DUDE DAD Taylor Calmus, Wife Heidi Share Back-To-School Essentials
By Movieguide® Contributor
“Dude Dad” Taylor Calmus and wife Heidi shared their top 10 items parents need for back-to-school season.
Their first picks? Heidi pulled out a whiteboard — for keeping track of what their kids are eating for lunch and after-school snacks — while Taylor chose a megaphone “to make sure they get up on time.”
Next was a to-go mug for Heidi’s school commute, while Taylor picked a carpool playlist.
“The carpool lane is a great time to introduce your kids to all the classic music from our childhood,” he explained, listing off bands like My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday.
The couple’s next picks involved apparel — for you and for your children.
Heidi showed her wallet, advising parents to “spend some money and buy your kid a ‘first day of school’ outfit. Take them out, make it a fun date, [and] let your kids wear what they want to wear.”
Taylor’s choice? A dinosaur costume.
“You get a dino costume, and then you pick up your kids from school in it,” he joked. “Whether or not they’re excited or embarrassed, it’s good. Fatherhood is about creating adventure, and there’s nothing more adventurous than getting picked up from school by a dinosaur.”
The next must-have items? Kid’s vitamins because, as Heidi explained, “you can make the most nutritious meal ever…and they still won’t eat it. So at least you know they’re getting a little bit of nutrition by getting them gummies that taste good.”
Taylor’s item was a gift for the teachers.
“Teachers have been through a lot these past couple years…if you ask me, they don’t get paid enough for it. I say, bring the teachers a gift,” he explained.
The last items the couple put on their back-to-school lists were reusable bags for packing snacks and lunches and Post-It notes.
“Everyday, pull one of these off, write your kid a nice little note for him or her to have that reminds them that we’re thinking of them,” Taylor explained. “Put it on their lunch and send them out the door.”
The couple joked about sending kids back to school in a recent Instagram video, showing them throwing confetti and dancing after their children go to school — until they remember they still have younger ones at home.
“Oh, that’s right, half of them are still here,” Taylor says in the clip.
While the couple joke about being relieved when back-to-school season comes around, Taylor and Heidi are devoted parents.
“Having three kids also means that anytime I go anywhere I have to take at least one kid with me. Otherwise, I’ll feel guilty…all three kids at home with my wife knowing just how draining that can be,” Taylor said in a video made before the birth of their fourth child.
He continued, “But here’s my takeaway. Having three kids is chaos, but chaos doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Chaos is our older son trying to teach his little brother how to walk. Chaos is my daughter reading the baby a book even though she doesn’t know how to read. It is a fridge full of sloppy finger paintings and a pile of tiny shoes by the door that are remnants of an adventure had. Chaos is chasing them around the house, getting them to scream at the top of their lungs, just so that they’ll fall asleep. Only to then the next day wake up with them all in your bed because they just want to be close to you.”
“These next few years are going to be hard, but they’re also going to be worth it,” the social media star finished. “As parents, we’re going to guide our kids through life. But as siblings, our kids will get to experience life together.”