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We just did a news piece on a study showing that dads with boys tend to spend more time with their kids than dads who only have girls. That’s a sad bit of news, since girls really need daddy time as well. But I don’t want to get off on that tangent. The second part of the story went on to say that this extra “boy time” was spent watching TV together. So, is watching TV really quality time with the kids, or is it something we do and rationalize that at least they were in the room in while you were enjoying the big game, or worse, the most recent episode of CSI.
Category Archives: Key experiences with kids
More tips for building a tree house
August 21, 2011 – 2:09 AM
We’re big fans of Todd Davis’ book, Handy Dad: 25 Awesome Projects for Dads and Kids, which features some good tips for treehouse building. If you’re in most of the United States, you’re burning daylight at this point to get a treehouse built before the end of the warm weather, so you better get going.
Here are some other handy pieces of advice for building a tree house:
Dealing With Tantrums (Video)
April 26, 2011 – 5:45 AM
Tantrums, meltdowns, and hissy fits can be a nightmare for parents. DadLabs shows you how to throw them, and also how to deal with them.
Parents spend $32,000 on a 6th birthday party
April 21, 2011 – 3:51 PM
So reports TLC who is naturally recording parties like this for a reality series. How much is your budget? Our limit is $150, which I’m sure is still outrageous to many during this recession since it’s already more than some people make in a year in the developing world. But will you forego a pony for your “only 4 once” daughter out of guilt or penuriousness?
It’s not guilt that prevents us from having a big ass birthday party with three clowns, an elephant and fountain pouring all the apple juice you can drink. I don’t think we have everything in proportion or hold any corner on the “right way” to parent, but when it comes to birthdays, we try to set some limits. Our budget is not enough to go really wild, and the kids know that if they exceed it because they want to invite more kids (or clowns), it comes out of their bank accounts. Is that harsh? Perhaps. But it does end the discussions very quickly, with a, “If you really want a sword swallower at the party, you can have one, but the cost of the swords will be taken out of Mr. Piggy.”
Scholastic celebrates 20 years of I SPY
March 16, 2011 – 10:12 AM
Hard to believe it’s been 20 years, since they only creeped into my consciousness about six or seven years ago when my youngest received a book as a present. Since then, we’ve played at least three of the Mac versions and tried the iPhone version. This is a series that kids and dads love. It’s an area that dads can excel in for many years to the delight of our kids who just can’t find the gold locket or the plastic heart in the jumble of colors and shapes. My son will often plaintively scream, “Daddy! I need your help! I can’t find the swordfish!” I regret not always going to his aid. As he gets older, his problems and obstacles become more complex and not as easily fixed by just focusing on a page of a book for five minutes.
