Hodgman's essays on being a parent

The first article by Hodgman on parenthood and children was published in The Believer in 2003 and is called "Hodgmina is coming soon". You may read it here. A small part in the middle looks like this:

When I say that Hodgmina is brilliant, and when I tell people about her guest sermon last Sunday at St. John the Divine, and her surprising skills at badminton, people want to know: Is she a child prodigy? I reply: I hope not. There is too much pressure put on children. They should have time to explore and enjoy the world as a child, and not be forced into the highly competitive badminton circuit. Unless the child really wants that, and has signaled as much by crying or burping.

If some of the essay is familiar, it may be that you have read an altered version of it in Hodgman's first book (not actually all about Hodgmina).

The second essay has more of that blend of humor and seriousness Hodgman used in his TED Talk. This essat was published in Psychology Today in 2007 under the title "Apologia to My Second Child". You may read it there. (It may also be found in the collection of essays, Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo.) It is about being an only child and other things. In case you were curious, Hodgman's second child wound up being named "Hodgmanillo".

Happy Father's Day!