We have plenty of other gift ideas for dads in general, but here are two good gifts for divorced dads, probably from friends or family interested in supporting dads’ relationships with kids who may not even be in the same city. Both are also wonderful presents for dads who “can’t be there” whether due to business travel or military service. The first is the Vidtel telephone service. Vidtel is finally the telephone of the near future that AT&T promised to us at the 1964 Worlds Fair. Vidtel, using broadband (cable or DSL) connections, finally makes good on that promise. Because it’s broadband, rather than POTS (plain old telephone service), the picture quality...

Sony MYLO Personal Communicator – (around $200) If you like to surf the internet and need a device that does it all better than most cell phones, the MYLO is a fun gadget. This “Personal Communicator” works on the 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi standard making it easy to join wireless networks. Unlike an iPhone though, it is set up to make free Skype calls (to other Skype users and for a charge to regular phones) right out of the box (iPhone users must download special software and configure). The MYLO also has an MP3 player, plays MPEG-4 videos and has a 1.3 MP camera built in, which makes online photo sharing simple. But the best part is the integration with popular sites like AIM, YouTube,...

New dads, you don’t know it yet, but your back is going to be killing you in a few days. When you take that baby home in the little carrier on the first day, you’re going to feel a little twinge when your spine curves a little to the side of your favored arm. Because the baby carrier is wide, you have to hold it out even further from your body than a suitcase or briefcase, which feels very unnatural. Surprisingly, someone has just invented a gadget that might make this a little easier on you. Check out the Baby Lift strap, a very low-tech device that gives you a little more support in carrying the baby and his carrier. The strap goes over a shoulder and attaches to one side of the...

Boon Snack Ball – Simple, but elegant, our kids fight over these little balls filled with goldfish or other snacks. I don’t put them in their lunches though, for fear of losing them in the crowd. The ball breaks in half for easy cleaning, but the orange (or pink) top also swivels open for easy open closed for snacks. $6 from Amazon and BabiesRUs.

Baby Light and Clip – Nail Clipper for Babies If you’ve ever struggled to cut a baby’s finger or toenails, you’ll love this little gadget. It’s a very simple little tool that incorporates a basic baby fingernail clipper and a light so you can clip in the dark while they are sleeping. And, if you’ve ever cut down too close and actually cut your baby (yes, it does happen) because baby was struggling, or you couldn’t see, this clipper has finger guard so you can’t push in too deep. This may seem like just another gadget to some, but your kids will really appreciate it, up to eight years old. And the price is right at $14.99 MSRP and right now only...

We see a lot of baby gadgets, and mostly my wife points to the door and says, “out with them.” Though there are tons of things that dad might think are cool, moms seems to have a very practical sense when it comes to the big category known as gadgets. That is not to say they can’t be wildly impractical when it comes to over-priced linens and diaper bags, but that is another story. In our house, however, the Combi Chop Stick Trainer was a hit, perhaps because my wife is Korean-American, but also because it does not attempt to do something for a child, but is actually a teaching aid to teach the child to eventually use the chopsticks in the correct way. And, dads incompetent at...

These are time out pillows made in the form of friendly monsters. We never used time outs very much, but I can see these adding a touch of warmth to the time out idea. PS: we found out that they are not that fun after all. A menacing voice threatens to eat the child the next time he has to go on the time out pad.

I only have one boy (as a complement to his older sister) and must say, his aim and concentration in the pee-pee department has always been admirable. Without the aid of cheerios or other floating targets, he stays inside the lines, and rarely have I seen him paint the walls. However, I have known little boys who can barely stand still, and who likely unzip and let it rip, ricocheting their spray off the sides of the toilet. I imagine this is the everyday cleanup problem the inventor of the Flippee Toilet Shield had. Annmarie Vanini, the inventor, is the mom of three boys. I can only guess how wide of the target they must have hit before she took pencil to paper and invented this gadget. At $24.95,...

Sony Cyber-shot DSCW120MDG/P 7.2 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot $180 – Amazon I love this camera! We just got the DSCW 120 for our summer holiday and I was hoping it would work well and replace our five year-old DSC V1. The two cameras have several things in common: a Zeiss lens and many manual over-ride features, but the new camera is far smaller and easier to use. This is a great little camera and represents how far Sony has come in developing an interface that is easy to use. This is the first camera I’ve seen where an explanation of the icons shows up on-screen when you dial a selection. No more trying to remember what an icon of a tree or a mountain...

If you haven’t found a father’s day gift yet for dad, here are few suggestions you can still get on-line that he might enjoy for father’s day. Better yet, have the kids draw up a big poster and serve him breakfast in bed. Presents are over-rated, though Bill Cosby said part of being a dad is pretending that soap-on-a-rope is the best present ever. 1. “Bushnell Powerview 12×25 Compact Folding Roof Prism Binocular (Black)” (Bushnell) With slightly more magnification (12X versus the usual 10X) in a compact package, these are good portable binoculars for travel and sporting events. At around $20, this is a great little binocular. 2.. Belkin conserve –...