Episode 79 is inspired by this article written by Patty Wipfler. Whining children are communicating important information – usually they feel powerless, or they feel alone. It often happens shortly after being disconnected to the parent or caregiver. Things like cooking dinner, talking to a friend, or anything where they are not paid attention to can bring it on. Once they feel disconnected, small things can feel big: getting dressed, brushing teeth, having to say goodbye. They would rather cont...
Sep 06, 2016•26 min
Content inspired by this great About.com article on grandparents. Grandparents can spoil your kids in a good way: by providing love, affection, and time. However, they can also spoil your kids in a negative way: gifts, letting them rule the house, or doing things they know the parents wouldn’t like. Dr. Ellen, Jason’s mother, used to say “What happens at grandma’s house, stays at grandma’s house.” According to Susan Adcox, grandparent expert, words like that can teach children deceitfulness and ...
Aug 30, 2016•27 min
It’s back to school time. This means routines, schedules, and chaos. You must listen to this episode! It’s really important that parents, teachers, and administration hear this. We first discuss some of the benefits of homework, 10 Benefits of Homework by John Bishop, Author of Goal Setting For Students: Homework teaches students about time management. Homework teaches students how to set priorities. Homework helps teachers determine how well the lessons and material are being understood by thei...
Aug 23, 2016•32 min
This episode 76 is about dealing with picky eaters. We had the pleasure of being joined by Jason’s son Kasen who sat in on the episode to provide his input on the topic. The episode was inspired by this parents.com article. While I thought simply ‘starving’ the child for a meal or two will get them to eat, experts say this is not a good idea. Simply being hungry won’t make a kid overcome his fears about eating foods he doesn’t like, and his anxiety can make him feel even less hungry, says Nancy ...
Aug 16, 2016•34 min
Let’s face it, we all get angry. For kids in particular, knowing what anger is and how to deal with it can be tremendously difficult. Heck, for many adults it’s difficult. In this Episode 75, we have Jason’s daughter Farrah sitting in on the conversation. This episode is inspired by an article in Physchology Today written by Dr. Laura Markham, author of Peaceful Parents, Happy Kids: 1. Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that there is no emergency. Keeping yourself calm will help them be calm. 2...
Aug 09, 2016•23 min
What does it mean to be more present? How can dads become more present with their children, at work, and in their relationship? For Episode 74, we interview Johnny Blackburn, a Professional Development Coach & Group Facilitator. With an original background in Management Consulting, Johnny went back for his Master’s in Psychology and he has been coaching individuals for the last 9 years. He is a certified professional coach with the International Coaching Federation and works in the trenches ...
Aug 03, 2016•43 min
Episode 73 is about Building & Leaving a Legacy. I get the impression that Legacy isn’t important for everyone. I would be curious to talk to someone who is not interested in a legacy. There are many famous people who have made statements about not caring about a legacy. I think in the world of entertainment, people may think if they want legacy, they are bragging or boasting about how good they are. It’s usually defined by what is left after you are gone. However it is created while you are...
Jul 27, 2016•25 min
One of the major things we do as soon to be dad or being a new dad is Worry. This comes in all different forms. We worry about their health, their sleep, that they are going to the bathroom, all kinds of stuff. Probably the biggest area of worry and concern is the safety of your child. Episode 72 is all about safety. I recall being so delicate with my first child (my son). It was like he was a porcelain doll. I was so careful picking him up, setting him down. Being so careful with everything. Yo...
Jul 19, 2016•26 min
Episode 71 highlights some topics you definitely should talk about with your partner before you have a baby. Prior to getting into the details, we talk about Jason son’s birthday party and the awesome Michael Jackson impersonator that entertained everyone. There was an An Article on parents.com that lists 10 things you should discuss prior to having the baby: 1. Is Now the Right Time? It’s never a perfect time. Dr. Alan Singer wrote “Creating Your Perfect Family Size” and has a 92 question test ...
Jul 13, 2016•26 min
For Episode 70, we welcome Scott Kilian, Certified Financial Planner and “Certified Dad”. We discuss a Forbes article that talks about the importance o teaching kids about money. Here are some of the topics we go over: 1. Model Good Behavior – What you say is important but it’s more important about what you do. 2. Don’t Say “We Can’t Afford It”. Instead say “This is how we choose to spend our money” 3. Involve Kids In Household Shopping – Allow them to hold the list or use coupons 4. Don’t Take ...
Jul 05, 2016•27 min
Not all divorce rates are created equal. There are numerous factors that can contribute to divorce. An article by Glenn Stanton provides some interesting statistics regarding divorce. Cohabitation: cohabiting couples have a 50-80 percent higher likelihood of divorce than non-cohabiting couples. Age: those who marry after age eighteen have a 24 percent reduced risk of divorce. Age Difference: marriages where there is a significant difference in age have twice the risk of divorce than those in whi...
Jun 28, 2016•22 min
Disclaimer: This entire episode is full of stereotypes, gender bias, and more. It goes against many things we typically talk about on the podcast. But it’s fun. …and to my wife: I love you. 1) Dads are better at playing – We just have more fun with kids than moms do. We like to get dirty, run, jump, or kick and throw things around. 2) Dads are better at rough housing – Activities like wrestling. A friend once said all the worlds problems can be solved by wrestling. We just enjoy it more. 3) Dads...
Jun 21, 2016•16 min
The reason for this episode is not that I needed to complain or get something off my chest. It really is intended so that dads out there listening understand that what they are feeling, is very common and they are not alone. A lot of people struggle, including myself, with trying to figure life out. I think that the time when your kids are young, from newborn to 3-4 is the hardest. Of course it is always easy to compare yourself to others and what you see around you. This guy has more money, tha...
Jun 14, 2016•41 min
It’s crazy how many times a child is told no in a given day. Episode 66 shares ideas on how to say “No” in a way that your child will respond better to. It’s important to tell your child what to do instead of what not to do. This episode is inspired by the article: http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/tips/discipline-without-saying-no/ written by Mike Mitchell. Here are some examples: – Instead of saying “no running”, say “walk”. – “I know you like ice cream, but eating too mu...
Jun 07, 2016•17 min
Time is the most important thing we have. With children it isn’t always about the amount of time versus the quality of time. Episode 65 is about creating memories and the importance of them in our kid’s lives. Jason shared how a friend was talking about how he lived with a single mom. However he spent occasional weekends with his dad and they are awesome memories. He looks back with great fondness. Of course now we take so many more pictures than in the past, it’s easier to remember them. Here a...
May 31, 2016•20 min
For this episode 64, we discuss the importance of family dinners. While we have mentioned this in the past, we wanted to dedicate an entire episode to it because of it’s great importance. We each had different experiences growing up and having family meals. Anne Fishel, co-founder of The Family Dinner Project and a professor at Harvard Medical School, wrote the book “Home for Dinner.” She has a great Washington Post Article in whch she provides some data and reasons why these family dinners are ...
May 24, 2016•29 min
While there are a lot of bad influences in the world, for this episode we are talking about people. You may not always love the people your kid is around. Whether it’s friends at school or when your child has a significant other as they get older. What is the best way to handle this? In episode 63, we discuss tips to deal with bad influences on your kids. Here are some tips: 1. Don’t blame or judge – I knew Johnny was a bad influence on you. Don’t point any fingers. Keep it to yourself or the ch...
May 18, 2016•22 min
Alan & Jason discuss when one parent is preferred by the child over the other. When a child is first born, men often feel like they are not as connected to the baby as they would desire. If your wife is breastfeeding, you can really help your wife but you can’t substitute what she offers to the baby. Sure you can hold the baby, feed it, change it, but it’s not exactly the same as she has had the baby inside her for over 9 months. Jason tells some stories about how his kids prefered his wife ...
May 11, 2016•28 min
Dealing with the transition from single guy to being a dad is exactly why Dudes To Dads was founded. For most, the process is scary, unknown, and brings up issues that you have never had to deal with before. In this episode 61, Alan and Jason discuss some of the top fears that men have in becoming a father. Dads need to realize that they are not alone. Having these fears is very common. 1. Labor – The actual process of delivery. It is like nothing you have ever seen before. Life coming out of yo...
May 04, 2016•32 min
I came across this awesome article by Meadow Devor which discusses 10 Things To Give Up to Be Happy. This article really hit home and I wanted to discuss it on Episode 60. The article appeared on The Good Men Project which is a great resource for men. 1. Give up your need for control – Why do we try to control things that can’t be controlled? It’s a waste of energy. 2. Give up your need to be right – Do you want to be loved or be right? 3. Give up your criticism (of yourself and others) – Learn ...
Apr 26, 2016•31 min
As parents we have to be careful that our kids are watching everything we do. If we want to teach our kids something, we have to live that way or emulate that ourselves. We often don’t realize how much of an impact our actions affect our children. For this episode 59, we discuss negativity and offer 10 ways to reduce negativity. Of course this is easier said than done. It’s takes practice and a continual focus on ways you show your kids to be positive rather than negative. Here are: 10 Ways to R...
Apr 19, 2016•29 min
This episode 58 is about procrastination. We make excuses that as parents, we don’t have time. The truth is it’s just not a priority. We review an article by Dr. Travis Bradberry that appeared in LinkedIn. Here is a link to the article. “Ridiculously productive people face the same procrastination challenges as the rest of us. The difference is, they beat procrastination by using a calculated approach.” It is also said the procrastination is rooted in emotion. Here are 11 Ways to Beat Procrastin...
Apr 13, 2016•24 min
We focus on self-acceptance for episode 57 and present “12 ways to teach our kids self-acceptance”. Self awareness is ok, but it gets us in trouble. The real key is acceptance. The more you raise your awareness level, the more your acceptance level needs to be raised. This is where most of us fall short. Self acceptance is defined as an individual’s satisfaction or happiness with oneself. Here are the 12 Ways to Teach Our Kids Self-Acceptance: 1. Always have compassion for others – bully’s, mean...
Apr 05, 2016•22 min
We continue our conversation from Episode 55 (Part 1) with Alan Brown, creator of ADDCrusher and CrusherTV. In this Part 2, we dive deeper into how ADHD affect dads and discuss a few tips on how men can deal with it. There are medications, therapy, educational materials and more to help people manage various things related to ADHD. Because there was not a lot of video/audio materials, Mr. Brown decided to create his ADDCrusher course. This is a series of videos that include productivity hacks an...
Mar 29, 2016•35 min
In epsiode 55, we welcome productivity coach Alan Brown. Mr. Brown is the founder of ADDCrusher and CrusherTV. In the interview, we speak with him about his own history with ADHD and how he got started in this field. We review some statistics, common myths of ADD, and aim to help adults understand that there is help. He indicates that nearly 85% of the 7 million people with adult ADHD are undiagnosed. This means a large amount of people are suffering and dealing with something that they don’t re...
Mar 22, 2016•38 min
Our kids typically don’t move as fast as we would like them to. In episode 54, we discuss how we can speed up our kids. Their slowness definitely happens with preschool and kindergarten age children. Often in the morning when going to school, we just can’t get them out the door fast enough. However the reality is that it can happen at anytime. They sometimes can do it for control and attention but mostly it seems they just get distracted easily. You want to appreciate that they don’t stress, but...
Mar 15, 2016•25 min
The topic for episode 53 is gender bias and how we can raise our children to not have it. We need to show our children that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Little girls and little boys should see open and endless possibilities in front of them Here are some steps from a Modernmom article we review: Step 1 – Have a strong bond with your child Step 2 – Stop passing on gender bias to your kids Step 3 – Provide your child non-traditional toys Step 4 – Allow your children to...
Mar 09, 2016•35 min
For Episode 52, we discuss how noise can effect how children learn. This article has some very interesting points of discussions. Noise is more distracting to a child’s brain than an adult. Research now shows that noise can hinder how children learn. Children hear different things than adults do in a noisy environment. They are less equipped to deal with speech yet have a greater need to understand it. Their ability to understand and process speech against competing background noise doesn’t matu...
Mar 01, 2016•19 min
Stereotypes are rooted from some truth. However many of them can be hurtful or demeaning. In episode 51, we discuss some stereotypes of dads to explore whether these are true what we can do as fathers to change them. Here are 8 common dad stereotypes: Dad’s care more about having fun than parenting Dad’s Can’t Cook Dad’s can’t express their feelings Dad’s who stay at home are weak Dads don’t like to spend quality time with their kids Dad’s are messy and unorganized Dad’s don’t like housework Dad...
Feb 23, 2016•37 min
Episode 50 has the theme about stress. As dads, how can we reduce stress and manage it in our daily lives? We make a return to our segment structure within the episode. Alan and Jason start with a Dad’s Debate. Do children have more stress than parents? Kids don’t typically have the tools to understand how to deal with stress. One suggestion is within Stuff To Do. The guys suggest to meditate with your child. There are great guided meditations on YouTube. It will benefit you and your child. In t...
Feb 17, 2016•33 min
