Dear Mr. Dad: This may sound a little stupid, but I’m not sure how to be a more involved dad. I work a lot and my wife is a stay-at-home mom. She seems to have everything under control all the time, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a role for me. What can...Continue reading
Category: Family
Bedwetting 8-Year Old — When is Enough Enough?
Dear Mr. Dad: My 8-year old still wets her bed at night. She’s really embarrassed about it and doesn’t want to have sleepovers, either at our home or—especially—anywhere else. She’s really stressed about it, which I imagine is just making the problem worse. How common is it for an 8-year old to be wetting her...Continue reading
That’s It: Only 173 “Last Warnings” Left…
Dear Mr. Dad: My husband and I have always tried to emphasize good study habits to our 13-year old daughter. But no matter what we say or how many times we say it, she goes into her room, closes the door, and plays on her phone or texts her friends instead of doing her homework....Continue reading
She Wants Another Baby, but He Doesn’t
Dear Mr. Dad. We have an almost two-year old who keeps us pretty busy. Recently, though, my wife has been talking about having a second child. I’m honestly not that thrilled about the idea. We barely have enough time to take care of ourselves and our baby. How are we supposed to add a fourth...Continue reading
Birth Defects, Fertility and Fatherhood
Ever wonder about the future fertility of children born with birth defects? As a urologist, I’ve treated hundreds of boys with two common birth defects: undescended testicles and hypospadias. Throughout my career, it’s been hard to address the question of a boy’s future fertility with these conditions. Until now. Missing in Action Birth defects occur in 3% of U.S. newborns....Continue reading
Overcoming Prejudice and Encouraging Diversity
Dear Mr. Dad: My daughter is in 7th grade has been coming home with stories about her classmates using the most bigoted and hateful language about other students and other people in general. Peer pressure is a big thing in middle school and we’re afraid that she’s going to pick up some of these attitudes. What...Continue reading
Male Caregivers Need More Support
It’s an interesting time to be a man in America. While the progressive and evolving tone of gender equity has focused on women’s rights and empowerment in recent years, lost among the headlines about the #MeToo Movement, women’s equity and rights are the realities facing men in this country who are increasingly taking on more...Continue reading
Which is Cheaper: Vasectomy Reversal or IVF?
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Spoiled for choice. How do you decide which path to take to have children after a vasectomy? Do you do a vasectomy reversal or undergo a sperm retrieval and assisted reproduction (IVF-ICSI). Stuck between a pillow and a soft place now becomes a pillow and a laboratory. Analysis...Continue reading
Should You Get a Flu Shot If You’re Trying to Conceive?
It’s flu season. And you’re trying to conceive or maybe you’re pregnant. Should you get a flu shot? For those of you who never get the flu, here is the modern definition: A terrible sickness where you feel like you shouldn’t be able to walk, but somehow you can. For about a week, everything is...Continue reading
What Makes Male Poverty Unique
Derrick, a 28-year-old Richmond, Ca., man with an associate’s degree, loves his job doing after-school mentoring, tutoring, and coaching sports with elementary students in west Oakland, but with only 21 hours at work each week at $12.50 per hour, he struggles to pay his $1,400 rent and take care of his 1-year-old daughter. “I like...