Dear Husband, I’m Tired of Being the “Bad Cop”

Dear Husband,

You’re a fantastical father in a million-billion ways. You’re fun, exciting, entertaining, and hilarious – all qualities our kids (and I) have come to know and love about you. But when it comes to being the “bad cop” in parenting, I sense that you miss the kids too much to want to get your hands dirty.

It’s not uncommon for parents to fall into “good cop/bad cop” roles, but as the designated bad cop, I have to say my role pretty much blows.

Kids require an annoying amount of discipline, obnoxious amount of scheduling, and ridiculous amount of attention, but that’s parenting. While parenting is filled with joy, it’s more often filled with really hard work carefully administered by the bad cop. Someone has to keep the schedule, someone has to maintain order, someone has to ensure the children survive – that someone is the bad cop…[read more]