Your husband may not have the abs of Matthew McConaughey or the athleticism of David Beckham, but if your man is a great dad to your children you forget about all those silly things (and if he also has 6-pack abs — kudos to you!) In this excerpt from SheKnows.com presents: The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (that no one else will tell you!) author Jen Klein explains why good parenting is sexy.
Imagine your romantic ideal. Go ahead, try it.
Imagine what that person looks like; imagine a person so physically attractive you almost swoon, someone oozing sex appeal, whatever it means to you. Now think about the parents you see around you
in your community. The mom who clearly is having a blast on the swings with her son or the dad who is tickling his daughter’s belly and they are both laughing so hard there are tears in their
eyes.
Another dad holding his son as the boy cries over a skinned knee and mom snuggling up to her daughter reading a favorite book. These parents may be physically attractive in very traditional ways,
or they may not be. Did you even notice? Does it matter what they look like?
It’s What’s on the Inside
What is really attractive about these parents is their parenting. Their attentive and engaged parenting is what makes them beautiful, the way they unashamedly give themselves to their children. It
even makes them sexy.
Yes, good parenting is sexy. It really and truly is. Give me a balding, slightly overweight good dad over a magazine-cover misogynist any day of the week. Better yet, give me my own husband—
a truly great dad.
SheKnows SECRET: Becoming a parent alters all your relationships, especially the one you
have with your partner.
Becoming a parent is, of course, life altering. It alters not only you, but your relationships as well—every last one of them. Navigating your romantic relationship amid your new title as
parents can be tricky. The attention you and your partner gave each other before and during pregnancy and even right through delivery was intense and focused on each other, even as you planned for
and experienced the arrival of your baby. But the moment that baby is born there is something between you, even more literally than when your belly was growing, and definitely figuratively. It
links you forever, yet if you are not careful and attentive to the foundation of your romantic relationship, the stress can tear your relationship apart. You can talk Mars and Venus all you
want—here on Earth, a new baby is your own personal earthquake.
Who Comes First?
At a wedding rehearsal once, the wise pastor leading the ceremony spoke of loyalties. He said that until the marriage vow is made, one’s loyalties are with one’s parents. But the moment
the marriage vows are made, the loyalties are to the spouse first and to the children of that union second.
“What I love most about my husband as a dad is that he jumps right into parenting, never complains if he is tired or the kids are whining, uses humor to diffuse situations, and is a truly
great role model. It is so great at the end of a long day and I am ready to hide under the covers to have his personality infused into our family dynamic!” —Kellie B.
For years, I thought about those remarks in terms of spousal and in-law relationships, which is all good and well. But as soon as I had a child of my own, I wondered how to achieve that goal of
spouse loyalty first when we had a helpless creature totally dependent on me. Didn’t I need to put this baby first, at least for a while?
It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to prioritize a healthy and capable adult above a vulnerable, helpless infant. So don’t. That’s where the difference between loyalties and
priorities comes in.
Loyalties Versus Priorities
Loyalty is faithfulness, constancy, devotion. Loyalty is more a sentiment. Sometimes it’s an action, too, but it’s an emotional feeling of commitment to your partner and the family you
are building together. Priority is almost all action, however. It’s doing what needs to be done in the order in which it needs to be done.
“The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other.” —Jan Blaustone
You can be completely loyal to your partner while putting your baby first in the physical priority line much of the time. In fact, you are being loyal to your partner when you do so. By being an
attentive and responsive mother, you are showing your commitment to the family you and your partner have chosen to build. Likewise, your partner shows that same loyalty when he shows his
understanding of priorities, whether it be doing something directly for the baby or supporting you in what you need to do for the baby.
And the baby? The baby isn’t asking anyone to choose between this or that or him or her; the baby is just hungry.
The Mommy Files will hit bookstore shelves nationwide in spring 2010. Don’t miss out!Reserve yours by pre-ordering today or contact SheKnows for more information.
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