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Chris Bernholdt - Philly Dads Group

Chris Bernholdt of Philly Dads Group, a former public school art teacher, has been a stay-at-home dad since 2008. A father of three, Chris writes about his adventures as a stay-at-home dad at DadNCharge and is also on Twitter as @DadNCharge. His writing has been featured on CNN iReport, The Good Men Project and he is a contributor to the website, Life of Dad. He is also the blog editor for the National At-Home Dad Network. He lives with his wife Susie and their children in a suburb of Philadelphia.

Fine Arts Promote Creativity, Growth so Let’s Stop Shortchanging Students

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The greatest tool you can use to help your children grow is something they can't cram for to pass a standardized test. It’s creativity.

Creativity affects the way we learn and grow. It can be applied to any subject and teaches us that, even within rigid structures, you can find freedom of movement to make something new. And creativity is heavily employed and deepened in others by exposure to art, music and literature -- the fine arts.

Show children a painting and ask them to tell you what it is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: arts and crafts, education Tagged With:

Making a Fool of Yourself a Gift Your Kids Won’t Forget

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Every Christmas growing up, for as long as I can remember, our entire family would attend a The Nutcracker ballet together. We would get dressed up and, my dad's three brothers and their families also along, head into downtown Chicago to watch some Christmas magic. As I kid, I really didn't enjoy this. I had to wear dress pants and most likely some God-awful itchy sweater that my mom loved. However, what I did like was that we went as a big group to somewhere special. That was our time together. We haven't done this in forever. With us kids grown up and with families of our own, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: gender, holidays, play Tagged With: ,

Hate Too Easy to Learn so Parents Must Teach Children Love Instead

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My 5-year-old daughter and I had just buckled into the car, headed home after a morning playground adventure in Philadelphia, when the questions started flowing. After we go somewhere, I like to talk to her about what we just did and ask her about her favorite and least favorite parts. Call it an exit interview of sorts that helps me learn more about who she is becoming and help me be a better parent for her. I began with the highlight of the day and worked my way toward what she didn't enjoy, which is when she gleefully screamed "NOTHING!" and pumped her arms into the air. Then there … [Read more...]

Filed Under: love Tagged With:

Parents Need to Say ‘No’ So Kids Know They Love Them

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I probably say it a thousand times a day and, honestly, it feels good to say it. I say, "No." "Daddy, can I have a popsicle for lunch?" my daughter says. "No. A popsicle is not lunch. Eat your lunch and then we can talk popsicles," I say. "Daddy, can I play on the iPad?" my son asks. "No. You already had your screen time today. Did you pick up your room?" I answer. Shopping with my children is when I say it most. If get near the toy aisle I know it will result in a barrage that will crescendo into a giant "NO!" that makes people's heads turn. This kind of trip has me grabbing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: discipline, parenting advice Tagged With: ,

Parenting Isn’t Perfection, Failure Isn’t Worthy of Praise

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Does hearing how others fail miserably really make us feel better about our faults or is this like a scene out of Jaws where we all compare our scars to see who has the biggest one of all? 

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Every day we fail at parenting in some way. It's not mommy brain. It's not because we are the doofus dad. Here's an awful truth we must all face: We are human and we are going to make a ton of mistakes. Parenting is hard. I recently sat in a meeting with other parents, mostly moms, quietly listening to them tear themselves down. They seemed to think that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: parenting advice, work-life balance Tagged With: