My 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!parenting
My 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 CallThis 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)Sure, 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?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 CareerIn 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 56As 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…We’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”Woohoo! Â This is EPISODE 50 of the Cast of Dads podcast! Â As we hit this milestone, I thought I would share the tale of how the Cast of Dads came together… Back when Sony came a callin’ and invited myself and four other dads to become “DigiDads” and get the chance to play with some …
Continue reading 5 Dads, 50 Conversations, Tons of FunI 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 #492012 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!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 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 47As 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 Balloons
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 #46I 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 KidsI 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 Business
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 DeterminationThe title of this post says it all. A a dad of daughter who is now 19, while she will always be a cutie in my eyes, I can fondly remember when she was the age of these incredibly cute (and talented) contestants on America’s Got Talent. Â I love seeing the parents in the wings …
Continue reading I Looked Up Cute In The Dictionary and This Is What I Found…Influence 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!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 GiftOne of the goals of any good parent, I think, is to have your kids grow up to be awesome. And by awesome, I don’t necessarily mean popular. Or rich. Or having a job with a fancy title. When my daughter Lucy grows up, I hope she turns out awesome. I do hope she has …
Continue reading How to Make Sure Your Kid Grows Up to Be AwesomeIt’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!My wife Kim and I had a big parenting test the other night. At dinner, my daughter Lucy got to drink out of a “big girl cup†with a straw. And for the first time ever, she discovered how to blow bubbles in her milk. In our household, this is on par with first words, …
Continue reading Blowing Bubbles In Her MilkAs you know if you’ve been following me here, some of the Cast of Dads had the chance to go to the NY International Auto Show, courtesy of Sony and Ford. Â As you may know, the Cast of Dads podcast began as an offshoot of the Sony DigiDad project, which brought together myself, C.C. Chapman, …
Continue reading Coffee, Cast of Dads & Conversation…Last 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… AgainThis 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 KnowIn 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 PhotographyKids: 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)For 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!A 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 PukingWhile I try to work through what this blog will be for me, and how to put all the disparate pieces together, I posted a self-reflective blog over at Dad The Single Guy that has spurred a pretty good discussion on the blog and on my Facebook, so I figured I would see what I …
Continue reading Thoughts of God, Spirituality and BeliefsThe 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, SunsetIts great to be able to contribute to this blog and perhaps find others who are trying to take on life’s challenges one day at a time, and in some cases one crisis at a time. By way of introduction, I am a recently widowed father of two girls. Â There’s tons of background about it …
Continue reading Life’s Journey, One Day At A TimeAs 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!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 Shoes“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 Man“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…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)Man, 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”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!‘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?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 #36As a kid, do you remember the time you took a big old magnifying glass and used it to concentrate a beam of sunlight to try and start a fire? Â More often than not, the object of your makeshift laser weapon – a dry leaf, a slip of paper, or, if you were really daring, …
Continue reading The World’s Biggest Magnifying Glass (and the fires it starts)We’re baaaack!  We missed a show due to technical difficulties, but that means the Cast of Dads had all sorts of pent up energy for our festive gab fest this week.  As we prepped our families for Thanksgiving we peppered our conversation with everything from freedom of speech issues to drinking and smoking, with a few …
Continue reading From Deep Thoughts To Deep Frying: Cast of Dads #35As 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 ResumeLately 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 MirrorIf 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)I 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. DiscouragementEven a few dropped calls and technical glitches could not stop the Cast of Dads from chiming in on anything and everything that might be on a Dad’s mind… As the title of this post says we dive into a discussion that starts with diapers and ends with sex.  (Perhaps we had things backwards as oftentimes …
Continue reading From Diapers to Dirty Old Men: Cast of Dads #33With the 1977 release of Star Wars, audiences were introduced to Darth Vader, the baddest bad guy in the entire galaxy. As the story unfolded and the prequels arrived on the scene, many people were surprised to learn that Darth Vader was not always such a bad dude. It may be equally surprising to learn …
Continue reading Darth Vader’s Dos and Don’ts for DadsTrust 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!Before 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 MomentsIt 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 FatherhoodOne of the fun things about getting together with the Cast of Dads is that sooner or later each of us gets the chance to share an embarrassing moment…  Or maybe that’s just me who keeps sharing goofy moments?  Well, if it is me, this episode is no exception as I dive into a poorly sung rendition …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #29: From Dudes To Doggs…Summertime 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 SurvivalIn 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…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 IndependenceYou 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!”An Alarming Situation Like most dads (and humans for that matter) I generally go to sleep at night and rely on mechanical assistance to wake myself up at the desired hour each and every morning. With that in mind I have been forever in search of the perfect alarm clock.  I have tried them all – …
Continue reading A Father’s Day Gift For The DASHing Dad! (and a chance to win one)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 TentsIn this episode the Cast of Dads memorialize our Memorial Days, and as usual, we jump through more topics than a circus dog through hoops! Most importantly, we pay our respects and thanks to all those who have served and continue to serve in the Military, and we are forever grateful for the sacrifices made …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #21: Memorial DazedLast 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?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!Once again the Cast of Dads go off on several tangents, from lawn-mowing wives to touch screen computing, and hand-written thank you notes, we leave few stones unturned in this week’s Podcast. Topics discussed in this episode include: Wives mowing the lawn Thank You Notes Resurrection of hand written letters Teaching writing in school Dragon …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #19: U CAN Touch This!Just before Mother’s Day the Cast of Dads got together for our weekly gabfest and as usual we covered a wide range of topics, from our daughter’s dancing to, well, things a bit more disgusting. Â We even had to “bleep” out a few references in order to protect you, our listeners, from a Google search …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #18: From Dancing to DisgustingI 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)The 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 OneThe Cast of Dads recorded our latest show on April 3rd, the same day Apple released the now much ballyhooed iPad.  Of course us geek Dads couldn’t help but talk about it, even though only CC already had one.  (NOTE: CC’s daughter Emily – pictured below – gives her own child’s eye view of the iPad here.) …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #15: iPad, You Pad, We All PadThe Cast of Dads have been on quite a roll lately and after our “live video” show from Austin Texas we recorded another audio episode the week before Easter.  Due to C.C.’s knee surgery, we are a little late posting the show, but we hope you’ll agree it was worth the wait.  We were all a little …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #14: Car Seats, Common Sense & The Grill Of Your DreamsIt 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)While our intent is for Cast of Dads to primarily be an an audio podcast, a couple of weeks ago we found that three of us were actually going to be in the same city at the same time: CC and I were both in Austin, Texas for SXSW, and DaddyBrad’s home court, DadLabs, is …
Continue reading Cast of Dads Special: “LIVE” From SXSWMy daughter and I wanted to go out and do something special together. I suggested a nature walk. To make it really fun, I gave her a Sony Bloggie camera (disclosure: SONY gave me the camera to try out, but I’m not obligated to use it for any particular projects) so she could capture some …
Continue reading Amping Up Special TimeI 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?They say “the show must go on” and this week was no exception. Â I am on the road for business and called in from my hotel for this week’s episode of Cast of Dads. Â I was in Austin, Texas to attend SXSW, and while in town, three members of our cast were able to gather …
Continue reading Cast of Dads #13: Talking, Texting & Tracking From TexasWords ???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 Kids??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 DayMany 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 AgeDo 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 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…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!No, 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…Well, we did it. My wife and I made it to the one-year mark. (Oh, and so did Lucy.) The first two weeks seemed like a millennium, the last fifty seemed like a millisecond. So, what have I learned, if anything? • It sounds so dang cliché to say, “It’s harder than I imagined, but …
Continue reading The First Year of Fatherhood: One Dad’s ReviewThe Cast of Dads are at it again. Last week I was in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). For a few busy days Las Vegas is converted from Sin City to Geek Heaven as the Convention Center is loaded with Gadgets galore. In honor of CES, this week the Cast of Dads …
Continue reading Cast of Dads Episode 5: Guys Love Gadgets!“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…As one year winds down and another begins it is always a time to look back and look forward, to reflect on the year that has passed and to plan for the year ahead. 2009 was both a challenging and rewarding year as we battened down the hatches both at work and at home to …
Continue reading Reflection and Affection The Cast of Dads could not resist getting together to record one last podcast for 2009.  Certainly one of our highlights of the year was getting together because of the Sony DigiDad Project, and we have been having a lot of fun sharing our stories and just “shooting the breeze” together ever since in …
Continue reading Cast of Dads 4: Happy New Year (and Making it to Midnight!)As parents we are many things. At times we are the masters, at times we are the mentors. We have to be both teacher and preacher. We have to lead and feed and seed our children so that they grow into happy and productive adults. We live in stressful and complicated times and now, more …
Continue reading Opening Doors To Your Children’s DreamsThe “Cast of Dads” is back for our last recording before the Christmas Holiday, and it’s a doozy. Somehow our Holiday chatter leads us from the manly to the metro-sexual.  In this episode we discuss: Snow Days Holiday Gifts We Want Mustaches Massages and Massage Envy Guys like the spa too Pedicures? Really? Daddy Spa …
Continue reading Cast of Dads Podcast Episode 3: Mustaches, Massages & Man Purses!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 HomeworkThe Cast of Dads got together for our second Podcast and covered a wide range of geeky, fatherly topics. Daddy Brad was out sick which got us off and running comparing notes on the Flu (regular and the H1N1 variety). In this episode we talk about: Sick Kids H1N1 vaccines Spring Break Holiday travel with …
Continue reading “Cast of Dads” Podcast Episode 2: Vaccines to Vacations…want to be a full time dad through the thick and thin, through the love and hate, the good times and bad. Don’t mistake me: there will probably be times where I truly will hate my children and question what demon-spawn I have birthed. Sure as I am writing this I have felt that same way for my parents at times. I know that regardless of what issue lies in front of us I will love and adore my children always and hold them above anyone else. That is what my parents do and have done.
Continue reading Thoughts From A Future DadMovies, 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 FreeNo baloney, it was a lot of fun participating in the Sony DigiDad Project and I hope you enjoyed the posts here at Dad-O-Matic that were inspired by the Sony gear I was able to borrow and play with. My kids and I particularly enjoyed our re-creating The Picture of Dorian Gray and creating a …
Continue reading Announcing The “Cast of Dads” Podcast…“I am the product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of the wind under the tiles. Also, of endless books” C.S. Lewis
Continue reading None of the right booksHere’s the next post in my journey – it is in part a response to Jeff Sass’ post Upfront disclaimer: In this post I compare child raising to dog training. Also, there is an appearance by the star of the show, Miles! Here’s the video: For those parents too busy to watch, here’s the summary: …
Continue reading The Journey Episode 2: Attention To DetailTiger Woods is just the latest example of a sports star gone astray. Their face is peppered across all media outlets and the publicity is nothing but negative. As adults we know how to deal with this sort of disappointment. It doesn’t bother us much and after a few weeks or months we forget about …
Continue reading When Your Child’s Hero FallsUnlike 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!It’s that time of year. The holidays, Christmas, Chanukah and more are celebrated. Bright lights, holy symbols, and wintery decorations galore. It’s also become the season where folks no longer greet people with naming the holiday. Parenting is tough. There are tons of things you want to teach your children. Tolerance should be at the …
Continue reading Happy What?We are in that awkward time between Thanksgiving, and New Year’s, when the various “Holy Days” (a.k.a. Holidays) kick in.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or some other seasonal ritual, one thing is certain, you will be inundated with the commercialism of the season.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, mauling at the mall, the …
Continue reading Happy Melancholy-days! Five Reasons NOT To Be A Scrooge This Year!If you are a parent, you should have no trouble looking for things to be thankful for this holiday season. Â You need look no further than your children. While parenthood is full of stress, challenges and worries, it is also rich with rewards. Â Yet, with all the hustle and bustle of a home full of …
Continue reading Ten Reasons To Be Thankful For Your Kids At Thanksgiving[podcast]http://www.kimandjason.dreamhosters.com/clubkj_stuff/audio_articles/13_Things_To_Be_Thankful_For.mp3[/podcast] In a few weeks, my daughter Lucy will celebrate her first birthday. Last Thanksgiving, we had to skip the traditional two-hour drive home because my wife looked like she was hiding the Great Pumpkin under her shirt. At the risk of sounding like every other dad who’s ever lived, I can’t believe how fast …
Continue reading A First-Year Father’s 13 Things to Be Thankful For (Podcast)There is no doubt we live in a digital world. You wouldn’t be reading this blog if we didn’t. As a “Digital Dad” (hat tip to CC Chapman) I have written here before about the impact of text messaging and mobile phones on family life, especially if you have older kids, as I do, who …
Continue reading Digital Tattletales and the Case of the Taken Tahini“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…Everyone has family secrets…things that all the relatives know, but are better left unsaid outside the family circle. The worse family secrets are the ones we label as the “skeletons in the closet” – the things we truly dread anyone ever finding out about. No Bones About It… Not all family secrets are bad. In …
Continue reading Family Secrets Don’t Have To Embarrass You!Being a parent is no easy trick. There’s no guidebook or instruction manual (okay, there are plenty on sale, but you can bet none are specific to your own experiences!) and every day is a new adventure. It’s a long-term gig as well, often with no reward and a lot of pain and heartache along …
Continue reading What Blogging Can Teach Us About ParenthoodFor 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!I was sick and I didn’t want to get up. In fact, all I wanted was a little love and a lot of sleep. But the love wasn’t coming. Mary had been self-raised in the school of, “I don’t believe in being sick, so I don’t get sick”. To her, my fever was a choice …
Continue reading Making Miracles: A Quick Guide to Shaping Your Kid's RealityYes, 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 YouIt’s that time of year again. It’s time to sort the CDs. Oh, I’m sure you’re thinking “Why don’t you just keep them in order as you use them?†and normally I would agree with you. After all, that’s how I use them. But I live with children. Four of them to be exact. And …
Continue reading Daddy’s Music HelpersOur 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 ChildThere is one thing that every child has, no matter how young or how old they are — A BIRTHDAY! Celebrating your kid’s birthday is always special and often a special challenge for us parents. After all, we want to create a memorable, age appropriate celebration and we want it to be fun and full …
Continue reading It Takes The Cake!Lots of parents worry about their legacy. The legacy they leave through their children is often the way we worry about it most. Gone are the days many adults worry if they’ll be remembered as famous for something, but all but a few parents don’t want to be known as a good father or mother. …
Continue reading Passing something onThe 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 TimeAs a dad myself, Father’s Day is always a double whammy – I get to honor my own dad, and all he has meant to me, and I get to be honored by my own kids and take some special time with them to reflect on what it means to be a father. We learn …
Continue reading Giving And Receiving On Father’s Day!My son lives with his mother, and every weekend I take the two-hour-roundtrip train ride to pick him up and drop him off. I don’t own a car since I live around public transit, so the commuter rail it is. The ride is a good time to catch up with E when I first pick …
Continue reading How to combat the "Damien" influenceIt is one week from Father’s Day! Do you know where your gift is? It’s time for procrastinating sons and daughters to unite and get off our butts and focus on something that will make dear old Dad smile. If you are also a Dad (or Mom) yourself, it will be even easier to put …
Continue reading Photographic Father’s Day Gift TipsSpeaking for those who have children and have to deal with this, you’re not alone… The Commercial Airline Industry is a Public Industry Hey arrogant business folk who tweet, moan and complain about kids and babies on planes; please realize you’re riding public transportation-an air compressed tube in the sky with 100/200 other people-one should …
Continue reading Sorry My Kid Disappoints You On This FlightThis week David Letterman brought shame on Fatherhood. This has nothing to do with with politics, whether you are a supporter or detractor of Sarah Palin, whether you believe that as a public figure her family is also fair game for being the brunt of a humorists attention, David Letterman, as a Father should know …
Continue reading Being A Role Model Is More Important Than Being A CelebrityI travel a lot lately, and one thing I’m asked quite often is how I recharge or how I maintain my life balance. Let me start by saying that I haven’t really figured out a great balance for my life, but I can say that I am doing lots to keep it all juggled. I …
Continue reading Recharging and Life BalanceSmile! You’re on not-so-candid camera! As parents it is our god given right to document the lives of our children. It is more than a right, it is an obligation. Actually, for many it is more than a obligation, it is an obsession! From the moment of our child’s birth we are compelled to capture …
Continue reading Parents or Paparazzi???Friday was my middle son’s birthday. He turned 19, so “having a party” was not the concern it once was when he and his siblings were younger. At 19, dinner at a restaurant of his choice with family and a couple of friends was more than sufficient for a Happy Birthday. No balloons, clowns or …
Continue reading A Birthday Party For A Dollar (store)!Love Hurts. Perhaps there is a reason cupid walks around with a quill full of arrows. With every piercing of the heart that leads to blossoming love there is also the distinct possibility of the pain associated with removing the arrow when a relationship experiences turbulent times. Trust me, I know firsthand the awful feelings …
Continue reading Love Hurts (And So Does Seeing Your Kid Cry…)Spring has sprung, and dads everywhere are dusting seats, tightening bolts, lubricating chains and pumping air into the tires of the family bicycles. Riding a bike is something I love to do, and something I cannot help but equate to fond memories of both childhood and fatherhood. As a kid, there were few things as …
Continue reading Go Ride A Bike!I’m all for positive nuclear family images in kid films, even the “hit-you-over-the head-with-a-mallet” kind (see: Spy Kids). What makes me uncomfortable is when divorce is superfluously depicted to kids as the end of the world. The obvious inference to real-life children of divorce (of which there are roughly one million a year): Your family is broken. Happy ending for us; stinks to be you.
Continue reading Why Must Kid Films Demonize Divorce?It’s Mother’s Day, so naturally that would have to be the topic for my weekly visit to Dad-O-Matic. As a Dad, I thought long and hard and realized that I wouldn’t be a Dad if not for two very important Mothers… My Mom, and the Mother of my three wonderful kids! So, in tribute to …
Continue reading Without Moms There Wouldn’t Be Dads!“Why?” “Why” is one of the words young kids tend to wear out even more than the welcome “Mom” and “Dad.” As parents, our job of answering that one word wonder of wonder truly never ends. No matter how young or old our kids are, it is part of a parent’s eternal mission in life …
Continue reading Swine Flu: Teaching Sense vs. Fear!If you are reading this, there is a good chance you have kids. If you have kids, there is a good chance you have had to take your kids with you on an airplane trip. If you don’t have kids, if you ever fly on commercial airlines there is still a good chance you have …
Continue reading The Plane and Simple Truth…Kids love days off from school.  Snow days, religious holidays, hurricane days, water main breaks, power outages… anything to cause them to miss class is a cause celebre for any child.  Admit it, even you “cut” school at least once in your educational career. I did.  We all have!  Sometimes it is even at a …
Continue reading It Is OK To Play Hookey (Sometimes…)Is sibling rivalry alive and well in your home? If you have more than one child, you are well aware of the many challenges of brotherly and sisterly love and the many levels (physical and emotional) at which siblings are prone to compete with each other, consciously and unconsciously. As parents, one of our greatest …
Continue reading Spy vs. Spy: When Siblings Spill The Beans…No, I am NOT talking about Kentucky Fried Chicken!  Instead of poultry I am here to talk about dentistry!  At South By Southwest last week (SXSW for those who prefer acronyms) I was talking with Dad-O-Matic founder Chris Brogan and he mentioned that he was having trouble getting his young son to embrace the concept …
Continue reading Finger Licking Good!Thanks to the annual wonders of Daylight Savings Time it is still dark out when I wake up at 5:30 in the morning.  The start of day routines take on a quiet and almost eerie feeling with the misty morning moonlight casting it’s glare as I walk the dogs, rub my eyes and text my …
Continue reading When The Bus Stop Stops…Ahhh, the ubiquitous mobile phone… the blessing and curse of our modern society.  As a parent, it is a blessing since we can always have the comfort of knowing we are just a phone call away from an instant connection with our children.  As a parent, it is a curse because now that we have …
Continue reading It’s Your Kid Calling… Now What???If you have been reading the articles I have written for Dad-O-Matic over the past 5 months or so you may have gleaned that I am divorced and that my three kids, who are now 20, 18 and 17, live with me.  I am not sure I have ever directly stated that in my writing, …
Continue reading Divorce Is Funny…“Dad, I was in an accident…”  As I listened to my son’s voice cracking, holding back tears, a thousand thoughts shot through my mind, none of them very encouraging… many of them more like prayers than thoughts.  It was 6:15 am, and Zach had just left the house to drive to school a few minutes …
Continue reading The Dreaded Phone CallOk, not everything… but an awful lot.  From ages 15 – 19 I worked as a summer Camp Counselor at Camp Winadu in Pittsfield, Mass (where I had also been a camper from age 10).  In addition, during the non-summer months I continued working as a counselor in New York City for a childrens play …
Continue reading Everything I Know About Parenting I Learned At Summer Camp!I travel. Lots. I will travel more in 2009 than I have in my life to date. And yet, I have to maintain a relationship with my wife, my daughter, and my son. It requires every bit as much planning as it would for your business meetings. Here’s what I do for re-entry. Make it …
Continue reading Re-Entry After a Long TripQuite a bit has been written about the risks of our children being a bit too transparent with their lives online. Horror stories abound about the perils of kids posting embarrassing or incriminating pictures on their MySpace and Facebook pages. Primetime news shows are giving significant air time to controversial trends such as tweens and …
Continue reading TransPARENTcy!As I walked out of the gym this morning, I passed a woman walking 15-20 feet in front of her toddler. He was young, probably 2 1/2 at most. He had a pacifier in his mouth and he was happily distracted by some flowers. The Mother turned and said: “Hurry up! Your going to make …
Continue reading I'm Talking To MyselfAhhh, technology! As a geek dad I am proud to be totally on top of the tech toys my kids are growing up with as their default accessories. In fact, what us older gadget guys consider “toys” are hardly noticed as anything special by our kids. They don’t know of anything but a world filled …
Continue reading Txting Words Of EncouragementI don’t know about you, but the older I get the harder it is for me to keep my mouth shut.  It seems I have an opinion about everything and I almost always feel compelled to share it.  I may be able to chalk it up to being older and wiser, but it still doesn’t …
Continue reading Learning To Bite Your TongueIf you are a parent, you have probably experienced some variation of “take your child to work day” – you know, the one where your son or daughter tags along to the office and you plop them down in front of a computer and hope and pray they will be able to occupy themselves with …
Continue reading Bring Your Work To Kids Day!What 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 DilemmaBe careful what you wish for… you might get it.  I always wished my rockstar son would keep his room clean.  Invariably, whenever I walked by and heard his guitar playing and opened the door I regretted the mess I saw.   Now his room is clean.  It is more than clean, it is practically empty. …
Continue reading How Do You Cope When Your Kids Flee The Coop?When thinking about what to get my kids for the holidays I always try to put myself in their shoes and remember the gifts I received and how I felt about them when I was their age.  As kids grow up, the things that constitute a good gift may change dramatically, and as parents we …
Continue reading How To Give Good Gift!I have written here before about 4 letter words. My big son Zach just reminded me of a very important 3 letter word – H U G.  As he was leaving the house he asked me for one. My first reaction was, “You’re too old for that…” Zach, after all, is 20. He also really …
Continue reading Give That Kid A Squeeze! (or Vice Versa)As parents, we all want what’s best for our children. Education, health, happiness – all these and more are top of our lists when it comes to our kids being happy and having the best start in life. Yet we also need to understand that at times we may not always be going the right …
Continue reading Helping Our Kids GrowMy little girl Lia was born in 2003, a healthy and beautiful little mite that immediately changed everything for me. Up until the point I held her in my arms, I guess I didn’t really feel like I was a daddy. The moment I felt her warmth in my arms and saw her innocent little …
Continue reading Stay Away Daddies Aren't Always to BlameThere is lots of talk about Rockstars here and here, but I am going to talk about the Rockstar under your roof… the Rockstar you are raising. I have three Rockstars in my house, and only one of them is a musician. The musician, my middle son Ethan, is an accomplished guitarist and studies music …
Continue reading How To Raise A Rockstar!Age is a funny thing.  From a purely physical perspective our vision technically deteriorates with age, however from every other aspect I believe our true “vision” grows sharper and more clear the older we get.  One thing in particular that I find our aged vision makes it much easier to see is the deep connections …
Continue reading Be A Great Person And You Will Be A Great ParentThe American male’s obsession with the automobile is nurtured at a very young age. We play with toy cars as soon as we are old enough that our parents are reasonably sure we won’t chew off and eat the tiny toy tires. I myself was weaned on Corgi, Matchbox and Hot Wheels. Driving – being …
Continue reading Baby, You Can Drive My Car… at 13???Being 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?I have three kids.  The two oldest are boys.  The third, and youngest, is my daughter, Olivia.  From the moment of birth, boys and girls are different.  At least that has been my experience.  As infants and toddlers, the boys were into everything, climbing on furniture even before they could walk.  Bumps, bruises, burns and …
Continue reading When Did Daddy’s Little Girl Become a Woman?When your baby is born you will likely be housebound for a while. That means that you’ll be home to help your wife and tend to your wee one. This is awesome, sure you’ll be pretty sleep deprived, but it’s still awesome. There’s nothing better than gently hugging on your son or daughter, and on …
Continue reading A Quick Tip for Expecting DaddiesCalm down fellas, this is not going to be an expose about your favorite Showtime series. This is going to be a quick look at a four letter word that parents and kids should make themselves comfortable with and use much more frequently. NOT ALL FOUR LETTER WORDS ARE BAD The late, great George Carlin …
Continue reading The Real “L†Word