Parental Tag-Team: Scheduling Personal Time When You Have a Toddler

Parental tag team is necessary when adults need to get away and handle responsibilities. Scheduling personal time when you have a toddler requires teamwork between Mom and Dad as well as whomever else you’re lucky enough to rely on. Take today, when Sonyo had a freelance meeting with a producer. This meant a long drive to Hollywood at around mid-day.

Parental tag-team means Stepping Up to Help Your
Partner

After we all ate breakfast, I watched Ariabella to allow Sonyo the time she needed not only for the
commute and meeting but also for editing today’s video. And while I performed my part of this parental tag-team, I was able to get an hour- and 10-minute workout in at the YMCA, while Ariabella played at the daycare. Of course she pulled her usual crying routine when I dropped her off, making me feel like a horrible father, but when I returned to pick her up she was busy playing and even hugging on one of the male workers. What a flirt!

Ariabella Loves to Sleep in the Car

We left the YMCA and stopped at Target to purchase a new umbrella—with our unusual storms of late here in Southern California they were all out. Not more than 5 minutes after driving away from the store, Ariabella fell asleep in her car seat. By then the rain had stopped and I could see blue skies out over the ocean. We drove around Palos Verdes for a good hour to make sure she got a good nap.

Ariabella woke up right on cue as we returned home. I changed her diaper, fed her some yogurt, and we took the dogs for a walk. Not long after we got back, Sonyo walked in the front door. Perfect timing!

Parental Tag-Team Can Benefit All

The wife had a promising meeting, I got my workout done for the day, Ariabella played and took a nap. I even got a load of dishes washed as I wrote this article. That’s a pretty successful day when you have a toddler.

Ryan Gray

Chief Content Officer at STN Media

An award-winning, professionally and academically trained content producer. I'm reporter and editor of news, business, sports, and entertainment and manager of the entire production process for print, online and multimedia/interactive. I drive our brands and those of our clients via storytelling and audience engagement. I also direct curriculum development for related conferences and provide quality assurance on all projects and facilitate teamwork throughout the company and convert traffic and readership into dollars.

Specialties: News/feature reporting, editorial direction, editorial production management, video direction, multimedia, blogging, content marketing strategy, social media, editing/proofreading, page layout, HTML, public relations, photography/videography