The Dad Games challenged you for four weeks to be a “Gold Medal Dad.” Each week we provided a checklist of seven actions to help you connect with your family. The final week's challenge is Gold Medal Dads...Set Goals To Improve.
Over the last few weeks, you have been challenged to spend time connecting with your kids, working on your relationship with your spouse/mom of your children, affirming your children, and balancing work and family. Dads, after a month of challenges, you have gold medaled in fathering!
We hope as a result of the last month of challenges, you are a better family man than you were in June! It’s been a blast to be challenged, learn from other dads, and connect through The Dad Games. This closing week of The Dad Games ends on Tuesday August 21 and will be no different! Get details about The Dad Games 2012.
This week’s topic is Gold Medal Dads…Set Goals To Improve.
Get this week’s Gold Medal Dad checklist.
Now that you completed four weeks to fathering challenges. What does an Olympic athlete do? He or she continues training, right? Just as an athlete would do, we encourage you to keep training as a dad! We are here to help. We have one final week of ideas for how you can keep training for Team Dad!
The seven action steps for the final week of The Dad Games is as follows:
1) Identify areas of fathering where you are "winning gold:" Challenge yourself to write down what you are doing well. You have challenged yourself in The Dad Games, there must be something you are doing well. Write that down for this activity.
2) Identify area of fathering where you need to improve: Through the challenges, you may have found areas where you need to improve. Take time to consider areas you need improvement in and write those down for this step.
3) Set three goals to stay strong where you're already "winning:" You have your areas that you are doing well in as a dad. Take those areas and create specific and if possible numeric goals.
4) Set three goals to help yourself improve in weaker fathering areas: Like you did for areas you are doing well in, take the weaker areas and create specific and quantifiable goals.
5) Talk to your team (mom, kids, and other dads) about your goals: You now have your goals, take them and discuss them with your family and other dads. Look for people to come along and help you in areas where you are weaker. Seek out and learn from mentors. Don't wait for other dads to bring this topic up to you, they won't. Take the lead and talk openly about ways to improve as a dad.
6) Post your goals where you will see them and stay focused: Be intentional about keeping your goals in front of you. Take the effort to post your goals somewhere you will be reminded of them in the coming days.
7) Consider being a Double Duty Dad to a kid who needs a father figure: If you have completed all the challenges and created your goals, you are doing very well as a dad to your kids. You’re basically the greatest dad ever! Now, use those professional dad-skills on your community. NFI challenges you to find a child that may not have a father figure and be that influence for that child. Learn more about Double Duty Dad.
Question: What’s one area you are working on as a result of The Dad Games?
Reminder: To honor your efforts in The Dad Games, we're giving away prizes including sports memorabilia signed by celebrity athletes and free prize packs. How can you win?!
Enter by sharing your experiences and connecting with other dads on Facebook, Twitter (#DadGames12), and commenting on our blog (Get more info on how to enter here!).
Visit Gold Medal Dads…Set Goals To Improve for tips on training for Team Dad.
Week 2 is in the books and week 3 is here. We had a blast last Thursday as many dads joined our Twitter party with questions, answers, tips and advice. Join National Fatherhood Initiative (@TheFatherFactor) as we host a Twitter Party for week 3 with great prizes to get dads ready to Affirm Their Kids this week!
Get full details about The Dad Games 2012.
Join us tonight at 9PM EST as we share advice and tips for this week's topic of how to intentionally show and tell your children you love them.
An important part of being a Gold Medal Dad is affirming your child and showing affection. Showing affection and expressing praise may or may not come naturally to you, but it's important for your child to experience you demonstrating your love in visible, tangible ways. Affirmation from Dad plays a big role in shaping a child's self-confidence and attitude.
We are connecting at the party with the goal of learning from each other about how best to show our kids we love them and connect with them in an impactful way. It will be a fun time to connect and share ideas for dads of all ages who have children at all stages!
Last week's party was a great time to connect with other dads and be motivated to work through the action steps of the checklist. Remember, we're becoming Gold Medal Dads to our help impact our families.
This week’s topic is Gold Medal Dads…Affirm Their Kids.
Make sure you have our checklist with seven ideas of how you can work at your relationship.
Get this week’s Gold Medal Dad checklist.
During tonight’s Twitter party, we’ll walk through some of the challenges for the week and share stories and ideas of how to win Gold by being intentional about affirming and showing our affection to our children.
Bring your advice, tips and questions!
Be sure you’re following @TheFatherFactor and using the hashtag #DadGames12 for all your tweets.
Two prize winners will be selected from among Twitter party participants and notified at the close of party. Must be active at the party to increase your chances of winning!
What can you win? See the Dad Games prizes.
#DadGames12 Prize from Dove® Men+Care®:
Dove® Men+Care® celebrates men who are comfortable in their own skin and understand the importance of caring for themselves and others. One Twitter party participant will win an autographed sports item from a legend and the new collection of Dove® Men+Care® products to keep you literally comfortable in your own skin.
#DadGames12 Prize from Gillette:
Gillette has a series of limited edition Olympic-packaged products in suppport of their ongoing partnership with the Olympic Movement and their 25 Olympic athletes including Ryan Lochte and Tyson Gay. One Twitter party participant will win a gift package of Gillette’s Olympic-themed products - plus a fatherhood book from NFI.
Host: @TheFatherFactor
When: Thursday, August 2nd at 9PM EST
Hashtag: #DadGames12
Get next weeks Dad Games checklist directly in your email inbox by signing up for our Dad Email. Go Team Dad!
With week two of The Dad Games of 2012 is complete, and we are ready for week 3!
The Dad Games challenges dads to become “Gold Medal Dads” in five areas of fathering. Each week we provide Dad's with a checklist of seven actions to take in order to connect with the family. This week's challenge is Gold Medal Dads...Affirm Their Kids.
An important part of being a Gold Medal Dad is affirming your child and showing affection. Showing affection and expressing praise may or may not come naturally to you, but it's important for your child to experience you demonstrating your love in visible, tangible ways. Affirmation from Dad plays a big role in shaping a child's self-confidence and attitude.
To honor your efforts, we're giving away prizes including sports memorabilia signed by celebrity athletes and free gift packs of men's skin care products. Learn more about the prizes here.
We're challenging you to take the seven challenges this week to show (and tell) your kids you love them.
How can you win?!
You enter to win by sharing your experiences and connecting with other dads in The Dad Games on Facebook, Twitter, and commenting on our blog (Get more info on how to enter here!).
Subsribe to the Dad Email™ and get The Dad Games weekly checklist in your inbox.
Question: In your experience, what must you do to show (and tell) your kids you love them?
Visit Gold Medal Dads…Affirm Their Kids for tips on how you can affirm and show affection to your kids intentionally this week.
Remember to share and connect with other dads this week on the blog, Facebook and Twitter (#DadGames12).
As week two of The Dad Games draws to a close and week three begins (tomorrow), we take a moment to look back over a busy week at how we competed in Week 2: Gold Medal Dads…Communicate With Mom challenge. We dads have shared stories and been challenged to communicate with our wives and the mothers of our children in a more intentional and impactful way. We hope you enjoyed this week and were challenged as you connected with your spouse/former spouse using our checklist. It’s been another busy week, but as we close week two, we look back over the highlights from our social platforms to see how other dads are being challenged with The Dad Games the same as you.
Let these dads encourage you to get involved with The Dad Games. There’s three weeks left! But more importantly, be inspired to spend intentional time with you kids and family. Below are highlights from week 2:
What Gold Medal Dads Are Saying on the Blog
“Wonderful reflections! Thank you! One of the programs our agency facilitates is "Cooperative Co-Parenting" for divorcing couples. If only these couples addressed the healthy of their relationship before it was too late! It's critical to keep those connections fresh and loving day by day!” –Jan from The Parenting Network
“My wife and I have been married for 6 years and together for 12 years this September. First and foremost, we are best friends. I can say that honestly. Second, we talk and respect each other. We know each other's buttons and we try not to touch them during disagreements. That is huge in my son's life and will continue to be a big influence on his future relationships. As hard as it might seem, your wife comes first. After God, of course.” –Maury from Gold Medal Dad
What Gold Medal Dads Are Saying on Facebook
“You know you are a daddy when you stop watching the opening Olympic ceremony to go read a Dr. Seuss book to your loving daughter when she is calling you to read to her… ‘The Nose Book’” Allan Mendez
“Alot of good ideas here…As far is my advice...it's the little things that count. My wife most appreciates signs of affection, gentle touches throughout the day, hand squeeze, hugs for no reason…It keeps us close. Plus it's good for the children to see their parents expressing that closeness.” Jay Viviano
“You have to make it clear to your kids that they are important, but your wife (husband) are first. We still have date nights. I count down the time the kids have left before they move out.” Charles McKay
What Gold Medal Dads Are Saying on Twitter
“Does shoe shopping count as time together? : ) We have been looking for hours.” #DadGames12 via Chris Delgado (@cdel58)
“Gold medal dad weekly activity 2. Had a date night last night going to see batman and dinner with my wife.” #DadGames12 via @TheDadpreneur
“Marriage retreat will score you 100+ man points.” #DadGames12 via Jason Bruce (@JasonBruce)
Go Team Dad!
Week 2 may be drawing to a close but you can join us for Week 3! Stay tuned for more information as we challenge you to be a Gold Medal Dad by Affirming Your Kids!
What did you find most difficult about this week’s challenge?
Don’t forget to sign up for our Dad Email to get the weekly checklist.
Visit The Dad Games of 2012 for tips on how you can connect with your family.
Remember to share and connect with other dads on the blog, Facebook and Twitter (#DadGames12).
This is a guest post by Dave Taylor. If you would like to guest post on this blog, email us here.
The “fantasy divorce” is that you and your partner come to a point in your lives when you realize you're just not happy, things just aren't going very well, and it would be in the best interest of your spouse and child(ren) to get a divorce and split into two separate households. In this “fantasy divorce” you'll still remain friends because you have this big life-long job of parenting that's not going to stop just because one of you leaves the house. As the years go by, you find there are things about the other person you remember you like and admire, and even when there are new partners added, you're all one big happy extended family and the kids grow up surrounded by peace, love and harmony…
…on the other hand, my experience has definitely not fit that “fantasy divorce” image…
By the time my wife and I decided to divorce, we'd been separated for almost a year. We then went through an incredibly difficult and contentious divorce where she had my business audited, we accused each other of being poor parents and various other things that demonstrate just how much we were both hurting -- things that were quite the opposite of the halcyon image suggested above. Mediators threw up their hands and quit on us, lawyers resigned after documents were signed, but we struggled through, trying to convince ourselves that it wasn't going too badly and since we both had the best interests of the children in mind, after all, somehow it would all end well.
Zoom forward three more years and I'm the statistically unlikely divorced dad who is highly involved with my children and we've settled on a schedule where our three kids are with me more than they are with their mom. There's still a lot of water flowing under the bridge, and there are still things we dislike about each other both as people and as parents, but we're trying to make it work.
So how the heck do we co-parent, and how do we keep the lines of communication open so we can have important discussions about our teen daughter, or our tween son's desire to be treated as if he's a high school senior, or our youngest (almost 9) and her fears around bedtime, not to mention the million day-to-day issues that crop up?
For us, it's worked out that we rarely if ever talk face-to-face, even at pick up/drop off, but instead use text messaging for immediate logistics -- "be there in five!" "do you know where their bike helmets are?" -- and email for more involved discussions, trying our very best to not judge each other, not criticize each other, and just stay focused on the topic at hand.
The myth of "walking away" from a relationship and moving to the next one, the lovely image of "turning a page" to a "new chapter" in your life, is great intention, but the reality is there are a lot of shared experiences with your former spouse, experiences that are expanded each and every time you have to communicate about your children and your co-parenting strategy, something that for us happens about every 2-3 days, and even more frequently during the school year.
With that much communication, I have no expectation that it'll be perfect and I'm not surprised when snark or petty criticism creeps in the messages I get from my ex. I expect I do the same. We're getting better, almost five years after we went our separate ways, but it's a long journey and I think it's important to recognize that our all-too-human foibles and weaknesses are just part of being an adult, a parent, and that if we have best intention and can endeavor to forgive the other person for being who they are - for better or worse - then we can proceed with the incredibly important job of co-parenting our beautiful children and making new lives for ourselves, without the ex being an invisible ball and chain around our ankles.
I don't have a perfect solution for communicating with your ex about your children; or how to create a healthy and mature arms-length partnership with them. There are reasons you got divorced, after all, and there's nothing more difficult than parenting, except perhaps parenting when the kids bounce between two households that are inevitably going to be different in rules, schedules and expectations.
Perhaps the real secret? Keep your attention on your children and keep a sense of humor about everything. Those wee ones are surprisingly resilient and odds are very good they'll grow up to be lovely adults so long as they grow up with an involved father.
What’s the best advice you ever received about communicating with your spouse/former spouse about parenting?
Visit Gold Medal Dads…Communicate with Mom for tips on how you can connect with your wife and/or the mother of your children. Remember to share and connect with other dads this week of The Dad Games on the blog, Facebook and Twitter (#DadGames12).
This is a guest post by Dave Taylor. Dave writes about life as a single father when he's not mired in the chaotic lives of his three children. Read Dave’s blog and follow him on Twitter. If you would like to guest post on this blog, email us here.
photo credit: Manu gomi
This is a guest post by Jordan Richmond. If you want to guest post on this blog, email us here.
- “A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.” –Woody Allen
On most mornings my wife gets up with the boys (we have 3 under age four) while I get ready for work. We have coffee together - well actually - in the same vicinity would be a better way to describe it. The boys are usually making a mess, crying, or fighting. We take turns refereeing. It’s chaotic, stressful, and a ton of fun. We’re like many families.
But on a particular morning not long ago, Heather and I had a little extra time to reconnect. I could tell something was bothering her, so I tried asking some probing questions. Her responses surprised me. There were no major marital issues, but she was empty and overwhelmed. I appeared distant. We love each other, but it’s not always felt.
Here are a few takeaways from that morning.
1) Don’t assume everything is alright.
Marriages cannot be lived in the neutral zone. You are either growing together or apart. If you’re not sure, and if you haven’t asked the hard questions in a while, I can confidently say you’re drifting apart. Address the issues now.
2) Give physical touch with no strings attached.
You know what I mean guys. Here’s the catch - even if you are just being sweet, she may not know it. If other areas of your marriage are suffering, your well-intentioned physical touch may be perceived as having a hidden motive. Don’t let resentment creep into your marriage.
3) Have regular date nights.
I’m a recovering failure in this department. Have a date - just because. Don’t make it an add-on to something else. Get a sitter, don’t talk about the kids, and court your wife again. No one will do it for you and it’s your fault if it doesn’t happen. Do it this week.
What advice would you give to dads trying to protect their marriage?
Visit Gold Medal Dads…Communicate with Mom for tips on how you can connect with your wife and/or the mother of your children. Remember to share and connect with other dads during week two of The Dad Games on this blog, Facebook and Twitter (#DadGames12).
This is a guest post by Jordan Richmond. Jordan is the worship pastor of Cayman Islands Baptist Church in beautiful Grand Cayman. Jordan is also a recording artist and family man. He and his wife Heather have been married 6 years and have 3 sons: Kal, Rees, and Zann. If you want to guest post on this blog, email us here. [Photo credit: Poppy Wright]
Week 1 is in the books and week 2 is here. We had a blast last Thursday as many dads joined our Twitter party with questions, answers, tips and advice. Join National Fatherhood Initiative (@TheFatherFactor) as we host a Twitter Party for week 2 with great prizes to get dads ready for Communicating with Mom this week!
Get full details about The Dad Games 2012.
Join us tonight at 9PM EST as we share advice and tips for this week's topic of how to connect with your wife and the mother of your children.
Last week's party was a great time to conenct with other dads and be motivated to work through the action steps of the checklist. Remember, we're becoming Gold Medal Dads to our help impact our kids, our wives/kids’ moms and our family.
This week’s topic is Gold Medal Dads…Communicate With Mom.
Make sure you have our checklist with seven ideas of how you can work at your relationship.
Get this week’s Gold Medal Dad checklist.
During tonight’s Twitter party, we’ll walk through some of the challenges for the week and share stories and ideas of how to win Gold by connecting with your spouse or the mother to your kids.
Bring your advice, tips and questions!
Be sure you’re following @TheFatherFactor and using the hashtag #DadGames12 for all your tweets.
Two prize winners will be selected from among Twitter party participants and notified at close of party. Be active at the party to increase your chances of winning!
What can you win? See the Dad Games prizes.
#DadGames12 Prize from Dove® Men+Care®:
Dove® Men+Care® celebrates men who are comfortable in their own skin and understand the importance of caring for themselves and others. One Twitter party participant will win an autographed sports item from a legend and the new collection of Dove® Men+Care® products to keep you literally comfortable in your own skin.
#DadGames12 Prize from Gillette:
Gillette has a series of limited edition Olympic-packaged products in suppport of their ongoing partnership with the Olympic Movement and their 25 Olympic athletes including Ryan Lochte and Tyson Gay. One Twitter party participant will win a gift package of Gillette’s Olympic-themed products - plus a fatherhood book from NFI.
Host: @TheFatherFactor
When: Thursday, July 26 at 9PM EST
Hashtag: #DadGames12
To get next weeks Dad Games checklist directly to your email inbox, sign up for our Dad Email. Go Dads!
With one week of The Dad Games of 2012 under our belts, we're ready for week 2!
In case you missed the first week, the Dad Games challenges you to be a Gold Medal Dad in five areas of fathering. Each week we're giving Dad's a checklist of seven actions to take in order to connect with the family.
To honor your efforts, we're giving away prizes from our corporate partners, including sports memorabilia signed by celebrity athletes and free gift packs of men's skin care products. Learn more about the prizes here.
You can enter to win by telling us about your experiences in The Dad Games on Facebook, Twitter, and commenting on our blog (Get more info on how to enter here!).
This week, The Dad Games challenges you to be a Gold Medal Dad by Communicating with Mom. We're challenging you with seven actions you can take to connect with your wife/kids' mom.
Whether you are married or not, it's important to invest in communicating with the mother of your children. When it comes to parenting, it's important your kids see you have a healthy relationship with their mom.
As we go through this week's challenge, we'll talk about marriage and divorce. We have a guest blog planned from a happily married Dad who will discuss relationship struggles with his wife and adjusting to children. We also have a guest blog planned from a single dad. He will give tips and advice on how to handle parenting when couples are separated by divorce.
For some, this may be your week to change how you relate to your ex-wife. As you read through the steps as a married person or not, us Dads will have to be creative in how to apply each of these steps. It will be work.
Use our Facebook and Twitter platforms to connect with other Dads and talk through the action steps. This is a week to get better. For some, this may be a week to start over from scratch in how you have been dealing with your child's mom. Either way, get creative and be intentional in how you connect with your wife and/or the mother of your children.
We'll help with ideas later in the week for each action step, so stay tuned. This will be a tough but rewarding week for married and divorced dads alike.
Are you ready for this week's challenge?
Visit our Communicating with Mom page for more information and to get this week's checklist.
We had a blast sharing stories and being challenged to spend time with our kids this week. We hope you connected with your children throughout our challenge.
Through our blog, Facebook page and Twitter stream, we not only connected with our children, we connected with other dads.
Dads, we can be intentional and spend quality and quantity time with our children. We can make an impact on our kids' lives.
It’s been a busy week. Check out hightlights of what dads who are competing in The Dad Games are saying! Below is a snapshot of the first week. Remember, you can join at any time!
What Dads Are Saying on the Blog
Spent the day with my daughter today. Went to lunch, spent time reading at the local bookstore and pre-shopping at the mall for back to school. --Sean Nixon
Camping is a great way to spend time with your children. There are a variety of cool aspects to camping, allowing you to explore with you kids and do things together. You can really connect with your child during this time of relaxation and enjoyment. I know from first hand experience. I've been camping with my own kids for several consecutive years now. It's a blast! --Dan Rayner
I recently purchased kayaks for myself, my wife and my nine-year-old daughter. For quality time with my daughter, I took her to the nearby lake and we spent the afternoon kayaking and talking. She loved the exercise and I loved the small talk with my little girl. --Chuck Wooddy
Love the idea of the 2012 Dad Games! Had a ball yesterday riding the go-kart, bike riding, reading, etc. Summer has been great overall, but it's nice to have the "challenge" placed in front of me as well as other Dad's. --Tim Myers
Dad Games 2012. Great idea to inspire us guys to be better fathers. My little girl is 1. I read a couple of books to her today. The most important time to me is when we both can take a nap together during the day. Lets do work DADS!! --Robert Witcher
My son and I have colored, played Batman, fixed the kitchen tile in my grandfather's house, read a few books, and the week ain't over yet. :) Thanks for the fishing tips. My son is afraid of pretty much every animal so fishing is a no-go for a while anyway. –Maury Wood
What Dads Are Saying on Facebook
I am a single dad. My daughter is 12 years old for the last 4 years she has been doing fundraising to help kids go to church camp. This past sat. 7/14 she did a car wash we washed cars for 4hrs in june she did a garage sale and bake sale this is how we spend a lot of our time and the hard work of helping others it is fun to help my daughter do what makes her fill good. --Doug Tripp
I've taken four of my children to work with me on my side job this week so I can spend some time with them and so they can see what a hard days work is. --Billy D Vickers
Me, my son, and my daughter a ping pong table on Friday. Saturday we went to the circus in the morning and then went straight to Splashtown waterpark right after. We had such a wonderful time! --Matt Taylor
My daughter Savannah and I spent all weekend at a Girls Scout camp for Girl Scouts and their family members. We rode horses, hiked, did crafts, archery, low ropes, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was one of the best times ever!!!!! --Mike Parish
Yes, from bringing them to work to having "special lunches" while @ work to fun dinners, late night dips in the pool . Movies ordering pizza late at night to all falling asleep together on the same couch.. Loved every second of it! --Will Hamilton
Not this week but last week was great, went home on a pass before I deploy to spend 4 days with my little girl. I took her and my niece swimming 2 days, ate together everyday, took some naps and held her close, seen the new Ice Age movie and spent every moment I was there with her. I can't wait to get back to her! --Lee Whited
What Dads Are Saying on Twitter
Told wife my main goal is to make her happy. She said 1 of the best things I've ever said. Show kids u love mom. #DadGames12 @maurydwood2
I took my daughter to a movie and then bowling.....but we play xbox daily #DadGames12 @chefydaddy
Saturday mornings we go get bagels and give Mom the morning off! #DadGames12 @bfalvey
I was missing too much so left high-paying job so could work part-time & spend more time raising my kids #dadgames12 @GeekDad248
Making up dance moves to songs like Call Me Maybe in our chairs once dinner is done. #DadGames12 @cdel58
Meal time is our listening and giggling time. 3.5yr old tells antics of day. Sometimes tattles on herself #Dadgames12 @jon_wilke
My son and I read a National Geographic Kids magazine last night and a dinosaur alphabet book #DadGames12 @candyland0606
Singing The Duck Song with my kids. Grand time quacking together before bed time #DadGames12 @JasonBruce
Getting spanked by my kids in UNO. #DadGames12 @ctramosono
Great job, Dads! Keep up the good work!
Week 1 may be over, but you can still join us for Week 2! Stay tuned for more information as we challenge you to be a Gold Medal Dad by Communicating with Mom!
Don’t forget to sign up for our Dad Email to get this week’s checklist. Then share how you’re competing with other dads during the week.
I cheapened fishing for my daughters. New Dads, learn from my mistake. Don't use artificial bait on your first fishing trip with your kids. I don't know what I was thinking. In my attempt to curb drama and avoid the Sanders Beauties seeing a nightcrawler and jumping headfirst into the lake, my girls’ interest in fishing may be forever scarred.
From now on, when I take the girls fishing, they will get the full fishing experience. They will use real worms. This way, even if no fish are caught, they will still remember something interesting about the experience.
This was the first fishing trip with my two young daughters. We picked our spot on the dock and started readying ourselves to fish. Then came the ducks. Except to call these ducks “ducks” isn’t descriptive enough. Let’s call them “starving ducks.” So the starving ducks, no sooner than we sat down with our fishing gear, headed our way from the center of the lake.
Not only were these ducks starving. They were large. When I say “large” I mean the size of my second-born. These large, starving ducks decided we weren’t feeding them at the correct pace and jumped on the dock to eat our breadcrumbs faster, or eat my youngest daughter. Either way, after all the duck commotion, my five-year-old had readied herself to make her first cast.
To be sure Bella knew how to cast, I did a practice cast to show her how a professional does it. On that cast, something broke inside the fishing pole and the hook landed on the side of the dock. Five minutes in and we have starving, large ducks on the attack and a broken fishing pole…nice.
After spending a good 10 minutes (reminder: 10 minutes is 100 minutes in toddler time) dissembling and dissecting the Shakespeare Barbie Fishing Pole, we have working fishing poles and the ducks are starting to scatter. I didn’t get video, but Bella’s first cast was video worthy. Her cast was absolutely breath-taking; just like she had practiced in our house (yeah, that’s a separate blog post).
No sooner than the floater-thingy landed on the water, the starving, large ducks decided to try and eat my second-born. Now, no ducks were harmed on this fishing trip, but I may have cast in their direction a few times, to keep them safe. My youngest called it “hitting the ducks on the head” but I promise the number of duck heads hit on my watch was zero.
Maybe 10 minutes goes by, we get zero bites. The ducks were starving but the fish weren't. The duck-drama has mellowed out and boredom begins to seep in.
Dads of older kids, perhaps you’ve forgotten, but a five-year-old and a two-year-old at a lake with fishing poles doesn’t mathematically work unless something interesting is happening. If nothing interesting -- like catching fish -- is happening, the kids get bored really quickly and start thinking of things to toss in the body of water appearing in front of them.
In an effort to keep the intensity and interest up about actually fishing in the lake instead of wanting to swim or toss objects in the lake, we decide to locate a second port of call on the lake. We find this great wooden dock. It’s perfect. Gabby learns to cast like her sister. Well, sort of; she caught the wooden dock and nearly submerged her fishing pole. She's the only one who can say she caught something on this trip.
The story doens't end there. On the return walk home, I’m carrying fishing poles and my wife wants to exchange fishing poles so I can carry our youngest. In our exchange, my wife gets pierced in the hand with both hooks from the fishing poles. Thus making our perfect fishing trip even better.
Once home and settled, the conversation with my five-year-old went like this:
Me: “Bella, did you have fun fishing?!”
Bella: “It wasn’t so great. It was boring.”
Me: “Did you like anything about fishing?!”
Bella: “No.”
That was the entire conversation. Maybe the evening would have been better spent watching Ice Age for the fifty-eleventh time. Bella was “bored” and we didn’t catch anything but bug bites, a wooden deck and mommy’s hand. But as the wise man Trace Adkins sings about spending time fishing with his young daughter, “...she thinks we're just fishing.”
I’m glad my wife and I managed to keep a five- and two-year-old dry and alive on our first fishing trip. Aside from Bella having a “not so great” time (as evidenced by the smiling picture above) and my lovely wife suffering minor injuries. We spent time connecting and creating a memory that will last for years. I agree with Mr. Adkins on fishing, “I better do this every chance I get...'cause time is ticking.”
But next time I'll remember -- take the nightcrawlers, leave the fake bait.
What did you do this week to connect with your kids?
This fishing trip was part of week one’s challenge to Gold Medal Dads to "Spend Time With Their Kids" from The Dad Games 2012.