If you're still looking for a last minute St Patrick's day accessory - check this out. Make a four-leaf clover necklace with the kids!

Things you will need:
* Craft Glue
* Pencil
* Contact Paper, 3" X 3"
* Scissors
* Marker
* Hole Puncher
* Ribbon, 3' of 1/4" wide or cord, any color
* Pony Beads, any color, 1 or more

Step by step instructions
1) Take the backing off of the contact paper and place on to a flat, surface that will not be disturbed for 24 hours.
2) Smooth the middle of the contact paper out, but leave the corners loose so you can remove it later.
3) With the pencil, trace a 2 inch four-leaf clover onto the contact paper with a pencil.
Note: Get a four-leaf clover pattern here.
4) Fill the trace in completely with glue, making sure there are no bubbles.

If you are into cars or engines and want to get show your little one what it's all about then this is the ultimate toy for you.
You'll be a super star dad for assembling it together with your kids and no doubt you'll hear them saying to their friends "check this out - my dad MADE THIS for me!". Fatherhood doesn't get much better than that ...

-Scott

Why do girls giggle so much? Why does everything have to be pink? Why are they so scary once they hit puberty? How can I stop her from marrying an idiot?

If you want effective strategies instead of platitudes, real solutions instead of catch-phrases, and a book with chapters on 'What dads want', 'Girl-talk: communicating with the other side', 'Mean girls - the new cult of bitchiness', 'Every dad's nightmare: sex, drugs, and parties', 'Puberty - it's not as scary as it seems' and 'how to be a cool dad', then welcome to the real world of raising girls.

Dave and Camille from radio station Classic Hits discuss the new book, Fathers Raising Daughters with Clinical Psychologist, Television Presenter and Author, Nigel Latta.

Listen to the podcast

Enjoy!

Dave & Camille

If there's one thing I know about what works with kids it's keeping a routine. I remember someone telling me a few years ago that kids really love routine. Without knowing all the ins and outs of the psychology I guess they feel safe and secure in routines because they think mum and dad have life under control.

If they only knew!

So a few months ago our son starts staying awake later and later at night. Regardless of putting him to bed every night at 7.30pm he started staying awake longer and longer till finally hes dropping off at around 11.30! Ok he's happy enough reading, and playing cars and generally turning his room upside down.

The other night when asked why he wasn't sleeping this cute four year old says “Daddy I cant sleep because there is dancing in my head”. Talk about a conversation stopper?!? "Dancing in my head!" has he all of a sudden caught ADHD. I'm told by his mum don't worry most parents at some stage think their kids have ADHD.

Our friends at MakeItRuby.com have been busy putting up new activities for dads and daughters. What we like best about their material is that all ideas are aimed at encouraging dads with daughters to get into simple do-it-yourself projects for at home arts and crafts. Best of all - every project focuses on the 3 R's of reusable, renewable and re-purposed materials. The projects are also easy on dad's wallet ... you'll probably find most of the basic materials in your house anyway.

How about you give this one a go: "Sweet Puppy Keepsake"

Here's what you need: empty tissue box, puppy photos, scissors, all-purpose tacky glue, sticky letters, stickers, silk flowers

Step by step
1. Repurpose a tissue box to make this sweet puppy keepsake. Print 4 photos & glue one on each side of the box.

2. Decorate each side with words & themed stickers.

I saw this on the waterfront the other day - what a FABULOUS IDEA!!! One of the companies providing activities at the waterfront offered rides in a giant air bubble. They had these sturdy see-through plastic bubbles that were pumped up with air and kids (up to 40kg) could go inside and roll around on the water. Some of the kids got the hang of it really quickly and literally managed to walk on water - very cool! NB: the kid in the photo is completely dry inside the bubbtle. Don't try this at home - but definitely get your kids to try it out if it is offered as a ride somewhere.

Enjoy

-Stefan

Children in the 21st century ...

Originally posted by "la coctelera" and translated by Raquel Roncero

In case you haven't seen the "get dad to reenact a famous movie scene" concept check out the following:

I think the concept is great but they could have really pushed it a bit further. So definitely try this at home, but whatever you do ... stay away from reenacting the Fatal Attraction scenes ... now that's just wrong!

-Stef

We recently received a media release about a new soft toy character called "Mitch" made by a company called Neon Monster. We had never heard of it ... but after reading the release I just had to write a blog post. You gotta love these guys ... they actually created a "depressed" soft toy with complex baggage (there's a whole story behind it). In the press release we find out that "Mitch is a giant misfit, rather anachronistic in his taste, and with a tendency to slide into psychotic episodes" ... up until now I had no idea about the complexities of soft toy psychology. Contrary to his character, the rather positive and forward looking aspect of Mitch is that his plush is made of 100% recycled fleece. He is eco-friendly, huggable, non-pilling and appropriate for all ages.

Dads, if you are looking for something different for your kids - give Mitch a go (14-inch Mitch for $39 at neonmonster.com).

Enjoy,

Stef

If you have a toddler or an active young person then changing their clothes 3-4 times per day might seem like the norm? Well apart from putting them in dirt proof clothes you're probably also doing a lot of washing and may wonder how to get some of those damn stains out ...

Well, fear not, as usual DIYFather boldly goes where no dad has gone before ... a recent investigation into why our clothes are getting ruined and how to get rid off all sorts of nasty stains has revealed this very valuable information below. This should actually be in ALL parenting books (and yes we will put it in the 2nd edition of Call Me Dad). The stain removal tips will hopefully help you save some of the clothes for round 2 or make for a presentable item on your next clothes swap event. OK - here it goes - make sure that you treat the stains ASAP and they actually come out (I tried!!!)

Adhesive Tape