As a parent, there are always a few things you do that you are not exactly proud of. We have all done them. We will keep doing them. Why? Because our brains can only take so much.

Now, I am not talking major and scandalous actions. No, I am referring to all those tiny moments we share with our children that we would prefer that nobody ever knows.

It sure is handy when the little ones can’t talk yet.

This month, I want to bust open those moments, as I know I am not alone. Maybe more moms and dads will feel better about themselves after reading this.

Here are just a few of this dad’s dirty little secrets.

1. Pretending to be sleeping when your kid comes in the room at 4am. Yes, I have done it. The boy comes in to our room in the middle of the night and I have pretended to be sleeping until my wife takes care of it. This also happened for both boys when they were babies.

2. Saying you changed a diaper when you really didn’t. Come on, who hasn’t done that? It’s not like it was in major need of changing, I just wanted a break. This would happen every now and then after a nap or before heading outside. You know it should be done, but you are just so tired, you just hold out for the next change.

3. Even though you know your baby pooped, you wait until someone else enters the room to say it out loud and you say, oh it must have just happened. Yep, done that.

 

4. Instead of making a meal that is healthy and full of nutrients, you give your kids a mixture of snacks and call it dinner. Again, this would be blamed on lack of sleep or just overall fatigue of the brain. Hey, I did not hear any complaints.

5. You get home from somewhere in the car and you realize you did not buckle your kids into their chairs. This has happened a few times. At least now our oldest does verbally remind me.

Shocked? Ready to tell my wife? Well, she reads this blog, so she already knows. Sorry honey.

Do I feel bad? A little. But these little blips are not that big a deal when the other 95% of the time, I am doing my best to be the best dad I can be. What’s 5% right?

So, what is one little secret you would like to share about your parenting? Come on, it feels good to share.

 

Michael is a marketing manager by day, who has been at the blogging thing for almost a decade. Father of two, husband to one and griller to the Gods. Read more about his parental adventures, including his current stint on parental leave on his blog, Like A Dad.