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Parenting

Dad refuses to quit as son with spina bifida bravely walks down step, moving people to tears

"With dad, and God's help, he'll get there."

Cold_Pin8708/Reddit

Dad encourages son with spina bifida during tough physical therapy work.

A little encouragement can go a long way. For father Chase Harris (@chase_chasman), he is his son Bubba's #1 hype man as he battles through grueling physical therapy sessions for spina bifida.

In an inspiring video shared in an online community celebrating people with a hopeful outlook on life, Harris challenges Bubba, who is 7 years old and also has scoliosis, with the utmost patience and gentleness as he attempts to step off a curb—an exercise that is part of his physical therapy work. Community member Cold_Pin8708 wrote, "With dad, and God's help, he'll get there," when he shared the video.

On TikTok, Harris captioned the video himself with, "Bravest boy I know!" In it, Harris stands alongside Bubba as he slowly inches his way to step off the curb. Harris offers guidance on how to position his body and use his strength to maneuver his walker.

@chase_cashman

Bravest boy I know! #fyp #bubbastrong #spinabifidawarrior #fatherson

"Bubba had to overcome his fear with this one," Harris added in the video's caption. He tells Bubba that this move requires "a lot of control." "This can be dangerous for Bubba if he's alone and can't control himself on an incline," he adds.

Bubba slowly steps his way to the curb as his dad tells him to take quick steps. Bubba is afraid, and pauses before stepping off the curb. "It helps if he hears me affirm to him that I won't let him fall," Harris adds in the caption. He tells Bubba, "I've got you. You're not going to fall." And Bubba replies, "Okay. Love you."

@chase_cashman

Moments that are tough #fyp #fatherson #physicaltherapy #spinabifidawarrior #fatherhood

With his dad's encouragement, Bubba steps off the curb and does not fall. "Sometimes you gotta get over your fear like that," he tells Bubba. Bubba is emotional and hugs his dad. "If you won't have tried it, something like that would have had you stuck. But you made it though! That's it. It's over. It's defeated. So move to the next."

People in the online community are singing Harris' praises:

"I love this family! The dad gives the perfect balance between pushing and encouraging but knowing when the kiddo is frustrated and giving him a break. The little boy is such a fighter and works SO hard. I love them."

"Real fathers will be there no matter how tough it gets."

"C’mon! Let’s go little man! 💪🏽💪🏽 move over world here he comes! I hope to one day have half of the fight you have inside myself. Thank you for the motivation! You are loved! Great job dad, the world needs more fathers like you!🫶🏽💪🏽❤️."

Finally, viewer Porfessional_Bake209 shared, "Baby boy did so good - every video I see with them he’s doing so frigging good and I’m always tearing up while sitting on the edge of the couch, cheering and jumping 🥹🥹❤️❤️ and dad is doing such a great job supporting, hyping, catching, helping and describing the tasks to good 🙌🏼 sending them tons of love ❤️."

@chase_cashman

God is good #fyp #spinabifida #bubbastrong

Harris and Bubba have continued to document the ins-and-outs of their daily life with their followers on social media. The family has been sharing Bubba's journey online since he was four years old. "He has always been a fighter. He has come so far," they shared in another video.

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'Just enough': How the Swedish concept of ‘lagom’ can help you find contentment

Lagom is the right amount of everything.

via Unsplash

A woman salutes the sun in Adolfsström, Sweden.

American culture is out of balance. We work too hard, consume too much and live under constant stress. Our culture tells us to get rich or die trying and that resting is laziness. We take very few vacations, spend too much time staring at screens, and our diets are overly reliant on processed foods.

It’s no wonder over 37 million Americans are on antidepressants.

The antidote to this unsustainable lifestyle could come from a Swedish philosophy known as “lagom” (lah-gomm), which translates to “just the right amount.” Living lagom means developing a mindset focused on balance, sustainability and living in the moment. It’s learning to appreciate what we have instead of striving for what we don’t.

Lagom teaches us that we don’t need to live in a penthouse or struggle in a tenement. It’s all about finding a place that is calm and comfortable. It means considering whether to have that second piece of cake for dessert, knowing when to pick your winnings off the table and understanding that it's ok to say “no.”

It’s choosing to be satisfied instead of over-indulging because the secret is that the lightness of satisfaction is more fulfilling than the burden of indulgence.

Are you looking to live lagom? Here are 7 ways to get started.

1. Know when to take a break

According to research, working at a breakneck speed and refusing to take a break will actually hurt your work performance. Get up, take a walk, have a cup of coffee with a friend or coworker and take a moment for yourself regularly.

2. Declutter your home

“The fewer items you have in your home, the more likely that you'll be able to appreciate each and every possession you own,” Niki Brantmark, founder of My Scandinavian Home, tells Livingetc.

sweden, lagom, minimalism

A minimalist living room.

via Pexels

3. Enjoy nature

Lagom is about appreciating nature by respecting it through sustainable living. But it's also about enjoying the natural world. “There is mounting evidence, from dozens and dozens of researchers, that nature has benefits for both physical and psychological human well-being,” Lisa Nisbet, Ph.D., told the American Psychological Association. “You can boost your mood just by walking in nature, even in urban nature. And the sense of connection you have with the natural world seems to contribute to happiness even when you’re not physically immersed in nature.”

4. Have an attitude of gratitude

It's only possible to find contentment and satisfaction in life if you appreciate what you already have. Further, without gratitude, you won't enjoy the things you strive for either. "He who knows he has enough is rich," Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu writes in the “Tao Te Ching.”

5. Be present

Balance is all about living in the now and being present instead of being focused on the past or preoccupied with the future. Happiness only exists in the current moment that you have right now, so embrace it.

6. Live drama-free

There’s no need to put up with unnecessary agitation, whether that comes from the people in our lives or our habits that don’t bring us joy. Simplifying our social media lives, so we experience fewer distractions, aggravations and unnecessary comparisons is a great way to live lagom.

7. Eat well, but enjoy yourself

Eating a balanced diet means a lot of different things to different people. But striving for perfection and depriving yourself or overindulging and being unhealthy aren’t paths to contentment.

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A new bill would make it illegal to contact employees after work hours.

After-hours work emails can be stressful to deal with.

The old saying is, "don't take your work home with you." But the new reality for many people is that work follows you home in the form of emails, text messages, and social media.

New York City Council member Rafael Espinal Jr. has introduced a bill which would make it illegal for businesses to require that employees check their email or other electronic communication during non-work hours.

If an employer breaks the rule, they'd be fined $250 and required to pay an additional $500 to their employee.

The "Disconnecting From Work" bill also includes days in which an employee is out on vacation, sick days, or personal days off.

"There's a lot of New Yorkers out there that don't know when their work day begins or when their work day ends, because we're all so tied to our phones," Espinal said.

"You can still work, you can still talk to your boss, but this just is saying that, when you feel like you've hit your boiling point and you can't do it anymore, you're able to disconnect and decompress for a while."

France passed a similar law and other countries are following their lead.

France made international headlines with its own "right to disconnect" law in 2017. They have a very different work culture than the United States, with a mandatory 35 hour work week ceiling in most professions, and workers receiving an average of 31 paid vacation days each year.

One French lawmaker described the law as a necessary move to combat "info-obesity."

Italy's Senate approved similar legislation last year, and many German companies, including Volkswagen, have voluntarily instituted similar policies, where their company servers automatically shut down outgoing emails between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day.

This isn't a pipe dream. Espinal has sponsored other eye-catching bills that became law.

Before you laugh off Espinal's bill as unrealistic, consider one other piece of legislation he's already successfully helped make a reality.

His "Office of Nightlife" proposal was signed into effect by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, creating a $130,000 position for former club owner Ariel Palitz, who now oversees a 12-person committee with a $300,000 annual budget dedicated to addressing the city's "nightlife issues."

As with that proposal, Espinal says his "right to disconnect" bill will actually be good both for the mental health of workers, and for the city's economy.

“Studies have shown that if employee disconnect, whether it’s from the internet, leaving the office, take some time off and go back to work the next day and do a better job,” he said. “This is great for business, this is great for the employers.”

A healthy work/life balance is important, and some people might need a legal intervention to get there.

Critics of "right to disconnect" laws say that such changes alone cannot change a work culture that is increasingly shifting toward an "always on" mindset.

And they have a point.

Much of that responsibility rests with managers and everyday workers to embrace a culture of trust where both sides believe the best work is done when someone is well-rested and healthy.

But Espinal's proposal is at least a start to help bring attention to the larger issue, and there's no better place to start than in "the city that never sleeps."

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People are loving this dad who wears his baby to work. Here's why it matters.

For Tom Williams, a chiropractor from Chicago, every day is bring your son to work day.

At his family-based practice, which he runs along with his wife, Lauren, Tom is used to having kids in the office. In fact, his new son, Oliver, was nearly born there — Lauren was staked out at the front desk when she first went into labor.

[rebelmouse-image 19488825 dam="1" original_size="735x551" caption="Photo by Mike Williams/Livesidemedia.com, used with permission." expand=1]Photo by Mike Williams/Livesidemedia.com, used with permission.

After some recovery at home, the couple wanted to get the business back up and running again, but as parents and entrepreneurs, it was a challenge. Tom loved helping take care of his wife and new son, but wanted to get back to taking care of his patients too.

So together, Tom and Lauren came up with a pretty cool idea.

A few days per week, Oliver comes to the office where he splits time at Mom's desk and strapped to Dad's chest.

Tom was photographed by a patient earlier this month wearing a contented Oliver while casually giving an exam, and people across the internet are absolutely loving it.

Photo by Roots Family Chiropractic, used with permission.

"Just seeing Dr. Tom, he's such a calm doctor and such a loving person and I thought he was going to take the baby off, but he said, 'Nope the baby's sleeping' and started adjusting all of us,'" the patient who first shared the story, Genia Rackos, told ABC News. "I think he shows a really good example of what work-life balance is. He wears his baby with pride and it stands for everything he's about."

Photo by Roots Family Chiropractic, used with permission.

"I wear him in the office because it’s a chance for me to strengthen our bond," Williams says. "I truly love wearing him and that’s why we do it all the time. "

Tom is quick to point out the emotional and biological benefits of baby-wearing. But there's something even bigger at play here.

Photo by Genia Rackos/Facebook.

It's not uncommon to see a waitress taking orders with a sleeping baby across her chest or a small bassinet tucked in the corner of a cubicle in some corporate office.

In fact, companies are slowly growing more and more comfortable letting parents bring their babies to work.

Here's the catch: Figuring out what to do with baby during the day usually winds up being the mom's problem. A survey done by Parenting.com found that moms often wind up doing the lion's share of caretaking.

But the tide is turning, with more and more dads feeling empowered to take on a larger, if not the starring, role in raising the next generation of babies.

Guys like Williams are leading the charge, proving what moms have known for years: You can be a great parent and be good at your job, but no one ever said it'd be easy.

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