Some kids have imaginary friends, others don’t. Either way is OK. Peeno Ceeno (pronounced pee-no, see-no) was my imaginary friend. She lived in the wooded wetland behind my house. I was expecting my boys to have imaginary friends too. But so far, neither five-year old Bubba nor three-year old Peter ...

Last month, I attended Strong Men Speak, a roundtable discussion at UC Berkeley that considered the definition masculinity in contemporary American culture — how it is changing, and how it needs to change.  Of considerable interest to all of us in attendance was the connection between fatherhood and concepts of ...

My 5-year-old son earns his first “yellow light” for… giving the finger I was shocked. Bubba’s kindergarten class operates on a stoplight system for monitoring behavior. A green light is good. A yellow light is a warning. A red light is major infraction that includes a note home from the ...

Do your kids get an allowance?  Do they have to earn it? Money is on everyone’s mind these days and it was a spirited topic during a recent Thursday evening Tweet Chat that I host, called #DadChat**.  Tweet Chats are growing as different communities band together for an hour or ...

I’m not a good soccer player, but I’m a heck of a lot better than my 5-year-old son. The same goes for most backyard games as well as board games, video games and nearly all other competitions. I generally don’t run up the score, but I don’t lie down either. ...

How many times have parents heard their kids say, “It’s not fair!”  How many times have older kids called their parents, “Hypocrite?” How many times were the kids right? My older son called me a hypocrite the other day because I was making disturbing noises early one morning, while he and his brother were still ...

My teen son got a job! Amazing! It took over a year of searching by foot and on the Internet, applying countless times, and uncharacteristic persistence and follow through. It was not easy. He experienced some unfair treatment and he also hurt himself in his efforts numerous times. As with so much in life, we ...

I put off enabling my son to drive for as long as I could, but he passed the driver’s test on his third try and succeeded in getting his grades up to our agreed-upon level. I couldn’t delay it any longer. He now drives.  As a native Southern Californian, I ...

When I receive an email with an opening line like, “Most new moms agree that breast is best,” I automatically file it under the “this is an email meant for mom bloggers that somehow found its way to The Father Life” label and click the delete button.  It’s a process ...

Going fishing with kids is not like going fishing with grownups. It’s a whole different ballgame, and for an enjoyable outing for both kids and dad, you better plan ahead. Where do you fish with little one? Small kids belong on shore. The ground won’t tip over and put your ...