I went on an episode of Good Morning America’s Strahan and Sara episode where two other guys along with Michael Strahan and Jim Gaffigan shared our “dad fails.” They allowed us little time to share and interact with one another. After you watch the video, read the whole story.
The Tale of the Tooth Taker
When my oldest son was little, one day out of the blue, he didn’t want to brush his teeth. He must have caught me on a bad day, because I was frustrated more than normal. Most likely, I wanted him to go to bed so I could watch something on TV that he couldn’t watch. After many attempts of rubbing a toothbrush against his lips, I informed him there was this character called, “The Tooth Taker” who collects dirty teeth. My son’s eyes widened and so did his mouth. I brushed his teeth with the remorseful sense that this story was not merely going to haunt me, but would also haunt my child. But it worked. It worked so successfully, I’ve continued to apply the Tooth Taker story to make sure my other 3 kids have clean teeth. It may have generated a few nightmares over the years, but my kids always have excellent dental visits. Well, most of the time.
As Jim Gaffigan said during the segment, “fear is good.” Not for every situation, but compared with cavities, I think fear helps solve the dilemma.
The experience on Good Morning America was fun and I’m glad us dads could share our fails as fathers. I’d say Strahan’s story was more of a moral failure than a parenting fail, but the others, we’ve been there.
Do you have a dad fail or a mom fail? If so, what was it?
That was so funny!