TV sports-guy-turned-stay-at-home father Reid Sollberger can make his family laugh – on purpose and otherwise ...

name 

Reid Sollberger

family 

Wife: Holly
Kids: Maggie (11), Henry (8), Lucy (6)

neighborhood

Northside, Eau Claire

background

Reid, a father of three, grew up on the “mean streets” of Brooklyn Park, Minn., and moved to Eau Claire in 1996 to attend UW-Eau Claire. There he competed on the fabled forensics team, performed in plays, worked at TV10, and met his wife-to-be. After graduating and getting married, Reid landed a job as a sportscaster at WQOW-TV (Channel 18). After the couple had their first child, Reid took a job making TV ads for Menards; after their second child was born, he became a stay-at-home dad. Today, in addition to chasing three children, he works part-time as a substitute teacher as well as part-time at Tess Oral Health. Here he talks about the importance of reading to your kids, the joy of silence, and determining how best to introduce his children to Star Trek.

We love the Chippewa Valley because it is the perfect size. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, and my mom worked downtown. It was a one-hour commute one way between our house and her office. Here, my wife can walk out the door 18 minutes before she needs to be at her desk. The Chippewa Valley is great because it has many of the events of a larger city, but doesn’t require a long commute to get to them.

I couldn’t live without silence. I lived mostly with my mom growing up, so while she was at work, I had a lot of time to myself. I got used to it. Now I am in a family of five, some of whom make a lot of noise. And while watching them grow up has been an absolute blast and blessing, I enjoy the moments of solitude that I get. I use them to re-charge my patience meter so it will hopefully not run out (but yes, sometimes it does).

Being a stay-at-home dad is a lot like being a stay-at-home mom, I imagine. I probably listen to more sports talk podcasts, though.

During the winter you’ll find us getting our nerd on. Three winters ago, I introduced the kids to Star Wars. The multiple “cold days” off of school from two years ago let us get into the world of Doctor Who. Last winter, we read and then watched The Hobbit. If I introduce them to Star Trek this winter, I honestly don’t know where to start.

My spouse always laughs at me because I totally set her up for punch lines at my expense. She would argue that they come naturally, but I disagree. Typical interaction: Wife: “Argh … I can’t get this box down.” Me (using deep, muscle-man voice): “Do you need a big, strong man to help you?” Wife: “Yes. (beat) Do you know any?” Me: “…” Wife: (Cackles with laughter).

My children will tell you that their dad wants them to be three things when they grow up. 1) Intelligent. 2) Kind. 3) Driven.

If I could pass on one bit of advice it would be you can never read too much to your kids. Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER. It is physically impossible. I sometimes long for the days when my kids couldn’t read and needed my wife or me to read to them. Sitting on our family couch, we learned words with Dr. Seuss, began growing up with Beverly Cleary, battled evil with J.K. and J.R.R., and even had a post-apocalyptic adventure with Michael Perry. The benefits of reading to your kids are incalculable. If they have a hard time paying attention, you have to make it fun for them. Do funny voices. Try an accent. Make sound effects. Not only will that make it more fun for them, it makes it more enjoyable for you, too. That can be important when you are on the 56th reading of The Lorax.