When you hit a baseball, there is a certain spot on the bat, the sweet spot, that makes better contact with the ball, making it go farther and hitting it harder than if you were to hit the same pitch further up or down on the bat.

Right now, my wife and I are in the sweet spot of parenting. I’m not sure it will ever get easier/better than it is right now. Our kids are ages 9, 6 and 4. Our worries about them are fairly minimal. They are all in good health. They all seem to be able to make and keep friends. For the most part, they are all polite. They can carry on conversations with adults and seem to be doing well in school. They are liked by their teachers and pick up on information quickly, needing little assistance with homework. Their problems are easily solved by Band-Aids, ice cream and heart-to-heart conversations.

We are past the “dark days” of parenting. The days when no one slept through the night. The days of constantly washing cloth diapers. We no longer have to oversee every moment, every bite of food, every crawl towards the stairs, every second in the bathtub, every afternoon in the backyard.

We have yet to enter what I imagine to be the “even darker days” of teenage-land. Of sleepless nights wondering what our kids are doing with their friends, of social media drama, boyfriend and girlfriend troubles, and driving cars (eek!)

Nope, right now were smack dab right in the middle of these two worlds. I think we’ll plead blissful ignorance as to what the future holds, and just stay right here in our own little happy place for the next few years.

Happy parenting to you all!

The post The Sweet Spot appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Each year, more than 900 deserving golf caddies from across the country attend college on the Chick Evans Scholarship. Supported by the Western Golf Association, the privately funded program provides full tuition and housing scholarships to leading universities across the country, including Miami University and Ohio State University.

The requirements to earn the Evans Scholarship are straightforward: earn good grades, have a strong caddie record, demonstrate financial need and display outstanding character. And with college tuitions on the rise, the need for scholarship opportunities for hard-working, academically successful teens continues to grow.

“In 2015, the Evans Scholars Program in Ohio was very strong overall,” said Joe Desch, lead WGA Director in the state of Ohio and an Evans Scholars Alum. “Fundraising for the Program across the state, and the country for the matter, has increased significantly in recent years, allowing us to expand the number of scholarships we can offer to caddies in Ohio. This is important because we’re also seeing an increase in applications from worthy students with significant financial need.”

There are currently 60 Evans Scholars enrolled at Miami University and 82 at OSU. The Program boasts 1,206 alumni from both universities.

How can other Dayton teens start working towards earning the Evans Scholarship? George Bryant, WGA Director and Evans Scholars alum, says that golf and country clubs with caddie programs are always looking for more students who are successful in the classroom and have the drive to work hard on the course. Once a prospective caddie reaches out to their local golf club directly, the application process and orientation begins. It’s best for students to begin caddying in late middle school or early high school.

For extra guidance on becoming a caddie, the WGA offers a training video, training manual and exam under the Caddie Resources tab on its website, www.wgaesf.org.

Caddying offers more than just a summer job for young men and women in Ohio. It offers exposure to successful role models (some of the community’s most successful people, who often mentor the young caddies), lifelong connections, new friends and life lessons about humility and respect, discipline, persistence and determination that can lead to a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a full college scholarship valued at more than $80,000 over four years.

The post Scholarship program has helped hundreds of Ohioans: Is your teen next? appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Earlier this summer, my son finished his baseball season. It was the first time he’d participated in an organized sport. When the coach sent out an email asking parents how they felt about getting trophies for the kids, it took me a minute to consider. My first thought was, “A participation trophy? Isn’t that what everyone says is wrong with kids today? Win or lose everyone gets a trophy.”

They didn’t win a championship, heck, since no score was being kept, they didn’t even win a game. Did they need trophies? Of course not. Did they deserve trophies? 100% yes!

The progress these kids made throughout the season was simply amazing. My son is five. He was in the youngest age group that offered baseball, which meant not one kid on his team had played any type of organized baseball before. Many of the kids had not yet been involved in any team sport.

At the beginning of the season the kids showed about as much potential as the Chicago Cubs; they couldn’t run, catch, throw or hit. Practice looked like the monkey exhibit at the zoo. Kids were climbing the fence, throwing sand and balls where haphazardly tossed in every direction at once. Chaos. Total chaos.

Eight weeks after that first practice, on the day of their final game, everything was just the complete opposite. The kids did their warm-up stretches together as a team, they played catch with one another and actually caught the balls that were thrown to them. They understood where the positions were on the field and they knew how to make an out at first base. Over the course of the season, the kids also progressed from hitting off a tee to hitting a real pitch. After hitting the ball, they knew to run to first base.

And at the end of the game, they learned to line up and shake hands with the opposing team.

So, did they win a championship? No. Did they deserve trophies for all they accomplished? Absolutely.

For links to all my blog posts please stop by my Facebook page at Facebook.com/adadinfluence and check out my all new page on the Indy’s Child web site (formerly True Confessions of a Stay at Home Dad). 

The post Every kid gets a trophy…as it should be appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.