Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! This past weekend our family along with 4 other families went to the …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: Children of the CornOctober 2008
You are browsing the site archives for October 2008.
Photowalking is fun. Especially with kids! All you need are at least one kid and at least one camera. If you’re not familiar with the idea, photowalking is just a fancy way to say, “Go play outside!” There’s really nothing more to it than simply walking around an interesting area, and taking lots of pictures. …
Continue reading Photowalking with kidsWarning: Some of the content in the following commercials will be disturbing to some of you. They are graphic in nature on purpose as they are trying to share their message about the dangers of driving too fast, driving drunk or driving without wearing your seatbelts. Mostly, these spots are focussed on young teen drivers …
Continue reading Teens and DrivingMy family has been away for a few weeks. In fact, they’ve been away for enough weeks that I legitimately miss them deeply. Even the kids. I’m picking them up on Friday, which is a couple of days from now. Doing some back-of-the-Chinese-food-delivery-bag-left-on-the-table-for-days math, I realized: holy cow! That’s two days from now. Now, when …
Continue reading Domestic BlitzA delicious irony exists in our household. It’s the irony where a) we own every current game console, portable or otherwise, and b) No Game Playing Shall Occur During on School Nights, except on very rare, special occasions, say, being stuck home sick from school on Wednesday because someone has contracted a Medieval Bubonic Plague. …
Continue reading What are your video game rules?About 13 years ago from right about now, I was a proud new dad. Four months earlier I was blessed to enter the world of fatherhood with the birth of my son Connor. Having a little bundle of joy that totally depends on you is one of the most wonderful things that can happen to …
Continue reading "It's nice to see a man take an interest in his child"Our children are more proficient than we ever were with the digital realm. Their social lives, education, shopping, and entertainment often revolve in the online world. But how do you protect them? Yes, working with them and watching over their shoulder is best – but rarely practical. What software do you use to: Ensure your …
Continue reading Protecting our children online: What software do you use?In our house full of boys (One dad, two sons, two boy cats, a boy dog and a rotating menagerie of bugs of indeterminate gender), we hold one truth to be self-evident: mom is special. Mom doesn’t get much “girl time” at our place, but she does have seemingly unlimited opportunity to be hassled, annoyed …
Continue reading Taking care of momEvery dad knows this song, Harry Chapin’s classic “Cat’s in the Cradle”. It was a number one hit in 1974 and originally written as a poem by Harry’s wife Sandie who received credit as co-writer of the song. Incidentally, she didn’t write it about Harry’s relationship with their son as commonly believed but actually about …
Continue reading The Cat’s in the CradleI only post here once a week, but I read the blog daily. For me the best post this week, if not the best ever post on here was written by Paisano – Sins of the Father. He uses the song by Everclear Father of Mine to relate the sense of abandoment, confusion and frustration felt …
Continue reading Investment TipI’m always searching for new apps for my iPhone, I was thrilled when I recently found a free version of PacMan. As I searched through the iTunes Music Store free apps section, I came across an amazing app that’s so much more useful than killing ghosts. Phone Aid serves as a quick guide and support …
Continue reading Your iPhone Can Save Your Child's LifeThe picture of my “Vampire Weekend†above was taken on Halloween probably 16 years ago. The two little bloodsuckers with me in the photo are now 20 and 18 years old. Time flies when you are having fun, and we were definitely having fun! Halloween may be a scary time, but I think that as …
Continue reading Fangs For The Memories!Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! As a stay-at-home (and in desperate need of a job) Dad, it’s my …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: “Dad, dinner sucks!â€ÂWhen my 12-year-old daughter wanted to read my latest book, I discouraged her, because it addresses adult subjects, including organized rebellion against government (just the thought of which these days can label you a traitor), and it depicts sex and violence. My 12-year-old. This is a girl who watches Bones and The X-Files, then switches …
Continue reading Our Kids Can Handle a Lot More than We Give Them Credit ForThis week we experienced a moment of heart wrenching sorrow. Our third little one is heading to school next year. Already, as the Mums and Dads wait for the older kids to get out of school, she has a posse of friends. They play and carry on. She has a special friend, whose name I’ve …
Continue reading How Do You Deal With Rejection?One of the things I love the most about my job – the travel – also has a huge downside as a dad. Whether it’s a day-trip that begins with waking up at 4:30 a.m. and then not getting home until after 9 p.m. or a multi-day trek across time zones, I miss those daily …
Continue reading Gift Ideas and Travel Tips from Dads“Father of Mine” by EverClear is an extra special song for me because it truly hits home for me on a deep personal level. I relate to the words so much because my father left our mom with four sons in a strange new land when I was a toddler and I never really got …
Continue reading The Sins of Our FathersHaving started a Father’s Group (Pop Culture) over three years ago I can honestly say it’s one of the best things I’ve done as a father. At the time I was freelancing and was essentially a SAHD (Stay at Home Dad) and desperately needed some dad-bonding where I could get advice from other guys trying …
Continue reading Start A Dad's GroupMy dad got into computers in the 1970s. Sometimes, he’d take me to work and I’d play this Star Trek game on a computer that had to print out the “screen” on paper. Sometimes, I’d destroy reams of paper chasing a Klingon around. I had no idea how much I was underfoot, but my Dad …
Continue reading Kids on the WebI’m going to admit it: I hate Halloween. There, I’m out of the closet, and for the record: I don’t like chocolate, or what having a sack of the stuff laying around for a few days does to my sugar junkie kids. Heck, by election day I’ll need to send them to glucose rehab. How …
Continue reading The Halloween Costume – It'll Give You NightmaresIt seems that once a child reaches School, or Daycare, that Kid’s Parties become both a bane and a blessing. Parents, in my experience, put on a good show for their kid’s celebrations. Grinning through the crazy, you can see the glimmer in their eyes. Looking forward with bated breath for all the other parties …
Continue reading Practical: Party OnI have only been a dad for 3 months. My wife and I welcomed Franklin Phillip Lewis to our family on July 4th, 2008 at 7PM. He is my pride and joy. Since that day I hate leaving the house to go to work in the morning and I have found myself doing everything in …
Continue reading Advice for Expecting Fathers from a New DadIn my most recent (and for that matter only so far…) post I talked about recognizing the signs that your son or daughter may have autism. In this post I want to talk about dealing with the diagnosis. As I mentioned previously, we had suspicions about our son perhaps being autistic. Well we finally got …
Continue reading Autism, dealing with the diagnosisBeing the father of two older children, especially when they don’t live with me presents a lot of different challenges. I live in the US, they live in the UK. I haven’t lived there for 7 years, it has changed over that time. My daughters were 13 & 11 when I left the country, now …
Continue reading Are adult children still our kids?This is a blogpost by Dad-o-Matic author Joe Hage about a conversation to encourage your child to work for something he or she wants.
Find out more about Joe at http://joehageonline.com.
Continue reading Emploment opprotunitiesHey everyone, Kathie and I are not yet parents. Fetus Wilder isn’t scheduled to make his debut until November 27th. Happy Thanksgiving! So at week 34, Kathie is getting pretty round and she’s loving every minute of it! Yeah, it hurts to sit too long. It hurts to stand too long. It hurts to be …
Continue reading LullabyI’m sure (I hope) most of you will agree that teaching our children manners is crucial.  Here’s a simple way to reinforce your children saying, “thank you.”  This Dad-o-Matic Quick Tip works best with younger children.  When you hand your child something that they have asked for, don’t let go. Keep your grip on the object–be …
Continue reading Dad-o-Matic Quick Tip: Getting Kids to Say Thank YouI have three kids.  The two oldest are boys.  The third, and youngest, is my daughter, Olivia.  From the moment of birth, boys and girls are different.  At least that has been my experience.  As infants and toddlers, the boys were into everything, climbing on furniture even before they could walk.  Bumps, bruises, burns and …
Continue reading When Did Daddy’s Little Girl Become a Woman?Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! Our family lives in a great subdivision. The neighbors give back your rakes, …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: Sons of AnarchyThis past Sunday our church pastor was doing a sermon on friendship. The title? “When your backs against the wall…..You have to have friendsâ€Â.  Without going into a sermon of my own, the gist of the lecture was that you’ve got to have “good, solid friends.â€Â These friends are the ones that listen and comfort …
Continue reading Our Children's Friends: Encouraging Positive FriendshipsHow much time do you spend with your kids? No, this isn’t a lecture, it’s not meant to be condemning – it’s more of a “note-to-selfâ€Â.  Because I struggle with the same balance you do – spending time with my children vs. doing work that needs to be done. I’m busy, you’re busy – we’re …
Continue reading Kids and TimeSo The Darling G and I were in Yo! Sushi on Saturday, and sat opposite us was a father with a somewhat uncooperative teenager. A bit of eavesdropping over our makis indicated that what we were seeing was a Weekend Dad. They finished lunch quickly – Dad trying (and failing) to communicate, and in doing …
Continue reading 'Weekend Dads' Should Still Be ParentsOctober 15th is Blog Action Day 2008 and the emphasis this year is on poverty. Bloggers from around the world are participating and, hopefully, increasing awareness about those who live in poverty in our own communities and around the globe. I have found this event to be a particularly good opportunity to talk to my …
Continue reading Talk to Your Kids About the PoorMy wife and I have always made it a priority to read to our children–I’m sure most of you do the same, and yes, I do the voices. I would like to think that this habit has helped lead to our second grader’s ability to read at a 5th grade level.  Every night, before bed …
Continue reading Our Favorite Bedtime BooksI feel SO behind the times! Not only do my 2 and 3 year old LOVE this song…I caught my 3 year old moving the mouse by herself to replay this about 5 times in a row.  Do your kids know this one?  The Gummy Bear Song and it’s been on YouTube for a year, …
Continue reading The Gummy Bear SongMy son was recently hit by a fellow classmate after the aggressor was warned by his teacher. It wasn’t a serious issue, just the typical elementary school kid that had some misplaced energy (or aggression). At night I talked about it with my son, investigated some options on how to handle the situation in the …
Continue reading Stand Up for Yourself… no, Walk Away7 hours in the car with the kids is pretty much a recipe for disaster, but with a little planning, and even more luck, you can turn it into a memory that will last a lifetime. I had just that opportunity last week and the ride turned out to be an absolute joy! My grandmother turned …
Continue reading Tips for Roadtrips with the KidsI have two daughters. One 17 the other just turned 20. We have lived apart for 16 years. Over those years our ability to remain an active part of each others lives has faced many challenges. When we were first parted, I lived in the next town, I saw them every weekend, and sometimes during …
Continue reading Staying in touch with teens over time & distanceReading Dave Delaney’s post about Tip for Expecting Daddies got me thinking about what got me through the first couple of months. It is a great tip. My tip is for fathers whose child is already born. Some might not agree with it but it worked for me. When my daughter, Danni, was born my …
Continue reading A Quick tip for Fathers of New BornsThe job of Storyteller has a long and worthy history in this country and is, I’m happy to say, an old tradition that in recent years has been resurrected – and rightly so. However, I don’t think it’s just the role of an official storyteller, or that of teachers, to introduce children to the wonders …
Continue reading Being A Story TellerIt’s such a simple thing, with great rewards.  When we are reading at night (the night’s that I read, which go in spurts), depending on the book, doing the voices of the characters creates another level again of story-telling.  Requirements: Be over the top! Try all different kinds of voices. The kids will …
Continue reading Kid's Books: Do You "Do" The Voices?A big part of being a good Dad is arming your kids with the tools they’ll need to understand and navigate the world successfully as adults. When I first became a Dad, I took some time to reflect on the adults I knew… on what the ones who were doing better seemed to understand, and …
Continue reading Choices and ConsequencesOne thing I’ve learned through experience is that raising a child makes you a father, not simply the act of procreation. Far too many men can do the latter but a precious few ever even try to be the former. I respect and admire anyone that accepts the sacrifice and challenge of raising a child …
Continue reading He Didn’t Have to BeSocial Networking can be a great tool for any Dad or Mom for that matter to get where their kids are and know what they’re doing. Some of the most successful people in the industry use this same method to network and grow the number of people they come in contact with. A tip I …
Continue reading Are You Following Your Kids?There are some things dads have to teach their kids, and I think one is how to take compliments well. One of our fine readers (if I could find your twitter DM, I’d call you out by name) asked me to address this, because she has a wonderful and amazing teenager who happens to be …
Continue reading How to Take ComplimentsIf you have kids over the age of 10 it is highly likely they already have their own mobile phones.  If you have kids with their own mobile phones, it is highly likely that they use their phones for a great deal of “texting” (sending text messages).  How about you? According to a new consumer …
Continue reading where r u dad? dnr is rdy!My name is Eric Peterson and I’ve been given the opportunity, by Chris, to be able and participate in this wonderful writing project. First, let me say “thank you Chris,” and second, let me say it’s an honor to be able to share with all of you. With that, I thought I would actually pull …
Continue reading A Toddler Taught Adversity LessonWith all the crap going on with respect to the economy, I felt it would be the perfect time to expand on something I have always thought . . . It can cost absolutely nothing to have a good time with your kids, yet and can be more rewarding than an all day spa trip …
Continue reading These Times are GreatI’d like to say thankyou to Chris Brogan. Since this place went live, a few weeks back, I’ve been reading and commenting with great gusto. It is really encouraging to hear other “internet” (for want of a better word, nerd, geek, computer guy, ..) Dad’s writing about what matters to them. Love. Sacrifice. Presence. And …
Continue reading ThanksI’m not a dad yet. Kathie is due to deliver our first baby around November 27th. So I’m in the position of anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby boy. As we draw closer to Thanksgiving; I’ve instinctively begun the process of re-evaluating my time. Am I using it well? Am I being effective? Is …
Continue reading DetoxificationI love being a Dad. It’s given me so many opportunities that I would never of had if I stayed a bachelor. I’ll be touching on many of those hats here at Dad-o-Matic in the upcoming weeks and months but for now let’s start of with something that every single dad can do and that …
Continue reading Volunteer At SchoolThis is a blogpost by Dad-o-Matic author Joe Hage about a way to discipline your child while keeping his self esteem in tact.
Find out more about Joe at http://joehageonline.com.
Continue reading Mom and Dad on strikeHi, my name is Stu Andrews. I’ve been a husband for ten years now, and a Dad for seven of those. Four kids so far. The idea of “Self” is prevalent in our society today, just as it has been throughout the ages. Philosophers in the first century thought up spheres of thinking that centered …
Continue reading Self vs Unself: The Ballad Of True LoveI’ve always loved this piece called “Loving Two” by an unknown author. I was moved when I first read it many years ago long before I became a dad and it touches me even more today. I understand it so much more now. It’s such a profound and emotional experience to be blessed with one …
Continue reading Limitless LoveI grew up interested in politics. And it has to come as no surprise when you consider I was born on the date of the very first televised presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon. It was October 21st, 1960. I just had to be a political animal with that birthday. I remember very clearly sitting …
Continue reading Talking Politics with your ChildrenAs a proud father, I continue to be amazed at the development of my children. I was worried for awhile, I must admit. Two years ago one of my daughters struggled to say “TOUCHDOWN!” on Sunday afternoons. Perhaps this was because I was expecting too much of her. Or perhaps it’s because I’m a Kansas …
Continue reading The Joy of FootballBoo! With Halloween around the corner, this is a good time to address the art of scaring the bejesus out of your kids!  As someone who worked as a camp counselor for many summers, and who has three kids of my own, I feel I am highly qualified to share some tips on telling a …
Continue reading How To Tell A KILLER Scary Story!First, we both love superheroes. Second, we both love cereal. Third, we both asked Bill Gates to do the robot. Okay, well those first two are true. I’m writing this while eating a bowl big coffee mug of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats BLUEBERRY flavor. Yes, you heard me, blueberry. Okay, the label says “blueberry muffin,” …
Continue reading What Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Brogan Have in CommonI had one of those conversations today that not only gives me something to blog about Dad but to also raise a question for the readers. I went with Sharon to the Family care clinic to get Harry ( now 1month old ) weighed and checked up and generally assessed for health. I was not …
Continue reading A Duty and Responsibility.I guess you never notice diapers (except for making the occasional Depends joke) in drug stores and super markets but when you have a child, diapers become mission #1 and all of a sudden you’re faced with buying ’em, changing ’em and what ever else you do with ’em. So, I made a trip out …
Continue reading Dad, the Cleaner…(part 1) – Diaper ConfusionToday our daughter turned 1 year old. She loves music and there are two people/ groups that seem to really have figured out how to create musical experiences that kids – well our daughter – love. The first is Eric Herman…the creator of the famous Elephant Song. The Elephant Song This is a fun song …
Continue reading The Elephant SongI’ve been a dad for almost a decade and proud to have been blessed with three angelic babies in that span. I still get choked up when I read this piece that I’m about to share with you. The message and meaning becomes deeper and more profound as the years go by, especially if you …
Continue reading Parenthood Will Change Your LifeThe PLUNGE Hey, I’m the New Dad on the Block. Sort of. After 37 years of living “Me-ness,” I took the plunge. No, I mean I TOOK THE PLUNGE – not only did I get married, but I inherited the insta-family, four daughters from my wife’s previous marriage. Being the glutton for punishment, we added …
Continue reading Heroes Overcome HumiliationThe proof copy of my dad’s memoir arrived today: Can You See God in This Picture?: A Letter to My Sons Making Sense of 25 Years as a Pastor. Because I’m an author and publisher, my father asked me to read through and edit the manuscript, written as a letter to me and my two …
Continue reading How Well Do Your Children Know You?The 10-year-old me would disagree with the 30-something me, but we have a tendency to overindulge our children with things, when in fact what they really need is our presence. While catching up with a friend recently, who has three kids of his own, we discussed the everyday challenges of being a father. We both …
Continue reading Requesting your PresenceReading Joe’s post about making family first got me thinking about some of the life lesson’s that I’ve been trying to imprint on my kids…   And one of the secrets in our family is having kids who have control over their attitude. My guess is that most parents can relate to having a two-year …
Continue reading "You must change your attitude by the count of three"This is a blogpost about a beautiful way to enrich your child’s life by Dad-o-Matic author Joe Hage.
Find out more about Joe at http://joehageonline.com.
Continue reading Dad's Life Lessons: Rule #1