A new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse says the key to keeping your kids off of drugs is to be a “hand-on” parent. What does that mean?

Well, these parents monitor their kids’ TV-watching and Internet use, they put restrictions on what music their kids buy, they know where their kids are after school and on weekends, and they give regular chores to their children.

How about you?

Warmly,

Mark Brandenburg

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC
mark@eqnow.org
www.markbrandenburg.com
www.eqnow.org
Phone (+1) 651-766-9976
"Helping Men Succeed" ... read more >>

Here are DIYFather's Scott, Stefan and Eric with babies Pyper and Ava on 'Good Morning' TV Show, interviewed by Steve Grey.

Click here to view clip

Last night we were watching TV before bed, and April had Alleke on her lap. The show we were watching seemed relatively harmless until one point when the main character's skin melted off his face, and he turned into a talking meatball. I grimaced, and April put her hand over Alleke's eyes.

When the scene changed, and April thought it was safe for Alleke to watch again, she took her hand away.

Alleke must have thought the show was still too scary because she took April's hand, put it back over her eyes, and held it there.

Posted with permission from Spain Dad

“Here’s your water bottle, James!”

The eight-year-old snatched the bottle hard out of his mother’s hand and said, “give me that!” A chorus of nervous laughter followed from the parents nearby, including the boy’s mother. James sauntered off, without acknowledging his mother’s offering, or the presence of the other parents in the group.

We were attending a youth basketball game, and the hallway outside the gym was filled with parents and revved up kids. This kind of interaction between children and their parents is not unusual today. We all see examples of kids acting more aggressively around their parents. And unfortunately, we all see examples of their parents doing little to change it. ... read more >>

A Podcast hosted on International Dad featuring show hosts Scott Lancaster and co-hosts Eric Mooij and Stefan Korn from DIYFather.com.

Today DIY Father interviews Gill Connell.


Gill Connell is mother of three grown gorgeous daughters. She has been involved in education in New Zealand for almost 30 years and is a primary trained teacher specialising in early childhood. Gill also appears on the popular parenting TV series “Nought to Five”.

Visit Connell’s websites Moving to Learn and
Moving Smart. ... read more >>

An episode from a 1950s TV Show called Father Knows Best

How it used to be, or is it how it still is???

ABC’s hit parenting show SUPERNANNY is looking for Dads in need of advice and tools to help their kids behave. Your house could be the next home America’s #1 Nanny, Jo Frost visits.

To apply to be on the show or for more information, go to www.Supernanny.com or call 877-NANNY-TIME!

SUPERNANNY is searching for families who want help. And we would like your help in getting the word out. Would you or someone you know love to get hands-on advice and parenting tools from Jo Jo? Families who have been on the show say it's like a fresh start; the show gets there and addresses what you find challenging as a parent . . . it's a chance to step back, make some new choices and get back to enjoying your family!

Your children need to play. They need to play for many reasons. Many fathers today remember spending countless hours playing with siblings or friends during their childhood. Parents would drop you off somewhere and your imaginations would take over as you became soldiers, famous ballplayers, dinosaur hunters, etc.

There are many factors that make it more difficult for children to play in today’s world. There is an emphasis on early academics. There is more TV watching today by children than ever before. There is the seductive attraction of video games. There is also the need for constant supervision of our kids in urban environments.

These factors and others have helped to create children who sometimes have forgotten how to have imaginative play. They’ll have a house full of toys but say “I’m bored” or that they have nothing to do. They may look to their parents to entertain them, rather than creating their own play. ... read more >>

Watch a few hours of television and you will be convinced: the father who is involved and dedicated to his children is no longer a marginal figure or a lofty ideal beyond the reach of common mortals. The advertising industry-always the first to catch the waves of social trends and ride their crests-no longer hesitates to use the image of the involved and committed father. In doing so, advertisers not only promote this new notion of fatherhood along with their products, they also demonstrate that the image of the dedicated father no longer even needs to be "sold" to most men. If advertising-that supreme arbiter of society's values and a key influence on its ideology-uses the "dedicated father" to sell its products, it is because this has become a positive image with which men like to be associated, a social standard to which they are willing to conform and a behaviour that they want to adopt. ... read more >>

Leisure time is something we treasure and before our children came along, we managed to occupy ourselves in many ways. Being a Dad means priorities need to change and while it is important for our own personal well being, we now have to manage that time better in order to enjoy it with our little people as they need it as much as us! The great thing to understand is that children are simply pleased. Buying toys and computer games to play with them is not what is about. These pleasures exist at our doorsteps and…they don’t cost anything! ... read more >>