Well at least now you have “Diarrhea Donny” nice and catchy; small victories I know, but smile when you can.

If you have one inquisitive one like me, they literally never stop. Advice from a dad; talk to your kid about everything, from the moment they are born, what you are doing, where you are going, what you are dressing them in…etc. This is how language skills are developed, if you want those questions…talk. Also, we taught our kids baby sign language; the research is pretty compelling, look it up.

My oldest is the inquisitive one. We talk about science topics mainly, but he is starting to ask more philosophical questions. Like me he is interested in everything.

My second, loves listening to the conversations, he will then a little later come and ask interesting questions that show he was taking it all in and then thinking about what we were talking about.

My youngest isn’t really there yet, but loves to try interject questions and comments in to the flow.

I have 3 boys; or as I tell others 3 noise. Almost 5, 7 and 10.

For the nerdy metaphor…they are like like asteroids in space; when there is just two of them the orbits are stable and predictable. Add in a third, chaotic interactions are the norm, things can seem stable for periods but it is unpredictable when things will fly apart.

Being a parent is lots of fun, but often challenging. The different needs of the boys are stark, as are the differences in personality. One is extremely self driven and motivated; another is reserved, thoughtful and kind; the youngest is loud and trying to standout from the other two.

There are a million stories of cool stuff that happens and frustrations. Kids come up with cool new ideas; they are both reflections and extensions of you and what you teach them; both intentionally and unintentionally.

One story that is both horrifying and pride inducing:

My oldest had not been at school long; maybe a few months (so under 6); came home one day with a thoughtful look on his face. I said “whats up dude?”; he replies with “you only get in trouble for what you get caught for, right?”.
My dad brain; is going WTF have I created!!!; I didn’t really click to that till I was 9. I still wonder what he did to ask that question. When I asked “why?”; his response “oh no reason”.

If there is one bit of advice I would give to prospective parents:

Do not compare your kid to other kids, support their development at their pace. Just because their brother/sister/your friends kid, could do something at a specific age doesn’t say anything about your kid. Different skills develop at different rates in different people.