Preparing your kids for that first job interview
Preparing your kids for that first job interview I have two older sons that are both old enough to be working. One of the things as a dad that might not cross your mind is how to prepare your kid for a job interview. In some cases maybe your kids don’t need to work or don’t want to work. But my kids all seemed to want to have a job so they could have money and eventually support themselves. This got my wheels turning on the interview process. It has been a while since I interviewed for a job, but I have interviewed several candidates for positions with my company so I have noticed a few things. Here is my advice for my kids when they go to a job interview. How to Dress First impressions in interviews are everything. My boys would wear shorts or sweatpants and crocs year…
What every kid needs to hear from their father
What every kid needs to hear from their father Every child deserves love. And every child deserves love from their father. How as a father do we show love? One of the best ways to show our love is the words we speak into our children’s lives. They can be words of affirmation, it can be a simple “I love you”, or it can be correction for bad behavior. I recently asked this question in a “Dads” group on Facebook. What is something you feel every child deserves to hear? Here are some of my favorite responses I got to my question along with my comments. “I love you” People may think this is the obvious answer as it was the most popular response. And it is. But you would be surprised how many children don’t hear this. And if they do hear it they don’t hear it often enough.…
My favorite fictional dads
My favorite fictional dads Over the years dads in tv shows and on movies are portrayed typically as lovable idiots who usually mess things up or are totally clueless. Even though I cringe at that stereotype almost every dad knows there is a little truth to that. We are lovable idiots and we do mess up things all the time. But we love our kids and would do anything to make them happy. Throughout the years of watching tv and movies I have found some fictional dads that I just have fell in love with. Some of these fictional dads on this list probably wouldn’t win any dad of the year awards. But they are some of my favorite fictional dads. Clark Griswold (Lampoons Vacation) Clark Griswold is a true family man. He is a huge goofball and always finds ways to get himself in trouble. But one thing is…
Easy tips to help save money when buying a home
Easy tips to help save money when buying a home At some point in your life as a dad you may have to consider buying a home. I have been told all my life that buying a home is a smarter choice then renting. But after owning two different houses I begin to wonder if renting would not have been the better route. Yes, you build equity in your house but after accounting for the money you pay for your mortgage, property taxes, utilities, and maintenance it may not seem like such a value over renting and just paying rent and maybe a few utilities. But in some markets the rent may be inflated because of certain market conditions so the best move for your family might be to take the leap and invest in a house. One of the biggest costs with buying a home that I have found…
10 Great Indoor Activity Ideas For Kids
10 Great Indoor Activity Ideas For Kids Rain, rain, go away come again another day. Or maybe it is snow, snow, go away come again another day. Here in the Midwest you never know what the weather will be like in the winter. It could be 60 and sunny on a Monday, and then 20 and snowing Tuesday morning. There is a saying that if you don’t like the weather in the Midwest just wait a few minutes and it will change. If you have kids in your house what do you do when that rain, rain won’t go away? You could always plop them down in front of some cartoons but where is the imagination in that? How about some indoor activity ideas to keep them busy and entertained? Here are some ideas for some indoor activities for kids that are sure to bring your family together and help…
Maximizing your child’s scouting experience
Maximizing your child’s scouting experience Through the years I have done just about everything related to scouting. I have been a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Eagle Scout growing up. As an adult I have been a den leader, cub master, and adult helper with my kids. The one thing I have always noticed is the kids that stick with it and succeed in scouting typically have parents that are involved all the way. The boys that have parents who just drop them off and pick them up usually were less likely to advance and usually they would drop out. I have always seen scouting as a family affair. And as a dad I felt it was my obligation to help out and be involved any way I could. Whether it was volunteering to help during a fund raiser or if it was to step up and become a leader. Here…
Why you should consider Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate
Why you should consider Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate is an offering from Microsoft for Xbox One users and PC users. It combined the Microsoft Game Pass and Microsoft Xbox Live Gold into one offering and one price. So with this new service you get the benefits of Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass. If you have an Xbox One and have gamers in your house you should definitely consider purchasing the Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate. What is Microsoft Game Pass? Microsoft Game Pass was launched in 2017 for the Xbox One ecosystem. The idea is a Netflix like service for gaming. You pay a monthly fee and with that fee you get digital access to about 100 games. You can download and play any of those games as long as your Microsoft Game Pass subscription was still active. Most of the games that Microsoft created were…
Simple Back To School Tips For 2021
Simple Back to School Tips for 2021 2020 for most people was a year to forget. It was a year full of lockdowns, sickness, frustration, working from home, schooling from home, and even in some cases unexpected family loss. For those that had to do the whole schooling from home this was a new experience and presented a long list of hurdles. Trying to juggle working from home and helping with schoolwork. Or maybe you had to go to work and deal with the school work after you got home. But now that we have a vaccine and more and more people have already experienced this virus, here is to hoping we can get back to some normalcy in 2021. A new year brings new hope. And a new year also brings kids having to return back to school. Some states are allowing kids to go back with little to…
Our 2020 Brocation
Our 2020 Brocation Every year my 3 sons and myself set out for an annual brocation. Typically my wife has to work right before school starts so the boys and I go on a short vacation with just the guys (hence the term brocation). For the brocation we try to keep it cheap, we drive in a cost efficient car to save gas, we brown bag breakfast and lunch when possible, try to do outdoor locations that are free or inexpensive, and stay in cheaper hotels or camp out. In recent years my oldest son is working a job that he doesn’t get a lot of time off so we have been traveling to his house and making his house the brocation base. This year we just traveled a few hours from his house to the south/southeast part of Kentucky in the Cumberland region. Cumberland Falls Our brocation started just…
Fishing trip essentials
What you need to fish In my previous post Take A Kid Fishing I discussed the benefits of taking your kids fishing. In this post I would like to provide a fishing trip essentials list to help you prepare for you fishing trip. There is nothing more frustrating then taking a kid fishing and you just don’t catch a single fish and most of the time the reason you don’t catch a fish is you don’t have the right equipment. It can be discouraging not only for you the parent but also for the kids. And if they get discouraged they may just give up after one fishing trip. Be prepared When you decide to embark on a fishing trip the first rule to follow when catching a fish is to be prepared. Make sure you have everything you need to catch a fish before you head out. If you get to…