DadTrends » Activities

Grow a dinosaur with your kids

stefan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:55:38 +0000

Someone gave our little man a dinosaur egg for Christmas. The egg is part of a “growing pet” family of toys which you can put in water and over a few days develop from egg into a normal plastic toy. The actual toy is not that great (feels like a cheap rubbery model of a dinosaur with poor features and colouring). However the process of “hatching” and checking up on progress was great. It kept our son entertained for days with huge excitement building as the egg shell cracked and the head of the dinosaur appeared. So it’s a fantastic tool for building patience in your little ones You can get these eggs (for all sorts of animals) for about $5 in most toy stores or online.

Enjoy!

-Stef

The Money Game

scott — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:36:29 +0000

As a parent and someone who is interested in creating wealth, helping my little lady become financially savvy when she grows up is very important. I come from a wealthy family that “gave their children fish, rather than actually teaching them to fish”. So I thought it was timely now to teach my 4 year old girl Pyper about money and finances. We have started getting her used to money – she picks up bits of money that is either lying around in coins or someone might give her $5 here and there for a birthday. I firmly believe that parents who introduce the concept of “saving money” to their children early will be helping them in the long run. I recently came across an article that talked about practical steps parents could do to teach financial literacy to their children.

Fussy eaters – a different strategy

stefan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:05:52 +0000

Dealing with “fussy eaters” is a constant struggle for many parents. There are lots of little tricks to encourage kids to eat (or eat up). So here’s another trick to add to the list – inspired by something my four-year-old said the other day. I got upset with him because he wouldn’t finish his plate. To me, wasting food or throwing away food (that is perfectly good to eat) is one of the worst things you can do in this life – it’s wrong on so many levels. As a result we feel strongly about educating our son that wasting food is not on.

So I told him that many children in the world have nothing to eat and die of starvation. His response: “well then we have to help them!”. Yup … and so I showed him pictures of starving children and what we are doing to help them. The result? He still didn’t eat up the plate at the time but he has done so several times in the following days, weeks and months. He is now much more aware of the desperate situation of other children and why we believe it is so important to not waste food. His empathy with others who are not as lucky as we are has definitely grown. So I figured showing him starving kids was a useful “reality check” for him and it has resulted in a change of behaviour and attitude. There’s lots of footage on starvation and hunger on the net if you want to do this as well. Here’s one example.

Top Ten Miranda Pregnancy Quotes of 1st Trimester

Daddy Danny — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:04:35 +0000

Here is my list of the Top Ten Miranda Pregnancy Quotes of the 1st Trimester.

10. “I don’t want to fall asleep on the couch again. I’ll just wake up and be depressed.”

9. “One thing about being pregnant is you get to know every bathroom.”

8. “Oh…I’m probably going to go throw up in a minute, so use the bathroom now if you need to.”

7. “One thing’s for sure…I don’t ever want to be bulimic.”

6. “Somebody needs to design a food kit for the first trimester, and all the food keeps you from vomiting.”

5. “It’s like a ritual now, to kneel by the toilet.”

4. “I’m sorry I knocked over the table. I guess I don’t realize how big my stomach is.”

3. “What if my stomach has become addicted to throwing up? What if “it” likes it?”

2. “I’m really disappointed I threw up at Crackle Barrel.”

And the Number One Miranda Pregnancy Quote is:

1. “Being pregnant is hard! It’s everyday!”

Coming Soon, Miranda Pregnancy Quotes from the 2nd Trimester. If you have a favorite from my twitter feed @PregnancyQuotes leave a comment and let me know what your favorite is.

Christmas baking daddy style – 10 unusual cookie cutters

stefan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:06:05 +0000

In many countries Christmas is a traditional time for cooking and baking. Cooking and baking with kids is of course a top activity and so here’s some inspirations to liven up the cookie cutting (see below for a super simple recipe that you can use to make cookie cutter cookies).

The ultimate geek dad present for Christmas

stefan — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:35:25 +0000

If you’re still looking for an uber cool present for your geek son (geek hubby or geek dad) check out myrobotnation.com … the site lets you construct your own robot, then 3d print it and ship it to you. This is one of the first “create your own toy” sites that I’ve seen to make fully customizable collectables. Prices for 3d printing your own robot start from $17.99 (for a 2 inch robot) all the way to $169.99 (for a 6 inch robot). Unfortunately the robots are not suitable for young children (they are similar to ceramic collectibles and break easily). Still a pretty cool gift for family members with a geeky side!

Enjoy,

Stef

Make your own Advent Calendar for Kids (2)

stefan — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:25:30 +0000

Now that we are well and truly in the pre Christmas season here’s some more instructions on making your own Advent Calendar for kids. This one is just as simple as the “Icicle Advent Calendar”.

What you need:

a piece of cloth / fabric (you can reuse an old table cloth or similar) approx. 80cm x 30cm (25 x 9 inches)

two wooden sticks (need to be longer than your fabric is wide)

piece of cord

little pieces of colourful fabric (anything will work)

stick on numbers (1 – 25) or you can simply cut them out yourself (made out of paper or fabric)

glue

Newborn Parenting for a New World

stefan — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:00:08 +0000

“If you haven’t heard about “Dads The Word” check it out now! We’ve been working with Ross and her team for many years and her programme for new parents (“Newborn Parenting for a New World”) really is one of the best around. If you’ve ever been frustrated about upskilling your childcare skills (or find books just way too dry) give Ross’ programme a shot! Compared to many other parenting education DVDs, videos and apps “Newborn Parenting for a New World” is not only very practical but it’s also pretty funny!

In 28 minutes the “Newborn Parenting for a New World” DVD shows you how to:

Settle a crying baby

Bathing a baby

Step by step guide and tips on nappy changing for both baby girls and baby boys

Feeding a baby

Baby massage

Dressing your baby

And SIDS prevention

App dads – check out Survival

stefan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:44:02 +0000

Here’s a cool free app for kids with tons of mini games to learn about endangered species. Available on iOS and Android – check it out! Survival on iOS and Survival on Android.

Enjoy,

Stef

Keeping babies entertained – paper

stefan — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:08:25 +0000

More evidence that expensive toys are not needed to entertain babies … the clips below have clocked up over 70m youtube views (!)

Enjoy,

stef