Fist off I love this board. You guys rock. Ok so I'm going to be a Dad soon. My wife and I are really excited about it. Excited, scared..... you know all the normal stuff. So I wanted to ask all the dads of the board how has having a kid effected you hobby of collecting and customizing? Do your children share in your interest? I had to give up my joe room and once again the USS Flagg is back in storage. (something I really don't mind, it's definitely for a good reason) I look forward to passing my collection to my son when he is old enough to enjoy it. Just kind of wondering what some of the rest of you have been through. Also dose anyone know where I can buy Joe baby clothing. You know something that says "Future member of the Cobra Army" or something.
Thanks
JohnO
BTW any “dad like” advice is also welcomed

i know nothing of child rearing.

but congratulations.

I know plenty of the guys on here somehow manage to put aside their brawling tendencies and have managed to be quite good fathers. So I know you'll have plenty of advice coming your way.

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nothing to fear, sir.

life is all about BALANCE. having a kid isn the end of the world. its about adjusting priorties. the family always comes first, without question. in fact, some people say the kids always come first. i disagree with that statement and say the family comes first cause if the marriage falls apart in favor of the kids coming first, the kids are screwed.

anyway. if JOEs are important to you as they are all of it, youll find a way to make them fit. if theyre not that important to you, theyll fall by the wayside and something else will take its place.

overall, dont feel you have to lose your personal identity because youre having kids. thatll just lead to resentment of your family.


i think youll be fine, and youre just thinking ahead. Rememebr the key word: BALANCE.

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Congrats on the new Diaper Viper!

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"Sludge Viper" could work too.

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I cannot speak from a lot of experience as I just became a dad yesterday afternoon; but I can tell you that my fancy free spending was affected as soon as I found out we were going to have a baby. I started to pick and choose what I bought as opposed to buying two of everything. (One to play with and one to keep MOC) If I ever want to get back to those days, I will probably need to get a second job. As some on the board might remember, I became a little fatalistic as to whether I would be able to keep collecting at all. (I came close to selling my whole collection, but my Wife talked me out of it. I still might, but not before the movie comes out.)

I did get my daughter a 25th MOC Scarlett figure, that I am going to put in a clamshell, and away, for her. Also, you might want to read, or talk to her about G.I. Joe (while she is in your Wife's belly). I must have read every filecard I had to her the last few months before she was born, so I am sure that she came out knowing about all of the them. (I was real easy to read to a stomach when it is about something you enjoy.)

As for Joe baby apparel, let us know if you find any; that would be awesome. As of now, the only thing that I was able to pick up for her is a pink Tom Brady jersey!

Also, if you cry your eyes out when she is born, it is absolutely normal. (Right?)

Really I could talk all day, but the most important thing to remember is family comes first.

You will probably run into that situation at least once, and whatever you do pick family. There is a secondhand market you can get that elusive toy at later most of the time.

But the most that has an effect on me is trying to learn patence and realize "Now" isn't always a good word to use in collecting.

I don't think there is anyplace to get Joe baby clothes out there. The best you could do assuming you could find these is get iron ons and put them on yourself.

I have 2 kids myself and I wasn't sure what was going to happen in regards to my collection when they came along. Obviously the kids were more important, but my collection was something I really enjoyed that allows me to take a break from from the world in a sense. Turns out that I was able to keep my collection and just make adjustments on my collecting habits to keep my stuff.

Naturally I do not buy as much as I did before. But having the kids also made me re-prioritize what I really wanted and I stopped buying stuff that I didn't really like. I was buying a lot simply because it was stamped with a Joe or Star Wars logo.

My kids do show interest in my stuff, but it isn't because I am encouraging/pushing them to. They see me messing with it and they want to help. (Well, my older daughter more so than my younger son.) So I ask her to help me move things when it is time to and she helps dust a little too. It's nothing big but those little things are what kids enjoy more than you can imagine. She even has a couple of figures of her own that she plays with once in a while. My son is still too young to be quite that involved, but he will no doubt want to do the same.

The biggest running joke in my family is how the kids were going to tear up my collection room and open all the MOC stuff I have. But by allowing them to be involved with my collection just a little, they have learned to respect what is mine and they do not mess with anything unless I say it is okay. The door to my collection room is always open even when I am at work. The kids rarely go into the room unless I am in it. They don't touch anything without asking first. This isn't just teaching them to respect my collection, it teaches them to respect others and their belongings. I have seen kids that go over someone's house and start tearing it up with no regard to the fact that it is not their stuff.

So it is possible to have both the kids and the collection. Some things must change to accomodate the kids, but you don't have to give it all up. I have heard of a few people doing just that I know they regret doing it.

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The kids enjoyed Joes and such until hormones and puberty kicked in. Then it was hate everything that used to cement time with Dad.

Then around 20, they found the love for Joes (and most other action figures) again.

With regard to priority, trust me, you never really have to give up your hobby, because as much as the kids want to be around you for the first years, when they start getting their "best friends forever", and "buds", they start leaving you to your own devices, and unless your Mrs. is really into it as well, you at least will have your hobby to fill the time.

So just remember balance. Having a kid, or even more than one, is never the "end of toys as we know it". Only the positioning changes. Big bag of Pampers? Or Joes? It's a no brain'er really.

Oh, and a heartfelt congratulations there.

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I'm on the same end as Cap, and I can say that I certainly do have a lot more loose money for the collection now that she's off on her own. It's like a lot of the wise ones before me said, it's just about balancing the bigger picture with the the smaller fun. One thing I've found is that it makes it a lot easier for the wife 'n kids to buy birthday and father's day gifts for you. I never had to worry about ugly ties or cheap cologne.

In a weird way, not having as much money for luxuries (vs. necessities) makes those luxuries all the more luxurious. You're always going to pay the bills first, and make sure business is taken care of, but it's a nice feeling to indulge now and then. I know that it made me feel happy to catch a cool figure here and there, back in the day. Now that I can actually indulge in army building and customizing, I actually feel guilty sometimes about how much i'm spending on TOYS, fer pete's sake.

actually Wal Mart has a lot of baby sized camo clothing!!!!!

I have to admit, one of the joys of my collecting, is playing with my five year old, and seeing him trying to outfight his dad with his band of Lanard & Star Wars rebels. we connect so well when we go into Target and wal- mart, and we BOTH head for the toy section! Just last week I was teaching my son about customizing, and show ing him how to unscrew the Joes, change the heads around.....

its wonderful showing your child abut your passion, and revitalizing your own through his...

...and yes, there will be times when money will shift, but also,... you'll have ean excuse to buy a toy for him,.. and for you. usually I take my boy with me, and when hunting for customizing fodder, I'll buy a two pack,. and me and my son will split it...

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Diaper Vipers ...UNITE!!!!!!!

I really like the sound of that.
So henceforth it shall be known that fathers in Joedom shall be referred to as the Diaper Viper Corps.

Congrats on the addition.

Well I have an 8 month old daughter who is now teething.

So as far as advice is concerned; here's my 2 cents. It may sound like the ramblings of someone who feels like an old man, but I digress.

1. Floss. Oral hygene is very important as you will be kissing the new addition a lot and smiling for many pictures.

2. Get some sleep now. Relax. Rest. A week before mommy goes Pop IS too late for many reasons which you will soon find out.

3. Take classes on baby stuff. If nothing else it will give you peace of mind. It mostly reinforces the basics which most people probably know.

4. Read. There are many books out there. The funny ones give sound advice and doubles as therapy and triples as entertainment. You WILL need a sense of humor.

5. Plan. People do not plan to fail, they fail to plan. Baby Room painting, furniture, whatever that needs to be planned set up at least an outline and then go fromm there with your partner.

6. Any domestic duties i.e. construction or any special projects better be done before baby. After baby things tae at least 10 times longer.

7. Lucky number seven. "Second day babies cry a lot. It's normal." ERRRRRRRRRRRR That's what the nurses told us.
Second day babies scream bloody murder!!!. Why?? Here's the scoop as I know it for our situation.

Hailey was Breast fed for 6 months. I reccomend that if possible to have the child breast fed for as long as possible but minimum 6 months. Even is that's not the sole food source. Problem was Kate's milk didn't start right away. No problem we were told.

Well guess what I found out about second day babies: They're screamming blood murder because the food source that was stored in their system from being in the womb has pretty much been consumed by the second day. They're screaming because they're little bodies are pretty much out of the nutrition they had from mommy i.e. they're freaking starving on the second day.

Feed the second day baby. Want to breeat feed, but no milk? give a bottle and don't worry about it. Keep working on the milk supply and don't worry about what the child will or won't get used to in a 24hr period.

Be wary that nurses are people to with different outlooks on the same thing. They have lots of experience but they are not GOD. Take what is said with a grain of salt and go with your gut.

We were told not to bottle feed if we wanted to breast feed our child because then she's have a preference. UGH. Just feed the kid.

End number seven.

8. Bring camera and/or video camera. Record the weiging and measuring of your child. It's awesome. And babies 1st bath. optional: 1st poo. Dude it's like TAR!!! You could pave roads with it.

I could go on but PM me if you have any questions. Advice is always free.

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I have 2 boys (10 & 7) and they never knew about GI Joe until I introduced them to it. Now, they love watching\reading Joe toons and comics. Also, they dig the customizing aspect of the figures and often dabble in it.

They keep changing their mind what they want to wear for Halloween this year. However, it always revolves around Joe characters. This week it is Snakes vs. Stormy.

My youngest happens to do the best rendition I have heard of Cobra Commander from the movie - " I was onnnnnccccce a maann." LOL.

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Wow!!! Thanks for all the feedback. It really puts my mind at ease. I've had so many people tell me that I have to be an "adult" now that a kid is on the way. I had people tell me "so, no more Xbox, toys, ect. because dads don't do THOSE things". Its just reasuring to know that the things that I feel make me me, are not going to just dissapper. I'm really looking forward to my son getting here. Thanks to all of the joe dads for the advice, but CIVILGOD YOU ROCK.
No worrys about #s 1 (25 years, not a single cavity),2,5 and 8 (excipet for the tar thing, thanks for the heads up). I read a few books but mostly they just make me paranoid and in turn i start worrying about stuff; like if my wife is getting enough iron in her diet. Number 7 your a god sent for. Oh and i'm going to daddy boot camp class soon. Thank you all for your well wishes and congrads to Sergeant Wallace A. Weems on your addition.

I do too. Guess I'm a Diaper Viper Trainiee. Do you smell that... *sniff*sniff* ... smells like a custom.....

Tell 'em you know a grandfather who does all that (me), and if they have a problem with it they should take it up with him at his karate class



Would that make me and Cap the Diaper Commanders (Since I can't think of any other granddads on the board )