More Experiences as a Stay-At-Home Dad

#2: Madness is hereditary; you get it from your kids.

Frederik Verhagen
5 min readJul 19, 2022
Child and Photo by the author.

A few months ago, I wrote my experiences as a stay-at-home dad during the first two-and-a-half years of my daughter’s life. It’s time for the next chapter.

The first years started rough but saw tremendous growth in my child and me as a stay-at-home dad — a growth halted in March 2020, an unforgettable time that changed the world as we knew it.

I still remember attending a nearby Children’s Museum a few days before the news of the coronavirus hit the world. It was our first visit to this interactive, indoor playground, and I intended to visit it more often. Instead, we were self-quarantined in a world full of corona outbreaks.

My wife then worked at a fantastic company —full benefits and no hassle. When COVID-19 happened, they cut down executive salaries to try and keep everybody employed, but it delayed the inevitable, and my wife was let go.

Adding to the typical drama of losing a job, we had our internal family drama. My stepson went through relationship troubles, smoked too much marijuana, and became emotionally unstable. We were aware of his weed use, and he managed to keep it concealed and away from his little sister.

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Frederik Verhagen
Frederik Verhagen

Written by Frederik Verhagen

Stay-at-home father and dork who writes about creativity, science fiction, and little discoveries in life. 🔗 bumblebearcreations.carrd.co