DIYFather.com - It's great to be a dad!

School run with Bohemian Rhapsody

stefan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:02:18 +0000

Epic! Must watch ... and get your air guitar out

Enjoy,

Stef

Gifts for dads - the manslater and lala fingers

stefan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:02:06 +0000

Here's a product we all need ... the "manslater" ... translate woman language into every day simple man language. Give this to yourself for Mothers Day! :-) Ideally they would also make a 'momslater' ...

Another product that uses the opposite approach is Brilliant Industries' La La Finger.

Enjoy

Stef

A dad's point of view - 7 days without my iPhone

community — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:54:18 +0000

I have just embarked on a heli-skiing trip to the Cariboo Mountains. I chose NOT to bring my iPhone. First, I had thought there was no reception at the lodge. Second, every time I go to Canada I incur stupid charges that annoy me. And, third, I thought it would be a great experiment to go without it.

AAARRRGGGHHH!!! It’s been three hours and I’m going crazy!

No, just kidding. It’s been all day and while I have reached in my pocket for my iPhone a few times, the frequency is diminishing. So far, the biggest problem is knowing the time, since I have become used to checking the time on my iPhone rather than wear a watch, much like most kids do these days. My wife is already regretting that I don’t have the phone because I’m asking her the time all the time!

Indoor bowling DIY style

stefan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:32:43 +0000

Here's a great game you can play with young children aged 18 months and up. It's your own version of 10 pin bowling except that you don't need pins or a bowling alley - all you need is a ball (any ball) and your little one's favorite toys (whatever they are in to at the moment). Here's what you do:

Clear some space on the floor (living room, nursery ... wherever you've got a few feet / yards of floors space)
Get a handful of your child's favorite toys and line them up in row
Grab a ball (e.g. soft ball, tennis ball, golf ball - whatever you can find in the house) and move away from the toys you set up - now roll the ball towards the toys to try and knock them over

How to save space in your kids' bedroom

stefan — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:05:30 +0000

The central piece of the bedroom is generally a large bed which occupies most of the space; in order to win free space, you can search for a bed appropriate for your room size at bedstar. Another reason for having not enough space in your bedroom is due to the fact that we are used to having lots of toys in the room as well.

So one of the easiest things you can do is to buy a size appropriate bed. E.g. consider the following:

Sofa bed – it can be folded during the day to occupy less space
Storage Bed – the storage spaces can be used for keeping all the toys in the storage compartment under the bed
Murphy bed – can be lifted during the day to give you floor access

What presents to give babies and young children (by age)

stefan — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:00:27 +0000

Non-parents or brand new parents sometimes struggle to find age appropriate gifts for babies and children. To make the present-finding process a bit easier, here's a table with suitable presents and gifts by age range.

Age range	Gift idea / suitable presents
Not born yet - 3 months	Resist the urge to give newborn baby clothes unless you know for a fact that the parents-to-be are not already drowning in baby clothes. If you can't resist at least buy clothes for older age ranges like 6months or 12months and up. Instead of clothes get any of the following as gifts (which you can never have enough): picture books, wall stickers / murals for the nursery, bath toys or nappies (if you want to be really practical).
3 - 6 months	Teething toys, bibs, floor mats (protective covers or to play on), picture books, baby gyms / activity sets or Lamaze toys
6 - 12 months	Soft balls, stacking blocks, cardboard books and flash cards, toy animals, dolls, shape sorters, bubble guns or bubble makers (shapes and bubble liquid)
12 - 24 months	Simple jigsaw puzzles (up to 20 pieces), play dough, crayons / chalk, doodle pads, simple musical instruments (e.g. maracas)
2 - 3 years	Story books, toy animals / action figures, jigsaw puzzles (up to 48 pieces), train sets, dolls and doll house, toy vehicles (trucks, cars), fancy dress costumes or accessories (like dinosaur tails or princess tiaras), large LEGO blocks (Duplo)
3 - 5 years	Children's kitchen sets, ball games, water color sets, kites, paper planes or toy planes, LEGO blocks, paddle pools, scooters and tricicles

With children 5 and up it's pretty much down to what they are in to at the moment. Find out what they really like - common themes include fairies, trains, princesses, Disney stories and characters, dinosaurs, animated movies and related characters.

Teething in pictures

stefan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:31:54 +0000

If you have ever wondered what it looks like when baby teeth first emerge - have a look at the following sequence of images that show how baby teeth come out. For a description of the teething sequence by month (after a birth) - check out our article on the baby teeth eruption sequence.

Stage 1 - you will notice a swelling of the gums at certain areas of the mouth (usually at the front where the lower or upper incisors will appear). The actual teeth are not visible yet but you might see the hint of an opening in the gum.

Stage 2 - you will notice an opening in the gum and a tiny showing of the tip of the teeth. It is quite common for two teeth to emerge at the same time or shortly after one another.

Top child-friendly airlines in the world

stefan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:07:03 +0000

Here's a list of top airlines and their child-friendliness (as rated by DIYFather dads). Send in comments or experiences about a particular airlines and we'll include it in the list.

Votes:

Air New Zealand is the national carrier of New Zealand serving routes between Oceania, the US/Canada, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and cabin crew are generally quite kid friendly and accommodating. All AirNZ lounges have facilities or toy boxes for kids and you can use Star Alliance lounges (some of which have kids facilities) in airports where AirNZ doesn’t have a dedicated lounge. Air New Zealand hands out little game packs to children on board.

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Votes:

Air Canada is the national carrier of Canada serving routes between the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Votes:

Singapore Airlines is the national carrier of Singapore serving routes between Oceania, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and operates its lounges in many key destinations around the globe. SIA staff are somewhat less kids friendly than other Asian airlines however the inflight entertainment is second to none so kids aged 3 years and up are easily entertained. The airline also hands out little game packs for kids.

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Votes:

China Airlines is the national carrier of the Republic of China. The airline serves destinations in China and routes to Europe, North America and Asia. The airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance so you can make use of SkyTeam lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Votes:

Emirates is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates which operates an extensive network of routes around the planet. The airline is not part of any alliance but has codeshare agreements in place with Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways and Thai Airways International (among others).

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Votes:

LOT is the national carrier of Poland and the world oldest airline in operation serving European destination and long haul routes to the US/Canada, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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LAN Airlines is the national carrier of Chile serving routes between South America, North America, Oceania, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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Royal Jordanian is the national carrier of Jordan serving routes between Africa, the Middle East, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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Swiss International Airlines is a Swiss airline (owned by Lufthansa) serving European destinations and routes to the Americas, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids). Staff are generally more kid friendly than staff at the parent company Lufthansa.

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Votes:

American Airlines is a US based airline serving destinations in the Americas and intercontinental destinations to Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. AA is part of the One World Alliance so you can make use One World lounges (although not many of those have special facilities for kids).

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Votes:

Qantas is the national carrier of Australia serving routes between Oceania, the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance but also operates their own lounges in many key destinations. Qantas staff are generally very kids friendly and hand out ice creams and games to kids on the plane.

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Kids in the Apple store

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:40:47 +0000

Love them, hate them, ignore them - you can say whatever you want about Apple stores but there is one thing they do better than most other stores (across the board) is provide some entertainment for kids while the grown ups are shopping. Case in point:

Every Apple store has a dedicated table for young children. The table is at the perfect height with small chairs or cushions to suit. On the table there are usually iPads with age-appropriate apps. Nice thought and makes a big difference for parents shopping with children in tow.

-Stef

A dad's point of view - my boys would be better off if I abandoned them

community — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:19:48 +0000

I suppose the title of this column got your attention. Of course I don’t mean it in any literal sense but I’ve begun a mantra/rant lately that includes this notion. My older son just got accepted to an expensive private college, The Berklee College of Music. For a number of reasons, he/we do not qualify for any financial aid.

Before I illuminate those reasons, I have to declare that my son did himself and his family no good – as far as getting any scholarships – because of his lousy grades and failure to even take the SAT or other college entrance exams. His outstanding musicianship and showmanship at the audition, required by Berklee, clearly overcame any deficiencies from his report cards and lack of college entrance exams. He shines when he does his music and he worked quite hard preparing for that audition. It paid off when he was one of less than 200 applicants accepted for early admission – to the only college to which he applied.

DIYFather.com - It's great to be a dad!

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