“If someone has a problem with a baby being a baby, they’re an as*hole,” Donnie Wahlberg told me the other day and I agree with him, both because I’m easily intimidated and he happens to be right. You know he is.
I caught up with Walhlberg and his fellow New Kids on the Block bandmates June 9 during a live Q&A session at the Adorama Live Theatre in New York City. NKOTB was on the scene to promote the upcoming second season of their “Rock This Boat” series, an episode of which was screened for the bloggers in attendance.
What came across in the episode, beyond the fact that NKOTB has a solid work ethic and an above-average tolerance for their fans, is that they’re, well, older (for the record, I am very close to them in age) and like me, Wahlberg and bandmates Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, and Danny Wood are all dads who travel. A lot. (That’s pretty much where my similarities to NKOTB end, as underscored by this selfie with Wahlberg.)
So naturally when I got my turn at the mike (see video embedded below), I asked these dads what travel advice they would offer up to new parents. Prefacing his “baby being a baby” comment, Wahlberg suggested that the best way to prepare yourself to fly with your younger kids is to “welcome whatever happens. Don’t let the stress of caring about what other people on the plane are going to judge you for impact your relationship with your child.” Once again, I think he’s right. But you decide. Watch.
Images: Paul Eisenberg
Video footage excerpted from WCBS-FM live stream