Dad Blogs - Useful Parenting Tips for Dads » Fun stuff to do with the kids

Review: Felt Tales by Babalu

Eric Cooper — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:33:23 +0000

“Felt? What kid wants to play with felt?” was my initial reaction. And I stood by it – what kind of gift is the gift of felt? But, importantly, I kept an open mind and I played with the kids and 3 of the Felt Tales boards: Busy Day on the Farm, Heroes to the [...]

Building a treehouse for your kids – How do I get to be a dad like this?

Paul Banas — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:26:04 +0000

Anyone who has ever been to Disneyland and climbed the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse (now recast as Tarzan's home), imagines how cool it would be to have a real treehouse sanctuary. ... Is it just because it's having a place of your own, being taller than your surroundings, getting away from home and chores. Whatever it is, I was envious of this guy's kids, and in awe of how much work he put into creating this treehouse for them, at one point even planning on running water to add to the full code-friendly electric.

Five stuff-free games to play in the car during long trips

Paul Banas — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:13:57 +0000

So spelling H-O-R and adding an S might lead to forming "Horse" for the next player unless they could form a word that starts with H-O-R-S but does not have an E next.... License plates - This is an old chestnut, but can keep kids busy for a few minutes at least while they realize that license plates come on cars from all over the country.

Another Nerf football, but made for little hands to throw farther

Paul Banas — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:50:39 +0000

The spin is that it's a football, so the arrow tip is blunted and the Nerf, or course, is soft; not soft enough to save mom's crystal vase, but safe enough not to snag a passing cat.... We demo'd the Vortex Ultra Light so I can't vouch for how the whistle works on the Howler version, and if it makes too much noise to use in the house.

Monuments, landmarks, and building in a manageable size

Paul Banas — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:26:58 +0000

My wife could never understand this mania, or "neurosis," as she puts it, until a few years ago when the San Francisco International Airport featured a full concourse exhibit of souvenir monuments from around the world.... I'm getting one set for my little boy to place between tracks of his train set (yes, the scale is a bit off), and one to go up on the shelf until I get a call from the museum asking to take my collection on tour.

This is a niche waiting to be filled

Paul Banas — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:07:20 +0000

I see very few of these, but need to get something like it for my budding 7-year old artist who always seems to have a new masterpiece she's created. If you can't tell, this is a fairly simple clipboard that hangs from the wall and makes it easy to swap out the hot new artwork as family taste change or new art is created.

Ants!

Paul Banas — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:11:13 +0000

So much cooler than old-fashioned sand ant colonies, this Ant Farm Gel Colony with Light Module is perfect for your budding scientist.... The answe is in the gel, which is their home, food and source of moisture.

Monopoly for dads

Paul Banas — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:31:28 +0000

In this ADD era, who has the patience to sit at the kitchen table for six hours waiting to exhaust fellow players going around and around the board.... Now you can play in a plane, train, or at bedtime without feeling like you've just signed up for an afternoon of drudgery.

Punchbuggy 1-2-3

Paul Banas — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:09:36 +0000

My daughter loves this game and it does pass the time while you're driving though you have to be careful since it's just slightly less dangerous than scanning license plates for the "collect a state" game. Beetles are just rare enough that you don't see them everywhere, and distinctive enough that there's never a doubt if you've really spotted one.