This parenting thing…it’s hard. At least it is hard for me. I am not genetically predisposed to parenthood like my wife. Heather is a natural. I knew it when we got the cats and the way she cooed at them and they would walk to her on the couch and lick her nose, obviously loving her maternal aura.

Or they were thinking of eating her.

I work hard to do my part and take at least a little of the weight off my wife’s shoulders. I do the dishes, I put away the laundry and when I leave the house for something, I take at least one of the kids with me. Usually, my partner in crime is Logan.

Logan is five years old. He is two years younger than his brother Chase and six minutes older than his sister London. True to form, he exhibits classic Middle Child traits. He pesters his brother and antagonizes his sister.

Logan is charming and funny and has melted the coldest heart by batting his ridiculously long eyelashes. But he has the soul of a cranky old man.

It has been that way since Day 2. Shortly after the twins were born, Heather was transferred to a different hospital to deal with…issues (She’s fine! She says Hi!). The Twins were brought up from the NICU to have their picture taken with her. To do so, they placed them in the same mobile incubator. And Logan gave his sister…THE LOOK.

The Look said, “My God, I was stuck in the same womb as you for the 7 months. One day of freedom and I am stuck with you again. When will the nightmare end?!”

The Look was meaningful.

My Weekly Tip is it’s important each of your kiddos feel special, but perhaps more so for the Middle Child.

The Middle Child is the one who lives in hand-me-downs.

The Middle Child is the one constantly compared by teachers and faculty to the older sibling.

The Middle Child is the one getting away with the least because Mom and Dad learned from the first and have relaxed for the last.

So take your Middle Child with you. Have one on one time. Sneak off for some greasy fries and share a milkshake. Because all of us knows what it’s like to be in the middle of the pack now and then. It makes you want to howl.

Yeah, Logan howls sometimes. That’s not that weird, right?

Right?

Brad Mendenhall is the Host/Co-Founder of the Cosmic Geppetto Podcast.  Follow him on Twitter . Most important, he and his stunning wife Heather are parents to Chase, Logan and London. They are sweet, beautiful children who may also be evil.  Brad has noticed Chase silently nods his head when movie villains explain their motivations as if to say, “Y’know, this guy’s talking a lot of sense.”