By Daddy Clay May 21st, 2012

My son loves to drape his arm casually over my shoulder and loom there. Usually with a slight smile on his face. Demonstrating yet again that he is, in fact, taller than me. I might still have ten pounds on him, but I have to rely on subterfuge when it comes down to it. When I pat his cheek, I feel a scruff. Patches of rough stubble.

In a matter of weeks he’ll officially be a high school kid.

I know high school kids pretty well. I’ve taught them, lived among them my whole adult life. Which hasn’t necessarily made me a big fan, especially swaggering jock-y boys. Nor has it made me feel prepared to raise one of my own. But a year into it, I have to say that being the dad of a teen is pretty great.
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Tags: birthday, dad, eight, evite, fail, fourteen, highschool, kickball, middleschool, mom, parenting, party, teen, teens, thirteen, waterslide
Posted in Fatherhood

By Daddy Brad May 15th, 2012

As I dropped my youngest off at daycare this morning, the teachers’ in the 18 month old room appeared to be a bit flustered.  When Myers and I walked by they were standing in the corner nervously contemplating something.  What, I couldn’t quite tell.
I overhead one of the teachers ask the Principal, “Maybe Myers dad can help?”
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Tags: boogers, child care, droid razr, Fatherhood, poop
Posted in Fatherhood

By Daddy Clay May 10th, 2012

Sooner or later kids have to have their own accounts. Whether it’s email, Google, Amazon or iTunes, kids eventually grow up and need to begin accumulating their own digital goods in their own inboxes and libraries. The question is, at what age is this appropriate?

The standard answer here is pretty easy. Because of the provisions of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), any site that collects personal information cannot offer services to customers under 13 years of age. As a result, almost any popular web site has clear terms of service that state that nobody under 13 can have an account — notably Facebook, Google, and iTunes.
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Tags: accounts, age, Apps, child, controls, dad, Facebook, Gmail, HomeShare, iMac, iphone, ipod, itunes, kid, kids, limits, Music, parental, predators, Safety, security, son
Posted in Music, Tech, eProofing

By Daddy Clay May 8th, 2012

It’s the force majeure of the parenting vocabulary — a statement that asserts complete authority and brings the gavel down on further debate.

Because I said so.

But have you ever considered your relationship to “because I said so?”
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Tags: conflicts, conversation, dad, daughters, discipline, family, fathers, sister, Sports, teaching, teams, Travel, values, wedding
Posted in Marriage, Travel