A Dozen Question with Dad – Scott Armstrong
This new edition of A Dozen Questions with Dad features Scott Armstrong. My cousin, a dad of 2 kids who are (to this point) the oldest of the children in the series, and a dude that I have a lot of admiration and love for.
Scott is a few years older than I am, and he lived down the street from our Gran and Gramp when we were growing up, so I got to see him a bunch when I was little. I’m SURE that there were times when I was the annoying little kid that wouldn’t leave him alone (even more annoying than his own younger brother) – but my only memories are of him being good to me.
Scott was my first favourite drummer and he gave me my first (only) pair of drum sticks when I was a kid and I thought he was the coolest. I also remember when he went away to University and how big that was because he was the first I knew to do that. And then, later, he went and did PR at Humber and then I went and did (part of) PR at Humber.
I don’t know if Scott knows how influential and steadying he has been in my life to be able to look at for inspiration or an idea of someone who looks and feels like they’ve got it going on in the right way. He’s a good guy.
Scott’s kids (the girl, 17 & the boy, 14) are active and athletic and (by all family accounts) well behaved and kind. If I had to make bets, I’d say these two will end up as solid grownups.
Thank you to Scott for being a good role model for me over the years – and for answering these questions. And if you are looking for a seasoned, professional, experienced PR and Communications, Scott is going to be a free agent and available this fall. Click Here for the Linkedin details for my guy.
A Dozen Questions with Dad – Scott Armstrong
1. What is your favourite curse word alternative to use around the kids?
Dang.
2. What is your favourite thing to watch with your kids? (TV, movies, YouTube, etc.)
Brooklyn 99 and Umbrella Academy right now. Any Star Wars movie is a go-to for me and the boy.
https://youtu.be/Me0eoCwLj-A
3. Which kids program from your childhood do you wish was in HD and still relevant now for your kids?
Not sure about relevance, but Knight Rider would likely bore them out of their minds while entertaining me. We watched an episode of Cheers last week and the eye-rolling was deafening.
4. Which fictional dad (TV, movies, books, comics, etc.) do you like to think you most resemble or would you want to resemble as a dad?
Phil Dunphy from Modern Family sprang to mind immediately. Always the best intentions, stellar dad jokes, trying to come up with great ideas – he’s got it all. “When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. Life will be all like, ‘what?!’”
5. What is the one toy your kids love that you wish would go missing? (past or present)
There was a creepy easter bunny around here for a while that sounded pretty demonic. Even creepier as the batteries died. They were never replaced.
6. Which of your hobbies/interests have you or do you hope to pass on to your kids?
Love of music. I play drums and once in a while pretend I know some chords on guitar. More importantly, even if you don’t play, just learn to enjoy any type of music that makes you smile or cry. Or both.
7. Do you have a go-to meal for daddy cooks or solo daddy dinner night?
Pasta with veggies and sauce. Or the classic breakfast-for-dinner combo of French toast and bacon.
8. Do you feel like you were sufficiently warned about how many times you’d get hit in the nuts as a dad?
Absolutely not. No longer an impending danger given their ages, but when the kids were younger there were a few years where it felt regular enough that it seemed stage-directed.
9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how close is your experience as a dad to what you thought it would be before you were a dad?
7. I’m lucky to be close with my parents, and my dad has always had a great way of giving advice and warnings that is (usually) subtle and always encouraging. Likewise, my father-in-law was very open with me about his philosophies around parenting. Both of them showed me the way to support your kids while not smothering them.
10. What is the most challenging thing about being a dad for you? (ie. discipline, organization, leaving to go to work, helping with school work, explaining the world. etc.)
When they were younger it was explaining the world that always tripped me up. In my previous job at Toronto Pearson I was involved in a lot of emergency situations and a lot of emergency planning. I always found it strange to try and explain that part of my job to the kids when they were little – definitely want them to understand the world, but didn’t want them to be paranoid.
11. Can you share a proud dad moment or memory with us?
Graduations, confirmations, milestones like that will always be there. One for each kid though – the boy had a classmate with a learning challenge so the classmate got extra time for quizzes. My guy brought it up at dinner one night and I didn’t know where the conversation would go. But he threw down this bit of wisdom – “pretty cool that he gets extra time if he needs it.” Case closed.
For the girl, it’s her empathy. She can tell when someone needs a call or a text or a hug. And she can read me like an open book.
12. What significant yet simple piece of advice would you give to other dads or dads-to-be?
Show up. Go to every game, every play, every tournament, and every swim lesson that you possibly can. They notice. And then one day they’ll remember to do the same for their people.
Thank again to Scott.
