When I was looking into residency options for pediatrics I never intended to actually move a plane ride away from my family. However, when those match cards came in I found myself staring at a name I had almost forgot I had placed at the top. Nebraska. Moving to the middle of the country from my hometown of West Virginia was a shock at first. Yet overtime it began to feel like home, and eventually when we had kids we decided to stick around. Now I love where I li...

This past month an article was released by the Brookings Institution (and thus several news agencies) focusing on the cost to raise a child in 2020. They estimated that by the time that child finished high school at 17 years or age, you will have spent over 300000 dollars on them. That's a lot of money!However, the topic of money and how much you spend on your kids is not as simple as this estimate suggests. This estimate would have you spending about 18000 a year on them.&n...

The topic of "love" is one that is frequently discussed but never fully agreed upon. When our kids looks to us and ask us, "What is love, daddy?" I should have a quick easy answer for them to understand, right? Sadly, love is not so easily explained, let alone understood, by most of us. In the last few weeks I had a patient ask me this specific question. The topic had never been brought up at home, and he was concerned he did not KNOW how to LOVE. Not exactly a m...

Today's episode is an interview with Dr Ryan Stegink. Dr. Ryan Stegink majored in physics before going to medical school, ultimately specializing in general pediatrics. Previously bringing many charts home and going through burnout less than a year out of training, he now leaves work at work, so he can be more present at home as a husband and father. Not content to keep this transformation to himself, Dr. Stegink has started a podcast and now group coaching program to help physicians wi...

Have you ever talked to your kids about "wants" versus "needs"?How do you approach every day purchases versus luxury purchases when discussing them with your kids?Does your kid spend all their allowance money on rocks? (yes, one of our might just do that)In this week's episode of the Imperfect Dad MD podcast I focus on the topic of saving versus spending and RECOGNIZING what your kids do. It is interesting to watch our kids and how they utilize currency, be it money they gained fr...

I recently released a Reel on Instagram of our two boys sword fighting. It was under the premise that I usually discourage our boys from fighting, yet I encouraged them to fight with swords and targets on their bodies. As I watched the videos back, I very easily recognized the difference in fighting styles between the older and younger son. One was more reserved and calculating, while the other simply berserked his attacks with no interest in hitting the target. Correl...

I didn't want to record this episode. I had a completely different episode planned for this week. However, we are now 1-2 weeks out from school starting for our kids and this thing we call Monkey Pox is becoming a hot topic. How Hot, you may ask? The WHO (World Health Organization) has just deemed to to be a Global Health Emergency. They don't use those words lightly. Here in the United States we are starting to see more and more cases of this spreading.&nb...

In the medical community the term "Imposter Syndrome" has become very popular. The concept began back in the 1970s by Drs. Clance and Imes. They met with many high accomplished academics, admins, and students who felt their accomplishments were not their own and were, in a lack of a better term, frauds. This idea of being an imposter as grown exponentially in the physician community. In fact, some studies show the rate of physician imposter syndrome to be close to 60%.&...

When was the last family vacation you took? Was it memorable? Enjoyable? Full of stress and frustration?Many of us as parents recognize that family vacations are not always truly "vacations." Sometimes stressing over travel, food choices, sleep schedules, tantrums, or simply picking what to do when we get to our destination can lead to less-than-desirable memories. Last month my family and I traveled to North Carolina to spend a week at the beach with my parents,...

We are BACK!Last month I decided to take time away from the podcast and focus more on myself and my family. As the month of June is designated as Men's Health Month, I felt it was poignant to give more attention to my physical and mental health when it comes to being a father, husband, and physician.But now I am back in the podcast chair and ready to roll. A lot happened in the month of June and I am excited to share it all with you! I feel the best way to first summarize th...

Today is June 1st, meaning it is the beginning of Men's Health Month! This month is dedicated to men focusing on their health in various aspects, including diet, exercise, medical health, and mental health. Throughout the 123 episodes of this show, I feel those topics have been touched on rather frequently. Early on I spoke with Dr Jonar de Guzman in Episode 10 on Lifestyle Medicine and how that affects physician dads. I spent last July focusing solely on the book Blue...

I have spoked several times on the topic of defining what success means to you, and what does it mean for your child to be successful. We all have different definitions of success and how we interpret it. Recently I saw an article posted on Facebook in regards to setting up your child for Entrepreneur Success. Although we probably all want to see our children become business savvy adults, I felt like the article touched on several topics that can simply set up our children t...

This week's Wednesday episode focused on the topic of anxiety and depression in our adolescents and the WHY to how it all started. One of the more important topics involving mental health is how Lifestyle can both positively and negatively affect mental health. What is Lifestyle? I am talking about sleep, diet, water intake, exercise, substance use - these key topics can significantly affect your child's ability to deal with mental health conditions.Listen in as I discuss the...

It is no secret that adolescent mental health conditions have become a major talking point since the pandemic began. Schools shutting down and moving to virtual learning, the loss of sports and extracurricular activities, and simple socialization halting one day in March of 2020, it is no wonder that some kids are struggling to get back to "normal."However, we can't only blame COVID. Mental health conditions like anxiety and depression usually take time to develop. Little th...

Last weekend was Mother's Day, and I HOPE you treated the mother of your children (or your OWN mother) to a wonderful weekend.In our house we typically we let mom sleep in, I cook crepes with nutella, I get the kids ready for the day, we go to church, do brunch, and then mom gets to do whatever she wants the rest of the day while I take care of the kids. Cards are made, little gifts are provided, and I hope we do enough to show my wife that she is appreciated.After doing all of these th...

One of the more common questions Pediatricians get asked by parents nowadays is, "What is a good age to buy my kid a smart phone?"I am kidding, actually. Most kids have the phone already in hand before the question even gets asked. Today our kids are being raised in a technologically diverse world that we could only dream of 30 years ago. With that advancement comes attachment. Attachment to devices. Emails, message boards, video conferences, social media posts - ...

Apparently I am really into movie reviews lately and how they relate to parenting. Today's Friday Review is another movie review - this time with the newly released Bad Guys movie. The premise of the movie seems simple enough - the 5 quintessential bad guys in most story books (Big Bad Wolf, Shark, Tarantula, Piranha, and a Snake) are cast by society as bad guys, so they obviously act bad. They steal. They cheat. And they just don't care. Yet as the movie goes on,...

You may not look at a movie like Guardians of the Galaxy and think, "Hey, I can learn some great parenting tips from that!" However, that is just what I did this weekend with our kids.Now, some of you may think that allowing our 9 and 5 year old to watch these two movies are a bit out of their age range. In most situations I would agree with you. However, I allowed these movies to be a teaching moment for them. We discussed initially how things would be said by grown u...

On this week's Wednesday episode, I discussed how understanding the negative entities found in the Harry Potter universe can actually improve our roles as parents. This was due in parent to recently seeing the new Fantastic Beasts movie, which I really enjoyed!So like any normal person, I decided to listen to other people's opinions on the content. And boy was it NEGATIVE. Let's be honest - in the online world of YouTube and podcasts, negativity sells. No one wants to ...

This past weekend I was filled with joy as I was able to see the new Fantastic Beasts Movies in theaters with a good friend of mine. I had been waiting to see how the movie unfolded and the story continued. If you have not seen the movies, there is a certain character named Credence who develops a negative entity known is an Obscurus. This negative entity grows within him because Credence tries to hide from the world what he really is - a wizard being raised by a fanatical a...