Digital Dads

Social media is an inescapable part of modern life. People everywhere check for “likes” to their posts frequently throughout the day. There is no escaping the net of the electronic social web. In this episode we are joined by Laura Tierney of The Social Institute to help us teach our

We all have goals. Many of the things we strive for make us better men and better dads. But positive change is hard. Especially when we’re dealing with overcoming resistance and perhaps a bad habit or two. Lucky for us, Sean Young has spent years researching the solution. His results,

We all want to raise great kids. But how we go about it has changed drastically in only a generation. It used to be kids roamed about freely while adults hardly knew where they were. Just as long as we were home by dinner. And that’s not all. I vividly

We all know how important reading is for our children. And if you have school aged kids you have no doubt heard about Scholastic. They have tons of great books in inspiring in our little ones a desire to read. It turns out they are also responsible for a Reading

As a dad we spend a great deal of time teaching our children lessons. And why not? After all, we want them to learn all they can from our years of experience. By the time we have kids most of us have learned plenty from the school of hard knocks.

It’s no secret technology is taking over. Nearly every facet of our lives are being affected by its advances. And with it comes a rise in the need for all types of computer related jobs. That includes the infamous title of computer programmer. Many of us want our kids to learn

As parents, we are no strangers to stress. From the late nights with infants to the challenges of adolescence, we feel it. But we know better than to let it affect us too much. After all, stress is bad. It wreaks havoc on our bodies and can even cause us to lash out

Have you ever felt like you are raising a bunch of untamed animals? Well, maybe the idea isn’t so far fetched after all. It turns out there’s a lot we can learn about parenting from careful observation of the animal kingdom. This week we have the privilege of talking with Dr.

Winning isn’t everything. We know and teach our kids the important thing is how you play the game. But is that entirely true? If we’re being honest, winning in life does matter. We want to win a good job, a loving spouse, and maybe even an adult softball league. Competition

Happiness is a fundamental part of a healthy life. It affects our relationships, career, and even our health. But how much effort do we make to keep an upbeat attitude? That’s the topic of this week’s episode. We dive deep answering the question of how we can be happier adults

For many guys hanging out with buddies all but disappears as kids enter the picture. As parents we get busy and when we do catch a break we normally end up crashing early from exhaustion. But getting time with friends is important. Especially for dads. It’s so easy to lose

Summer is finally here. Many of us will head off to the beach to play in the sun and the surf. We’re ready to cash in those hard earned vacation days and enjoy some well deserved relaxation. But as parents we can’t let our guard down entirely, especially around bodies

Some people love their jobs. Others, not so much. But with the cost of college sky high and the responsibility of a family it can feel impossible to change careers for most dads. Until now. In this episode John Morris teaches us how (with a little desire) we can break

Yelling is bad. Very bad. Especially when we do it to our children. But sometimes our frustrations gets the best of us. There are occasions where our precious little angels may be the cause of said anger. The truth is that even though we may feel compelled to yell at

Failure is the enemy. At least that’s what we’ve been taught. And we in turn teach it to our own kids. But the truth is, failing is a very necessary part of the learning process. As a society we have come to try to protect our children from failing and

Ah… the teenage years. This is the time kids, especially girls, become notoriously challenging. The switch gets flipped and the amount of drama around the house increase tenfold overnight. Well, maybe that’s a small exaggeration. But the fact is many people dread the years they will have to deal with their

Sleep. It’s something that has plagued parents from the beginning of time. Whether it’s getting enough yourself or a baby waking up 5 times a night, sleep can become a central topic for every parent. As your kids get older it gets even harder with all the negotiations and bartering.

We know reading to our kids is important. And we also want them to learn to enjoy reading on their own. And why not? After all, reading is the single biggest predictor of future success. And we all want our children to go on to great things. But there’s a

Stress. If you have kids there’s a good chance you are very familiar with the concept. Parents face it in their career, personal relationships, and even with their children. But if the stress level is too high it can cause all sorts of problems in our lives. In this episode we

Are you spending enough quality time with your kids? If you’re anything like me you may think you have this on lock down. But after talking with our guest Jim Sheils this week, I realize the need to step up my dad game. In his book The Family Board Meeting, Jim

Education is extremely important. And school plays a big part in that as our children grow their way into being adults. We know great teachers influence performance and inspire students to learn, but what about the school itself? How much does that matter? For many households the options of private vs. public school is

Trying to eat healthy ourselves is hard enough. But getting our kids to eat what’s good for them? Nearly impossible. Especially when they’re faced with birthday parties and events at school that are full of sugary options. Then there’s youth sports. It’s all too common for the kids to come

Kids and devices. This topic just won’t go away. Honestly though, how can it? With the always on, always connected nature of our society today is it any wonder our kids are following suit? Maybe we need to stop and think about how this will affect their well being. This

We made it. One hundred episodes in the bank. But truth be told, we nearly quit before we really got going. In this episode we explore pivotal episodes and how they’ve impacted the direction of the show. Spoiler Alert: The first show was bad. Really bad. But thankfully we got

Saying my first curse word was a right of passage for me. When I got to college and discovered girls responded well to “liquid personality” all bets were off. Late nights of poker playing cemented in a bad habit of colorful metaphors for years to come. But then I had children

It’s that time again. Time for the Dads of the Round Table to have a discussion. And this time, we get to talk about one of our favorite topics… Star Wars. Or at least a Star Wars Story. We are joined by Adam Hartvigsen, Ryan Bond, and Jon Harrison (of

Princesses, rainbows, and unicorns. That’s the majority of what you find on the book shelves for girls these days. But all little girls are different. Some of them don’t want another run of the mill princess-gets-rescued-by-the-prince story. Nope. They want something new, something different, something… exciting! Enter The Pinkaboos. Since Jake

Like it or not, many of us see a “dad bod” staring back at us when we look in the mirror. Years of less than perfect diet and more time watching sports than playing them eventually add up. Life happens, we get it. The best of intentions somehow don’t make

This week we are joined by Chris Regan, Nathan Reitsma, and Kevin Stanley for our first ever Round Table Book Club. We all read The 5 Love Languages of Children and discussed it on the show. It was a very powerful conversation and the book should be high on your

Video games are awesome. Everyone knows that. Even people who don’t consider themselves “gamers” are playing on their phones without a second thought. Games have become a permanent part of our society. And for the most part, we’ve embraced their arrival with open arms. But… what about kids? Should they

As men we often fear being vulnerable. But it turns out that opening ourselves up can become our biggest strength. Especially with our children. In this episode Jason MacKenzie shares with us how this can be a powerful way to connect deeply with our kids. In his book The Dadly

Our children are growing up fast. Pretty soon they’ll be headed into the world to make their mark and follow their dreams. And of course, this is what we want to happen. The problem is, it happens way too fast. It turns out there’s wisdom at the end of this road

Men don’t cry. From a young age boys are taught to “man up” and “be tough.” While this is good in many ways for developing grit and tenacity, it can potentially be harmful to suppress those emotions. Parents today are beginning to recognize that helping our boys understand and handle

Halloween is a time for creepy fun. We dress up and do our best to scare the daylights out of each other while collecting as much candy as possible. But short of the occasional animated witch, technology itself hasn’t really been something to be feared in and of itself. That

We all try to look at our lives in a positive light, but that can be hard in this current climate. The number one thing we have to focus on is providing a positive example to our children. When people take sides on different issues, the most important thing we

Distractions. Between email, texts, apps, video games, TV shows, apps, fantasy sports, etc. it’s a wonder we ever speak to each other at all. The reality is that in our always-on technology filled world, there is no shortage of things competing for our attention. But our children shouldn’t be one of them.

The tween years. One of the more challenging times for parent and child alike. Both are adjusting the best they can to the many changes happening in this sometimes awkward phase of life. One of the biggest of these is the dreaded middle school. Michelle Icard is here to help. She

Do you want a happier family? I know I sure do. We do our best but the digital world is full of distractions. Sometimes despite our best intentions we all come up a little short. That’s where Bruce Feiler‘s book The Secrets of Happy Families can help. Bruce has draws from the best

Would you ask for permission to kiss your date? That’s exactly what Michael Domitrz is proposing in his book Can I Kiss You? and though it may seem unusual, he has very good reason behind it. This episode takes us on a deep dive into a provocative topic as we

I… Have… the… Power…! That’s what Tom Tate has been saying a lot recently as he pores through issue after issue of Nintendo Power magazine. No, he isn’t on the hunt for long forgotten cheat codes. He has been preparing for the launch of his new project the Power Time

The Internet is a scary place. Or at least it can be. The world has evolved into an always connected place that can be dangerous if not taken seriously. And our kids (digital natives) don’t always understand the risk. From the Facebook post of a photo to the Snapchat video they

We are told from an early age not to break the rules. Our parents tell us, our teachers remind us, and society expects us to follow the path well traveled. But is this always best? When it comes to raising our children, do the rules that we’ve been handed down

The recent Netflix exclusive Stranger Things has taken the world by storm. It has yet another self produced hit for the fast growing media company. If you haven’t seen it, go do that now and come back. It’s an amazing show and we don’t want to spoil it for you. Walter Eggers, Jeremy

There is a huge gender gap in the world of technology. Girls have actually tested very well at young ages but interest drops off when they hit their teens. The initiative at Girls Who Code aims to change that. Using a combination of after school clubs and immersive summer programs the

What do video games have to do with learning? Actually, maybe everything. Minecraft, one of the biggest games of all time, has an arm of the company dedicated to using the game in the classroom. That’s not a typo. Kids are learning at school by playing a video game. Crazy

Getting kids to eat their veggies may be the biggest problem we face as parents. Well, at least next to getting them to bed on time. Nothing beats that. But making sure they eat healthy is can be an enormous challenge. This week we talk with Dina Rose about her book

Today’s show we discuss the latest craze to sweep the land….it’s..uh…hold on a sec…gotcha! Where was I? Oh right, Pokemon Go. The latest game from developer Niantic Labs and Nintendo has been a pop culture sledgehammer that nobody could’ve predicted. It has affected our kids, the tech industry, and society

We all get scared sometimes. It’s part of being human. But we don’t want something like fear to block us from accomplishing our goals. We unveil a brand new Round Table Reminder in this episode as Cody steps in to tell us about how he beat fear not once, but twice, in

Spending money on kids is expensive. Every trip to the store can turn into begging for one more pack of gum or new toy. But what if they managed their own money for all that stuff instead? The idea of allowance for children is not new. People have been giving children

Tests are nearly universally hated by children. If you have children, you know how hard it is to get them to agree on much of anything. But on this they agree. Test taking is for the birds. The truth is, they may be onto something. In this episode we have the

Observing other parents in action is something we all do. As you try to level up, comparing and contrasting with everyone else is key to figuring out what kind of parent you want to be. While this can be an affirming experience at times, we also accumulate a list of things