When I was 8 or 9 years old, I wanted to be a scientist. Someone gave me a microscope for my birthday around that time, which was probably one reason why. I would use the tweezers to pull out a hair from my head or tear off tiny pieces of leaves, put them on the slides and examine them. I’d fiddle with the covers for the slides as I tried to figure out how the professionals were able to flatten out a piece of twig between two small pieces of glass or plastic, often breaking the slide covers in the process. I’d play around with the focus and the zoom lenses and pretend I was doing … [Read more...]
Youthful Enthusiasm Something All Parents Should Hope to Retain
Dye your hair, rid yourself of wrinkles, enhance your energy etc. Everywhere you turn, you see some sort of advertisement whose stated goal is to make you look or feel younger. We live in a culture where there is a drive to be young. While I wish I had a full head of hair, when I wonder what it would be like to be younger again, it has nothing to do with the physical. This morning, my oldest son, BR, came downstairs. He looked at my wife and I who were sitting and talking on the couch discussing our daily plans like football coaches game planning for the upcoming foe. He had a smirk on … [Read more...]
Fortnite Obsession a Tricky Bond Between Child, Parent
My son really wanted an Xbox One last year. So, being the first Christmas after my wife and I separated, I got him one. And it was great. I eventually got one myself for when he visited, and for me to play as well. As with all things and little kids, though, he wanted more. What he wanted was to play Fortnite because all his friends from school were playing it. I subscribed to Xbox Live and we use a family set up to give him access to play, without access to buy anything. Which, for the uninitiated, there is plenty of stuff to buy. And not even stuff that helps you in the game. Might as … [Read more...]
Guggenheim Art Museum Offers Family Friendly Programs, Memories
My 2-year-old daughter placed her head on my shoulder while I investigated every face in Picasso’s Le Moulin de la Galette. I explained to her that this painting was an earlier work by Picasso, before he began to create his own unique style. We stood while I chatted away about Moulin being Picasso’s first painting in Paris and the epicurean body languages of the painted figures over to Kandinsky’s Composition 8. I bent down and pointed at the geometric war taking place while circles provide warmth and calmness. With a quiet voice, I spoke about the circles within the painting and how they … [Read more...]
Lying Comes Easy to Children, Easier to Their Parents
No matter how hard you stress the importance of honesty, kids will still lie. It’s human nature. My kid isn’t even 3 and I’ve already seen it happening. I’m not always sure that’s he truly lying about not having pooped or if he’s just so used to having poop in his pants that he can’t tell the difference, but sometimes he’s lying about it. Because he doesn’t want his diaper changed. Because he’s gross. But I digress. Dealing with lying children is part of being a parent. I knew that going in, and I’m ready for it. But I didn’t know how much lying I’d be doing. Pro tip: Kids will … [Read more...]
Ear Piercing Start of Change from ‘Our Baby’ to ‘Our Little Girl’
Her back was straight, a perfect 180 degrees, without the slightest bit of slouch that eventually comes after years of slumping back in chairs or hunching over cell phones. She sat cross-legged on the high, plush white chair, her small body fitting on the seat perfectly. Her eyes were focused upward toward the television – why else would she be sitting so still? – but her face lacked the dazed and empty expression usually found on zoned-out high school students and brain-hungry zombies. “I can’t believe how nicely she’s sitting,” Valentina, the owner of the ear-piercing studio, remarked … [Read more...]
Rain, Like Childhood, Ends Somewhere. We Don’t Know When, Where
It was sunny that day, and then it wasn’t. In the middle of a business call, I had to excuse myself. I ran out to the car and put up the windows and closed the sunroof. The rain was coming down. By the time I finished my multiple apologies for having run out, the rain was fierce. A little while later, after I hung up the phone, I grabbed my youngest son, SJ, and we stared out the windows. It had started hailing outside. I’ve heard the term, "it looks like golf balls are coming out of the sky," but had never actually seen it. We watched in fascination as Leila, our dog, hid under the … [Read more...]
Fodada Founder Barzi Promotes Fatherhood Through Positive Change
Bobby Barzi is a businessman with a purpose: create a better world for our children by investing in communities and efforts that inspire positive change. It starts with promoting the importance of being an active and engaged father, the initial basis for the creation of his successful clothing company, Fodada. Barzi discusses these ideas as well as other programs he and his company have backed in the season finale of the Modern Dads Podcast. Barzi started the clothing line in 2012 as a socially aware business. It focused initially on celebrating, promoting and supporting the idea … [Read more...]
Pregaming with the Yankees, Peapod by Stop & Shop
Disclosure: NYC Dads Group has been compensated by Peapod by Stop & Shop for this post. All opinions are genuine. Read all the way to the bottom for a special sweepstakes offer from Peapod and the New York Yankees.
Have you ever missed a great moment at a sporting event because you were in line waiting for food? This happened to me last month during a charity softball game at Yankee Stadium. My kids were captivated by the game and asked me to get them some dinner from the concession stand. They were having such a great time that I couldn’t say no. I … [Read more...]Graduation: A Childhood Moment No Parent Should Miss
"Ohhhh, turn up! It’s Graduation Week!" That was my message to my 4-year-old who was about to finish pre-kindergarten and to my 10-year-old who was graduating 5th grade. Yup, two in the same week! Graduation will make any dad proud and, since my dad never made it to any of my graduations, it means even more to me. My dad never made it because he had to work. How many other dads are in that same situation? I get some people can’t make it, but if you have the opportunity to make up for a lost day of wages and still choose work or other things over an hour or two of showing love. That’s no … [Read more...]