Top 10 things to do on Father's Day when your partner is pregnant

So you're going to be a dad and Father's Day is coming up - great! It's ok ... you can celebrate Father's day already :-) Here's our top list of suggestions on what to do on Father's Day with your pregnant partner:

• Play naked twister and get in loads of unprotected sex (ideally with your partner of course)
  
• Sleep in
  
• Draw something on your partner's belly (see here for inspiration ... about 3"10 in)
  
• Download a baby name app and play around with different names for the baby
  
• Cook a nice meal for your partner (or treat her to a nice meal out)
  
• Make something arty/crafty for your unborn baby (like a baby mobile)
  
• Start a blog, journal or pinterest board (or check your partner's pinterest board)
  
• Give your partner a backrub or foot massage

10 things to do with your kids on Father's Day - Part 3: preschoolers

There are heaps of cool things you can do with pre-schoolers Fathers Day (or any day of course). Check this out:

• make a simple board game like "Ludo" or "Snakes and Ladders" and play it with your little champ


• fly a kite (even better if you can make one yourself)


• play one on one football, basketball, touch rugby (any sport really)


• show them the old baking soda and vinegar volcano trick


• show them how to make a bow and arrow


• make a fire (somewhere safe obviously) and roast something (sweetcorn, marshmellows, potatoes, etc)


• play sink or float


• organise a treasure hunt in your house or garden


• get a couple of balloons and tie them to your ankles - then play ankle balloon pop


• bake some cookies together (there's 100s of easy recipes on the net - just pick one that works with the ingredients you've got to hand

Whatever you do have a great Father's Day - you're an awesome dad!

Dad, you know?

Happy Fathers Day to all dads in New Zealand and Australia!

Have a good one!

-Stef

Father's Day 2011 - Whatever happened to Ward Cleaver

When I grew up, there were wonderful dads that were the staple of television. These TV dads were an ideal that we all realized was a bit too perfect, but these dads (and moms, for that matter), made us feel good. I liked Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont on “Leave It To Beaver”). I liked Steven Keaton (Michael Gross on “Family Ties”).

Carroll O’Connor broke precedent dramatically with his portrayal of Archie Bunker in “All In the Family,” but under his occasionally crass, racist, and sexist blue-collar worker there was still a loving and caring father! And, later on, everyone loved Cliff Huxtable, played by Bill Cosby on the long-running hit show that bore his name. Bill Cosby’s “Dad” was named the number one TV dad of all-time by TIME magazine!

The ghost of Fathers Days past

In our countdown to Fathers Day 2011 let's have a look at the Fathers Days gone by as documented by Google's home page logos. Hardly ground breaking designs or novel ideas here ... but hey let's see what they've got in store for us this Father's Day!

(2000: international symbol for Fathers ... the hat!)

(2001: a bear?!?)

(2002: politically incorrect)

(2003: OK that one works ...)

(2004: how lazy ... same as last year but now with child labour!)

(2005: you have got to be kidding)

(2006: anything is better than another repeat)

(2007: lazy theme again)

(2008: kites in June? Hmmm ...)

(2009: OK now we're talking ... finally some creativity)

(2010: oh come on ... not the ties)

OK Google - bring it for Fathers Day 2011 - inspire us!

Enjoy,

Stef

Father figures

It may be no surprise for you guys to know that fathers survive on an average 42 minutes' less sleep a night than other men.

Here are some 'father figures' released on Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand:

* In 2008, a new baby was a Father Day's present for 143 men.

* The average age of fathers of new babies is 33 years, but one in 100 babies has a father aged 50 years or over.

* Today's newborn babies have fathers who are, on average, four years older than their own fathers were when they were born.

* Over a lifetime, fathers have on average seven fewer Father's Days, than mothers have Mother's Days. This is because men generally start parenting later in life and women have a longer life span.

* The first Father's Day is thought to have originated in Babylon over 4000 years ago.

* The modern Father's Day celebration had its origins in the US at the turn of the 20th century.

Thank you Statistics New Zealand

-Stefan

Happy Father's Day - DIYFather celebrates with brave dads

DIYFather wishes all dads in Australia and New Zealand a happy Father's Day 2009. This year the three directors of DIYFather Scott, Eric and Stefan have made it their mission to help a group of dads in difficult circumstances on Father's Day. Today 10 fathers at Ronald McDonald House in Wellington received special dad packs with gifts and treats for the whole family.

On Father's Day it's easy to remember that dads are heroes in many different forms – there are the Super Hero Dads, the Sports Hero Dads, and the DIY Hero Dads to name a few. A less known type of Dad is the Unsung Hero Dad. All of the superhuman powers and skills combined wouldn't cut it in the environment that these Dads face on a daily basis. The environment of Unsung Hero Dads is a special care facility and this group of outstanding Dads who will be spending their Father’s Day providing comfort to their children deserve a special mention today.

President Obama - We need Fathers to Step-Up!

On the eve of Father's Day weekend, President Obama gives remarks at a White House Town Hall on the topic of fatherhood. June 19, 2009 (public domain)

He made some unusually clear and direct statement about effects of fathers being absent:

Dad's Diary - This Father's Day

Us dads, before we're officially Dads, aren't quite sure how this whole parenting thing will work out. We've seen other guys, whom we've deemed far inferior to us, thrust into the parenting world and somehow, against all odds, they make it. We, too, should be able to master this. Why do we doubt ourselves? Because society makes us! It's a mom's world out there - everything relating to kids is built around them. Mother's Day Out. Playgroups. Magazines. We're trying to break into this huge fortress, but the gates are locked tight and there are big, burly guards out front keeping us at bay.

Father's Day Ruminations: Are Fathers Necessary?

A new look at a traditional family relationship

The first American Father's Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia, only about 20 miles from the location of the first Mother’s Day celebration in Grafton. The event was the emotionally charged response to a mine explosion that had occurred one year earlier, killing more than 300 men, most of whom were fathers. Hundreds of grieving widows were left behind, along with more than 1,000 fatherless children.

Mrs. Grace Clayton, a woman who had lost two children and understood family loss well, was moved to establish an annual holiday to honor and remember all fathers for their great contributions to their families. But while this Father’s Day observance is mentioned in at least one historical document, it has all but been forgotten, and it is a separate event that occurred one year later that is most often referred to as the “beginning of Father’s Day.”

At a Mother’s Day celebration almost a year later, a young woman named Sonora Louise Smart was thinking about the sacrifices her father had made while shouldering the responsibility for his six children after his wife had died eleven years earlier.