THE BLOG – Page 22 – Canadian Dad

My Kids Don’t Like The Same Shows That I Did

June 16, 2015/1 Comment/in THE BLOG/by Chris Read

My son loves hockey. I love hockey. You can imagine my excitement as I logged in to the Kids section on my Netflix account to show him one of the greatest movies of all time in The Mighty Ducks. I had pumped this up for weeks and we had finally set aside an afternoon to watch one, maybe two, of the Mighty Ducks movies! I watched him for his reaction to the opening scenes and he seemed into it. Fast forward to ten minutes later however, and I’d completely lost him. “When are the hockey parts, dad?”, he asked. Long story short, we fast forwarded to all the hockey parts and I cried myself to sleep.

The same has happened when it comes to the TV shows I used to love as a child. A recent Netflix study showed that 76% of Dads “feel like a kid again” when watching retro TV shows or movies with their kids. While I would love to be included in that 76%, it seems that I am part of the 38% of Dads who say they let their kids pick what they watch together. We’ve traded Spider-Man for Beyblade and Scooby Doo for LEGO Friends but I’m okay with that because it’s more about the fact that we are watching and laughing together than the content of the show. Besides, we still have 8 seasons of Full House to watch together!

I actually found the Netflix study interesting because it broke down the results by country. Here are the extended findings for dads in Canada.

* 65% of Dads watch cartoons when streaming TV shows and movies with their children
* 76% of Dads “feel like a kid again” when watching retro TV shows or movies with their kids
* 25% of Dads watch cartoons and other TV shows or movies with their kids to relive their childhood, laugh at the hilarious scenes from old favorites and pass these memories down to their kids
* 79% of Dads who watch TV shows or movies with their kids are re-watching their favorite shows and movies that they grew up watching
* 48% of Dads say their kids enjoy watching shows and movies with them because that is their bonding time
* 38% of Dads say they let their kids pick what they watch together, while nearly as many (35%) admit that they enjoy the same kinds of shows
* Canadian Dad’s Top Shows to Watch With Kids included Alvin and The Chipmunks, Scooby Doo, Spider-Man, The Smurfs and Transformers.

My kids are only 5 and 7 so I feel like I still have time to share my favourite retro cartoons with them. The more likely scenario, however, is that my life will forever be filled with episodes of Pokemon, My Little Pony and How To Train Your Dragon, which is more than alright by me!

Finally, I’ll leave you with a funny list of what the dads in the study thought about themselves, broken down by country. Take a look and let me know which country you think best describes your attitude towards watching TV with your kids.

* Dads in the U.S. are most likely to let the kids stay up late
* Brazilian dads take pride in making the best snacks
* British dads let the fun of watching together extend even after the show is over
* Canadian dads give themselves the most credit for liking the same shows as their kids
* French dads think they choose the coolest shows
* German dads rank themselves among the top snugglers and silliest viewing partners
* Mexican dads say they let their kids be king of the remote

Disclosure: I am a part of the Netflix #StreamTeam and as such I receive special perks from Netflix. My son still did not enjoy Mighty Ducks and I did in fact cry myself to sleep about it…

How Often Do You Eat Dinner Together As A Family?

June 10, 2015/2 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG, The Daddy Files/by Chris Read

Let me tell you about my week. I had to work overnight on Monday, then my daughter had dance rehearsal on Tuesday, followed by my son’s ball hockey on Wednesday, two more dance rehearsals on Thursday and Friday, and finally, a hockey tournament and dance recitals on the weekend. Please understand that this is not a regular week for us but it is at least half representative of our busy lives.

When I think about not only what but how we are going to fit dinner into that schedule I kind of want to curl up into a ball and sob. It is especially important to me that we eat at the dinner table as a family as much as possible. Obviously this week was going to be tough but we still managed to squeeze in two family dinners, which made me happy. As far back as I can remember, my family ate dinner together at our kitchen table and our family was closer because of it. It wasn’t a huge table but it fit us and the food, which is all you really need, right?

The reason I enjoy having dinner together so much is because when you really think about all the activities and distractions life has to offer, this is the one time in the day where everyone can just sit down, relax and talk. For us, we have a framed list of 20 questions that hangs on the wall next to the dinner table and the kids get to pick 3 numbers to answer each night. This exercise is quick and painless and also opens the door to some great dinnertime conversation.

One other thing to note is that we do not allow electronics of any kind at the table. That means no tweeting for daddy, no clash of clans for my son and no Facebook for mommy. A recent study by pasta company, Barilla® Canada, revealed that while 74% of families have dinner together 1-4 times a week, 43% of those families do so with either the TV on or an electronic device at the table.

This all leads me to my question, how often do you eat together as a family and do you do so without electronics?

#ShareTheTable And Win A Trip To Italy With Barilla®!

Barilla® created the Share The Table® initiative to help inspire, empower and support all families to enjoy more meaningful meals. They believe that while mealtime may not be a panacea for building strong children and families, it is still one of the most important things we can do to instill a sense of courage, confidence, and character in our children today, so that they, in turn, can make the world a better place.

That said, Barilla® wants to know what dinner time looks like with your family. Share your family experience by uploading a picture or a written description, and you’ll be entered to win 1 of 3 trips to Italy. You can ENTER HERE!

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in the Share The Table campaign but we really do eat dinner together 🙂

Win Passes To The Ottawa Screening Of Disney Pixar’s Inside Out!

June 8, 2015/25 Comments/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I don’t know about your family but my kids and I are extremely excited about the new Disney Pixar movie, Inside Out! We’ll be heading to a special screening of the movie on June 17th and I want you to be there too! Disney has given me a family 4 pack of tickets to giveaway to one of my Ottawa area readers and entering couldn’t be easier!

Simply leave a comment below and let me know what your family’s favourite Disney movie is and I’ll draw a winner’s name on June 14th! Easy, right?! Now, check out the trailer and description below so you can get even more excited about Inside Out!

INSIDE OUT

Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head? Disney•Pixar’s original new film “Inside Out” ventures inside the mind to find out.

Based in Headquarters, the control center inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, five Emotions are hard at work, led by lighthearted optimist Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), whose mission is to make sure Riley stays happy. Fear (voice of Bill Hader) heads up safety, Anger (voice of Lewis Black) ensures all is fair and Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) prevents Riley from getting poisoned—both physically and socially. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) isn’t exactly sure what her role is, and frankly, neither is anyone else.

When Riley’s family relocates to a scary new city, the Emotions are on the job, eager to help guide her through the difficult transition. But when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind—taking some of her core memories with them—Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places—Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions—in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.

Directed by Academy Award® winner Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”, “Up”), produced by Jonas Rivera, p.g.a. (“Up”) and featuring an original score by Michael Giacchino (“The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Up”), Disney•Pixar’s “Inside Out” opens in theatres on June 19, 2015.

My Family’s Netflix Streaming List – June Edition

June 2, 2015/3 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

So this Netflix thing is growing on me. As odd as it sounds, I think I was using it incorrectly when we first signed up a year ago. I’d watch the odd movie here or there but never really dug in and explored everything it had to offer. In the last few months my family has been going through the list of titles and picking out things we’d like to watch at some point. Slowly but surely we trying out new shows and I wanted to share what each of us are enjoying right now. Besides, the family that Netflixes together, stays together. Right??

Dad (That’s Me!) – Daredevil

It should be noted that I am a full on superhero/comic nerd, so I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this new Netflix original version of Daredevil. Man, did it ever blow my mind! I rarely feel like a show is perfectly executed but this is the closest thing I have ever seen to that. Vincent D’Onofrio’s, Wilson Fisk character, will leave you with chills running down your spine!

Mom – Bloodline

This is one that I started without my wife and then felt guilty about it because it was so good. After we rewatched the first episode, she was hooked and we finished the whole season in less than two weeks. This show takes family disfunction to a new and exciting level! I have no idea how they are going to top what they did in Season 1 but I am really looking forward to it.

7 Year Old Son – Beyblade (All of them!)

My son doesn’t watch a lot of TV but he is addicted to these Beyblade shows on Netflix. If you have a young boy you will no doubt be feeling the Beyblade craze right now. I have no idea what happened as Beyblades had all but disappeared from existence, only to come back with a vengeance and take over our whole street! I’ve sat with him and watched the Beyblade shows and I have to admit that they are pretty cool.

5 Year Old Daughter – LEGO Friends

We started my daughter with Barbie’s Life in the Dreamhouse but as soon as she saw the LEGO Friends show, she was hooked. True to 5 year old fashion, we have watched the same episodes multiple times in a row and she never seems to tire of it. It’s almost like she thinks there is going to be a different outcome one of these times…

Bonus Show! – Full House

Last but not least, the original episodes of Full House have graced the Netfix platform and we have it slated to show the kids in the next week or so. I have no idea how it is going to hold up but the kids are starting to enjoy more than just cartoons, so I’m hopeful that we can share a bit of our youth with them!

That’s what we are streaming this month. How about you? Are you a Netflix subscriber? If so, what are you binging on at the moment?!

9 Gifts Dad Would Love To Receive This Father’s Day!

June 1, 2015/12 Comments/in THE BLOG/by Chris Read

Father’s Day is right around the corner and that means it’s that time of year where my family ignores my request of not getting me anything and present me with some very cool personalized gifts. I actually love that they don’t go the traditional route of just getting me a new tie and actually put some thought into the gifts they give. Anyone who has ever seen their child’s face light up with excitement as they watch you open their personalized gift knows what I’m talking about.

It got me thinking about all the cool little shops out there that help people like myself come up with great personalized gifts and then I stumbled onto Etsy and got lost for hours in a sea of very cool custom gifts. It was so cool that I decided to make a list of the Top 9 things I would love to receive as gifts for Father’s Day. I hope you enjoy the list and please feel free to let me know what you do for your husband/father for Father’s Day!

9. Custom Softball Art

This one is kind of sentimental for me as my father and I had a very strong bond in large part due to playing softball.

8. Superhero Art

This one is kind of selfish but I love anything superhero related and it’s nice to pretend sometimes!

7. Custom Watercolor Art

This one was just so cool and different that I had to include it on the list. I would love to hang this in my office.

6. Hero Dad Desk Block

Are we back to the hero theme? Yes. Do I feel bad? Nope!

5. Master & Apprentice Shirts

This one is kind of self explanatory, no?

4. Custom Wallet Insert/Keychain

I keep my wallet pretty lean and this is one of the coolest original gifts I’ve seen. See what I did there?

3. Custom Beer Carrier/Opener

If you’ve ever carried three beers over to your neighbour’s house, you’d understand why this is so cool.

2. Personalized Scotch Glass & Case

I was sold on this one based on the case alone, so to get an amazing custom glass with it is outstanding!

1. Kids Art on Mug

I’m actually so excited to walk around my office with my kids at on a mug that I may buy this before Father’s Day!

I hope you enjoyed my list and possibly grabbed an idea or two for your own husband or father. Please note before you buy anything that these are Etsy affiliate links but I hand picked all of these things because I love them and any purchases you make help support these great home made businesses. Happy Early Father’s Day!

C

Why AIR MILES And American Express Are Simply #BetterTogether

June 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I’ve been racking my brain to find ways to demonstrate the benefits of doubling up on AIR MILES by pairing your Collector Card with an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card and I think I have finally found something that speaks our language as consumers. While it’s true that I consider myself an AIR MILES enthusiast, I can also state that I never spend money on products just so I can collect AIR MILES. My miles are accumulated through strategic selection of where I am going to shop as opposed to what I am going to purchase.

For example, if I need groceries, I will visit my local Sobeys instead of going to a grocery store that does not give AIR MILES. This is the same reason I get my gas at Shell, fulfill my pharmacy needs at Rexall and split my home and office essentials between Rona and Staples. There are enough AIR MILES Sponsor stores that I always feel like I am getting my money’s worth for my purchases and by using my Collector Card with something like the American Express AIR MILES Credit Card, I was able to accumulate over 9,800 AIR MILES last year!

What I’d like to do now, is demonstrate how far my 9,800 AIR MILES will go by taking you through a short exercise. My family currently has a pretty plain backyard and we’ve been looking for ways we can spice it up by cashing in our AIR MILES Reward Miles for Dream Rewards. Alright, let’s go!

Dream Reward #1 – Shinerich 35” Cast Stone Fire Pit – Wood Finish – 3300 AIR MILES

Long summer nights with the family can turn into a great evenings when roasting marshmallows and making s ’mores by the fire. Something like this would definitely spruce up our backyard!

Dream Reward #2 – Suncast Wicker Pattern Coffee Table – 1900 AIR MILES

Sitting in the backyard and enjoying my morning coffee with my wife is missing one thing: a coffee table! This baby will let me put my feet up and still have room for a plate of delicious fruit for breakfast.

Dream Reward #3 – Suncast Resin Wicker Patio Cooler – 1900 AIR MILES

We love to have friends over in the summer and always like to have a cooler with drinks and snacks. Something like this will keep everything cold during the summer heat but also keep our backyard oasis looking stylish.

Dream Reward #4 – KidKraft Outdoor Table And Bench Set With Cushions & Umbrella – 2600 AIR MILES

My kids love to be outside just as much as I do, that’s why something like this is perfect! Letting us all beat the heat in the shade and have a spot to share our meals in the backyard.

As you can see, I was able to stretch out my AIR MILES in order to get some really great additions for my backyard oasis and I even had 100 miles left to spare! However, without some strategic shopping and the pairing of an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card, I would be forced to choose between keeping my drinks cool while in the backyard with a cooler and keeping me and my family toasty at night while roasting those marshmallows.

Finally, just a note about the American Express AIR MILES Credit Card. American Express offers different types of cards, which you can see here. As I mentioned in a previous post, I pay for a higher level of card because the value of the bonus AIR MILES greatly outweighs the yearly cost of the card. Some things are simply better together, as is the case with an AIR MILES Collector Card and an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card!

PS – Check out the #BetterTogether hashtag on twitter to see some really cool chalk art (as seen above) that gives a few examples of things that are definitely better together!

This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.

Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions Helps You Hold On To Precious Moments

May 26, 2015/0 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

If you’re like me, you probably have about 700 photos on your iPhone at any given time. Going one step further, you most likely load the pictures onto a hard drive somewhere and then forget about them. What about the one in a hundred that are actually really great shots? What if I told you that you could snap the picture and then print it out at home from wherever you were at that moment?

With Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions you can do just that! Not only can you print your photos from wherever you are snapping them but you can also print off documents, concert tickets and whatever else you don’t want to forget about, and it can all be done from the comfort of your mobile device. You want to scan and print something using only your mobile device? PIXMA Printing Solutions can do that, too!

No more transferring all my photos to the computer and then sorting through all of them until I find the ones I like. From now on I will simply snap a photo, add filters if I’d like and hit print from my phone or camera and then pick up the photo from the printer when I get home. With a busy family, multiple hobbies and a career to juggle, cutting out one middle man is really important to me and the Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions does that for me. Check out the video below for more info on how the app works.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program. That said, I really do have over 700 pictures on my phone and will be printing off the best ones remotely just to say that I did it!

Let Go, Dad

May 25, 2015/1 Comment/in THE BLOG, The Daddy Files/by Chris Read

“Let go, Dad!”

We weren’t 5 seconds into her first lesson but I saw the confidence in her eyes as I let my hand slip off the handlebars of her bike.

I still remember spinning her around through a sea of bubbles and giggling together as we tried to pop them all. She was so little. The only thing that mattered in those moments was the laughter. She is 5 now and while there is still lots of laughter, something else has emerged. Now I see a little girl standing in front of me who has real thoughts and feelings and emotions, and I’m not going to lie, it’s a little scary.

It feels like a never ending struggle to find a balance between keeping her safe and letting her explore the world on her own, which I know she loves to do. She constantly pushes her comfort zone to the limit and surprises me at every turn, reminding even me that life itself is about pushing yourself and not being satisfied with the status quo.

The cliché goes, “You can do anything you set your mind to”, and we all laugh at the absurdity of it, but with her I believe it. Tell her she’s too little and she’ll fight to prove you wrong, which is good because we haven’t blessed her with height.

She beamed with pride on this day, as did her parents, as she felt the wind rushing past her face and rang her bell to let the neighbourhood know that the training wheels were gone. Letting go wasn’t easy but the reward was far greater than the fear.

Make Your Very Own Kinder Surprise Minion Crafts!

May 19, 2015/69 Comments/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG, The Daddy Files/by Chris Read

I know I promised you an amazing Minions themed Kinder Surprise giveaway but in honour of the 11 new Minions toys inside specially marked KINDER® SURPRISE® Classic eggs I wanted to show you a very cool and very easy craft you can do with your kids! Follow along with the pictures below to create your very own Kinder Minions!

Step #1 – Gather your supplies. In this case you will need an empty Kinder Surprise Egg, scissors, a sharpie, googly eyes, glue, a piece off some old jeans and glue.

Step #2 – Use the sharpie to draw a band across the top of your Kinder Surprise Egg.

Step #3 – Glue a googly eye in the middle of the band and draw a smile and hair on your minion.

Step #4 – Cut some pieces off the jeans and glue them to the bottom of your minion to make pants! (Parents beware, jeans are tough to cut! You may want to help here.)

Step #5 – Let your minions dry and they are ready to go looking for a new master!

MINIONS THEMED KINDER SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and also, don’t forget to visit the Kinder Canada Facebook Page on Friday, May 22 for a chance to win four tickets to see the Minions movie in theatres when it comes out this July!

DISCLOSURE: I’m a #KinderMom/Maman/Dad who is part of the KINDER® Canada influencer team; as part of my affiliation with KINDER® Canada, I am provided with special perks and products.

Win A COOKINA Prize Pack! #WhatsOnYourGrill

May 14, 2015/1 Comment/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

You’ve heard me go on and on about the COOKINA Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet and now I’m giving you the chance to win some of your own! I wish there were a way for me to put into words how much the COOKINA grilling sheet has helped me on the barbecue but I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

A few weeks ago that steak would have looked like a charred mess and I probably wouldn’t even have attempted it. Ever since I started using the COOKINA Grilling Sheet my confidence on the BBQ has skyrocketed! I know this sounds like an infomercial but I am so excited about my new found confidence that I want everyone to know how great this product is! Because of the COOKINA “What’s On Your Grill” campaign, no longer will I scrape the leftover food from my grill and wonder what bacteria is left lurking!

WIN A COOKINA PRIZE PACK!

Now it’s your turn to be a star on the grill! I have an amazing COOKINA Prize Pack (Pictured Above) to giveaway to one lucky reader and entering is easy! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Take a photo showing me what’s cooking on your grill.

2. Share that photo on social media, with a description of what it is, in one of the following ways. You can tweet it to me @CanadianDadBlog with the hashtag #WhatsOnYourGrill, OR, share it on the Canadian Dad Facebook Page with the #WhatsOnYourGrill hashtag.

That’s it! The important thing to remember is the #WhatsOnYourGrill hashtag as that’s how I will sort the entries. I will draw a winner from all valid entries on May 24th. You must be a Canadian resident to enter. Happy Grilling!

Disclosure: I received compensation for my participation in the #WhatsOnYourGrill campaign, however the COOKINA grilling sheet really has changed the way I cook and I can’t say enough good things about it!