Bringing Out the Best in Your Boys

"Girls are so much nicer than boys … I don't know how you cope!"
If you have boys in your home, you will have heard this comment many times. I know, because I have twin boys who are charging through life on anything with wheels, playing war games with anything they can hit each other with and they only know its time to stop when there's tears … ok, so they are only 3 and a half, and they are actually great kids. But compared to their sister, they are FULL-ON!!

I came home yesterday to see my little guys, complete with sheets for capes, jumping off the chairs … they were both Superman, and they were flying. They got so excited to show me as I walked through the door, that the resulted jump ended with my two super heroes taking a hit … busting into tears on the floor. I looked at them, gave them the once-over and said "no blood". With that, they were back up on the chairs as if nothing had happened. ... read more >>

Tots in swimsuits = grandma magnet

Sitting there on the beach watching Clara play chicken with the crashing waves and Kate pat down small mounds of wet sand, I can see the grandmas coming from far down the beach with their bright white smiles brighter due to their overtan faces - and I know what's coming, because it happens almost every time. Kate will look up from her sand creations, give a short wave, and say "hi!" The grandma, who may have been considering walking on by with only a smile, will have to stop now and tell the girls just how wonderfully precious they are. Clara will skip circles around the lady and say "hi" every time her foot hits the ground. Next come the stories of how long ago their kids were sitting on this same beach playing in the same way twenty or thirty years ago. They'll ask the girls their names and how old they are. Clara will pronounce "three" as if it started with an "f" and Kate will say "two" but hold up five fingers. The grandmas will beam at them. They will tell me where their kids are now and what they are doing and when their own grandchildren will be coming down to visit. They don't ask a lot of questions, and that's OK. They're only half present, taking a trip down memory lane. And then they begrudgingly pull themselves away and continue down the beach, looking back often. Then another one comes... ... read more >>

Shame on You?

"What are you thinking? Haven't we talked about this before?" My seven-year-old son looked down at the food that had just spilled on the kitchen floor.

He stood statue-still, as children often do after an accident. The words and tone I'd used were having their impact. He braced himself to fight the tears, and prepared to clean things up.

When I thought about it later, I realized the worst moment wasn't the food hitting the floor. The worst moment was seeing his face hiding the shame and anguish he was feeling. It was realizing I'd been responsible for helping him "shove down" big feelings too painful to deal with.

The truth was difficult. I was teaching my son to feel shame.

So how is it that we can do something like this to our children? ... read more >>

Be Kind

A friend recently attended his aunt's 100th birthday party. It was a big affair and the lucky lady who is still in great shape spoke with great clarity about life. She said if there was one message she wanted to leave the assembled group, it was- 'be kind'.

I have since dwelt on this message and it echoes as an eminently sensible and laudable aim in life. We all live in a tumultuous world where the pain and suffering of others hits us at every media report. As adults we struggle to make sense of the carnage and rage but essentially we all just get on with our lives hoping for some resolution of the conflict(s).

Here in Eastbourne we live in a relatively safe and sheltered haven yet our children are growing up in a more visibly hostile environment than we did. ... read more >>

All Pro Dad - #9 Show Affection and Appreciation

Welcome to All Pro Dad's 10 Ways to be a Better Dad online courses.
Continuing with number Nine:

"Show Affection and Appreciation"

Click on above link to view a video clip that, once viewed, will provide you a basic outline on how to be a better father.

Thanks for participating and please share your success stories with us as you put these 10 Ways to be a Better Dad principles to work in your family.

Keyword: "Security"

Show them the mirror
Show them their strengths
Show them unconditional love

Posted with permission from www.allprodad.com

Confessions Of Dropper Offer

One thing about having a two year old or a kid at any age for that matter is that regardless of where you go or what you are doing you always have to bring along a portable toy chest. Now depending on your child and where you are taking it you might be able to get away with something as simple as a couple cars in the bottom of the diaper bag or you may just have to bring a separate "bag 'o' toys". ... read more >>

Podcast - Eric Anderson

A Podcast hosted on International Dad featuring show hosts Scott Lancaster and co-hosts Eric Mooij and Stefan Korn from DIYFather.com.

Today guest on DIY Father is Author Eric Anderson.



Author Eric Anderson knew what he was looking for and knew he wasn't finding it. The new father was searching through a local bookstore for stories about fathers and daughters and was disappointed by the lack of books portraying those relationships. Anderson realized that if he wanted to read such a story to his daughter, he was going to have to write it himself. So that's exactly what he did.

"The humorous books tend to depict fathers as bumbling figures and the sentimental books tend to mythologize the role of the father. I felt neither bumbling nor God-like, so I decided to write about what the relationship means to me," said Anderson, a busy writer and director who lives in River Forest, Illinois with his wife and daughter. "Of course, I needed a story to write about first…"

Anderson recalls the day he had the idea for the book. "I was carrying Alena back from another fruitless visit to the bookstore. I was holding her close, and she smiled at me and it brought tears to my eyes. I remember feeling 'that smile is the greatest thing I've ever seen.'" ... read more >>