm gonna be home tomorrow. Why don't you go do X? You got the opportunity to take it.

Speaker 2: 10:14

You know me well enough to know that I don't Keep that quiet. I didn't keep that inside part part quiet, but she's used to it. You know we've been married for 20 years or so, so she's used to it. But yeah, it's. It's so what I've had to do when I talked about this, when I was doing Twitch more and when I was making YouTube's YouTube videos more.

Speaker 1: 10:34

I.

Speaker 2: 10:35

Have. I recognize that, like you know my attitude of I'm gonna continue to do things I want to do. I'm also gonna be a father, but I'm gonna do the things that I'd like to do and I will make that work, usually by just sacrificing sleep. But as I got older and as my kids got older, especially now where they're very communicative and they understand everything now, right, I Do now have to try to change my behavior a little bit, to spend make sure I'm spending enough time with them, right, because, because it's it's even more important.

Speaker 2: 11:04

I know that, like some people say, like you know who the kid is by 10, or whatever is who they are, and if you haven't developed that connection with them by then, you're never gonna do it. I don't believe that. I don't really believe that. No, I don't believe. Like my 12 year old now, he and I have never connected as deeply as we are right now, like we get, we sit down and have a conversation. It was like he's an adult and it's fun, it's fantastic, and so that is making me like, okay, let me slow down some other parts of my life, and you know I have. Yeah, so I can make sure that I'm I'm, I'm more present and there for him, I For that and like that. Now I'm starting to change a little bit, yeah, but it's fine Because like it was a natural flow, it wasn't like I just I became a dad one day and I just stopped doing everything I love to do. That would have been horrible. Like it's been a natural evolution.

Speaker 3: 11:54

I Say I don't have much time and I've been saying that since we started this podcast a lot of it. You know I don't have the time that I that I used to, yeah, and that's more so do with age. I find it when they age, when they grow, you got more time. You know it's different Dependencies on you. A child has also developed a healthy sleep pattern at the moment, so I kind of like enjoying having that after being gone for majority of my life, I'm probably sleeping better than I ever have. But it's that knowing when, at certain ages, as your child grows, they need you more hands-on Around there for the development. Oh, you know, as simple as helping. At the moment my youngest is with with doing food. We just started food this week.

Speaker 2: 12:37

I have fun with those diapers. They're gonna be fun now.

Speaker 3: 12:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, okay, I'm gonna bring up what happened last weekend because we were going out. I made this rule With my wife probably two or three weeks ago. Whoever's holding up if shit happens, that's your problem, but that's you got to deal with whatever happened. While you're touching up and I was on the cash, noises happened. I felt movement. I went all right, I'm gonna go, we'll go sort this. Went to the change table like I normally do. Nothing's different. You know, it was massive because I've kind of undone the shirt. She, we were ready to go out.

Speaker 3: 13:14

By the way, she's got all dressed, nice clothes and stuff to go see my mother and as I've lifted her a little bit to put the new Nappy underneath before I remove the old one, yeah, and I do mean shit just ran everywhere, everywhere. So it's like a tipped up a jug of shit and just spilt it all over the change table at her. So then I'm screaming at my wife going help, help, help. So yeah, yeah, back to that, but you can skip that. We have a shit.

Speaker 3: 13:38

It's already difficult for us at the moment, but I know, going back to the time thing Any couple months time, like the more. The more she gets older, the more I'm finding I have time to do a little bit more like as newborn, always around, needed attention. Now she's five months old almost. It's getting that little bit of independence where she's happy. I could put her down for a few minutes. I can put it down for half an hour on a play mat with some toys around her and she's happy and I can come into here. You know I've got into 3d printing so I started running into here setting up something like that, running back up to her half an hour later. It's not. I'm getting that freedom back, I guess in a way a little bit of independence and I know it's a few years away.

Speaker 3: 14:22

But you know, once you get to that 10, 10, 12 age, you, like you said, you it's a, you got to be there for certain times. Like we said, we can't stream at prime time hours but at the same time you know you can go do stuff after a certain time because they're gonna be asleep, they're not gonna wake up there, you know they're down in the air for the night where I don't have that. So right, you're constantly evolving at the same time.

Speaker 2: 14:46

You are. You are and even though you know I said that I still I didn't make my kids exactly the center of the universe. I doesn't mean I wasn't there for them and giving them everything they need. It's just that I wanted to make sure that I never I didn't lose sight of who I was. Yeah, because I feel like I Wouldn't have been happy and I can't be the best dad I can be if I'm not happy overall, like I Just I don't for me. I'm not giving anyone else advice for me. I knew it would be different if I try to make my identity my kids. I don't think that would have worked for me.

Speaker 3: 15:20

It's that prioritizing values, no, and what's what's it? What's important for you to be there, what's not important for you, you know, and what's important for them at the same time. Yeah, everyone prioritizing as a word. Like you know, my son does sports now. So now I try to be there at every game. That's that's now pride, prioritize, because I know it means a lot to me being there. He thinks the world of me being there at every sports game. So I try and I try and do that. Now, that's it. That's a new priority. That's that's on Sunday. So I know, sunday, at some point, usually around the same time, I've got to go to ex-location for an hour or something like that and Like before, you know, this is a priority, so I might be prioritizing certain days and certain times for my children, but at the same time we, the children will know that. You know, every Saturday morning for me, around nine o'clock, I'm going into the garage for an hour or two, then I'll be back later on right, right, it's same with my kids.

Speaker 2: 16:18

Like on Friday nights my work work, my wife works late, yep, and so after dinner, you know, they watch a movie. I'm like, hey, I'm gonna go outside for a couple hours, I'll be back and then whatever. So yeah, same, same, same, same deal. Like they. They get to know that. In fact, they know that. What if I say I'm going to do a podcast, I Like they kind of coming out here and hanging out because they like destroying it. I mean having fun. No, but they know, if dad says he's going to go do a podcast or a stream, they don't come out here because they know that I'm recording something and I don't want to mess it up. So yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 3: 16:51

What about relationship dynamics, I guess, like, did you find they change? They change your friend circles, I guess, like I still got the same French circle as I've always had since high school. Yeah, I'm one of those weird people that still, like, I don't see them every day. We talk and that's, you know, talk on social media messaging. That's as far as it goes at the moment, but I find over time you know different, different. We've all had kids at different ages, I guess.

Speaker 3: 17:17

So it's interesting watching when one decides to have a child, and it might be, you know, six, seven years after the first person decides. You know how their, their personality changes too. You find that you kind of okay, cool, I'm not. I'm not going out after work and going to the bar after work in the city with some work people. I'm coming home now so that that circle disappears. I call, I'm not going out every Saturday night to, you know, the casino or whatever Like that. That changes Even barbecues, like we do barbecues and social events a few times a year, and it's funny because that used to be six o'clock seven come over six o'clock, seven o'clock at night and we'll go to like one two o'clock in the morning Right Now.

Speaker 3: 18:00

Now, it's okay, we're going to start about three o'clock in the afternoon, we'll have food ready by five o'clock and then everyone starts dispersing by nine o'clock. Yeah, and it's usually the ones that don't have children that stay at whoever's house it is and they continue to drink with the person that does have children. The children eventually go to bed and then there's a couple that stay, but everyone else is like, okay, I'm going to get these kids home to sleep now.

Speaker 2: 18:21

Like holidays are different, it's it's yeah, everything is earlier, but the the bigger point that I was I picked up on was my friends that don't have kids. They don't fucking get it. Like they don't, they don't get it. And they're like, hey, you want to go out for a drink after work? And I'm like no, because I got to drive home and pick up my kids. Like, well, can someone else do that?

Speaker 2: 18:44

Who, like my wife, is working and, plus, I'm not driving after drinking with my kids in the car either you know, or like hey, do you, or they'll call me up like at five PM, and like, hey, I have tickets to this, this sports game at eight. You want to go? I can't make a decision that quickly, man.

Speaker 3: 19:04

There's this organization that needs you know you could go have those drinks after work, but there's you need to know a week out, you need to know a few days out so you can organize someone. Hey, let's, let's switch things around so I can do this, yeah.

Speaker 2: 19:19

So, like that, that stuff changes. Like even though I don't give up a hobbies and stuff and hanging out with friends like I did make changes and this was again. It was like a switch flipped, that didn't. It was just natural where I have to make sure that things I do in my life allow me to take care of my kids the best way that I can and being safe about it as well.

Speaker 3: 19:40

You know, yeah, it's. I think it's still possible when you're a parent. It's just shifting it around in a slight I guess it. Like we said, everything takes a little bit of time. Times come up a lot in this and anything's possible as long as you've got, not just I guess, yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Give me notice.

Speaker 3: 19:57

But you, but you got to say that to the same. It's the same thing you say to the children. Though Children ask something, it's like no, no, no. If you told me, told me a while ago, I could have worked something out, but now I can't work this out. I guess children, the parent, would just add that time planning, planning stage.

Speaker 2: 20:12

Yeah, yeah, we have talked about time a lot. Um, let's not get all the rest cause we've got so many days left to watch. Yeah, yeah, and I do feel like being a parent where you're Something forced to learn how to manage your time and prioritize things. It makes it easier to manage your time and prioritize other things too, because you're so used to doing it. Yes, you know, yeah, you're used to doing it and that that makes it easier. So it's funny, like you know what you know. When I would try to explain to 18, 19, 20 year olds how you gotta do time management look at day by day they're like what are you talking about? Man? Yeah, and I realize it's cuz I'm, that's what I do. Yes, having kids that forces me to know how to do that stuff and to Truly set priorities and what's important, what's not.

Speaker 3: 20:54

Yeah, it is, it's even you know. It adds a bit to like self. That's why I put it. It's for your own health as well, Like your own mental well-being as well, because if you try doing everything at last minute, you'd be a Disturbed mess. You wouldn't you know. I mean you wouldn't know which way you're thinking. Oh, it hates to be trying to live, live the moment. As a parent with children, you know, live by the moment, I guess it's better word to say it's possible. But then, like we've been talking about it, just it would change who you are, change everything very dramatically. Trying to live by that, that moment, yeah absolutely so.

Speaker 2: 21:30

You know it's much similar changing. Do you think it's made you having kids has made you a better person, or do you think, like it's just made you a different person? Patience.

Speaker 3: 21:41

It's giving me patience a little bit. I'm still short at times, but I Say I'm a lot more approachable would be if I'm pissed off. Nowadays I was, you know me, as as before someone was to do something or irritate me, I had no problem being very vocal Over it or showing how I feel. Nowadays I still am. But I kind of have a little bit more thought about About how I respond. I probably wouldn't respond the same way as I used to. That's, that's the best way put it. Don't, don't ask my wife that she'll tell you no, that's, that's not the case. Yeah, especially when we're driving. I don't know about you. How many times are you driving along? It's like you know, if I don't have children and everyone else around me, this would be a different response right now.

Speaker 2: 22:27

Yeah, I'm quiet because I'm just thinking about all of the all of the times it's. It's usually worse when it's just my wife in the car yes, because she'll yell at me just a lot. But if the kids are in the backseat, you know, I Don't want to get into a road rage thing and possibly endanger them Not that I want to endanger my wife. But you know what I'm trying to say. Yeah, yeah, yeah but I also don't want them starting to mimic the what, the you know, to the next.

Speaker 2: 22:54

I don't want them to be doing that, yeah. So yeah, you know I swear I'm probably more than I should. I don't know how my brain has an exploded from like holding all that in. When I'm around my kids, I try not to swear too much.

Speaker 3: 23:07

Yeah, I think. I think the one that my son pulled out and this is kind of what changed me a little bit to think about what I was saying when I was driving, as probably half the age that he is now, you know, coming into, coming into early primary school would have been and I'll be driving along the highway and just people merge but they don't, they don't use an indicator or anything like that. The next thing you know they're just merging right in front of you into a small gap in front of you. So I got into a habit of saying just come right in fuck with it. Well, he picked that up. Did he realize that was that's the okay, someone's pulling in front of dad just randomly? One day he said that in the car I can't, I can't say that all the time.

Speaker 1: 23:44

I can't do that anymore, you know as.

Speaker 3: 23:47

I said well, I like to tell my children nowadays you can, somehow it still works. None of my children swear. I know my son tries to put it around. My wife picks up on the son doing it. None of the girls do. But you can't swear until you have a full-time job. That's fair.

Speaker 2: 24:00

That's my old friend. Doesn't swear Like he. For him, a big swear word is like saying sucks.

Speaker 1: 24:06

And I remember the first time that he said it.

Speaker 2: 24:08

like you know, he said sucks and then he stopped everything he was doing. He's kind of looking at me aside. He's like see what my reaction was.

Speaker 3: 24:15

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 24:18

Like I'm, I'm, I'm trying not to laugh, first of all, and then I'm like wait, do I say something? Or just ignore it and let him, so he knows it's okay to say so, I just ignored it. So then he's like next time he's like sucks. He's like look at me again and see what's happening. But my younger son, he's, he's, he's autistic and he's it's so weird cause he's such a sweet, loving kid. Every now and then he goes like what the shit is that? And we're like what he's like, what you guys say it, we're like fair enough, but you know it's, it's, it's different if they, if like he was like dad, what is this shit? You're serving me for dinner, yeah, you know what I mean. Or mom, the context.

Speaker 3: 24:57

The context that is used in it is completely.

Speaker 2: 24:59

Context matters.

Speaker 3: 25:00

Yeah, right the time or my brother's or brother's a shithead.

Speaker 2: 25:03

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don't say that.

Speaker 3: 25:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I find that it's like the context that you use. It's okay, I guess, but that's it. None of my kids really said that I'm swear, besides my son, which that's a new thing. It seems to be like an online gaming rage cooler Judy or he doesn't play cooler Judy, but it's like he's got that cooler Judy rage type thing when he's playing Fortnite and stuff is he's sounding very toxic actually.

Speaker 2: 25:27

Really. Yeah, so you could write in with the Call of Duty community or the Fortnite community. And if you guys are listening to this play of those and you're upset by what I'm saying, then you're not being honest with yourselves.

Speaker 3: 25:38

Yeah, exactly Like you know. That's why I said she walks past his past, his door, and he's gaming and you're f this, f that, f you, and I'm like really, she's like, yeah, then when I go past, you know it's like he can hear my presence and just like, hello Father, I'm just praying he's repenting, but yeah, he's that, but that's on me, though, like I don't know where that's come from.

Speaker 2: 26:01

Yeah, yeah. If they did start to do that, I would say the same thing, because you know, on stream stuff I've been like that quite often. They don't ever see that side of me, ever. I don't even pretend to show it or even like glimpse at it, so like I don't know where they would get it if they start to do that.

Speaker 3: 26:21

Yeah, that's my thing. I don't know where I blame the wife. I blame YouTube. I would blame the wife. I blame YouTube for that one, actually, that's that, that's. I'll blame the YouTube, because he's probably seen it on YouTube.

Speaker 2: 26:31

By the way, did I tell you that my son asked me the day. He's like hey dad, what's the name of your YouTube channel? And I'm like I forgot. He's like what do you mean? I forgot, leave it. How do you?

Speaker 3: 26:41

how do you spell it? Do you smell? I forgot, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:44

How do?

Speaker 3: 26:45

you spell? I forgot. Oh really, no. Um, I've shown my daughter a couple of these shorts that we've pulled out of episodes, usually the round, the oldest one just because she's going to yeah, fuck on. So anything that they talked about her and it's end up. You know Opus has pulled a clip on them randomly, like look at this, just to see her reaction. She's figure out of things. It's cool. To be honest, I think yeah, that's cool. The other ones would probably not so much there, in that they're in that age of being shit.

Speaker 2: 27:15

The best way to put it. Yeah, it's I. I've heard that it stops when they're like 30. I don't know. I never stopped.

Speaker 3: 27:23

It turns on and off Like more wife brought this up. You know, seeing the children change as they grow up and, like we've been talking about this whole episode, you change kind of in a way to to where you need to be for them. At the same time, yeah, the type of person you are, how you handle that situation, is constantly changing because the same you know, the techniques that you have when you're five, they don't work. When they're becoming preteen, they don't work when they're in the middle of the teens either. From there to there it is, it is constantly shifting. And you know, she like the youngest I'm not the youngest, so the oldest we were comparing her teenage, her teenage style, to the 11 year old at the moment. The oldest was very argumentative and wanted to fight you Most of the time like quick to snap and go rage. Well, I'm kind of saying I prefer that because I kind of knew where we sat. And this 11 year old she's just got a more mugness, cockiness to how she talks.

Speaker 2: 28:24

Well, it just I wonder where she picked that up from Beauty, Her mother.

Speaker 3: 28:28

Okay, but then you know she's. I don't like this child. To be honest, I said that to her. I don't really want this child at the moment, you know and that's okay.

Speaker 2: 28:37

That's okay. It's okay to say that I don't always, but I don't spoiler. I don't always like my kids, but I will always love my kids. Yes.

Speaker 3: 28:46

And that's yeah, I just I don't know what else to say about that. It's just, sometimes it's okay to say I don't like my child where they are, because they're going to change again. You're going to change, they're going to change it. One of the things that's going to change. Either your outlook on the situation is going to change and then you go cool, I don't mind, or they're going to change. Yeah, I mean, if it's long term, then probably go seek some you know proper advice and speak to speak to some counselors about that. But at times you're okay to to not like where things are. As a person. You can. You can change your outlook on that.

Speaker 2: 29:15

Absolutely, absolutely. A lot can change, and if you're listening to this now and you want to let us know how you think you've changed as a parent, as a father, from when pre-kids to now, we'd love to hear it from. Hear that from you, yeah.

Speaker 3: 29:30

Drop it on Twitter.

Speaker 2: 29:31

Um you drop it on Twitter, that's the best way to communicate?

Speaker 2: 29:34

I think it is. These episodes get pushed everywhere. One of the easy, one of the one of the really good ways to comment on a specific episode is these get uploaded in full to YouTube, which has a really great commenting system, so you can always go to YouTube as well, yeah, and and and leave comments under there, leave show ideas under there. If you want to be on an episode and you can't reach us any other way, there's plenty of ways you can do it on YouTube. But, yeah, so let us know. We'd love to hear from from people that like the show, listen to the show and I will say next week we're going to be talking to Dan Daniel about his styles. If you don't get an image, you'll find out next week, but just go on tick, tock and look them up.

Speaker 1: 30:09

You've been listening to dad mode, Dad mode. Our passion is navigating this wild journey of parenthood and modern life, from balancing family time to managing your career and still squeezing in some gaming and content creation. And no matter what the women say, they will never be able to pry the controller out of our cold dead hands. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the show. If you did find us on Twitter, TikTok and YouTube at dad mode podcast and we can be found on every podcast site at dad mode podcast. Y'all be cool. See you next time.