I really enjoy Japanese anime especially the excellent films made lately. Koe No Natachi (A Silent Voice) is an outstanding story about a bullied deaf girl and the impact of the bullying not only on her but also on the bully and all those around them as kids in school. It’s a moving story with …
Continue reading A Silent VoiceFamily
My 14 year-old son surprised me today by sending me this new song from Owl City called “Not All Heroes Wear Capes” and wished me an early Happy Father’s Day. It really touched me deeply. I like to think all three of my children fully understand how much I love and adore them so it’s …
Continue reading Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Here’s another heartbreaking tragedy caused by bullying as another sweet angel named Daniel Fitzpatrick Jr. committed suicide because he could not take the pain of being bullied anymore. He was only 13 and no one at school tried to help him which is the usual case. He left behind a note which explained all the …
Continue reading Danny Angel
Tim McGraw just won a country music award for his music video for “HUMBLE AND KIND” which was inspired by his daughter going away to college. It’s such a wonderful song and the video is beautiful with a wide range of diverse cultures represented. It made me think of the advice my wife and I …
Continue reading Cute Sweet and Smart (CSS)
Every once in awhile a special commercial or ad campaign appears that blows me away like this one from ARIEL, a laundry company from India. It raises an important point about household chores and how it’s not just supposed to be the woman’s job to do it all. It’s sparked a debate and conversation that questions …
Continue reading Share The Load
Here’s another heartbreaking story about bullying that pushed another sweet soul to suicide. Bullies are terrorists of the spirit when children are at their most vulnerable. Too many people decide to remain silent which sadly makes them an accomplice in the terrorism they inflict on innocent victims. This goes to fellow students who look away …
Continue reading Bullies are terrorists
“Life Father, Like Son” is a powerfully moving film that truly makes you think about the true meaning of love and family. The premise is rather simple but so incredible in its delivery: Two families learn that their sons were accidentally switched at birth so they have to swap them with each other after several …
Continue reading Like Father Like SonMy experience as a Dad has definitely hit the next level with the birth of my first grandchild in April. As much joy as my three kids have brought me (and that’s a BIG number if we were to measure), I could never have imagined the love, joy, emotion and pure wonderment I would have …
Continue reading My Grandson Ate My GoPro!Today was a painful Sunday afternoon. For no good reason I decided to finally convert an old videotape that my aunt sent me of my dad’s home movies. He abandoned us all when I was a toddler and passed away in the 1990s. Anyway, it was tough seeing him enjoying life with his second wife …
Continue reading Old Wounds and New BeginningsMy first reaction was denial. A grandfather? Me? In my head I am still 19 years old, and that’s certainly too young to be a grandfather. Of course it is also too young to have children who are now in their 20’s. In the world outside my head I indeed have three adult kids (Adult …
Continue reading Bootie CallI was blown away by this Reader’s Digest piece called “FATHER FORGETS” by W. Livingston Larned which was printed a long time ago. It’s the type of thing that would go viral today had it come out now. The kind of thing that everyone shares in emails before the social interwebs came on the scene. …
Continue reading Father ForgetsThis post is inspired by Shot@Life, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation. During the month of August–Blogust–31 bloggers are writing about moments that matter. For every comment on this post and the 30 other posts, Walgreens will donate a vaccine (up to 50,000 vaccines). A child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine-preventable disease. We can change this …
Continue reading “23 Skidoo” (and Comment for a Cause)It was merely a coincidence that I got the email from Shot@Life the same day I saw “WORLD WAR Z.” Â In the movie (slight spoiler?) Brad Pitt plays an uber slick dude who works for the United Nations, and thus made me think the United Nations was cool again for the first time since I …
Continue reading Give A Shot (@life…)This might seem like a silly post but then again most of mine are, huh? Consider this a companion piece to one I did called “Slices of Life” where I shared the importance of taking common every day photos to preserve those memories we take for granted unlike the big moments that we preserve with …
Continue reading The Last DiaperI was at my parent’s house the other day and I looked at lots of old photographs that they had on the walls and in picture frames around the house. I saw pictures from my childhood, family vacations, and some of my kids of course. And I was struck by something: there weren’t that many …
Continue reading Take More PicturesSure, today’s the day the kids bring us breakfast in bed and us dads get to act like it’s all about us for a day (as if we don’t always do that…) It’s great to get the cards and the gifts and the hugs, and act all lazy and full of ourselves, but who are …
Continue reading Why Today?We dads love the whole concept of being super heroes for our families and being able to swoop in and save the day at a moment’s notice, but we all know that we are more Clark Kent than Superman. Still, we do our best to be strong and protective for the ones we love and …
Continue reading Super HeroesThe Cast of Dads finally got together again for another gabfest about fatherhood and then some.  There is always something for us to talk about, and as usual, we cover a wide (and not necessarily logical) range of topics – in this episode everything from the serious (the Boston Bombings) to the sublime (licking the butts of …
Continue reading Kissing Butt (Ant Butt, That Is…): Cast of Dads Episode 57Those of you with kids in diapers or grade school may want to skip this post (unless you want a peek into the future at one of the many other parenting adventures you can look forward to facing). Those of you with teens and young adults getting ready to enter the workforce and start to …
Continue reading Teaching My Kid To Get A CareerWhen I was a kid my parents had one of those instamatic cameras with the square Magicube on top. Remember those? It would give you a flashbulb on each side of the cube and would automatically turn when you wound the film to the next frame. I remember many times watching my father take pictures …
Continue reading Flashbulbs of MemoriesIn my business life I spend a lot of time thinking about and talking with people about purpose. Â In business, finding and being able to articulate purpose is (or should be) an essential piece of the complicated puzzle that leads to a successful company. Â We hear a lot about “culture” in business talk, but what …
Continue reading Parenting Is PurposeSaturday night. Â I am in Houston, Texas. Â At dinner with friends following the conclusion of the Dad2Summit. My phone rings. Â It is a number I don’t recognize, but the smarts in my smartphone tell me the call is from North Carolina. Â My oldest son, Zach, lives in North Carolina. Â It is midnight there. I immediately …
Continue reading Trucks, Trees and a Father’s FearOk, I admit it.  I am a male, and I am not much of a football fan.  So, once again I am the butt of the “big game” jokes as the Cast of Dads gathered for our own little “pre-game” show. Of course, as is typically the case, this being the Cast of Dads we talk …
Continue reading Super Bowled Over: Cast of Dads Episode 56Growing up I never had “real” pets. Sure, I had turtles and goldfish and even a snake and a chameleon (not all at the same time…), but I never had dogs or cats. The excuse was that I, as a chubby asthmatic kid, was allergic… but I always suspected that the real truth was that …
Continue reading Of Kids And Dogs…I love this photo I took a couple years ago because it captured a particular moment in time in our family. You can see the distinctly different stages of our three kids: Baby formula and bottles, Sippy cups and big boy cups. I do my best to capture the big moments in our lives like …
Continue reading Slices of LifeMy 15 year old son is only 1 inch away from being as tall as me. It’s a strange feeling for me to see him looking straight into my eyes. His feet are as big as mine. His hands are as big as mine. And the little boy has grown into a young man. For …
Continue reading He Looks Like MeAs the Cast of Dads gathered for our Holiday show, we shared our collective sadness and thoughts on the terrible tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, and how we’ve been discussing the events with our kids.  Since we’re dads of kids from toddler to the 20’s we have different circumstances and thus different approaches to how to address the …
Continue reading Talking About Tragedy: Cast of Dads Episode 55We are broken. There is no other way to explain it. Â As parents it is our innate need, our deepest mission in life, to provide for our children. Â To keep them safe. Â To raise them in a better world than we were raised in… But it is not a better world. When I went to …
Continue reading We Are Broken…We asked our kids the other day where they wanted to go for the family vacation next summer. We anticipated something like the beach, or Mexico, or maybe a theme park of some kind. Instead, the answer we got from all of them was “We want to go back to the mountains.” As a family …
Continue reading Boiled custard, warm cookies, and roasting marshmallowsAs my friend and business associate Hugh MacLeod likes to say, “we live in incredible times…” Â And really, we do. Â Despite the many hardships we face – from financial and civil unrest, to the unexpected and destructive wrath of Mother Nature – we still enjoy so many simple luxuries that it is easy to take …
Continue reading Back To Basics: 5 Life Skills We Forget to Teach Our KidsWe’re baaack!  Yes, it has been a while since the Cast of Dads got together to shoot the proverbial sh**.  In truth we recorded a show a few weeks ago that was “lost” due to technical difficulties… but enough excuses… let’s get on with the show! Before you click the link below to listen to Episode 54, …
Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving from the Cast of Dads! (Episode 54)One thing we learn as parents is that it is the little things that often matter most to our kids. Â The special moments that they will remember forever are easy for us to forget. Â We are so busy with so many things that the stuff they find so very special we sometimes let slip right …
Continue reading Make Memories, Then Remember Them…(Note: This post was originally written in 2010 following the hurricane in Haiti.  In the wake of Hurricane Sandy it seems worthwhile to repeat these simple but important tips.  As a Florida resident who knows firsthand the physical, property and emotional damage a massive storm can cause, my thoughts and  prayers go out to all …
Continue reading 5 Ways To Be Prepared When Mother Nature Roars (again)
Guilt is a great motivator. Well, maybe not every time, but sometimes it certainly can be. When you have kids, something happens. It may not happen overnight, but it happens. You start to think differently about things. You suddenly start to notice the words and images that are used on TV shows and commercials, when …
Continue reading A Father’s GuiltWe’ve talked about a lot of awesome dads here at Dadomatic. Â It’s what we do, right? Â So it is with great pleasure and tons of awe and admiration that I mention another frickin’ awesome dad (and a hat-tip to Mashable for bringing it to my attention…). Uber creative dad, David Engledow, has been documenting his …
Continue reading A KickA$$ Dad on KickstarterFor a year and a half now I have been living in an empty nest… a house that once was riddled with the noise and disruption of three kids, now silenced, save for the rustlings of myself and a few dogs. While I am happy to have the canine company, it is not the same …
Continue reading The Less Empty NestIs creativity a result of genetics or environment? Â I have no idea. If you know the answer, please share it. What I do know, is that I grew up in a household where creativity was generally celebrated, and I have always considered creativity to be one of my strengths. My mother always drew and painted, …
Continue reading On Passing Along Creativity To Our KidsWho says costumes are just for Halloween? Kids have always loved to dress up, and frankly, so have a lot of adults. Â For many kids and adults one Halloween day a year is hardly enough to satisfy one’s urge to hide behind makeup or a mask and take on the attributes of another person (or …
Continue reading Cos-Play for Kids?Our children and our childhoods sparked an olympic discussion in the lastest episode of the Cast of Dads podcast.  Where else can you listen to five disparate dads debate topics from malaria to Mini-Coopers, from the Olympics to the “Orangutang Hang!”  Enjoy! You can CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO CAST OF DADS EPISODE 53. Topics discussed in …
Continue reading WTF Is A Huckapoo Shirt? – Cast of Dads Episode 53No words are needed to describe how freakin’ awesome this is. Â If you’re a dad, you know the feeling and (hopefully) have your own version of this adventure. Â This has been widely covered by Huffington Post, Inquisitor and others, but this video, and this SUPER Dad, most certainly deserves a place here on Dadomatic. Â On …
Continue reading Spider-Sense Says “PURE AWESOME DADNESS”We’ve covered bullying many times here because it’s such an important issue. It’s incredible that bullying is still such a widespread problem in this day and age of instant communication. As a matter of fact, social media has actually increased the amount of bullying by giving the malicious bullies more tools to spew their venom …
Continue reading Mean GirlsMy dad ran up and down the sidelines cheering me on and yelling at the top of his lungs. Â He didn’t know much of anything about soccer, but that didn’t stop him from being my fan. Â That taught me a valuable lesson, which I am using today. I have never been a basketball fan. Â High …
Continue reading My NBA Education, or, What I Learned From My 12-Year OldA few days before Father’s Day, the Cast of Dads got together with a serious case of the LOL’s – and there were no cats involved.  I’d say you had to be there, but you can!  Just click the link below to listen to the show…  Just be prepared, as laughing is known to be contagious. We hope everyone …
Continue reading Grown Men Giggling: Cast of Dads Episode 52
I don’t know exactly how to put this year’s Father’s Day feelings into words. The day was special…filled with all the usual cards and fun gifts that are easily anticipated. But one aspect stood out and that was the note my 8-year-old daughter wrote to me “from” my father. You see…my dad died in April …
Continue reading My little girl has the biggest heartFather’s Day is around the corner, but as both a dad and a son, I know (and I know that YOU know) that fatherhood has little to do with one “hallmark” day in June.  While it is nice to set aside some dedicated time to celebrate paternity with pride, it is also important to remember that truly, …
Continue reading 5 Things That Shouldn’t Wait For Father’s DayBecause of this promotional video (commercial) that One Republic made for Disney and because my kids sang this over and over again all throughout our time in Disney World recently, this song “Good Life” will forever make me thing of that magical place. I really would love to live close to Disney World someday so …
Continue reading Good LifeWe just got back from our yearly family summer vacation (a cruise to Mexico), and we racked up another bushel of memories that make us all cringe and laugh. If your family is like mine, family summer vacations are watershed moments in our lives that we talk about for years. Â As we rolled down the …
Continue reading Blast From The Past: The Grab BagI can see Lucas playing basketball from my home office. I just ducked my head out the window to say, “I love you, Son.” He replied, “I love you too, Dad.” Then I shut my window and returned to work. I imagine him feeling good knowing Dad is watching and appreciating him. The kind of …
Continue reading Sharing love, anytime.Recently I was driving a route that I normally take when driving home, although I was going somewhere else. At the intersection that takes me to my home, I instinctively turned left rather than continuing straight ahead to my intended destination. My eldest daughter pointed out my mistake, and I responded, “I was on autopilot.” …
Continue reading Autopilot parentingMy greatest day as a dad recently eclipsed my previous greatest day as a dad. The first one was about a month ago. I was wearing a Stormtrooper t-shirt I had gotten for Christmas. My daughter Lucy was sitting across from me at the table, and said, “I like your shirt, Dad.” I thanked her, …
Continue reading My Greatest Day as a Dad (So Far)The shocking news of the suicide of pro football legend Junior Seau has opened up the discussion about the long-term impact of playing the violent sport of football. There have been many studies in recent years showing the severe effects of repetitive traumatic brain injuries, especially regarding concussions. These injuries often lead to what …
Continue reading Whose Dream Is It Anyway?Shaving is one of the best bonding experiences for dads and sons (ok and sometimes daughters much to the chagrin of moms). Whether they use real shaving cream or fake stuff, the kids love pretending to shave like their dad. I don’t know why it is but there’s something fun about this ritual. I highly …
Continue reading Razor Sharp Tips for DadsThis is an old piece that went around via emails way back when, long before the social web made things go viral easily. I was not a parent back then but I never forgot it and sure enough it was extremely poignant and totally true when I became a dad and then experienced having a …
Continue reading Loving TwoI originally wrote this post entitled “Be The Entrepreneur of Yourself” on my personal blog.  Upon further reflection, I think it also may be appropriate here on Dadomatic.  After all, I think instilling the entrepreneurial spirit in our kids is more important than ever.  What do you think? Be The Entrepreneur of Yourself. The world has changed. …
Continue reading Are You Raising Entrepreneurs?Spring is here and the Cast of Dads have sprung back into action with a new fun filled episode.  Next show will be EPISODE 50, a nice milestone for any podcast.  Thank YOU for listening to us rambling dads for all this time.  We greatly appreciate you putting up with us – er, listening to us, and hope you …
Continue reading Getting Back On The Bike: Cast of Dads #49“A bro must wait 3 weeks after he breaks up with a girl to engage with said girl.“ “If the girl dumps the bro then another bro may not date her unless the dumped bro proclaims it.“ These are but 2 rules of The Bro Code that my son has created with his friends. I …
Continue reading The Bro Code2012 is already fast underway, and while it may seem like the Cast of Dads have been absent this year, we actually recorded a great show in January that was lost to the digital demons.  It was probably our best show ever – funny, poignant parenting tips… heartfelt fables of fatherhood… and so much more.  Alas, you …
Continue reading Meatloaf Again??? Cast of Dads Episode 48It was the limo that put the word “stretch” in Stretch Limo.  It was a long, luxurious, glistening and gaudy white limousine worthy of any superstar celebrity in need of a ride.  It was a head-turner, and it had just turned and pulled up in my driveway.  The driver sheepishly knocked on my door.  I looked at …
Continue reading Treat Your Kids Like Rock Stars!When I lived in New York and was just starting my family, we moved to a house in Rockland County. Â As someone who grew up in an apartment, and whose parents both grew up in apartments, it was my first experience with living in a house (and becoming a homeowner) and it was a bit …
Continue reading My Son, The Mowerman, and the Toxic Crusaders (Or, How a 2-Year Old Helped Create a TV Villain)The other night I had the occasion to be in the emergency room in the middle of the night, which is another post for another day. What I want to talk about in this post is what I saw that night. The emergency room was empty with the exception of one other family. They were …
Continue reading You Blink, and They’re GoneFrom the lost film archives… Meet The Parents (my parents…): Once we become parents ourselves, our perspective on our own parents changes.  Suddenly many of the things that annoyed us about our folks when we were young begin to make perfect sense.  We see ourselves interacting with our kids in ways similar to how our …
Continue reading Meet The Parents (Cast of Dads & Sass Edition)Everyone gives love lip service but it’s action not just words. We men especially need to learn that it’s important for us to show our love with actions and not just our mouth. It’s what we do that counts the most. It isn’t the flowers or mushy greeting card or expensive gifts, but the every …
Continue reading Love is Action Not Just WordsThis is a post I wrote on my own blog a few months back. I thought it would fit nicely here with the dadomatic community. If you have children and you let them play on social media websites, or are wondering what to do because your child is asking for a Facebook/Twitter/Google Plus account, this …
Continue reading Are You Old Enough For Facebook?This past weekend I was completing one of my to-do items on my list, and figured the new year was as good an excuse as any to get it done! Â I have a stack of home movies of my kids on VCR tapes that I have been meaning for years to get converted to DVDs …
Continue reading From stuffed animals to puppy dogsToday’s the day. Â Another year slips into our memories as the clock ticks forward into 2012. Â As parents, nothing should be more cherished than time, for it is a resource that can never be replenished. Â A moment past is just that… a moment that has moved from now to then. Â A moment that can no …
Continue reading Father Time and FatherhoodThe Cast of Dads got together to talk turkey (or in my case, Tofurkey) in the 47th episode of our (almost) weekly gabfest. Â As always, we are hard pressed to stay on any one topic for too long, and we run the gamut from Thanksgiving dinners to toddler vandalism to kids pooping in the dryer. …
Continue reading Macaroni and Cheesy… Cast of Dads Episode 47We learned about gambling at this year’s vacation. The resort gave us three $10 vouchers to double any $10 bet we placed at the roulette or card tables. With the kids waiting in the lobby, I placed a two-for-one bet and won on red. I came back to announce I had won $20. What should …
Continue reading Gambling With My Kids’ MoneyAs I have now watched my three kids grow, evolve, morph and mature from helplessly adorable infants to helpful and independent young adults, I find myself thinking a lot about my own evolving role as a parent. Â As much as our kids change, so do we, and so do the strings we have attached to …
Continue reading On Parenting, Kites and BalloonsDespite all of the attention that the subject matter of bullying has gotten recently, the pain and anguish continues. More and more victims are trying to get the word out such as this young man whose video on YouTube has become viral as he shares his torture silently by holding up cards describing his living …
Continue reading Silent Cries for Help
Last year, a bunch of the teachers at my daughter’s school formed a team and participated in Movember. For those of you not familiar, during Movember men around the world grow mustaches in the month of November, to raise money and awareness to fight prostate cancer and other men’s health issues. Â All the kids rallied …
Continue reading 27 Dads, 27 Mustaches – A Movember StoryAs parents we are in a special club when it comes to being thankful. Â We are in a club that knows, firsthand, from within every cell, every molecule, every essence of our being, what it means to have something to be thankful for. Â To have children to be thankful for. Â This is because there …
Continue reading Parents Are Lucky When It Comes To ThankfulDoes having more kids increase your chances of Adultitis? If so, how many kids can you have before it takes over your life completely? This sums up a question I recently received through our website. Here it is in its entirety: “Hi guys, if it’s not too personal of a topic, I was wondering if …
Continue reading How Many Kids Can You Have Before Adultitis Takes Over?November is Movember and thus there is an abundance of facial hair around the Cast of Dads.  Please consider supporting the cause and donating to Max, Brad, Michael or C.C.‘s efforts to raise money and awareness to fight cancer in men. As the holidays are already approaching it is exciting to see that we are fast approaching our 50th episode of …
Continue reading A Hair Raising Month: Cast of Dads #46More fun for free: Make a comic strip of your very own family life. Yes, this really happened. :: Joe Hage is chief storyteller for Medical Marcom, a medical devices marketing consultancy helping medical companies become more approachable and engaging. ::
Continue reading The Real Hages of WashingtonA pistol grip on a AK-74U reduces the recoil and improves accuracy. By taking advantage of reduced gravity you can buy yourself a few seconds of advantage as you jump over your opponent. If you wait a few seconds before firing and allow more of them to come into the picture you can take out …
Continue reading Pistol Grips, Reduced Gravity, and Problem SolvingI am still trying to figure out what my kids are thinking (and they are all in their 20’s!) Â Even so, I clearly remember the wonder of discovery on each of their faces as they grew from infancy to toddlerhood and explored the small, but fascinating world around them. Â Witnessing the rapid pace they grow, …
Continue reading What Do Babies Think?I had dinner with two of the three Sasslets the other night. It is hard to still call them “Sasslets” as my daughter, the youngest, just left her teens behind by turning twenty. Yes, she’s been Daddy’s little girl for twenty years, and that’s how long I’ve been wrapped around her finger. While I still …
Continue reading What I Learned Having Dinner With My KidsEvery time I talk about things regarding ‘back in the day…’ I start to sound like that old guy who yells at kids to get off his lawn. If there is anything universal I think it’s old people complaining about young people. And I have done my fair share for sure. I often get invited …
Continue reading Why Generation Y Is Better Than You and II am pretty sure I am in the minority here (here being Dadomatic). I am likely one of the few dads with grown children and an empty nest. In the three years I have been writing for Dadomatic I’ve gone through both High School and College graduations and have seen my three kids go forth …
Continue reading Giving Your Kids The BusinessWe were getting ready for church. I was shaving. “Zachary,” I said, “They are probably going to be talking about 9/11 today at church.” “So is this a national holiday?” “No, I wouldn’t say ‘holiday.’ It is a day of reflection.” Lucas asked, “What does ‘reflection’ mean?” I answered, “Reflection means ‘thinking about.’ People will …
Continue reading Zachary, 10 Years Later: A 9/11 ReflectionIt is pretty darn easy for my 14 yr old son to get under the skin of my 11 yr. old. He knows exactly what to say to send his brother into orbit and cause a ruckus. Â I think pretty much every family can say the same thing, right? Your kids figure out pretty quickly, …
Continue reading Words are heavyUs dads are always looking for activities we can share and experience with our kids. Â Sometimes it is a sport or hobby. Â Sometimes it is a book or movie. Â Sometimes it is helping with a school project. Â My friend Steve Spiro and his son Sam have found a project they can work on together, while …
Continue reading A Father And Son Create A Charity Around LaughterMy little brother and his wife delivered their twins yesterday. It was quite a day and I am very proud of him and his wife as I think they will make great parents. Â I could sense the pride in his voice and it still blows my mind that my little brother is now a father. …
Continue reading Revisiting Memories
The arm in the picture above belongs to my 23 year-old son, Zach. Â The tattoo belongs to him as well. Â It is his first. Â Personally, I am not at all the “tattoo type” and while I have come to appreciate and admire them (in many, but certainly not all, instances) I don’t see much “ink” …
Continue reading Of Tattoos and DeterminationI heard this absolutely beautiful song called “Daddy” at the end of Curious George by a group called LaughingPizza and I just had to find out more about it and hear it again and again. It truly got to me and I think it will for any parent. Such a sweet sentiment and such a …
Continue reading You’re The Best Daddy (Song)The other day I was surfing around inside Facebook and saw a post that was created by my 14-yr old daughter. One of her older high-school friends made a comment on her post and in the comment she said this, “…I want to no all about it…”. Â I made the remark to my daughter how …
Continue reading Facebook GrammarMy dad has a little brown spot on his hand. And when I was little he told me it was a ticklish spot. We were in our den and he was on the phone. I decided to tickle the spot. “It’s not ticklish when I’m on the phone,” he said. As it turns out, Dad …
Continue reading Eulogizing My FatherMy 8 year-old has been after me to watch Meet The Robinsons for the longest time so I finally made time to watch it with my kids and I sure am happy I did. I absolutely loved the movie. Now, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for most of the animated films these …
Continue reading Little WondersHappy 4th of July Weekend! The Cast of Dads got together before the weekend to share our post Father’s Day adventures and we had a blast sharing some of our own stories of fireworks and other explosive topics. Â We also announced the winner of our Father’s Day Dell Inspiron Duo giveaway, thanks to our friends …
Continue reading Let the Fireworks Begin! Cast of Dads #43I have lots of people in my life who have things in common with me. I have neighbors who share our neighborhood in common with me, so when we talk to each other we talk about the neighborhood. I have work colleagues who share work things in common with me. I know the guy at …
Continue reading A Common ThreadI got there at 11:00 or so. He was sleeping but woke to a “really good” day. I got talk to him as I would someone in perfect health. With Mom nearby, I talked about my new business (“So proud of you”) and my family (“I love you more than you know”). I showed JPEGs …
Continue reading The Last Day with My FatherNBA star, Robert Horry, shared a touching open letter to his daughter Ashlyn who passed away on 6/14/2011 far too young at 17 due to a rare genetic disorder called 1p36 Deletion Syndrome. The NBA legend is famous for his late game heroics on the court but here he shares an even more incredible display …
Continue reading A Father’s Open Letter to His DaughterI don’t know if I’ll hit the publish button. I’m collecting thoughts after the most memorable Father’s Day of my life. My dad is dying. At one point today, my mother, sisters, and I crowded around my father’s bed in the assisted living facility. We professed our profound love for the man and each got …
Continue reading Saying Goodbye to DadInfluence is a decided buzz word, as is “influencers.” Â Many of us get caught up with the number of followers and on-line friends we have… we judge our online worth by our Klout scores, and re-tweets and blog comments. Â But today is the day to honor someone who is a true influencer… someone who, as …
Continue reading The Ultimate Influencer: Dad’s Got Klout!The list is long. My to-do list of work-related things is pretty darn long, and you know what I’m talking about. When you get something marked off your list it seems like 2 things make it onto your list. I am one of those people who doesn’t have a distinct separation between work and personal, …
Continue reading The Most Important Thing: Being ThereWe just lost our beautiful Papillon Chi Chi. He was a great dog and we will miss him terribly. My 8 year-old Matthew was closest to Chi Chi so he’s taking it the hardest. Seeing my son in such pain breaks my heart as much as the loss of our sweet dog. He’s too young …
Continue reading The Circle of LifeLast week I had the chance to speak about kids and technology with Intel‘s Peter Biddle on his MashUp Radio show. Â We had a fun conversation that ran the gamut from toddlers and tablets, to “Free Range Kids,” to marketing to kids, to the concept of our kids never being alone thanks to technology. Peter …
Continue reading Talking Tech and Toddlers on MashUp Radio
From the mundane to the major, one of the things I have had to grapple with over the seven months since my wife passed is that I really no longer have a single sounding board to just talk through issues or hear myself say them out loud. I recently posted on my Single Dad blog …
Continue reading The Single Dad’s Sounding Board?It is June. Notable for the official start of summer, hurricane season (for those of us, like me, based in South Florida) and of course, Father’s Day. Like many dads, I am both a father and a son, roles that are intimately intertwined. We are all someone’s children, and as such we assume that who …
Continue reading The Real Father’s Day GiftWe just got back from the family vacation to the Great Smokey Mountains, and it has given me time to reflect on the whole family vacation experience. Â I wrote a number of weeks ago about the whole saga of trying to figure out a way to get the whole family together for a summer vacation, …
Continue reading Spend Your Money On MemoriesHere’s a hilarious music video called The Dad Life by Church on the move. It pretty much nails the experience. Dad Life lyrics Ha ha This is dad life It’s how we live 24/7, 365 Check me Gas station glasses Don’t care what the masses Think about me wit my sweet goatee I’m rockin’ my …
Continue reading The Dad Life
Dropping a cross post from my Dad the Single Guy blog because I think this audience would have some thoughts on this too: I’ve never been one (or at least I hope I have not been one) to look for help unless I am truly out of options and just can’t figure out a problem …
Continue reading Looking Inward for SolutionsParents always have a special song or two for each of their babies. One of my favorites is John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” which still touches me deeply every time I hear it because I used to sing it to both of my sons at bedtime. Adding to the bittersweetness is the fact that John Lennon’s …
Continue reading Beautiful BoyMy seven-year-old takes karate. Makes him feel invincible. Him: “Don’t worry. If a bad guy comes, I know karate.” Me: “I still want you where I can see you.” Him: “Don’t worry. I know karate.” Me: “What if three bad guys come?” Him: “That’s ok. I can do my ‘tornado kick.’” I think when kids …
Continue reading Scared the S*** Out of Me
This is cross posted from my Single Dad blog, but I think its relevant for the Dad-O-Matic audience too. I had an exchange with 10.5 today (through a closed bathroom door might I add) that made me chuckle slightly, and appreciate the differences of the changed world in which we live. Â And in this case, …
Continue reading Perspectives Are Shaped By Our WorldI recently started a fitness training program and post regular updates on my website. I wrote this post to give my reason why I am getting fit. I think being a parent comes with many responsibilities and one is to teach our children how to live a healthy lifestyle. I thought this might be motivation …
Continue reading Being Pro-FitRecently I spent a Sunday afternoon replacing the insides of one of the toilets in the house. It was finally time because I couldn’t tighten things anymore to stop it from leaking, as the hard water had taken its toll on the seals. So I set about my business. As is sometimes the case, it …
Continue reading Changing your toilet and other dad dutiesIt’s safe to say that not one of us dads could or would be a dad if not for a MOM! Actually, if not for two moms – our mom as well as the mom of our beloved children! As I write this I realize that I have already expressed similar thoughts here two years …
Continue reading A Dad’s Tribute To Moms…Product commercials are known to be sappy on occasion. Â It seems the pulling of our heartstrings is a proven selling technique right up there with sex and humor. Â Effective branding ads frequently play with our emotions, creating clever brand associations that, when they work, can be deep and lasting. Â Google has a winner with it’s …
Continue reading Google’s “Dear Sophie” Ad Makes Dads Proud!
Just a word of warning to regular readers-this post will likely get more than a little sappy, and I can not guarantee the readability. Since the beginning of last summer, I’ve been trying to instill a sense of extended family in my girls.  To let them know that while we see each other all the time, grandma …
Continue reading The Extended Family PlanFor many years I have done my dad-ly duties by documenting the various family events such as birthdays, vacations, and sports games. Â I have more digital pictures than I care to count, and I will admit that I am quite fond of making music videos of the family events and posting them on Youtube (www.youtube.com/user/stevengholt). …
Continue reading Transforming My Son Into Steven SpielbergLast week 3/5ths of the Cast of Dads had the chance to get together for a road trip from Boston to NY thanks to the the teams at Ford and Sony who tried to be the first brands to get all of us together.  Unfortunately, crazy dad schedules (that is – crazy schedules, not crazy dads… well…) prevented …
Continue reading On The Road… Again
Cross posted from Dad the Single Guy: There are lots of signs out there-some that are really obvious, like the ones on the road when you are driving. Some that are designed to make you take an action, like a sale sign in a store, and some that are societal-a parent non-verbally communicating with their …
Continue reading Signs, Signs Everywhere is Signs
I love CostCo. I love getting a deal and I love that their deals cover everything from electronics to apparel, from books to food to a pack of batteries so large I never think we’ll go through them all (we always do). I love their return policy as well…in short, it’s satisfaction guaranteed. Always (ok, …
Continue reading My CostCo Love Affair…and My New Traeger SmokerHere’s something new from Charity Water, a charity Dad-O-Matic endorses and supports. It’s called “Water Changes Everything” and it clearly shows the tremendous impact that clean water has on families all over the world. We all know the importance of clean water but too many of us don’t fully realize how tough it is for …
Continue reading Water Changes Everything
Cross posted from my social media blog-its a relevant discussion for this audience too. As the parent of one tween (10.5 who will be 11 in two months) and an 8.5 who wants to do what her big sister does – social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc., are sources of big concern for me …
Continue reading (My) Tween(s) and Social Networking
This is cross-posted from Dad The Single Guy because I think the audience here will have a different take on this one: While it sounds simple, for the last 18 months or so I’ve tried to focus on getting day-to-day for me and the girls, and along the way doing the best I can to …
Continue reading Making Today A Better Day Than YesterdayIt looked really cool. My 11 year old son had taken a piece of paper on the counter and folded it into a boat, although I didn’t know at that moment that he was the one who did it. At first I thought that he might have found it somewhere, but I asked him where …
Continue reading Is YouTube raising my kids?In this age of digital images, how many of you still have boxes of family photos hiding in the darkest corners of your least visited closets? Â With the near ubiquity of digital photography, for many of us, our family memories have come out of the closet and have moved onto hard drives and online services …
Continue reading A Boy And His Dog… And A Pet Peeve About Digital PhotographyIt’s Masters Thursday and that means it’s the day I miss my father more than any other day of the year. More than his birthday (and more than mine). More than the day he died 10 years ago (how can it be 10 years?!?) You see…my dad loved golf. Loved to play it. Loved to …
Continue reading Masters Thursday is When I Miss My Dad the Most
I am cross posting this verbatim from my Dad the Single Guy blog because I think it will work as is for this audience as well: A friend of mine who studies and embraces work-life balance shared a link on her Facebook recently to a US News blog about managing the work environment when things at home …
Continue reading Work, Life and What’s In Between
One of the interesting things about being a 40+ tech nerd is that I have what I think is a unique and different view of devices and apps than the usual 20-something. Â So when I go to a Tweetup (a meeting of Twitter users), I am usually the oldest or among the oldest. Â When I …
Continue reading Follow Me On the Yellow Brick (Road)So we sat down at the computer like we always do (my wife and I that is) to figure out which week we needed to block out for the family summer vacation. We did this about a month ago, at the beginning of March. Â We are still trying to figure it out. I remember back …
Continue reading The Modern-Day Family Summer VacationKids: You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them! Â Granted, that expression may have originally been coined for someone (er, some gender) other than kids, but these days I’d like to think it has ample applications to our offspring, for, as challenging and frustrating as being a parent can seem at times, …
Continue reading Visiting Day At The Kids’ House (and Dinner for Dad)… and I’m sound asleep. “Joey? The dog.” I hate this. But I don’t fight it. My wife needs her sleep. And I can usually fall right back to sleep. The dog bolts out the front door. I wait. Nothing. “Brooklyn!” “Brook!” Five minutes. Ten. Finally the dog resurfaces. By now, I’ve complained about him …
Continue reading 2:58 a.m.
Today was a planned work from home day for me.  It’s a day I can have dinner with the girls and just make sure I am around.  Lately I’ve been trying to schedule two of these a week and try to give them a chance to talk or just hang and not have to worry about …
Continue reading The Daddy Dating GameSo here it is the first year I am officially a single parent, and no one told me about Single Parent Day-I completely missed it.  (For those like me who are uninitiated to this Hallmark moment, its the third Sunday of March). I did spend my  Single Parent Day out being a single parent, juggling …
Continue reading Hallmark and the Single ParentI had the chance a few weeks ago to participate in a week-long training seminar on leadership. Toward the end of the week I was a little worn out with all the heavy mental calisthenics I had been doing and was really just interested in going home. Then we had a 4-hour session on the …
Continue reading The Watermarks of LifeFor the last two years (maybe even longer) and ongoing struggle in my house is getting the girls (both of them) to do their chores. Â I don’t think I have given them a huge burden to take on-washing dishes, vacuuming once/week, cleaning rooms, putting laundry away and taking out the garbage (nightly). Â There are two, …
Continue reading When Chores are Done, But They Aren’t ChoresOne dad clearly #Winning in the news these days is Charlie Sheen, and the Cast of Dads took a few sips of Tiger Blood while recording our 40th episode.  As usual, we cover a cornucopia of topics, from Charile’s angels -er, goddesses, to Dr. Seuss.  As a true sign of a dedicated dadcaster, our own Max Kalefhoff …
Continue reading Whining and #Winning!
I put this over on my Dad The Single Guy blog this morning, but wanted to add it here because its one of those relationship issues that people on this blog seem to like. One of the semi-corny things you hear about a marriage is that its a partnership-we all have things we don’t do …
Continue reading Daddy WrappingA few years ago, my sister-in-law took her pre-teen daughter to the midnight opening of the first Twilight movie. On a school night. I always thought that was the coolest thing ever. Granted, part of the reason I thought it was so cool is because it was a break from the norm. My brother and …
Continue reading Breaking the Rules: The Best Part of Parenting?I am currently suffering from a bout of empty nest syndrome and one of the symptoms is recalling all sorts of memories of my kids at various stages and ages. Â My oldest, now 22, recently ran a half marathon – his first – and afterwards he threw up. Â Watching him barf as a young …
Continue reading An Ode To Parenting and PukingToday was one of those days. Â I needed everything to line up just right, and for the most part it did, but there were some very tense moments where it looked like the daily pyramid was going to crumble. I probably missed the early sign. Â I had to catch a train this morning no later …
Continue reading The Fragile PyramidI’m going to try and bring some of the cool or interesting stories I’ve found in my work at the DADvocate Project over here to the DAD-O-Matic community in the coming weeks and months. Today I’d like to share a music video buy Jean P that I think is just awesome: Over the course of …
Continue reading Amirs Song – A moving song about becoming a fatherWhen I was a kid my parents made me ride the bus to school. I hated it. Seriously. In fact, I rode the bus to school until I was able to get my driver’s license and drive to school. What is really telling is that I drove mom’s station wagon. Yeah, I was willing to …
Continue reading Do Your Kids A Favor And Make Them Ride The BusThe other day I found myself compelled to take a ride west to the Everglades and take pictures of the Sunset. Â When I thought about why I was there, I realized that it was a place I often go to think and clear my head when things in my life are changing. Â Years ago, when …
Continue reading Sunrise, Sunset“You Can Let Go” is the debut song from Canadian country artist Crystal Shawanda which knocked me for a loop. I know that I’m a big ole sucker for these types of songs but I really was moved by this one. It tells the tale of a little girl and her dad as she grows …
Continue reading You Can Let Go Now, DaddyIt’s important children learn the role of tone and metamessages.
Continue reading “It’s the WAY you said it!â€As parents we know that most times it is the simple things we do for our kids that leave the most lasting impression.  The best birthday gifts are often not the ones we’ve spent the most money on, but rather, the ones we’ve spent the most love, care and creativity on.  The best cakes are …
Continue reading Angry Birds Lead To A Happy Birthday!The full Cast of Dads got together for the first time this year and we talk turkey about one of the most feared feats of fatherdom – having the “sex” talk with your child. Â The Cast of Dads’ kids range from toddlers to teens and beyond, so we all have our own unique takes on …
Continue reading Having THE Talk: Cast of Dads #39I think most dads would agree that their dad-ness is influenced in large part by the things that their dad did. I know that’s true in my life. My childhood was a normal one I think, with lots of great memories of family vacations, yard work, playground fights, and generally being a kid. I struggle …
Continue reading These Aren’t My Dad’s ShoesTheir 24-year-old son experienced a “religious awakening” and talked about going to California. He is off his medication and in danger. Here’s how you can help.
Continue reading Help us find a missing young manWith the hype and hoopla over, there will be plenty of talk around the water cooler tomorrow about “the game,” and of course, about the commercials. Â One of the standout commercials was the “The Force” by Volkswagen for the 2012 Passat. Â More than just Star Wars fans will love this humbling homage to the power …
Continue reading Super Bowl, Super Ad, Super Dad!We dads get so focussed on our jobs and careers that we sometimes lose sight of the things that mean the most in life. Yes, earning a good living is critical for providing for our families so we should all strive to do the best work we can do in order to ensure our livelihood. …
Continue reading It’s What I Do“I hate those quizzes dad.” Â That’s what my 10 year old told me. Â He got a Facebook account for Christmas and his friends immediately started sending him Facebook quizzes and polls. Â You know what I am talking about… “which garden tool are you?” Â and “So-and-so just took a quiz to see how smart you are. …
Continue reading Kids Are More Tech-Savvy, But Does That Make Them Smarter?(Sunday, January 30, 2011) I am writing this after a four mile run. Actually, I am working my way up with interval training, having started a month or so ago by walking two minutes and running one minute, then, a week or so later upping it to two and two, then a week or so …
Continue reading (Half) Marathon ManHaving kids does weird things to you. The gravity of being the one responsible for the care and development of another human being can be overwhelming. The role of responsible “grown-up†can make you terribly paranoid, overly strict, and endlessly stressed-out. In other words, completely Adultitis-ridden. A woman named Johanna recently described this transformation on …
Continue reading Mud is Too Dirty: Have You Become Your Parents?“I’m bored!” “I don’t know what to do!” “I’m sooo bored! This is boring!!” What do you do when your child is bored?
What to do when your child is bored
Continue reading When Your Child Says “I’m Bored!”It is Saturday afternoon and I am all alone. Olivia, my daughter and the youngest at 19 is at work at Panera Bread. Â My middle Son, Ethan, is in Boston, battling the blizzards and enjoying the extra time he’s getting with his guitar thanks to “snow days” off from college. Zach, the first born and …
Continue reading 10 Things I Miss Now That My Kids Are Older…I’ve been reading this great book, a real-life love story called The Motion of the Ocean by Janna Cawrse. It’s the story of a now-married couple, the journey it took them to get there and the adventure of abandoning their lives for a 17,000 mile sail around the Pacific Ocean in a leaky boat. I’m …
Continue reading Pink and Blue TasksThe other day one of my kids ran in the house after school and made a bee-line to his room. In a matter of minutes the XBox360 was online and he was fragging (ask your kids, they know what it means) his buddies and trash talking (using his wireless voice-over-ip headset) his way through a …
Continue reading Nazi Zombies, Mudballs, and Why I Am Afraid I Am Screwing My Kids UpAs parents, as Americans, as humans, it is difficult not to have been affected by the tragic and senseless violence in Arizona one week ago today.  While the target of the horrific attack may have been a politician, all indications are that this was not an act of political unrest, but rather the appalling and inexplicable brutality of a …
Continue reading Shattered Dreams, And Hope For The Future…I stumbled upon this amazing video on YouTube by Spoonito who shared home movies that his dad took of him and his sister over the span of 25 years during Christmas time. The dad recorded his son and daughter coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to open their presents from 1985 to 2009. There …
Continue reading 25 Years of ChristmasMan, I love TED. I have used many TED videos as the inspiration for blog posts here on Dad-O-Matic and on my personal blog on several occasions and given the depth and breadth of the content from TED and TEDx events, I suspect this won’t be the last.  This time TED has inspired a more manly …
Continue reading Thinking Outside “The Man Box”I grumbled when my 8-year-old wanted me to take her to one of those tree-cutting places. I grumbled more when the woman said it was $60 for the privilege of doing all the labor ourselves. I’d set out to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree (you know the type, right?), and I couldn’t see myself …
Continue reading Happy Holidays And Tree-Cutting‘Tis the season when red and green are the new black, and the “holiday spirit” permeates all things commercial and otherwise. Â If you are politically correct, then almost all salutations, spoken, written, or otherwise are readily sprinkled with “HAPPY HOLIDAYS.” Â If you are politically direct, then, at least this week, it is “MERRY CHRISTMAS.” Â I …
Continue reading Will The Real Santa Please Stand Up?A while back, I ran across this dad who draws on paper bags for his kids during his lunch break. Pretty neat stuff. But he’s also used his creativity (and a box cutter) to elevate the humble cardboard box into an even more awesome structure of play. Even neater. Which leads me to think about …
Continue reading The Best Christmas Present Is…In this short video, I share a few project ideas on what you can do to make media around the holidays: What say you?
Continue reading Holiday Media ProjectsAn open letter to Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL: Dear Roger: We’ve never met…but you’re welcome to stop by to say hello at any of the Chicago Bears home games. Â You’ll find me in the stats booth (always warm, dry and comfortable) on level A at Soldier Field, one door north of the main …
Continue reading Time to Change a Thanksgiving TraditionIf you awaken to a house full of noisy kids… be thankful. If you are tired because you spent half the night feeding and rocking an infant to sleep… be thankful. If you are late for work because you walked your son or daughter to the bus stop and the bus never showed… be thankful. …
Continue reading If You Can Read This… Be Thankful!As a parent, arguably your number one job is to be a parent. In reality, being a parent is simply not enough.  As we raise our kids from infancy to the insanity that is adulthood, we must hold many jobs on the side to make ends meet (and meet the endless needs of our kids).  In addition …
Continue reading 5 Professions Every Parent Needs To Add To Their ResumeI received a curious jar of things from my friend, Jason Falls, on behalf of Wonderopolis.org. It’s a site about literacy and how we can help kids learn more. You’ve gotta see what came out of the bucket (this video runs about 4 minutes long): The site, Wonderopolis had a lot of ways to get …
Continue reading Literacy Comes in Many PackagesOur oldest daughter, now 7, asked me a question recently that set me back on my heels. “What’s special about me?” It took me by surprise because she has always been a confident, outgoing kid. The thing about this simple question that made me pause was that she wasn’t fishing for a compliment, she really …
Continue reading Building Your Daughter’s Self-EsteemHere’s an interesting new solution called Life360 whose slogan is “Your child’s safety comes first”. They offer several tools for protecting your family. The most compelling being the emergency alert system called Family GPS Tracking that instantly notifies other family members the moment you find yourself in trouble. You can get the app for iPhone …
Continue reading Life360 Offers a Mobile Panic Button for Your KidsLately I have been reflecting on reflections, literally and figuratively. Â Perhaps it is the melancholy that I normally associate with the fast approaching Holiday Season, or maybe it is symptomatic of simply aging, and watching my kids grow. Â It seems I notice mirrors and reflections at every turn these days, from the literal mirror mirror …
Continue reading The Man (Dad) In The MirrorGameTruck is a new birthday party idea for video game-loving kids that kicks Pump It Up’s ass. My kids went nuts for it.
Continue reading If your child likes video games …My (almost) nine-year-old Zachary was terribly frustrated doing his homework a few weeks back. “I’m so mad! I just want to throw something!” How to respond?
Continue reading Behold the marshmallowOur own Chris Cuomo just did a very important special on 20/20 about bullying called “Bullied to Death in America’s Schools“. It was a powerful piece about the escalating number of tragedies caused by bullying. Far too many good kids are tortured by bullies and too many are taking their own lives. The special also …
Continue reading Chris Cuomo’s Special on BullyingThe topic of bullying has always been important to me. I’ve seen the pain and anguish caused by bullying my whole life. Fortunately for me, I grew tall early in life so I avoided the torture of being the victim of most bullies but I still witnessed too many friends get picked on for years. …
Continue reading Protecting Our Precious AngelsI’m watching the recent movie adaptation of Astro Boy, a year or so after my daughter watched it. There are so many emotional upheavals and elements I probably didn’t want my daughter to see without some conversation. She’s a smart kid, but this movie is all about rejection. There’s tons and tons of situations of …
Continue reading Parental GuidanceOver the summer, in particular, I bring my kids down to my office with me fairly regularly. This past summer, my college student daughter, Stephanie, worked here as an intern, so I always had family close at hand, but the real fun is when my younger daughter, Katie, crashes the party. I’m smiling and remembering …
Continue reading When the Kid’s Come To WorkTrust me, it’s hopeless.  Do you dread walking into your kid’s room?  Are you tired of picking up socks, clothes and toys off of the floor?  Do you beg and bribe your kids to clean their rooms?  Well, you might as well stop right now and save yourself years of stress and anxiety.  You can reduce your future botox bills …
Continue reading Stop Picking Up Their Clothes!A while back, I wrote 600 Days Without Solid Sleep. Well after yet another night marked by a 2AM wake-up call, I thought I would run the numbers, and what do you know? A nice round 1000 days! How could I not mark such an auspicious occasion? Pardon me if I appear a bit snarky, …
Continue reading 1000 Sleepless NightsBefore I post a new episode of Cast of Dads I always listen to it, and even though I was “there” and part of the recording, I try to listen back to the finished show as a “listener” and experience it as I hope you will. Â I have to say, this show, our 30th episode, …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #30: Stuffed Animals, Stuffed Mouths, and Other Stuff…“Instead of enjoying her company over the holiday weekend, I’ll be waving good-bye to her as my mother takes her to California for a dance competition.” A Dad carves a moment out of his morning to spend some time with his busy girl.
Continue reading Loving the Little MomentsA member of the Dad-O-Matic extended family has recently gone public with details of a situation that would be any parent’s worst nightmare – having your children suddenly taken away from you, and not being able to see or communicate with them for more than a year. Â This has been the terrible situation Colin Bower …
Continue reading A Father’s NightmareI’ve long been a fan of homemade ice cream. Not homemade in the store…homemade in my home. It’s really one of the easiest recipes to make…as long as you keep the ice cream maker in your freezer, you’re always ready to go. But what about something a bit lower in fat? Say a popsicle? Every …
Continue reading Instant PopsiclesSummertime is often a time we catch up on reading and this summer is no exception.  I finally sat down to read a book I purchased last summer, Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival (Amazon affiliate link) by Norman Ollestad.  This is a true story, but written with the depth, pace, and strong characterizations one …
Continue reading Book Review: Crazy For The Storm – A Memoir Of Survival(Note: I originally posted this on my personal blog, but felt it was also relevant here on Dadomatic. Â I hope you don’t mind the repetition if you are a visitor to both.) Last night I went to a Memorial Tribute arranged by a co-worker and friend whose father passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. …
Continue reading Don’t Wait For The Memorial…In this episode of Cast of Dads one of the dads tells of a late night spill that ended with a trip to the ER and some stitches… which leads to a discussion of kids and injuries… which leads to me recalling the tale of my daughter and her missing finger tip… (you’ll have to listen to …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #28: Stitches, Veggies and Scooping PoopIn the latest episode of Cast of Dads, we actually started the show with a couple of specific topics in mind: “Kewl Birthday Parties” and “the dangers of drowning.” Â From happy to scary and everything in between we cover it all, and then some, in a show that combines serious parenting tips with a lot …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #27: Same Old Spit…If you have more than one child at home do you find that they often “tattle” on each other? I have written about digital tattle tales before and on a recent trip to San Francisco I was thinking about it again, and how, in my case, counting on one or more of my kids to …
Continue reading Checks And Balances: Is It OK For Your Kids To Be Tattle Tales?Much is being written about the awesome and uber viral Old Spice campaign featuring former football player Isaiah Mustafa. Â It turns out the “Old Spice Guy” is a dad, and, it seems a great dad at that. Check out this “call out” to his daughter as part of the interactive “real time” videos that Old …
Continue reading A Most Awesome “Dad†Moment Courtesy of Old SpiceAre you enjoying some quiet time with your spouse while the kids are away at camp?  If so, you are also probably getting ready for the infamous “visiting day,” when parents invade the camp grounds to see what their offspring are really doing while off at Camp Cost-A-Lot.  Having been both a camper and a …
Continue reading 5 Tips For A Successful Summer Camp Visiting DayThe heat was on for this week’s Cast of Dads show as the Northeast experienced record breaking (and air conditioning breaking) temperatures. Â From the humidity to stupidity, we crack open some beer and wine and I cracked some of my usually corny jokes (well, you might not consider them jokes). I seemed to have had …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #26: Hot Fun In The Summertime…It is Independence Day but I find myself considering “independence” in more ways than the birth of our nation. Having recently gone through both a High School and a College graduation with my kids, lately their independence has been on my mind.  So, to celebrate parenthood on the 4th of July, here is a quick …
Continue reading 10 Milestones In Your Child’s Path To IndependenceThe Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!  From warships in San Francisco, to spies to Diplomatic tweets, this week the Cast of Dads hopped around more topics than a room full of kangaroos.  If you’d like us to be a little more focused in the future feel free to E-mail us your topic ideas! Meanwhile the …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #25: Russian Home To The FamilyThis has been floating around Cyberspace a while I think, but it just landed on my radar and it is too good not to share with Team Dadomatic. Enjoy! Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo. Kudos to the super creative team that wrote and produced the Dad Life song and video! Â Go …
Continue reading Hip Hop By Pop: Dad LifeIt is Father’s Day, and if you’ve been lazy, busy, or just procrastinating way too long I have good news for you. There is still plenty of time to give the best Father’s Day Gift ever, and here’s how: If you are in the same city, go see your dad. Give him a hug – …
Continue reading The Absolute BEST Last Minute Father’s Day Gift!Everyone loves a gift that keeps on giving…something that will be used frequently and thus serve as a lasting reminder of the occasion and the gift giver.  The best way to find a perpetual gift for dad is to take a look at things that are part of his everyday routine.  Get dad a gift he will …
Continue reading A Routine Gift For Father’s Day…My mother is one of the strongest people I know. When I was a kid, I idolized my dad. He was the coolest, smartest dad on earth, and I wanted to be just like him. My mom, not so much. Mom and dad got divorced when I was 7 or 8. My mom was a …
Continue reading Happy Father’s Day, MomWhen I was little, I would ask my father, “What do you want for Father’s Day, Dad? His answer would not make sense to me. “I don’t want anything.” Then, realizing this answer would not satisfy, “I want good, well-behaved children.” Seemed like a non-answer to me. Now I’m a Dad My children, aged 6 …
Continue reading What do you want for Father’s Day, Dad?It is graduation season, and the air is filled with the aroma’s of diplomas! Â From Grade School to Graduate School students everywhere and their families and friends are celebrating “Commencement.” Â I have always marveled at how clever it is to honor the completion of school with a word that means “beginning.” Â While we celebrate our …
Continue reading Graduation: A Commence-meant To Be!Yes, you read correctly. Â The title of this post is “Fatherhood One On One,” not to be confused with “Fatherhood 101.” Â For Fatherhood “101,” just dive in and and read ALL the posts on Dadomatic from ALL our great Dads. Â You will get a complete primer on being a Dad from just about every imaginable …
Continue reading Fatherhood One On OneRegardless of what we may think, in the end, it is our kids who hold all the power. Â They are the ones who (sooner than we think) will start taking over and running things in this fast paced, high tech digital world we live in. Â I was reminded of this in the presentation below by …
Continue reading Respect Kids: They Will Own You One Day!A review of the new family-friendly movie, Secrets of the Mountain, brought to you by Walmart and P&G.
Continue reading Secrets of the Mountain – Review & Give-AwayI miss windows. Â No, I am not an Apple convert waxing poetic about my old computer operating system. Â I actually miss real windows… the glass kind. Â The kind we used to gaze through and let our minds wander in the days before portable electronics became so pervasive. I miss looking out the window, and I …
Continue reading The Pane Truth: What Happened To Looking Out The Window?Readeo has unveiled something they called BookChat that uses webcams to allow people to read books via the web in real-time. The idea will not be received well by some folks who will complain that the best part of the reading experience is being together. However, this solution is not positioning itself as a replacement …
Continue reading Readeo Introduces BookChatMy youngest’s bio on Facebook. Why I love him. I’m a pretty laid back person. Unfortunately, I’m a person who wears their heart on their sleeves. I’m the son of an awesome father, Todd Jordan, who really cares for me. Also, an awesome loving mother, Sharon Jordan, who cares for me just the same. Without …
Continue reading Love, Anger, KidsLIAR.  It is a four letter word that can be far more hurtful than other familiar expletives. This is especially true when the liar in question is someone you love dearly and completely.  As parents we spend our lives hoping to instill in our children a sense of truth, trust and responsibility.  We teach them …
Continue reading They Say Truth Hurts, But Lying Is More PainfulYesterday was Valentine’s Day, and while Jeff has provided some great ways to avoid disaster today, I wanted to talk about why I didn’t really start caring about it all, until our oldest daughter was born. It’s not that I’m not a romantic, quite the contrary. I think it’s more that, like most men, I …
Continue reading Valentine’s Day Reborn With MeaningDo you remember when the Christmas toys were new and exciting, even after Easter? Those were the good old days when a favorite toy lasted beyond the current TV season. Like many parents, I try to get gifts each Christmas that will have staying power. Invariably, some of the toys don’t live up to the …
Continue reading The Expiration Date on Christmas ToysThis is my first post as a new dad contributor to Dad-O-Matic and it is about giving back. Where do kids learn to be so compassionate for others? Usually from their parents in most cases but not in this particular situation. I have three kids and my oldest child Sabreena is very into one particular …
Continue reading Children Giving BackAs parents, one of our jobs is to prepare our children for the future so we do our best to teach them how to be self-reliant and independent. Unfortunately, we sometimes get so focused on that one particular mission so much that we tend to lose sight of the fact that they are just kids. …
Continue reading Let Them Be LittleI just returned from a family vacation that included two days at Disney World. Our oldest daughter Carly, turned six in February, and this was our present to her. Like most parents of six-year-olds, we are trying to teach her the value of a dollar, and appreciation for the things people do for her and …
Continue reading The Place "Where Dreams Come True"I had a blast tonight showing my two sons some of the old toys and games me and my brothers played with when we were kids. They included G.I. Joe, Matt Mason astronauts and The Thing Maker which let you create creepy crawlers, bugs and other fun things. I was startled when my oldest asked, …
Continue reading Boys and their ToysThe Bush twins wrote a beautiful letter for the Obama girls filled with wonderful advice on how to make the most of their childhood in the Whitehouse and most of all to always remember who their dad really is. Right now everything is incredibly positive and everyone loves their daddy but there will be rough …
Continue reading Still Just a DadOne 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 BeI’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 Love