Q & A With Monsters Dads
Apr 13, 2020As the world adjusts to a new normal with stay-at-home orders in place in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, many parents find themselves taking on additional daily responsibilities with schools and childcare facilities closed. The situation is no different for several Cleveland Monsters players and coaches whose focus quickly changed from hockey games to being at home full time.
Goaltender Brad Thiessen and Assistant Coach Trent Vogelhuber are just two of the dads on the team that transitioned into “offseason parent mode” ahead of schedule. Thiessen joined his wife Ashlee in teaching and keeping their three kids, Nash (5) Brody (3) and Aubree (1), entertained, while Vogelhuber and his wife Kathleen have been taking advantage of their time at home with their young son Hagan (20 months).
How have you and your family been dealing with these changes?
Thiessen: I think at first it was definitely an adjustment to go from being fully involved in the middle of the season to completely shut down and home all the time. That, coupled with the fact that we could not go anywhere, made for a couple of days where we were not all on the same page as a family. We needed to figure out how things were going to work and found we work best on a routine… The days that are the hardest and you are staring at the clock waiting are the ones where we do not really have a plan.
Vogelhuber: Every year our family adjusts from not having me home all that often to me being there all the time, so this is not that unusual for us although this year it is to the extreme. I am loving the extra time at home, especially being able to spend time with Hagan.
What do your daily schedules look like?
Thiessen: The kids are up at 7:15 a.m. with my wife and I taking turns every other day so one sleeps in while the other grabs the kids, and we have some extra sleep to look forward to. We tend to spend a decent amount of time in the basement whether it is playing mini sticks, practicing golf, shooting hoops, having races or whatever it may be that day that the kids are into. We try to get outside at least once a day, and the kids will ride their bikes, power wheels truck or Nash will put on his rollerblades. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. it is quiet time in the house, so whether it is a nap, reading books or playing legos, that is a time for myself and Ashlee to relax and get anything done with the kids out of the way or try and accomplish something productive. I'm trying to read some books, not always easy but the last one I read is "The No Complaining Rule," by Jon Gordon. After quiet time we try and get outside again, make some dinner and wind down in the evening. We have had a couple of popcorn movie nights but 8 p.m. is shut down and time for wine!
Vogelhuber: We start every day by waking up and eating breakfast as a family, and then we go on a walk around our neighborhood with our dog which has been my favorite part. My wife and I will try to work out when Hagan naps in the afternoon, otherwise we take turns watching him so we can get some kind of exercise in which is pretty much our only down time, but it keeps us sane!
Do you have any suggestions on how to balance watching younger kids while working from home?
Thiessen: The only advice I have for parents trying to multitask is good luck! Our children are fairly young, so the times that they are entertaining themselves without being in front of a screen are both amazing and few and far between. I think it is important to give your whole attention to the kids when you are with them because if you are trying to accomplish something and entertain them, both things are only getting half of you which does not work.
Vogelhuber: We have two parents and only one kid, so it is probably simpler than a lot of situations. My wife works part time from home, so I play with our son for a couple hours in the afternoon and she takes over when I have any home projects or errands to run.
Are you doing any type of teaching projects with the kids?
Thiessen: Our oldest son Nash is in Pre-K three days a week, so his teacher has sent us some things we should be working on like his writing, coloring, and different topics they would have been covering in school. Nash has made a toothpick house with marshmallows and worked on his letters in shaving cream. This gives you more appreciation for teachers. The patience that they have, especially with a room full of five-year-old kids, is amazing!
Vogelhuber: He is not in school yet, but we ordered some flash cards to learn new words and books to help potty train him while were home. My wife was a teacher for six years before we had Hagan, so she is a professional!
What are some outdoor activities or crafts you are doing with the kids? Any special moments?
Thiessen: We have ventured out into a couple of the metro parks with the boys on their bikes while mom and dad on the rollerblades pushing the stroller with Aubree - all while practicing proper social distancing from others of course! One of the fun things we did was bring a picnic basket for lunch one day and set up the blanket in the back of the pickup truck- the kids had a blast with that. The attention span for crafts and baking at this age is not super long, but we have made some chocolate chip cookies, homemade ice cream and the kids made me a Monsters hockey cake for my birthday! The neighborhood also took part in a fun "chalk walk" where everyone went out and drew on their driveways with chalk, and then you could walk around and see what everyone drew which was fun.
Vogelhuber: Hagan is still in the scribbling stage, but he will draw with crayons or chalk outside usually every day. My son is obsessed with hockey so on rainy days we play hours of mini sticks which keeps him happy and tires him out. We have been cooking a ton and are constantly googling new recipes to try. The quarantine has given us a good opportunity to spend a little more time preparing and cooking dinner with both of us home all day which has been great. My wife has also been baking more which I am loving.
What are you watching with the kids?
Thiessen: Most watched shows for the kids are Sesame Street, Bubble Guppies, Puppy Dog Pals, and the Cars movies which have all been viewed multiple times, but we cannot seem to get away from them!
Vogelhuber: Along with the music videos on YouTube for him to dance to, we watch educational YouTube clips for him whether they are rhymes or songs. His favorite thing to watch is hockey so we will pull up different highlights or hockey montages as well.
Brad – Since your kids are a little older, how do you explain the situation surrounding COVID-19 to them?
Thiessen: It is not easy to explain to the kids what is going on and why they cannot play with their friends, or why family who were supposed to come and visit have not come. We explain that there are nasty germs right now and we have to make sure we stay safe, wash our hands and keep a safe distance from other people until the germs go away. The boys pray every night for the virus to go away!