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Family Plan 2010

TheFatherLife.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:10:40 +0000

You then begin to see how your life is filled with sustaining energy, ongoing achievement, and overall happiness. Reviewing 2009 When reviewing last year’s Family Plan, I discovered that I was a lot more productive when my “tasks” correlated with my core happiness. ... Well what makes me happy is the following: I am happy when I am with my three children I am happy when I travel I am happy when I am healthy and exercising I am happy when I am active with SingleDad.com With those items in mind, I took out a calendar and structured my activities around my work week and throughout the year. It took a little practice and discipline, but after a few weeks, I got in the habit of planning my day the night before and making sure I was rewarding myself with my core happiness activities. ... Tips and Reminders As you begin this year with your Family Plan 2010, be sure to take the time the night before to review your commitments to your core happiness and the schedule you have planned. ... I will also post my video about my Family Plan 2010 and will continue to share my progress with all members on SingleDad.com If you are interested in learning more about Single Parent Coaching Sessions or would like to know more information on our “One on One” coaching services, please contact by email: rj@singledad.com Rj Jaramillo, 45, Divorced twice.

[REVIEW] Baby Activity Logger for iPhone/iPod Touch

TheFatherLife.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:13:55 +0000

Calling all high tech parents! Looking for a way to track your baby’s day-to-day functions? Well, for iPhone and iPod users, there is a new app that can save your sanity before you lose it. The Baby Activity Logger is the latest and greatest way to keep track of your baby’s activities. Forget that old pen and paper method or trying to jot it down on the family white board. Now you can have the information with you at all times and know right where it is. As a brand new dad, I understand the need for an application that you can use when you’re sleep deprived and a walking zombie. The Baby Activity Logger for the iPhone is by far the easiest app to use for tracking your baby’s daily activities. Now you can actually know why the baby is crying or fussing. It will also help you see how much your baby is eating and sleeping and how often. With its big and easy to find icons, it makes the one handed mom or dad that much more efficient. I applaud the one handed usability of this app as well as the readability. The Baby Logger distinctly demonstrates when your baby last ate, slept, burped, pooped, spat up, and went potty. You can document how much he/she ate for both liquids and solids. It also has the ability to track in milliliters or ounces, which is an improvement over some of the other apps out there. With Baby Logger you can also email your daily information to your spouse or a family member. You can track multiple babies and easily see what the baby did all day on the today page. One of the coolest parts of this app is its ability to directly connect to your Twitter account. If you so choose, every time you log something — such as the baby spitting up — it updates that on Twitter. So, if my wife is taking care of my son all day and I am at work, I can look at my Twitter page and see exactly what is going on with him. The only change I would recommend with the Twitter connection is the wording it uses when it tweets. I think this app is great, but I think it could add some more features that would help it compete with Total Baby better. If they could get the info to sync between two iPhones, it would be hands down the absolute best on the market. Nerdtown might also want to look into adding photos, as well as embellishing some of the pre-existing icons, such as adding icons for how and where the baby slept. It would help a parent understand why their baby won’t sleep in its crib because it slept in moms or dads arms the whole week. I would also add the ability to store medical information. That way you always have all your baby’s vaccines, allergies, and doctor visit notes with you. All in all, as a new dad and an iPhone lover, this app is a must have for every high tech parent. More details at nerdtown.com . Email this to a friend? Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Digg this! Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Reddit Share this on Technorati Share this on del.icio.us Post this to MySpace Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Add this to Google Bookmarks Related posts: PODCAST #14: Championship Fathering & iPhone Baby Brain PODCAST #13: iPhone Super Baby Tracker and Finance for Kids [LUDWIG@HOME] Home Alone

Raising Safe and Happy Kids

TheFatherLife.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:49:37 +0000

Love is more than a wonderful gift to give your children; it’s also good insurance. Showing your love tells them they are worthy of love and respect and shapes their expectations of how others treat them. A child who feels loved is less likely to look for love in the wrong places…from the wrong people. It’s a documented fact that kids who feel loved don’t accept affection from just anyone who offers it. They accept it from those who respect them and their boundaries. Children who have an unwavering belief that they are loveable and worthwhile know they don’t have to “earn” someone’s love by doing something they don’t want to do. On the other hand, children who are hungry for affection are more likely to believe they don’t deserve to be loved and that love has a price tag. So, telling our kids we love them every single day—including those days when we question why we became parents—is good insurance. It makes our kids less vulnerable to being exploited. It shows them that they are treasured and worth treasuring. It makes them feel cherished and special. And that’s how we want them to feel when they go out the door. Here are some examples of how to express your love and appreciation anytime, anywhere. Things you can say: I love you. I am so lucky that you are mine. I’m so proud of you. You are very special to me. I love spending time with you. Things you can do: Show your pleasure. Let your children know that parenting is something you enjoy, not a dreary chore that exhausts you. Take good care of yourself so that you have the time and energy to be the kind of parent you want to be. Learn about your children. You are an important observer of your children’s behavior and the person they turn to when they have questions and concerns. If you don’t feel comfortable in this role, consider taking parenting classes. Appreciate their special qualities. These include personality traits that make them good human beings, like kindness, intelligence or compassion for others. Appreciate how unique they are…just as they are. Care about and get involved with their interests , whether it’s school, baseball, ballet or other activities. The more they see your interest, the better they feel about themselves. Show up in your kids’ lives as their number one fan! Take time to listen to your children wholeheartedly, without distraction. Being listened to and understood is something all children want. Be a parent your kids can come to who listens, understands, and believes them. This kind of attention is worth its weight in gold. Spend time one-on-one with your kids. Make a date, schedule it and don’t postpone it due to work or other demands in your life. Make this time a regular thing, rather than a special occurrence. Time invested now will bring major returns in the long run. Celebrate your child. Look for creative ways to send the message that you feel like the luckiest parent in the world. Make a big deal of your kid, without spending a ton of money. The key is to find fun ways to share joy and laughter in your relationship and show how much you appreciate and cherish your child. There are many ways to show your love and appreciation. Remember, the more you show, the happier and safer your children will be. Image credit: pidsmannen

[A DAD'S POINT-OF-VIEW] Is Envy a Good Thing?

TheFatherLife.com — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:54:41 +0000

A recent visit to an old friend’s beautiful new home triggered a brief moment of envy for me. While I was extremely happy and proud of his accomplishment in creating such a lovely home with so much care and detail, I also found myself longing for something similar in my life instead of the present [...]

All Have Won, and All Will Have Prizes?: The Challenges of Youth Sports

TheFatherLife.com — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:52:13 +0000

See Jimmy pitch the ball. See Dick hit the ball. See Dick run to first base. See Dick get called out. See Dick’s parents yell at the umpire. See other parents join in. See Dick walk back to the bench and hide his head in his hands. See Dick’s dad yell to Dick telling him [...]

Six Tools to Relieve Your Child’s “Back-to-School-itis”

TheFatherLife.com — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:44:09 +0000

For some kids, going back to school at the end of summer can be traumatic. Anticipating a new teacher, classmates, grade, or school can trigger fear, anxiety, and depression–not to mention very real physical symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches, and insomnia. Fortunately, your child has a whole toolbox to draw from–in her own imagination. Here [...]

Summer School: Lessons Learned by a First Time SAHD

TheFatherLife.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:38:10 +0000

As school is starting and the house is without the noise of kids running around, I had the chance to reflect on the summer and what we did. I never thought I would have the feelings I had when the kids left for school, but never the less I had them! I’m not going to [...]

[FRESH BROOD] Hell on (Two) Wheels – Part 2

TheFatherLife.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:40:17 +0000

Editor’s note: In case you missed it, catch-up on Part 1 of “Hell on (Two) Wheels” before reading on. OK, so we finally got home with a bike that: a) fit my son, b) had training wheels that were actually attached properly, and c) looked bad-ass cool. Check, check, and check. Now it was time [...]

How Do I Know My Kid Is Lying?

TheFatherLife.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:28:48 +0000

Kids always seem to be surprised when they are caught in the middle of a lie — Mom really does have eyes in the back of her head! She really does talk to that little bird! Is it really these eyes that Mom has or does that little bird really give the secrets away? Or [...]

[INTO THE DAWN] Memories of Summer 2009

TheFatherLife.com — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:24:17 +0000

Elementary school began yesterday, and on the one hand it seems hard to let the summer go, but on the other hand there were some moments I could have done without. For instance, all summer long I put off getting my bi-annual haircut/head shave because my eight year old told me, “You’re ugly enough as [...]