Tag Archives: fatherhood

4 Must-Haves for the Busy, On-The-Go Dad

Being a dad is tough work. Working, taking the kiddos to their activities, and still trying to find time for yourself is no easy task. And being on-the-go can become stressful and overwhelming if you aren’t prepared for the busy times you are going to encounter. So, how can you make your busy life a little easier? Well, you can make sure you have a few must-haves on hand to keep you going, organized, and ready to tackle whatever heads your way.

Sunscreen

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Though you may find yourself covered in dirt, grime, and gunk throughout your day, you want to be sure that you are protecting your skin as best as you can before you start your day. Wearing sunscreen is the best way to make sure you are protecting your skin and making sure it is healthy in the long run. Plus, when your kiddos see you put your sunscreen on, it is a great example to be setting for them when it comes to skin health and overall wellness. You can even make applying sunscreen a part of the family routine in the morning. That way everyone wins and has protected skin.

A new wallet

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A Ridge wallet is going to be a game changer for any man, but especially for a Dad that is always on the move. If you are always on the go, you don’t want to be carrying around too much or have a wallet that is bursting at the seams. A new wallet will help you keep only the essentials on you and not weigh your pockets down. Plus, since you have to carry your cards around, you might as well get something that you know will be worth it. Why wait for a wallet emergency to strike, upgrade now and save yourself from the future headache.

A hydration pack

If you are always on the move, it is highly likely that you aren’t going to be able to remember to carry your water bottle with you too. It will get left at the store, in the car, or at home, rendering them virtually useless. So, why not carry your water in an easy-to-wear hydration pack? Being dehydrated is a bad habit you need to kick. A hydration pack will make it so your water is always with you, you have extra room for your essentials, and you aren’t forgetting it at home or in the car. Plus, it makes it so much easier to hydrate on the go. You will wonder what took you so long to get one.

A hat collection

Like we mentioned before, protecting yourself from the sun is a vital aspect of being an on-the-go dad. And another way to protect yourself and your skin is by wearing a hat. Of course, there are tons of hats to choose from, so this is where you can let your creativity and fashion sense soar. You can have a nice everyday hat that can take you to the office or running errands, one that will help you best during outdoor activities like working out, or just an everyday baseball cap to sport your favorite team, for comfort and style. No matter what hat you choose, it is a must-have to keep you cool, calm, collected, and happy in even the most stressful Dad situations.

Alright, now listen, Dad. We know you spend most of your time caring for others. But, make sure that you are taking care of yourself sometimes too. Be sure you have a few of these must-haves ready to go, and you will be able to conquer it all… and then do it all again tomorrow.

Dad Detective: Do You Know Who Your Kids Are Hanging Around With?

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When our kids are younger, keeping on top of their friendships is as easy as turning up at the school gates and arranging a few playdates. But, as any parent of slightly older children or teens knows, this level of oversight into your child’s life and social habits certainly doesn’t last. Instead, they start shutting you out (both literally and figuratively) before you know it, and just like that, you realize that you don’t have the first clue about who they’re hanging out with, or what influence those people are having.

This is the most common cause of the notorious ‘bad crowd’ that so many teens find themselves in and, while most realize that these aren’t people they want to be spending time with, some don’t come out of the situation so easily. Rather, mistakes made to impress those bad apples, or even just guilt by association, could leave your child making terrible life choices, or even requiring defense lawyers for crimes that they’ve committed in the name of impressing those unknown friends. This is any parent’s worst nightmare, and not knowing either way can leave you entirely powerless. 

Luckily, while you can’t dictate who your kids socialize with as they grow, it is possible to keep some level of control, and making sure that you know precisely who they’re hanging out with is key. By this, we don’t mean that you dig and snoop to find information that your child isn’t willing to give you (that’s not going to help anyone.) Rather, there are some less-invasive, but equally efficient, ways to get a grasp on even an older child’s friendships group. And, we’re going to consider them here. 

Arrange group activities they can’t resist

In a general sense, your child will probably do everything they can to keep their friends away from you at this age. After all, this is the time where they’re learning about independence, and friendship vs home life can come to mean two very different things. 

Unfortunately, this segmented lifestyle approach leaves you entirely out of the loop, with no real idea if your child is surrounding themselves with positive influences or not. But, how exactly can you get an in-point without digging so hard that you cause those walls to grow ever more? 
In large part, you should find that facilitating activities that your kids and their friends can’t resist is the best thing here. Namely, offering your taxi services to events like music concerts can see you with a car filled with your child’s mysterious mates, just like that. Equally, allowing sleepovers, paying for movies, and or even taking them to amusement parks can provide you with an invaluable in-point that gives you at least a glimmer of this hidden social group, while keeping things fun and making you look like a ‘cool dad’ at the same time.

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Chat to the parents

Asking for the contact numbers of your child’s friends will probably get you laughed out the door, and definitely isn’t going to help you to understand who they’re with or what they’re doing at any given time. Still, when your child starts spending more time out of the house, potentially making mischief, it’s invaluable to have a point of contact that you can check in with if your fatherly concerns are on overdrive.

In many instances, getting friendly with the parents is your best chance at achieving this, and is something that you can achieve even if you don’t know your child’s friends as well as you might like. After all, even for teenagers, it’s not out of the question to ask to talk to their friend’s parents if they’re staying over/going somewhere together. What’s more, your teen is less likely to see this as an invasion because they still get to keep their actual friends well away. 

Luckily, in the vast majority of cases, you can tell a lot about a child and their values simply from speaking to their parents, so if you get warm vibes during a parental phone call, you can rest that bit easier. What’s more, having even this peripheral point of contact can help you to phone around if you’re ever worried or struggling to make contact with your child, and the parents can then ask their children all-important questions, etc. 

Talk to your child

If there’s one thing slightly older kids and teens like talking about, it’s their friends. After all, at this age, friendships groups are tighter than ever, and social life is everything. So, while your child might not be forthcoming about providing you with information, you should find that engaging them in this topic finally gets them to open up at least a little. 

The main thing here is to keep things general. After all, you don’t crucially need to know names, addresses, ages, but you do need to gather a general idea of who your child is spending time with, and what they do when they meet up. 

Leading questions like, ‘Do you and your mates like [enter activity here]?’ or ‘Oh, do you do that with your friends?’ could get things going, providing you with at least some peace of mind that, whoever your child is spending time with, they aren’t the mysterious, dark presence that they have been until now.

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A final word

Getting to grips with friendship groups can be undeniably challenging, especially as your child reaches their teen years, but there are ways to get a glimmer into that private life for peace of mind, or awareness of any issues. 

Do note, however, that banning all contact as soon as you sniff a ‘bad crowd’ is definitely not the way to go about things. If you do start noticing worrying signs, such as non-communicative parents or a worrying conversation during one of those tailored group trips, then simply know to keep an eye out, and continue steering your child in the right direction in the hopes that, no matter who they’re spending time with, they never forget the difference between right and wrong.

Want to embrace fatherhood? Here’s how vasectomy reversal can help!

Are you ready to have a kid? Do you want to handle that cute miniature self in your hands and kiss him/her all over? If yes, then it is a clear sign that you want to embrace parenthood and want to bring the littlest member of the family home.

But what if you had to undergo a vasectomy a few years ago, and now that you want to start a family, it is getting in your way. So, the best option for you to restore your fertility is to get it reversed. Yeah, you read that right. Now that medical science has achieved so much, it is a possible treatment that can help you restore your fertility and start a family.

Yes, we know what you are thinking. You might be having questions like “Can a vasectomy be reversed?” or “Will it affect the fertility process?” or “Will I be able to start a family after undergoing a vasectomy reversal treatment?” Well, the answer to all these questions is that after you get your vasectomy reversed, you’ll be able to start a family naturally, and everything will be the same before you got it in the first place.

Still, feeling confused? Here’s how Vasectomy Reversal can play a huge role in starting your family.

  • Your body never stopped producing sperms.

Generally, it is a common myth amongst the patients that since they’ve undergone the vasectomy, their body might have stopped producing sperms which is a primary element to make a baby.

But that’s not true. According to prominent health experts, your testicles were producing sperms even after a vasectomy; the only difference was that they didn’t make it out of the body. And now that you’ve opted for a reversal procedure, your normal fertility will be restored in no time, and in a week or two, you can even try again to get your partner to conceive.

Bonus Tip: It takes some time to get the fertility restored completely, so if you aren’t getting any of those positive pregnancy results, there is no need to panic. Just consult a specialist and keep trying.

  • High recovery and success rate

You’ll be surprised to know that the success rate of the vasectomy removal process is fairly high. According to a prominent surgeon, after this process, a patient can be discharged after 5-6 hours of clinical observation and is free to do their daily tasks as usual. This means that there is nothing to be stressed about this procedure.

You just need a perfect doctor that can help you at all levels. You can see more about why you should always go for an expert surgeon/doctor for this procedure. Yes, that’s right; having only theoretical knowledge doesn’t make anyone expert in this complex procedure. It needs years of experience and practice for a successful reversal procedure. Therefore, it makes sense to invest your time and trust the experts to achieve your dream of having kids.

Wrapping Up!

The major benefit of going for this reversal procedure is that it allows the couple to conceive naturally. Just trust your doctor and get your fertility restored in no time and be ready to welcome those cute little bundles of joy into your life.