I hold myself to a pretty high standard. I think every dad should. We have a very important job. But there are many, many times that I’ve messed up or let myself down by doing something boneheaded. But then there are these little moments where I surprise myself and think Hey, maybe I’ve got a handle on this. A few weeks ago was one of those moments. My son is in the thick of potty training....
The Child Tax Credit was a monthly payment program that was part of the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan. Implemented in March 2021, it provided monetary support to millions of American parents in the form of monthly payments of up to $350 a month per child, regardless of the parents’ work status and phasing out at higher incomes. In the first month that payments went out, the child poverty rate dropped by 26 percent....
The Puj Big Hug is a 100 percent cotton towel made specifically for children ages 2–8. (Puj makes one for infants, too, but unfortunately not one for larger kids: the Big Hug’s only downside is that it can gape by the neck on the 5 and ups). The towel is, well, a towel, but it has a large hood as well as two pockets (one Fatherly staffer’s toddler refers to these as “hand dents”) where kids can put their hands....
Holiday movies are useful because they’re so free of cynicism. Christmas is a time for everyone to put away all their anger and fear and instead come together to celebrate humanity’s shared bond and Christmas movies reflect, in turn, have to reflect that. And so they thrive on boundless enthusiasm and shameless sentimentality, viewing the world with a childlike innocence that promises an enticing sanctuary from the grim, mundane reality of everyday life....
When He Sings to Our Daughter “My husband doesn’t have a good voice. At all. And he’s not a very performative person. He’s not shy, per se, just not a tried and true extrovert. Now, he regularly sings to our 6-month-old daughter to make her smile or to calm her down. And, holy hell, it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen him do: Hold our daughter and make her feel safe and to not feel self-conscious about it at all....
“So, I’m 20 years old, I’m in my first car, I wanted to be in movies, I went to Hollywood,” Keanu told Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan. “And I get there and they’re like, ‘we wanna change your name.’” Keanu then revealed that one of the names he came up with was Chuck Spadina, which sounds like a character from one of the ’90s action blockbusters that he would later end up starring in....
As a parenting franchise, The Wonder Weeks clearly has staying power and unrelenting influence. But there’s a problem: The guide’s vision of child development is more convenient construction than scientific fact. Moreover, the man who developed The Wonder Weeks, Dr. Frans X. Plooij, has shielded his book from all sorts of questions surrounding the veracity of the underlying theory. He even went so far as to attempt to stop the publication of a study that challenged his work before he left academia....
Yes, without question. Here’s why you should care: Some of the most powerful muscles you have reside in your lower half (including your gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in your body). The leaner and stronger those muscles are, the more calories your body will burn at rest. Plus, stronger leg muscles equal better stabilization, meaning when you perform cardio, core, and even arm exercises, you can do so with greater effectiveness and less risk of injury....
So why did you decide to post the photo? Did you intend to get the response that you got? Initially, the picture was posted just to get a reaction from my family and my friends. The next morning I woke up and other sources had started to pick up the story. It overwhelmed me, initially. There were so many emails and text messages and phone calls. So many messages! There was a lot of support around the nation and around the world....
The unexpected celestial firework prompted over 320 reports to the American Meteor Society in a region that spanned from South Carolina to Chicago to southern Ontario. The preliminary trajectory computed based on those reports has the fireball traveling from South East to North West, ending its visible flight somewhere over North Benton, a township on the northern edge of Ohio. A fireball is defined as a meteor that is brighter than Venus when it enters Earth’s atmosphere....
My almost 3-year-old daughter inadvertently invented the game ⏤ or at least introduced it to me ⏤ by accidentally burying one of her snow shovels in our yard and then asking me to help find it. Not only was the shovel completely covered and almost undetectable, and thus took some time to even locate, but when we did, digging it up proved quite a thrill. It felt as if we had uncovered a historic discovery or hidden treasure, when really it was just a yellow plastic toy....
If you do want ice for cocktail hour or anything else, you don’t even have to stop at the store. The CFX3 is the world’s first electric cooler with its own ice maker inside. Dometic says ice cubes only take a few hours from scratch, so you’re good even if you don’t remember it until the last minute. At its most basic, the Dometic cooler is basically a refrigerator, only it’s a lot smarter....
The Joule is about half the size of most sous vide models so it tucks right into a kitchen drawer for easy use. You control it all from a smartphone app, whether you’re in the kitchen or across town at the supermarket. Tiny, powerful and roughly the size of can of White Claw, the sous vide can heat up water fast in whatever vessel you’re using: pasta pot, Dutch oven, or plastic tub....
Traditional 401k’s, Explained Traditionally 401k savings are distributed in periodic lump sums. Investors would log into their investment portal and request a withdrawal from their 401k account. The amount requested would be transferred and the remaining balance would remain invested and subject to fluctuations in the market. How Does the Guaranteed Income Direct platform Work? Under new annuities programs, investors designate a percentage of their balance to be turned into an annuity that is distributed in reliable monthly payments, much like the pensions of our grandparents....
Zojirushi NS-TSC10 Micom Rice Cooker and Warmer Zojirushi is well known for their rice cookers for a reason: they do what they do and they do it well. This rice- (and multi-) cooker has settings specific to different kinds of grains, and the lid and inner cooking pan are both detachable for easy cleaning. Made for more than just rice, it has a steaming basket to steam and a cake mode to bake cakes....
A Variety of Wolverine Boots Wolverine has been making quality footwear for more than 130 years. The brand has lasted this long because its boots and shoes have a reputation of doing the same. A great cost per wear that gets even better when you can snag a pair on sale. Right now, chukkas, Chelsea boots, and work boots are up to 55 percent off in at Nordstrom Rack. We’re big fans of this classic Brown pair of Chelsea boots, available at a 41 percent discount....
Which brings us to Lego’s modular playhouse. First off, we dig that it’s meant for younger kids (the box says age 2, but we think it’s more of a realistic fit for preschoolers who are able to concentrate for longer periods and thus put this thing together). The most innovative Lego sets are generally also the most difficult to build, so this set, as part of the Duplo line, really stands out....
But it’s time to rethink the dollhouse — because, parents, there’s a reason kids love them. First, dollhouses encourage open-ended pretend play, as kids act out things they see adults doing. Making dinner? Check. Sweeping the driveway? Check. Reading bedtime stories? Check. By reenacting scenes from daily life, they can start to make sense of the complicated, sometimes daunting world around them. Naturally, dolls live in the aforementioned dollhouses. Playing with dolls encourages kids to become nurturers....
RELATED: Most Coding Toys For Babies Are Bullshit, But That’s Totally Fine Designed by a father of three and former professor at the University of Minnesota, Turing Tumble looks like a Plinko board from The Price is Right. Colored marbles drop from the top and bounce their way to the bottom. Technically, though, it’s a mechanical computer powered by said marbles that a can count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide, among other functions....
Employing around 2,600 people, these 100 workplaces are the latest in a surge of companies either adopting or trialing a truncated work week, a practice that is sweeping the globe after successful trials worldwide. Proponents of the four-day week — and research on the trials — suggest the shorter week boosts employee morale, contributes to better work/life balance, and results in happier, more satisfied workers with no decrease in productivity or output....
