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Local dads broadcast parenting humor

It’s probably a truth universally acknowledged that a group of college roommates likely will grow up to be parents themselves. What’s less expected is when that group starts an online comedy show about the adventures in parenting.

Enter Matt Rocco, Todd Jay and D.M. Engel, three theater majors who’ve added child-rearing to their repertoire.

Matt Rocco and Todd Jay-their on-air pseudonyms-work from the Chicagoland area. Rocco lives in the Edgewater neighborhood, Jay in the western suburbs.

D.M. Engel-which is his real name-moved to Syracuse, N.Y., this summer.

The idea of exchanging tales of parenting woes and hardships and the occasional bad advice began sometime late last year, Rocco says.

It was mostly to “keep us in touch and keep us sane, quite frankly,” the 37-year-old father of a 9-month-old girl says. “It can be kind of lonely being a dad.”

“Everybody loves their kid,” Rocco reasons. “And everybody wants to look like they love their kid.”

That might sound obvious, but it’s an instinct, Rocco says, that makes parents gloss over the really tough, boring and less-than-sexy parts of the whole married-with-children scenario.

On air-the three record two 45-minute episodes and one shorter “bonus” episode every week and make them available for free through iTunes on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday-these guys pull no punches.

Expect plenty of talk about poop, sex, loose teeth, potty training and “manscaping.”

Rocco and Jay say their audience is growing. Rocco hopes it’ll grow to at least 10,000 monthly listeners soon.

For now, the focus is on more immediate concerns, like how sparingly a parent should use the tooth fairy when trying to coax a finicky 6-year-old to push out a loose tooth or how to explain to a 9-year-old what a root canal and crown are (hint: don’t say the fake tooth is porcelain like a toilet).

With more than 30 episodes so far, there’s really no telling what the show’s shelf life is.

“Technically, it can go on as long as we’re parents,”Todd says. “The problems don’t get any easier.”

You can check it out for yourself at whitedadproblems.com.

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