Those 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 CareerAdvice
As 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 Kids(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)For 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 NestI 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?Today’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 FatherhoodAs 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 BalloonsI 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?We’re baaack!  It’s been a few weeks, but the Cast of Dads got back in front of our respective microphones, phones and headsets to deliver a new, fun-filled episode.  With political private parts in the headlines, bathroom humor abounds and we make our fair share of “weiner” jokes.  Brad goes so far as to reveal that …
Continue reading Showing Our Junk (And a Father’s Day REWARD!)Last 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 RadioIt 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 GiftProduct 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!This week the Cast of Dads are feeling inspired by the spring in the air and the spring in their steps, but even better weather cannot keep us focused on just one topic.  Where else can you find five clueless dads debating everything from Justin Bieber vs. Rebecca Black to MacGuyver vs. MacGruber in a single …
Continue reading How Old Is Justin Bieber? The Cast of Dads Want To KnowFor many geeks, the true March Madness is the trippy trip to Austin, Texas for South By Southwest (SXSW). Â Last year, fellow Cast of Dads dad C.C. Chapman and I had the pleasure of visiting the DadLabs Studios, where Daddy Brad (Brad Powell) and his paternal posse produce their short fatherhood flicks. Â This year we …
Continue reading Beer & Coffee: The Cast of Dads at SXSWOne 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!When 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, SunsetAs parents we know that most times it is the simple things we do for our kids that leave the most lasting impression. Â 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. Â The best cakes are …
Continue reading Angry Birds Lead To A Happy Birthday!“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!”As 2010 and another year (and decade) wind down, the Cast of Dads got together to squeeze in one last show for the year.  In this eposide you will hear about CC making bacon, Max blowing off some steam, Michael musing over MacAllan, Brad blowing glass, and me… ? Well, you’ll just have to listen to …
Continue reading Happy New Year From The Cast of Dads! (and Dadomatic)A little over a year ago I joined forces with four other dads and we launched the Cast of Dads Podcast. Â The five of us, all with kids of varying ages, first came together thanks to Sony and the Sony DigiDad Project, and we got along so well we wanted to “keep the dream alive” …
Continue reading Happy 1st Birthday Cast of Dads!Last week one of the Cast of Dads, C.C. Chapman, was celebrating the release of his new book, Content Rules (Affiliate Link) and I saw him tweet, Laura just brought home a sexy 25 Year Old to help us celebrate #ContentRules Well, before you let your mind go right to the gutter (as, of course, mine did), …
Continue reading Celebrating With A Sweet 25 Year Old: Cast of Dads #36The Turkey bones are bare, the stuffing has left your guests stuffed and the stuffed guests have left your house.  The television is free to be tuned to programming other than football and you are free to go back to the old grind…  Work. School. Life. Why Does Thanks Need A Day? The family focus of …
Continue reading Don’t Stop…If 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!Lately 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 MirrorBoo!  It’s Halloween, the day when pumpkins prevail, werewolves and witches win, and ghosts are all good!  While the commercialism of this hallowed eve has certainty grown over the years, with everyone seemingly looking to scare up some Halloween business, it still remains one of the most pure FUN days of the year.  What was mostly a …
Continue reading 5 Last Minute Tips For A Happy HalloweenIf you have kids then there is a good chance that at one time or another you may have found yourself scratching your head and asking “how do I get rid of lice???”  It’s a question that has been itching a few of the Cast of Dads (and their kids) so we talk about some things you …
Continue reading Lice, Lice, Baby! (Cast of Dads #34)Last month I wrote about a very different type of Digital Reader from Intel. Â The Intel Reader is designed to help people with dyslexia and other visual impairments by easily scanning and then “reading” (via text-to-speech technology) virtually any written words that can be photographed by the portable device. Â I had the chance to play …
Continue reading Test Driving The Intel ReaderI have always been fascinated by language and how just a few letters, rearranged, can dramatically change the meaning of a word…how just a few words, rearranged, can dramatically change the meaning of a sentence…how just a few sentences, rearranged, can dramatically change the meaning of a paragraph…how just a few paragraphs… You get the …
Continue reading Encouragement VS. DiscouragementBusiness travel can be hard on a dad (or any parent) and being away from your kids can add stress to an already hectic travel schedule. Â That said, traveling dads who are also closet geeks often find ways to leverage technology to keep in touch with the kids at home. Â Thanks to the kismet of …
Continue reading Travelin’ Dads Talk Kids & Travel TipsFrom a toddler’s first steps to the steps we need to take to ensure the online safety and security of our kids, the Cast of Dads sound a bit more serious this week as we address our typically diverse topics.  Our serious tone was set perhaps by the breaking news as we recorded of the student …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #32: An Educating EpisodeMy love affair with TED continues… Â I have written many blog posts here and on my personal blog about amazing and inspiring TED presentations. Â It is a wonderful way to expose yourself to people and concepts you might otherwise never encounter, as well as see really smart and passionate people share vision and views on …
Continue reading The “Hole In The Wall†and Child-Driven EducationI have always struggled with my weight and grew up convinced that one of my genetic gifts was “big bones.”  Always on the chubby side as a kid, I became accustomed to shopping in Husky Hell and nicknames like “whale” and “bubbles.”  Although at one time or another I have probably tried almost every diet fad, I …
Continue reading The Weight Is Over: 5 Tips For Family Fitness(Note: If you and/or anyone in your family is dyslexic or suffers from any vision impairment, please read on for a chance to test an Intel Reader in your home for one month…Â Â Disclaimer: Product links below are Amazon Affiliate links. Â I am part of the “Intel Insider” program and am compensated and/or receive other value …
Continue reading Get Your Hands On A Digital Reader That Says It All: The Intel ReaderTrust 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!I’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 PopsiclesIt is back to school time, and today my youngest child, my daughter, started at a new school. Â This time, however, I didn’t have to pack her lunch, or walk her to the bus stop. I won’t be looking forward to any more parent teacher conferences or notes sent home about missed homework assignments. Nope. …
Continue reading Degrees Of FatherhoodIn 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?Are you enjoying some quiet time with your spouse while the kids are away at camp? Â 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. Â 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…The 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 FamilyIn this show the Cast of Dads regroup to recap our respective Father’s Day activities, but as usual we can’t possibly stay focused on one topic.  Before long we jump from discussing a dad’s happiest day, to a day many dads fear: V-Day! (with “V” standing for Vasectomy!)  Want to know which of the Cast of …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #24: From Father’s Day to “Vâ€-DayYou may not like Mondays, but this week the Cast of Dads decided we did like them, especially since a Monday evening recording session allowed us to whet our whistles with beer, putting us all in an especially buoyant mood for our pre-Father’s Day show. As dads ourselves we have the pleasure of celebrating both …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #23: Beer, Father’s Day, and the “Swedish Special!”Dealing with the crazy schedules of five busy dads, this week we recorded Cast of Dads on a Monday, and it felt like the show had a different vibe from our normal Sunday morning chats.  That said, like always we geek out over a wide range of topics, from “Intel Inside” to pitching tents outside, to …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #22: From Intel to In TentsLast week I wrote about my son’s graduation from college.  The night of his graduation ceremony his girlfriend and her family threw a party for him at their home.  There were the expected balloons and banners clearly declaring the graduation theme, but there were also two really clever additions that gave the party a special graduation flavor.  I …
Continue reading Cheese & Chocolate: Two Tips For An Awesome Graduation Party!The Cast of Dads gathered this weekend at 5pm instead of our usual morning date, which led to a little more giddiness and a lot more “adult” talk.  In fact, the original title of the episode is “From Douche-bags to Dish-washing!  To find out how we managed to align such disparate “D” words, you’ll have to just listen to the show! Topics discussed …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #20: Does The Bag Make The Man?I am NOT suggesting that being a parent and raising our kids is anything at all like training a dog. Really, I am NOT.  However… I once hired a dog trainer who focused almost exclusively on training a puppy by giving it, in his words, “plenty of praise.”  Giving our kids plenty of praise is also a …
Continue reading Training Your Kids (And 3 Things That Are Worthy Of Praise)If you are a procrastinator like me I have good news for you. Â In fact I have GREAT news for you! Â Mother’s Day is Sunday yet there is still time to send your Mom, or any Mom you love and respect, a heartfelt gift that will honor her, and provide much needed aid to a …
Continue reading A Mother’s Day Gift That Keeps On Giving: To Mama With LoveThe Cast of Dads celebrated Spring by jumping from the Cub Scouts, to Crying, to Candy Cigarettes and our greatest fears. We had fun talking and we hope that you have as much fun listening. Topics discussed in this episode: Video Game badge from the Boy Scouts Brownie Try-It badges The softening of our children …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #17: Tears For FearsLast week I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Jeff Pulver‘s 140 Characters Conference: Exploring The State of Now! There were nearly 170 speakers and panelists at this two day event, including celebrities, musicians, technologists, media personalities, educators, and more. Without question, one of the most popular and inspiring presentations was that of …
Continue reading An Education on Education: Chris Lehmann Talks “School 2.0” At #140ConfIn this episode of Cast of Dads, the Dads get down to the real poop of being a father. While we always try to keep the show “family friendly” and avoid any potty mouthed talk, that doesn’t restrict us from talking about the potty, and this week we tackled both the input and the output …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #16: In One End, Out The Other…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!It is Easter Sunday and I am sitting in a Starbucks reading and writing (fortunately, there is no arithmetic.)  The only signs of Easter here are the bunny ears my caffeine wielding Barista wears, fully qualifying her as an official “Bar-Easter.”  Instead of popping handfuls of Cadbury Mini Chocolate Eggs and biting the heads off of hollow …
Continue reading An Eggcellent Day To Be Silly (Or Remember When…)A few weeks ago I wrote about “5 Things You Should Never Say To Your Kids” and there were some great comments and discussion that followed the post. Â Thank YOU for chiming in. Â In the spirit of countering the negative with the positive, I thought I would follow up with a few things that we …
Continue reading 5 Things You SHOULD Say To Your Kids (A Lot)I 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?Words ???are powerful. Words spoken by a parent to a child are very powerful and often can carry far more weight and impact than we realize, so as parents we should choose our words carefully.  With that in mind, here are: 5 Things You Should Never Say To Your Kids 1) F#&*! – You need only …
Continue reading 5 Things You Should Never Say To Your KidsIt’s a rough life. You need to relax. Massage therapy turns out to be the perfect thing. Now how do you explain it to the children before they overhear about it, talk to their friends, and think you’re doing something dirty. Farfetched? No. My own late teens son didn’t understand what massage therapy was. My …
Continue reading Massage and your children??No??, this is not a show about Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano, but in this week’s Cast of Dads podcast we do start off discussing who plays the role of chief disciplinarian in each of our homes. Â And of course, what would a show about discipline be without a healthy peek at punishment. Â From “dunce …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #12: Who’s The Boss???Next??. ?Next. Next. Whoa! NEXT! Next. Hey now! Next. Next. Next…  If you have been clicking on “next” a lot lately, perhaps it is because you have been one of the millions of Internet users checking out the latest on-line fetish fad, Chatroulette.  If you live in a cave and haven’t yet heard of Chatroulette Jon …
Continue reading From Chatroulette To Dadroulette!As noted here, in this week’s episode of the Cast of Dads podcast we talk about how to be prepared for a natural disaster. Â The topic was no surprise, since we recorded the show just hours after the earthquake in Chile was reported and while the world waited to see what coastal areas would be …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #11: A Disaster Of A ShowWhen I was a kid, there was a series of commercials for “Chiffon” margarine that had the tag line, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”  Lately it seems that perhaps we must have been trying to fool her and now Mother Nature is seeking her revenge and proving her prowess with a daunting display …
Continue reading 5 Ways To Be Prepared When Mother Nature RoarsAt the opening of this episode you will hear a promo for The Boom Effect, an auction and fund raiser for fellow dad and good friend Tee Morris who recently lost his wife.  Tee will be raising his little girl known as “Sonic Boom” on his own, and the Podcasting community has been very supportive …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #10: Walking The Line OnlineLIAR.  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 Painful(NOTE: usually my posts here are written originally for Dad-o-matic.  That said, I recently wrote on my personal blog about Chef Jamie Oliver’s impassioned and impactful speech about childhood obesity at the recent TED conference.  I realize that Chef Oliver’s speech would likely be of great interest to the Dad-o-matic crowd, so with permission from …
Continue reading Food, Glorious Food??? Are We Feeding Our Kids To Death?The Cast of Dads gathered early on Valentine’s Day to catch up and compare notes on our romantic plans for the day.  Despite a few pregnant pauses as we contemplated Cupid, we managed to cover a wide range of topics, from our daughters dating, to the pleasures of power tools.  Here is a complete rundown of …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #9: Pausing For Valentine’s DayIt is Valentine’s Day!  Time for everyone to get their heart on!  For us Dads it is one of those days (like birthdays, anniversaries, the day you and your significant other met, etc.) that is best not forgotten.  There are many ways to recognize the day and reveal your romantic side, and like most things …
Continue reading 5 Ways To Avoid A Valentine’s Day Massacre!Despite the siren song of beer and wings calling in the distance, the Cast of Dads set aside time on Superbowl Sunday to record an episode: “Superbowl Sunday With The Cast of Dads.” While the talk quickly turned to football, some of us – er, me – revealed we are I am not as up …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #8: Winging It For The SuperbowlMany moons ago, when I was just a mere tike, when my Mom and Dad taught me to “share” they were mostly trying to get me not to explode in a hissy fit when my younger sister or one of my playmates wouldn’t let go of my Legos or give up my G.I. Joe. Life …
Continue reading Teaching Kids To Share In A Digital AgeThis week the Cast of Dads took a step back from tech talk and focused our discussion on more fatherly pursuits, thanks to some feedback and suggestions from our listeners. We appreciate getting your feedback on the show and if there are specific topics you would like for us to tackle let us know in …
Continue reading Cast of Dads 7: More On Morons…An apple a day… gives the media lots to talk about.  This week both the tech news and so called “mainstream media” was all abuzz about the long rumored, finally revealed, “tablet” device from Steve Jobs and his team at Apple.  When all the dust settled, as expected, everyone’s attention turned to the “core” of …
Continue reading The iPad vs. The iDad!Screaming, shrieking, whining, crying, banging, bumping, laughing, sneezing, coughing, belching. farting, yelling, slapping, hitting, pushing, shoving, snapping, breaking, kicking, throwing up, falling down, dancing, running, skipping, jumping, bouncing, trouncing, wrestling, fighting, snoring.  Never boring.  These are just some of the sounds and actions in a house full of kids, sounds you may find annoying or …
Continue reading Noise Is Good!Nesting behavior has always baffled me. So I was more than a little frightened when I returned home from a business trip to find my wife had recovered her car seats and the den furniture in blue fleece and installed matching carpet in both. “Honey,†I asked cautiously, “do you know something I don’t?†“We’re …
Continue reading A father’s guide to safety devicesNo, we didn’t take to the road this week, but we did get our first e-mail question from a listener who happens to be a truck driver.  He goes by the handle of “Jokerman” and he wanted to know if the Cast of Dads could share our thoughts on MP3 players and eBook readers.  Well, …
Continue reading Cast of Dads Episode 6: Keep On Truckin’!Sex… is not what this post is about.  No birds and bees here.  Instead I want to talk about the “other” conversation to have with your kids as they approach the age of puberty and start to become young adults.  That is the talk about privacy and managing with common sense the digital trails we …
Continue reading Having “That†Conversation With Your Kids…“It’s ten o’clock… do you know where your children are?”  In the days before mobile phones and text messaging, that was a line in a frequently broadcast Public Service Announcement.  Even in our connected world today, as parents we still DO want to know where our children are… all the time.  Now we have the …
Continue reading Foursquare And Seven Days Ago…Thanks to technology, our kids are growing up in an amazing time. Homework assignments that I would have had to use construction paper, crayons and Elmer’s Glue to complete are now being accomplished with laptops and PowerPoint.  Stacks of papers and notebooks have been replaced by files on key chain sized USB drives.  Those are just …
Continue reading How A Social Media Guru Helped My Son With His HomeworkMovies, bowling, pizza, arcades, museums, concerts, shows, Ice Capades, circuses, Chucky Cheese, Dave & Busters, ice skating, rollerskating, sporting events, shopping, pottery, fairs, carnivals, planetariums, aquariums, theme parks, amusement parks, skiing, go-carts…  There are no shortage of ways to spend money to entertain our kids, and spend we do.  As much as they have fun …
Continue reading The Best Things About Fatherhood Are FreeUnlike FIGHT CLUB, when it comes to the rules of Fatherhood, it is ok to talk about them freely, especially here at Dad-O-Matic.  But are there really any rules of Fatherhood, or Parenthood for that matter?  I’d argue that there are no rules except for one: Never do anything that could harm or endanger your …
Continue reading The First Rule of Fatherhood: There Are No Rules!As the latest mission for the Sony DigiDad Project, we were loaned a Sony VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC mini laptop and told to go record a class trip or some other family outing. My kids are too old for “class trips” and I wanted to do something that actually included the VAIO P, because …
Continue reading The Sony VAIO P-Mercial: Family Fun With Video“Words, words, words.” – William Shakespeare (HAMLET) I love words. I love to read and write. I was an English Major in college. Thus, as a word loving self proclaimed gadget geek it should be no surprise that I have been an eBook aficionado for nearly a decade. I started buying and reading eBooks on …
Continue reading The Sony Reader: Black and White and Shades of Dorian GrayThey say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet as my task for this latest installment in the Sony DigiDad Project I am asked to write about a bunch of pictures.  Such is the life of a SonyDad.  They (who the heck are “they” anyway???) also say that the best camera is the camera …
Continue reading 100 Faces of Fall: A CyberShot In The ArmFood, glorious food!  To this day that is one of my favorite songs from the musical “OLIVER.” (Ok, that may be “too much information,” but bear with me, please…)  If you watched the video of my parents in a recent post here as part of the Sony DigiDad Project you may have gleaned that food …
Continue reading Spaghetti Pie & Making Dinner Memorable For Your KidsImage via Wikipedia (NOTE: The following article first appeared last September on my personal blog, Sassholes! It was this post about my daughter’s 17th birthday that led to Chris Brogan asking me if I’d like to contribute to Dad-O-Matic. Ever since, I have been honored to share my thoughts and experiences with you here each …
Continue reading From BARBIE to BLACKBERRY!When most people think of Dolly Parton they think of her flash Country persona, her anatomy (sorry, but it’s true), her starring in Nine to Five (if you’re as old as me) or her Islands In The Stream song with Kenny Rogers (ah ah!). In Nashville, TN. we often associate Dolly with her Disney-esque theme …
Continue reading Dolly Parton the BOOK LADY!Heritage is a powerful word. In its truest sense it implies all the things we are made of and all the things that make us who we are. Family heritage is deeper than DNA, and thicker than blood. Our heritage is built upon people and personalities, characters and culture, history and hysteria, stories and legends, …
Continue reading A Family Defined (In High Definition)From everything I have seen and heard, being a grandparent is a special thrill.  I am not there yet myself, but as my own kids grow into adulthood I know that eventually “Grandparent” will be another line item on my life resume.  While I cannot address what it is to be a Grandparent, I can …
Continue reading Matriarchs, Patriarchs, And The Grandest Of All Parents…Nature and nurture are in a never ending battle to claim the disposition of our children. While it’s true that the apple rarely tumbles too far from the tree, it is also true that there are a multitude of things we as parents can do to safeguard the childhoods of our children, limit their exposure …
Continue reading 7 Secrets to Raising a Happy ChildFor as long as I can remember, Sony has been a premiere consumer electronics brand. I can clearly remember getting my hands on the original, ground-breaking “Sony Walkman” personal cassette player. I can remember my first “color TV’ being a 13” Sony Trinitron, because my grandfather insisted it would last forever… and it practically did. …
Continue reading Sony’s DigiDad Project… Cool Gadgets, No Baloney!Yes, I am writing yet another “5 Tips” post. This is unintentionally becoming a series (coming soon: “5 Posts About 5 Tips….”) but let’s face it, “5 Tips” are at least half the work of a “Top 10” list, and almost as satisfying. So, without any further fatherly preamble, here are my… 5 Tips For …
Continue reading 5 Tips For Back To School Basics!While teaching a daughter about social graces, a dad realizes that none of us learned them intuitively. We all had to start with the basics, and some of us picked them up faster than others.
Continue reading Up Close & PersonalIt is possible your Dad didn’t explicitly tell you these things when you became a parent, but he probably demonstrated at least some of them to you in actions if not words when you were growing up. Please allow me to take the liberty to point them out to you more directly now. In fact, …
Continue reading 5 Tips On Fatherhood Your Dad Never Told YouOur children are growing up in an amazing, incredible, awe inspiring age.  It is easy to take for granted the phenomenal, science fiction-esque, fantasy world they (and we) now live in.  A world where they can instantly communicate with any of their family or friends anywhere on the planet, any time they want, for pennies, …
Continue reading A “Spoof†Is Not Always Funny: Teaching Kids The POWER of TechnologyTraditions in a family are really important in creating a history that bonds and binds.  Having family traditions leads to having family stories that are told and re-told over the years, recalling memories and emotions that can often only be fully appreciated by the members of the family who have participated in the “tradition” first …
Continue reading “Funky Wig Man Loves Olivia!â€The ten most important things divorced fathers should realize as they transition parentally from “Husband and Father” to “One-and-Only Dad”…
Continue reading Top Ten Things Divorced Dads Need to KnowOne of the worst memories of my childhood was during one of my first summers at Sleep Away camp.  (NOTE: I know, I must have had a darn good childhood if the following story is one of my worst memories… I did!) I must have been 9 or 10 years old.  It was visiting day …
Continue reading 5 Tips For A Successful Summer Camp Visiting Day!It’s summertime!  (Duh!)  For many families that means it is time for lots of “Rays and Zees” spending time outdoors with activities and relaxing in the sun.  For all of us that also means thinking about protection from those burning rays, and for parents it is yet one more thing for us to worry about. …
Continue reading Protective Wear For Fun In The Sun!Here’s a visual aid that might help you teach a 5-7yo why they shouldn’t fill up on sweets before dinner. All you need is a sponge…
Continue reading Spare the Sponge, Spoil the ChildThe waiter poured the glass of wine for my son and we raised our glasses to toast… Despite my instinctive fatherly discomfort and concerns, it was a ritual we could not avoid. After all, we were celebrating his 21st birthday… IT’S MORE THAN I CAN BEER… Yesterday, my son Zach turned 21. It is nerve …
Continue reading Drinking With Your ChildrenSometimes our urges to help our children succeed can get a little out of hand…
Continue reading It's Only a Matter of TimeThis is the second in a new series of posts about living a healthier based on my wife and my experiences this past year. The first post, Work In Progress, shared my favorite tip. Today I’d like to share a secret, you can have dessert. You Can Have Ice Cream. Lots of people lose their …
Continue reading Work in Progress – Healthy Weight Loss TipsHealth isn’t a goal, it’s an ongoing work. You can’t just eat healthy once. Running a few laps won’t put muscles on your legs. It’s just not that easy. Oh if only it were. Lots of dads and moms out there are all about getting healthy these days. They forget those few simple truths above. …
Continue reading Work in progressWhat do people do when you have an older kid and a younger kid in the house, and the older kid wants to consume media that messes with the younger kid? That’s the issue at hand in the Star Wars Dilemma. I’m wondering if you’ve had this happen at your house. My daughter is 6.5 …
Continue reading The Star Wars DilemmaMy kids like television… a lot. Sometimes I worry (as do many of you) about the amount of TV that they consume. I especially become concerned when their little eyes glaze over as the hypnotic TV trance brainwashes them into encouraging me to purchase Aquaglobes or Debbie Meyer Green Bags, or they reenact entire seasons …
Continue reading Imagination DayMy dad got his start in business sweeping up at nights for a remote office of a big company. He had struggled in college, yet over the course of 20 years he worked his way up to be the president of another company. He also went back to college while raising two young kids. When …
Continue reading 20 Thoughts: My Father's AdviceI 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 DadBeing 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?So 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 ParentsMy 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 AwayThere 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 ComplimentsWith 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 GreatThe “C-word” – it’s one of the worst words in the English language. Whenever I hear one of my two children utter this word, they know that there will be consequences. Under no circumstances are my children allowed to say, “can’t.” Here’s how I’ve helped eliminate “can’t” (and a few other words) from the conversation. …
Continue reading The "Bad" WordsWhen I was six, my grandfather would take me on his sales route. He sold candy. (How popular is a candy salesman?) He started buying me comics at various stops like Flo’s Variety on the hill, and Depot News downtown. I owe a lot of my ability to read to comics. And to this day, …
Continue reading Comics and KidsThat girl there, Violette, is mildly allergic to milk. She doesn’t go into shock and her throat doesn’t close. In fact, the only real thing we notice is that she behaves quite differently after having milk products than when she doesn’t. She misbehaves a lot more. She gets a bit more hyper and harder to …
Continue reading When Your Kid Is Mildly Allergic to Milk