Posts

Canadian Dad Podcast - Dai Manuel

Canadian Dad Podcast – Ep. 3 – Fitness Coach, Dai Manuel

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

This week on the podcast, I spoke to fitness coach, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and father, Dai Manuel, from the website The Moose is Loose. Dai shares tips for parents who want to start making some changes in their lives. 

We discuss Dai’s battle with childhood obesity that led him to start taking care of his body at a young age, and I share my struggles with weight and general laziness. We also spend some time talking about the importance of setting a good example for our kids and ways to get them involved in the fun of exercising.  

Overall, Dai shares some amazing tips on how to get started and if you sign up for his mailing list, you get a very cool ebook that has 99 workouts that you can do with no extra equipment required. 

Enjoy the show!

Canadian Dad Podcast - Julie Cole

Canadian Dad Podcast – Ep. 2 – Mabel’s Labels Co-Founder, Julie Cole

/0 Comments/in , /by

On this episode of the podcast I spoke to Mabel’s Labels co-founder, Julie. We talked about how Julie manages to stay organized while raising her family of 6 school aged children and running a successful business all at once. 

We also discuss back to school, hockey parents, the importance of connecting with members in your community, kids and cell phones, and we trade parenting gaffe stories with each other. Julie and I will also talk about how we will both be speaking at the Blissdom Canada conference this October. 

Finally, Julie was kind enough to provide listeners of the podcast with a discount code for 10% off your next purchase at Mabel’s Labels, but you’ll have to listen to the show to get the code 😉

 

Canadian Dad Podcast – Ep. 1 – Olympic Gold Medalist Rosie MacLennan

/1 Comment/in , /by


In the first episode of the Canadian Dad Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking to Executive Director & CEO of Physical and Health Education Canada, Chris Jones, and Canadian Trampolining Gold Medalist, Rosie MacLennan.

We talked about their partnership with Active At School and how to make sure that your children get the proper amount of physical activity they need now that school has started.

I also talked to Rosie about her Olympic journey and what it felt like to stand on the podium and hear the Canadian National anthem playing. Rosie also discussed the important role her parents played in getting her to where she is today and touched on being a role model for young girls everywhere. 

Enjoy the show!

Park Throwing Sand

What Would You Do? Sandbox Edition

/8 Comments/in , /by

My kids were playing nicely in the sand at the park the other day, when two young boys came over to join them. As children do, they all began to play some randomly made up game together and things were going well. That was until one of the boys, a four year old, began lightly shoveling sand onto his brother’s lap. The brother didn’t seem to mind at all but his mother asked him to stop doing it. The young boy decided to tempt fate and shoveled one more scoop into his brother’s lap, at which point the mother walked over, leaned down, grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in the four year old’s face and mouth.

I have to be honest, I was shocked at the choice of punishment for such a minor crime but I really had no idea what to do, so I continued to just stand there, stunned, pretending everything was cool. The tactic backfired as well, as the boy wiped the sand from his mouth and stated with glee, “Mmmm, I love sand in my mouth!” At this point, I gathered up my children and we started the walk home.

It’s easy to judge parenting methods, so I try to keep my nose out of other people’s business and don’t typically write about the things I see but this one struck me as odd and it didn’t end there. Nothing was said about the incident as we walked home but as soon as my four year old daughter got home, she went running to her mom and explained the whole sand throwing story. We then spent the next few minutes trying to explain why it was a bad idea for the mommy to do that and telling her that she shouldn’t ever throw sand in people’s faces. Like I said, I stay out of other people’s parenting business…until it affects my ability to parent my children.

That brings me to my question. What would you do if your child was the one throwing sand at the park?

Bike Riding Training

The Greatest Bike Riding Teacher Ever!

/6 Comments/in , , /by

He ran up and hugged me tightly. “Daddy, you’re the best bike teacher ever!” he exclaimed, his voice filled with pride. Up until that moment, I had managed to contain my emotions solely to a prideful glow, but this kid always seems to find a way to push me outside of my comfort zone. Today’s moment comes courtesy of him learning to ride his bike, without training wheels, in under an hour.

The truth is, teaching a child to ride a bike has little to do with the teacher. I was essentially there for moral support and to follow along behind him, holding his seat as so many Hallmark cards would imply. He is the one who did all the work and my heightened emotions came from watching his pride in himself rather than being proclaimed World’s Greatest Bike Teacher, although it does have a nice ring to it.

This is just one of many obstacles he will hurdle in his lifetime and watching him have pride in the things he accomplishes has been helping me renew my own sense of pride in the things I have done recently. It’s so easy to get lost in routine to the point where you feel like you are just going through the motions of life. What my kids have taught me is that you are never too old to learn something new, and in the case of my children, I’m learning to become a teacher, mentor, disciplinarian and role model, all at the same time. This has opened my eyes to all the other things I want to accomplish in my life and has encouraged me to start going after those dreams.

Funny the effects children can have on our brains.

Books For Parents: Men Get Pregnant, Too by Kenny Bodanis

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

It occurred to me while I was reading “Men Get Pregnant, Too”, by Kenny Bodanis, that there aren’t a lot of books out there for dads. I noticed this as I nodded my head along with the stories Kenny tells in the book and found myself wishing that there had been something out there like this prior to my having children. Kenny Bodanis is an award winning, Canadian blogger and radio & television parenting columnist, who lives with his wife and two children in Montreal.

My favourite thing about “Men Get Pregnant, Too”, which shares the same name as Bodanis’ blog, is that he doesn’t hold back in the stories he tells. Another thing I enjoyed was how he added pet peeves and tips for men who are about to enter into fatherhood, such as

“Plug in. Have answers. Be interested. Not for everyone else but as a reminder to your spouse that her husband is excited to be a dad.”

Reading this, I wished I had a time machine so I could go back and do it better.

Kenny also talks at length about the different emotions and stresses that fathers face and tries to help encourage dad to own those emotions. This is also something that I failed miserably at with my first child and didn’t figure out until I started writing about my experiences as a father. It’s important that dad doesn’t completely take a back seat during the pregnancy and Bodanis does a great job of explaining why that is so important.

With Father’s Day right around the corner, I can’t think of a better gift for dad than this book. It really covers almost everything you are going to come up against and does so in a light-hearted and very relatable voice. Men Get Pregnant, Too is available in both paperback and kindle versions on Amazon. You can also check out Kenny Bodanis on his Twitter and Facebook pages.

A Glimpse Into The World Of Celebrity Fatherhood

/0 Comments/in , /by

Let’s get this out of the way, I was paid to post the trailer for Hank Azaria’s web series, “Fatherhood“. I’ve always had a fascination with celebrity culture and thought this would be a fun glimpse into what being a celebrity dad was like for Hank. What I wasn’t prepared for was that I would watch one episode and then immediately plow through the whole series in one sitting.

I watched intently as Azaria interviewed other celebrity fathers, such as Mike Myers, Kevin Bacon, Rainn Wilson, Tim Robbins, Jim Gaffigan and many more, and listened as they talked about what fatherhood meant to them and shared the lessons they have learned to date. I don’t know why I was surprised to hear that their version of parenting sounded a lot like mine, I guess the money throws me off, but it was definitely refreshing to hear.

My favourite parts of the series are the interactions with Azaria’a parents, and more specifically when his father talks about the difference in the household priorities from his generation to ours. My takeaway from this web series was less about the lessons and more about the importance of the celebrity dads sharing their experiences and showing others that it is okay to talk about your feelings and experiences as a father.

I was only paid to share the trailer and not to talk about the show, but it struck me as something that a lot of people, especially dads, would enjoy. You can catch all the episodes over at AOL.

Alternate Uses For Royale Toilet Paper; Plus, Win Stuff!

/132 Comments/in , , /by

Toilet paper sometimes gets a bad rap as a “one trick pony” but I can think of hundreds of different uses for it. For one, 90% of all school projects wouldn’t even get off the ground without toilet paper rolls. That’s why I am celebrating Royale’s 50th birthday by trying to come up with a list of all the things you can do with toilet paper, other than, you know…

To celebrate even more, I am giving away a cool Royale prize pack as well! Here’s what is up for grabs:

  • A white ROYALE bathrobe (Lounge around like a BOSS!)
  • A plush ROYALE kitten (Because Cats Rule!)
  • The ROYALE 50 years of kitten-y softness commemorative book – a priceless addition as it isn’t available for purchase (Hear that? PRICELESS!)

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below sharing an alternate use for toilet paper. That’s it. Seriously, you know you want that bathrobe. Giveaway is open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec and closes on Friday, Feb 14th at 5pm.

In the meantime, check out this video I made, which demonstrates how I use Royale toilet paper to parent my children! Good Luck!

 

The Sting Before The Tears

/8 Comments/in , /by

I can still remember fighting back the tears on the long drive home with my Dad. I had just blown my chance to play softball for Team Ontario, a team he coached, and we both knew it. Just a kid, it felt like my whole world was coming to an end. How was I going to look my buddies in the face and explain how I couldn’t even make a team that my Dad coached?

The real truth, though, is that I didn’t belong there in the first place. I had a surgically repaired knee and a skill set that was slightly below the other players. We sat silently as I stared out the car window, feeling the familiar sting of emotion rising up inside of me. I wasn’t accustomed to crying in front of my father and I wasn’t about to start now. I wondered why he wasn’t saying anything and remember getting upset at the silence, even though I had nothing to say that wouldn’t have ended up in tears.

My Dad was good like that. Many years and many disappointments later and I’m thankful that I was lucky enough to have someone who understood that sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. As we got closer to home that day, he reached over, grabbed my shoulder and gave it a consoling shake, as parents often do. It was only an instant but was enough to tip my teetering emotions from controlled to suspect. I started to feel that sting you get in your chest when you try to fight the emotions away, and I lost the fight. He allowed me to continue staring out the window, trying to hide my tears as if he didn’t know what was going on.

This is one of my favourite memories of my father and I think it sticks because it’s a lesson that I hope to pass on to my children through my actions as a father.

Dad Blogs Exposed! ~ The Daddy Complex

/3 Comments/in , /by

This week, I’m excited to welcome the creator of the mega viral “Calm The F*ck Down” parenting method, The Daddy Complex master and very funny, Mr. David Vienna! I had the chance to meet David in Houston last January for the Dad 2.0 Summit and he is exactly as he is on his site, which is a great thing. I had the chance to ask him a few questions about his blog and fatherhood and hope you enjoy what he had to say.

CD: Why did you start blogging?

David: To maintain my sanity. I was a work-at-home dad and had what psychologists would probably classify as a nervous breakdown about twice a week. Both my dad and my wife suggested I start the blog. I was so frazzled, they could’ve told me to start building a rocket ship and I’d have done it.

CD: How would you describe your blogging style?

David: Like scat. Both the jazz singing style and the poo style.

CD: What has been your biggest challenge as a father?

David: Convincing my kids they need to find jobs. I tried explaining the value of a hard day’s work, but they just want to play with Legos, the freeloaders.

CD: What one piece of advice would you give to a new Dad?

David: Designate a place in your home to be your “Weeping Area.” Closets work well, as does the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

CD: Your post about the “CTFD” parenting method went mega viral. Can you talk a little about what that was like and what, if anything, came from that exposure?

David: It was cray-cray, man. So many people have — and still do — find use for it. There’s even a clinic in Michigan that offers classes in how to implement the CTFD Method. I like that it’s become a sort of battle cry for parents. And the exposure/success of the post opened a bunch of doors. I got a book deal, appeared on the Today show (not to talk about CTFD, but that’s how I ended up on their radar) and my name keeps getting mentioned alongside Amy Chua. I guess I’m like the anti-Tiger Mother.

CD: What is your social media weapon of choice and why?

David: Tumblr. Because my site is a Tumblr blog and the built-in community there helped me hone my blogging voice and achieve a shit-load of goals. There’s a huge parenting contingent there and we all support each other. Plus, we have cat gifs.

CD: How has blogging affected your life?

David: It gave me the audience and interaction I previously tried to achieve with my epic monkey vs. robot rock opera.

Thanks a million to David for taking the time to answer my questions! You can check him out on twitter @TheDaddyComplex or at The Daddy Complex blog.

A Gift From David at Dad 2.0 Summit. Chewbacca vs. Iron Man

A Gift From David at Dad 2.0 Summit. Chewbacca vs. Iron Man