Scared the S*** Out of Me

My seven-year-old takes karate. Makes him feel invincible. Him: “Don’t worry. If a bad guy comes, I know karate.” Me: “I still want you where I can see you.” Him: “Don’t worry. I know karate.” Me: “What if three bad guys come?” Him: “That’s ok. I can do my ‘tornado kick.’” I think when kids […]

2:58 a.m.

… and I’m sound asleep. “Joey? The dog.” I hate this. But I don’t fight it. My wife needs her sleep. And I can usually fall right back to sleep. The dog bolts out the front door. I wait. Nothing. “Brooklyn!” “Brook!” Five minutes. Ten. Finally the dog resurfaces. By now, I’ve complained about him […]

It’s the WAY you said it!

My son came downstairs, crying. “I don’t even know WHY I got punished!” “Well, what did you say?” I asked. “I said, ‘Well, that’s ok, your chores are small.’” (That was out of context for me but I know Beth doesn’t give arbitrary punishments.) So I asked, “Would you like to learn something?” Words, tone, […]

When Your Child Says “I’m Bored!”

“I’m bored!” “I don’t know what to do!” “I’m sooo bored! This is boring!!” What to do when your child is bored When I was younger I learned, “It’s good to be bored. It teaches you patience. There will be times in your adult life when you are bored and there will be no one […]

Toys Aren’t Us: 3 Reasons My Wife Will Never Shop At Toys R Us Again

We’ve spent our last Christmas shopping at Toys ‘R Us. Beth came home this year and, holding a receipt in her hand, declared, “I’m never shopping at Toys R Us again.” She went on (I’m transcribing in the first person): 1) That partial refund debacle. I had a Toys R Us credit card and would […]

If your child likes video games …

… then you MUST see if there is a GameTruck franchise serving your market. I showed my eight-year-old the video below and he went nuts. “How many days until my birthday?!” he exclaimed. I met the “GameTruck guy” at a networking event and became friendly with him. [Disclosure: I helped him with marketing ideas so […]