Posts About ‘General Parenting’

Everything Changes

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

The first thing that came to mind, when five months ago  my wife told me we were having a baby, was that everything changes.

In general I have no idea what will change or exactly what will be.  What I do know is that this narrative, which is my life, is about to hit that point where the plot thickens and the twist will rearrange our  whole hustle like an F-5 tornado.

dykc-ultrababy

Case in point — I no longer have the luxury of considering the passage of time in years.  Time itself has changed.  Everything is now measured in weeks.

When I mentioned to another pregnant couple we were five months along, they looked at me like I haven’t read the prenatal equivalent of The Handbook for the Living and the Dead.

Exercising my short-term thinking is a challenge for me in this situation.  I tend to look at the big picture and consider things holistically.   Just over four months from now, our son will be born.  It would have been nine months that we were awaiting his arrival.  At three months we heard him and saw him for the first time.

My natural tendency to consider things in longer terms is likely an inherent self-defense.  Months take a while to pass.  A week, however, is just a few days in total.  Maybe this is why there are so many dead-beat-dads.  Perhaps they wash-out before their child is born and are unable to cope when they finally arrive – because it all happens so fast.

What I have learned so far from this experience is that the more things grow, both literally and figuratively,  the more micro they become when I regard them (and keeping things short has actually allowed me to wrap my frontal lobe around what our new life is going to be about).

As of today, we are 21-weeks into the pregnancy.

Marinate.

Internet Safety For Kids – Be Involved. Not Stupid.

Monday, November 16th, 2009

There are evil people on the Internet. Right now there is some child abusing scum just waiting to find an unaware child on the Internet. Guess what? There are those same people who want to abuse your children in your neighborhood, at the mall and in every corner of the world. The real truth is that the world is full of bad people and that includes online.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I need to slap a little reality into all the parents out there who are scared to death of their kids getting online.

Dad surfing with Son

I recently spoke at an elementary school about Internet Safety. It was a small group of parents, but I was excited about it because I wanted to really answer their questions. As the organizer of the event explained some of what the school was already up to (including the awesome idea of a secured Ning site for their students to interact with other students around the world) and two police officers briefed them on all the scary facts about online dangers, I began to get worried. I could see that some of the parents were genuinely scared when they found out their kids were talking to other kids and adults (school staff in this case) online. But, I also knew I had my kids in the room with me and I wanted to show them from one parent to another why all of this is a good thing and not something to run away from.

If you are a parent, you need to realize that your kids ARE going to be online. They are going to set up social networking accounts, talk to complete strangers on them, watch videos, chat, etc. They are going to do this no matter if you let them or not. They may not do it at home, but they will do it at school and when they are hanging out with friends. Just like experimenting with drinking, drugs and each other, it is part of growing up. We all went through it and turned out ok for the most part so it is up to us to help our kids get through it as well.

With all of these issues and especially the online piece the answer is you MUST be involved. You too must be checking out these sites and using them so that you understand what they are all about and can teach your kids how to use them. You are responsible to teach them the right and wrong way to use the Internet. Just like you are responsible for teaching them about safe driving, safe sex and say no to drugs. It is up to YOU to teach them..

Some practical advice I gave to the parents that night and that I want to share with you:

  1. Get Yourself Online
    I don’t want to hear you whining about not having time or barely understanding e-mail. Your kids are growing up with a computer as an integrated part of their lives and will always be. If you have a computer in the house then they are going to start using services like Facebook, YouTube and others and you must understand them as well. These services are free and honestly the only way to understand them is to use them. Make sure to always check the privacy settings on each service as they are not all the same, but they are all important as they control who can see what about you. Still confused? Ask your kids to show you them or find someone at your children’s school who can answer your questions.
  2. Put The Computer In a Family Space
    I won’t allow my kids to have computers in their rooms even though they keep asking me for it. When we got them a computer last Christmas, we put it in the living room. That way when they are on it we can always see what they are doing. We also have several laptops in the house and they know they can’t bring those up to their room either. Anything they should be doing online they should be comfortable doing with us around. Plus, this way I can see how long they’ve been online and kick them off it when appropriate.
  3. Monitor Them
    I’m not talking about secret spying, but Emily and Dylan both know that we have parental controls turned on the computer. They know that I can go back and look at every site they’ve been to. This is not a secret and it is important that they know this. I don’t want to snoop around and I won’t ever go into their e-mail or track their IM conversations, but keeping a web history that they can’t delete is something I will do. The newest Mac OS and Windows 7 both have these sort of controls built in. There are other software options out there that can do even more then this, but the basics can be covered by what you have.
  4. Talk to Your Kids
    I’ve made it very clear to the kids what is inappropriate. Just like I taught them not to talk to strangers or ever get in someone else’s car, I’m also teaching them what not to do online. First names only, never give a home address, being vague about where they go to school and the town they live in. User accounts are always a silly name rather than their own. They never give out a phone number. All things that hold true online and off and as they begin to get older and use it more, I will talk to them more about it. It is part of our every day conversation and it is not uncommon to hear “You’ve got to see this video on YouTube” come up at dinner. And just like “the talk”, this can not be a one time thing. You have to keep talking about it.
  5. Don’t Fear Google
    If I hear one more time “your kids might see porn if they mistype something into Google” I am going to scream. Google has simple settings that you can set on your computer to hide that sort of content. It isn’t perfect, but it will filter out the majority of it on your home computers. Plus, guess what? Your kids are going to see naked people at some point in their lives. They might actually go and seek it out on the web out of curiosity or other reasons. Shocking I know.

    But, again it is up to you to teach them what is right and appropriate and what is not. Search engines are amazing tools. Just the other night i was showing my son how to filter for images for a project he was working on and I had no worries about porn coming up when we searched for “vikings” because I knew the settings I had set would keep it clean. But. school computers, or ones at friend’s house might not have these settings so that is why you must talk about this rather than trying to hide from it.

These are just five tips, but they are five important ones.

To all the parents who think that not allowing their children to get online and sheltering them from the Internet is the solution I have one thing to tell you. You are ignorant and stupid. Sorry to be so blunt, but I refuse’t sugar coat it for you.

Sheltering our children from everything that might be bad in the world is never the solution. No one can live in a bubble and turn out ok. Children need to learn what is good and what is bad and how they are suppose to operate online in order to be successful in their lives. Just because the computer might not be important or needed by you, they are never going to know a world without them.

You need to instill in them what is appropriate. Just like you are going to teach them how to respect others, how to drive a car and how to do good in school. How to act online is just a new part of the parenting puzzle and you are responsible for this whether you like it or not.

I live and breath in this space and I can tell you that the amount of good things that have happened far outweigh the few bad things. I’m more worried about my kids and what might happen to them out in the real world then I ever will be about what they might run into online.

Don’t be stupid. Get active and get involved with your kids online. That is the way a good parent should act.

Yelling – Is It Needed?

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

In my travels around the web yesterday, I noticed some people talking about article in the NY Times called For Some Parents, Shouting Is the New Spanking by Hilary Stout.

parentyell

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about and was curious to get some other parents opinions on.

I’ve been known to raise my voice to the kids. It is weird because I don’t have a temper for the most part and usually if I get in a heated discussion or argument with someone I go ice cold and direct. But, when it comes to the kids they stress me out to the point where I’d just snap and the only way to get through to them would be to yell. I always feel bad about it and depending on the reasons for it I usually end up apologizing after the fact for raising my voice or yelling and having a regular conversation about what they did wrong or whatever it was that set me off.

Of course this goes against everything we have taught them about how any discussion can be had with a leveled voice. We try to always leave attitude at the door and have regular conversations no matter what it is. But, we both break that from time to time as this morning quickly reminded me.

Several months back (maybe even longer now) I was talking with my sisters and one of them made a remark about how they never remember our Dad ever raising his voice at us. I keep thinking about that every time I do raise my voice and the weird thing is that I don’t remember him ever doing it. When he reads this I’m curious what his memories will be.

I grew up in a household where I knew that if I stepped out of line I’d be in trouble. That was crystal clear and has kept me on a pretty straight path my whole life. Yet, my parents were laid back and didn’t raise their voices. How did that work? In the times where I was really getting on their nerves or pushing all the wrong buttons how was it that they kept it level and didn’t yell. Self control is a great thing, but it only goes so far right?

I don’t have the answers. I’ve never claimed to, but this is a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about and the NY Times piece really got me thinking about it and I wanted to know what other parents thought about this.

Do you yell at your kids? Do you feel bad after?

My answer is certainly yes to both, but I want to hear your stories.

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Becoming a Dad

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

I remember when I first found out that I was going to be a father. I was filled with excitement, fear, joy and a bunch of other emotions that you can’t really express unless you’ve been there.

Back then we were living in Virginia and away from all of our family and friends. The decision of how and when to tell people is never an easy thing to do, but we made the best of it and figured it out. We didn’t have things like Twitter or Facebook to tell masses of people at one time, so the news trickled out slowly and surely and it was always fun to have new people find out and get in touch.

This morning my good friend Clarence told the world that he is going to be a poppa and he did it in a way that I’ve never been part of before. He did it by posting the comic below on one of his projects called Planet Wifey. I’ve known about the news for a bit and I’m glad he got the chance (and felt that we were close enough) to tell me in person, but I love that so many other people will find out from this comic.

Planet Wife 2009-10-02

The one thing I tell every guy who tells me they are going to be a Dad for the first time is the same thing a friend from Bentley told me when I told him the news.

He looked me in the eyes and said, “You think you know that you are going to be a Dad, but you really don’t yet. Just wait and at some point, somewhere the news is really going to hit you and then you’ll know you are going to be a dad.”

I laughed it off and then I remember being at a red light, months later on my way home from work when this wave of “oh shit I’m going to be a Dad!” washed over me. I broke down crying and was filled with an even bigger mix of emotions then I had before. I laughed at myself as I realized this is what my friend meant. Now I knew I was going to be a dad.

So, now I give that same bit of advice to every new dad. I also always recommend The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be as my book of choice for guys to read. I read them all and that is the one that stuck with me and was actually written in a way that a guy wants to read and I respected that.

Congrats to Clarence and to all the new Dads out there. It feels like something is in the water lately because there are a lot of new babies on the horizon.

What advice do you give to your friends when they tell you they are becoming fathers? I’d love to hear!

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Sex on a Plate

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

I’ve met a lot of great people over the years and one of the most fun has to be Jennifer Iannolo. She has an ultimate passion for food and life and if your brand is looking for someone who understands social media, food and life then you should certainly contact her for some consulting work.

I believe that if every guy could master the art of cunnilingus and cooking then they could win any woman’s heart. Because of this, I wanted to get her take on the intimate qualities of food that she’s been talking about as part of her Sex on a Plate concept. What follows is a little Q&A and I did with her.

jenngrapes

What is your culinary background?

It seems like I’ve done just about everything there is to do in the food world. I started out as the “Salad Girl” at a local restaurant as a teenager, and went on to produce food events around the world, including the James Beard Awards (the food “Oscars”) in New York.

Prior to launching what is now the Culinary Media Network, I was the Director of Culinary Programs for Relais & Chateaux, a collection of some of the world’s finest hotels and restaurants. A lot of my inspiration came from working with chefs like Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter and Daniel Boulud, as I noticed that each brought a very unique philosophy to his cuisine. This is where I started making the connections between food and sensuality, noticing that in crafting a dish, they were, in a way, making love to every person in their dining rooms. Chefs are sultry creatures.

What is one simple meal that any guy can make to get a girl in the mood?

This, of course, depends on the girl, but the premise is the same, and the root of what I’m talking about: The simple act of nourishing another person with a hand-crafted meal says, “I care. I want to take care of you in a very intimate way.” Food and sex are the only two things that engage all of the senses so potently, so you might consider the first a foreshadowing of the second.

In fact, if you serve finger foods, it intensifies the intimacy — so much so that you might consider it the foreplay.

The most important thing to remember, however, is this: You are priming the senses in anticipation of what is (hopefully) to come after, so keep it light. It’s very tough to enjoy sex if one is overstuffed.

I recommend crafting a couple of easy appetizers that can be made ahead to…prime the pump. Don’t forget to feed them by hand whenever possible. :)

  • Figs & Cheese
    What could be more sensual than the fig? Adam & Eve covered themselves in fig leaves, but I hope they indulged in the actual figs first. Ripened figs served with a bit of Spanish Manchego (a very mild, soft cheese) are simple yet indulgent, and are very sultry.
  • Fruit
    Strawberries dipped in raw sugar, grapes or pieces of apple coated with cinnamon sugar
  • Seafood
    Lobster pieces dipped in vanilla butter
  • Porcini Dusted Scallops
    These would be tough to feed by hand, so I recommend a fork. They are sumptuous, however, and offer a light but fulfilling satisfaction:

Is it really better to make a homemade meal over going out to eat?

The complex answer: Making a meal oneself adds another layer of caring to the process. It is such an intimate act to nourish another person in this way, and the only — aside from sex — that provides life-giving energy to the body. Think of the power in that.

The simple answer: When you make a meal at home, the bedroom is closer.

We both know food is fun in the dining room, but what about in the bedroom? Isn’t that more messy then sexy?

For the most part, yes. Having said that, I do not discount a good bottle of olive oil, a couple of drops of honey, or the delights to be found in whipped cream. Throw a towel on the bed and have a little fun, I say.

Tell me more about what you are trying to do with Sex on a Plate?

When I first started talking about “sex on a plate” on Twitter, it was merely my way of talking about dishes or food experiences that really evoked my senses, or put my mental mouth into high gear. Now that it has taken off, I’m encouraging people to talk about what turns them on from a food point of view, and it’s leading to discussions of the parallels between food and sex.

This makes me very, very happy. It is my life’s mission to help people understand how the two are connected, and how awakening the senses intensifies one’s interpretation — and enjoyment — of the pleasures to be found all around us.

What is the most amazing meal you ever ate?

Oh goodness, this is a tough one to answer. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the world’s greatest chefs, and to eat some of their most divine creations, so I’ve had a lot of amazing meals. I think the most memorable bite, however, was a perfect tomato served at the chef’s table at Alain Ducasse in Paris. I was a guest of chef Charlie Trotter, and the bite came from his plate, which was offered to me when my eyes lit up at the sight of that ruby red deliciousness. This is what I mean about the act of sharing — if it were my plate, it would have been memorable, but because it was someone else’s, shared with me, it became unforgettable.

I’ve got the great meal, but I’m not much a wine guy. What other drinks can add to the mood?

This is a tricky question. One’s mind might automatically veer toward beer, but I’ll add a caveat: If you are going to serve beer, you want to avoid the “overfull” feeling that comes with it. The way around that is to pour the beer directly down the center of the glass (please don’t serve it in the bottle). It will form a large head, but this is good: Let the beer sit so the bubbles can evaporate, because that will rid the beer of a lot of its gases, and sidestep that bloated feeling you might otherwise get.

A comfortable stomach is important for dessert. ;)

If you want to go the non-alcoholic route, consider still water with lemon or lime. Fruit juices and other drinks will take away from the meal in most cases.

So all of this leads to a night of great sex and then the morning comes. What can a guy do in the morning to make it perfect?

Bring me coffee in bed, just the way I like it.

Grandfathers & Grandsons

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Poppa Reading TimeAs another one of the projects for the Sony Dads project we were loaned a Sony HDR-XR500V to create a “heritage time machine” that would capture a family story. There were no more guidelines and each of us was left to go with it as we saw fit.

The storyteller in me went into high gear and I realized that I wanted to sit down with my father and my father-in-law and get them on camera. Neither of them were all that excited about getting in front of the camera, but I hope they are happy with how it turned out. Since this site is about Dads I wanted to hear them talk about being a Grandfather, a father and about my son. I made sure to get Dylan into the mix as well. Here is my story.

The camera performed as advertised. I’m really happy with how all the footage turned out. This was all shot with natural light indoors and outdoors. The auto focus is faster then others I have seen and the camera has a built in hard drive so you can record hours of footage without worry. It is a bit bulkier and heavier then my Canon HF11 but still performed awesome. i was worried about the placement of the microphone on top of the camcorder, but I was satisfied with the results.

On the video front, it was something that I’m very proud of. It is the first thing in a long time that I’ve conceived from start to finish. Having been on plenty of sets in my Random Foo Pictures days, this really sparked the old bug that has been hibernating for a long time. I even did all the editing and music myself as well which was a huge confidence boost since neither of these are things I’m very good at.

Watching the playback for the first time I got very emotional. I wasn’t ready for that to happen, but it reminded me that I captured the story I wanted to tell. I dedicated the story to my grandfathers who are no longer with us.

I hope you enjoy the story and I’d love to hear what you think.

This post is part of series called the “Sony DigiDads Project” by Sony Electronics where a group of dads, including C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear. If you want to know more about this project, head on over to the Sony Electronics Community.

Respect and Manners

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

First we had a member of Congress screaming “liar” at the president, then a tennis star ranting at a judge and finally a musician jumping on stage when he had no place being there and stealing the spotlight. All of these have happened in the past week and in each of them I wanted to cuff them side the head and ask, “didn’t your parents teach you better?”

Manners and respect are a hard thing to teach kids. We had friends over for dinner last weekend and as their daughter jumped out of the car and reacted less then positive to something she was told to do my friend hugs me and asks, “does this manners thing eventually get easier?”

Respect

We’ve always had strict rules in our house about respecting adults, treating others with respect and using manners whenever appropriate. I wish I could tell you that it is an easy thing to teach, but it isn’t. What I’ve found is that the best way to do it is repetition. You need to constantly remind them and eventually it’ll crack through and they will listen.

A zero tolerance policy is also important. You can’t bend or it won’t work. Even the littlest thing has to be reminded. I can’t tell you how many times at the dinner table over the course of a week I have to remind the kids to chew with their mouths closed. I do it every time though because I know they will get sick of hearing it (I did when growing up) and eventually it’ll build in them a hate for other people doing it as well. Some day I won’t have to remind them. It’ll become second nature to them.

Boys are extra tough in my mind because we have to teach them extra respect and values. I’m sure that is a little old fashion to say, but I firmly believe it. Case in point that one of my sons best friends is a girl. They are total buddies and one day at school she took his jacket during recess and he hit her on the arm. He got in trouble for this and was completely confused by it because similar things like this happen all the time with his male friends and no one gets in trouble.

It was the perfect time to start laying down the law on the level of respect you must show a woman. Again a zero tolerance policy when it comes to hitting women. Yes, this was a playful tap between two friends, but I want to make sure he knows the difference and he does now. But, again I didn’t just blow off this like I could have but used it as something to reinforce the respect factor.

I don’t have all the answers. I’m figuring this out day-to-day with the kids as we are living through it. But, this week with all these people making tons of money and being watched by the world behaving so poorly really tweaked me. Whenever I see other parents letting their kids run all over them that tweaks me as well.

The only way we are going to have a next generation of well behaved individuals is if they are raised to respect themselves and others and know the manners that are appropriate in each situation. Take the time. Be tough with your kids on this and don’t let them slip. When they do slip, make sure you are there to discipline and teach them so that it doesn’t happen again.

How are you teaching your kids manners and respect? Any secrets to help the rest of us out?

Raising Gatejumpers

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

I have always hated whenever someone told me “you can’t do that” or “that isn’t how it is done.” I never understood either of those concepts. Sure, there are rules in place to keep people safe and kids out of trouble, but beyond that if I want to do something and no one is going to get hurt by me doing it, I’ve always pushed to make it happen.

Now that I have children of my own, I’m trying to pass this mental approach along to them. It isn’t always fun because they openly challenge me on things and then I find myself in an interesting whirlwind that I know I helped create. But, part of me loves it when they do it and these situations always lead to great discussions and learning experiences for both of us.

Strong EmilyAlong with this, I don’t hand my kids anything on a silver platter. They have to work for it. Just the other day my daughter was complaining to me that she couldn’t accomplish a task correctly and was crying about it. I told her that she first needed to stop crying about it and try again. The only way she was ever going to learn how to do it correctly was to keep trying it until she mastered it. I believe that it is crucial that this be done because otherwise children will never learn that they have to keep pushing forward to be successful.

I recently listened to a conversation and was shocked to hear how held back some people are. Held back by themselves which is a concept I just don’t understand. It is a moment in time that has reminded me that the way I’m raising my children and the way that I hope other parents are raising theirs is the right way.

Parents need to make sure that they are raising children who know that they control their destiny more then anyone else. That there is no dream that is unattainable if you work hard enough at it. Years ago, I was told point blank that there was no way I’d get into Bentley by my guidance councilor and on the day that I got my acceptance letter I slapped it on her desk and walked out. When I first heard the phrase “that isn’t how a marketing agency works” I laughed and started my own agency. I’ve never been able to just sit back and not push forward if I want something bad enough. It just isn’t in my genes.

What I’m getting at is that you need to make sure that your kids realize that the only way to succeed in life is to always work hard, to be strong willed and be the best you can be at whatever it is that you are passionate about. Yes, there are going to be plenty of people standing in your way, telling you no and gates set up  to block them. But, I hope and pray that everything I’m doing with my kids is raising them to be a gatejumper who chases their dreams with every ounce of their soul.

“I can’t do it” is a phrase that is not allowed in my house. My children know that the world is theirs if they want it.

Being A Dad

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Being a good father is the single hardest thing a man can strive for in this world. It is also the most rewarding thing in life for a guy.

You’ll never hear me call being a father “a job” because it is so much more then that. It is a responsibility, a blessing and a great joy,but it is never ever a job.

likefatherlikeson

It is Father’s Day morning 2009 and as I read through the paper, quickly checked in online and watched the morning news I got very reflective about being a Dad. I’ve got Harry Chapin’s Greatest Stories Live playing on iTunes because it always makes me think of my Dad. I have fond memories of hearing this for the first time in the DIY installed tape deck my Dad had put in our blue pick up. He’d never consider himself a “maker” but looking back he sure does have a DIY streak that runs through him.

My Father was very active in my life (and still is). He was tough, but also allowed me to live. I try to remember that now with my kids. Letting them go out and make mistakes is a critical thing, but not an easy thing because you know they are going to get hurt, fail and struggle, but they need to in order to really make it in this world. The only way to learn how to pull yourself back up is if you fall down first.

I look around me and I see a million different ways to be a Dad. Not all I agree with, but you’ll never hear me question someone either. The reason we have so many different people in the world is why we have so many different Dads. I’ve always said that normal is boring and that holds true here. As long as a Dad is active in their child’s life, then how they do it I am not going to question. “To each their own…” is a saying my Dad taught me.

But, what does upset me is how Dads seem to get to play second fiddle in the parenting landscape for a lot of people and that is something I just won’t stand for. Yes, there are plenty of horrible and inattentive fathers out there, but they are not the only ones missing in some kids lives. Some people were just not made to be parents and that stretches beyond just guys.

So, today here on Father’s Day 2009 I really want to see all of us online fathers to band together and figure out how we can break the sterotype of the bumbling guy, laying on the couch, mowing the lawn and not doing that much more. Most of the Dads that I know are much more active then that and I want to figure out how we can work together to make that known by all. I don’t have all the answers, but I certainly know I want to see some change.

To all the Dads out there I want to wish you a very Happy Father’s Day. Sure, we don’t need a holiday, but the homemade gifts, silly poems and ties dure do make for a great morning. We celebrated with French Toast and this afternoon I’ll be going to the closing perfomance of my daughters play. Yesterday I got to see my father and my father-in-law. It has been a great weekend and I hope each of you is having as good of a day.

Work hard. Play harder. Be a great Dad!

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Father’s Day Gifts, Vol. 1

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Dad’s aren’t tough to buy gifts for, right? A tie, a Home Depot gift card, and a new barbecue utensil is all you need, right?

What about the Digital Dads?

While they spend plenty of time unplugged, there are plenty of Dads who enjoy their gaming or sports online, whether it be fighting alongside comrades from around the world, picking their fantasy league lineups, or following their favorite sports teams. With that in mind, there’s plenty of options for the Gaming Digital Dad.

  • Is Dad relying on ESPN or some other network to broadcast his favorite baseball team? Sign him up for MLB Extra Innings. It’ll get you every non-nationally televised game, many in HD, all the way through October. Also available: MLB.tv. Dad can watch any of those same games right online.
  • Does Dad have an iPhone? (No? Get him one! Then…) Steal it and download some great apps for him. Or load it up with some of his favorite tunes. He’ll appreciate that you managed to find all those old songs you don’t like. While you’re at it, get him some nice headphones so Mom doesn’t have to listen to them either.
  • Whenever you go to the movies, do you lose Dad in the arcade? The Playstation3 doubles as a Blu-Ray player. Not a bad excuse to upgrade from the old school DVD player and that ancient, dusty PS2. Or, get him a Nintendo Wii and politely mention all the old school games available through the Virtual Console.
  • Combine a couple of these music and video game ideas and introduce him to the wonderful world of Guitar Hero. You pick the platform, Dad picks the tunes. Fair trade.

Whatever you end up getting for your Gaming Digital Dad, you know he’ll appreciate it… until you wipe the floor with him on Expert mode. Take it easy on the old man, will ya?