Twitter is a social media platform that may seem to be primarily made up of confusing memes and wild youths, but there are a lot of cool parents on there, too. Or at least we think we’re cool. Dads use Twitter to share the funny, silly, frustrating, and truthful events that happen in their lives. Some of them are famous. Some of them are Twitter-famous. Some of them are both....

Which bag you select is a matter of size, temperature rating, and comfort. If you’re within walking distance from the car, you can go heavier, but if the nearest road is miles down single track, favor weight and packability. Finally, consider shape, which affects how much room your child will have to wriggle during late-night ghost stories. The way to nurture a lifelong camper is to ensure he or she isn’t traumatized during those first experiences in the backcountry or campground, and a good children’s sleeping bag is the first step in a lifetime of nights spent outdoors....

The Yeti Tundra cooler holds 45 cans of beer and 55 pounds of ice. Empty, it weighs 37 pounds, so you get a definite workout toting it around. I took the Yeti cooler to a volleyball tournament in New Jersey, out in the field. The weather was about 80 degrees and sunny. I filled the cooler with a couple of bags of ice, and a 24 pack of beer, plus a couple of water bottles....

“When they show you they have an interest in games with rules, you can gradually introduce the idea of turn taking and what the rules are, but most 3-year-olds only last one turn and wander off,” cautions Julia Luckenbill, the program coordinator at the Center for Child and Family Studies at UC Davis. “I had the most success with my daughter when she was 3, in the game of Count Your Chickens, because we were doing teamwork, and we made the odds good so that together we always won, meaning she didn’t need to both regulate strong emotions and follow directions at the same time....

Sure, forts can serve as life-sized booby traps, as any irritated adult tripping over one can attest, but fort building also encourages open-ended imaginative play, letting children make up their own stories and worlds. Forts give kids a sense of privacy and control. When they build them together, children learn how to collaborate and negotiate social rules. Plus, all the pedagogy aside, forts are just damn fun. Even better than putting one together?...

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If you followed the Oscar clusterfuckeroo, you know that a month worth of Twitter bickering was followed by a Kevin Hart non-apology for homophobic jokes and an offer to host the 2019 Oscars getting rescinded. This is not an article about that. Much has been written about that and there are some good articles. I’m not rehashing those here because non-culture vultures often don’t care (even if they maybe should) and the people who care tend to consume art in the context of controversy (even if they maybe shouldn’t)....

The best cooking aprons certainly do this, but they also fit comfortably, stay secure without impeding your movements, and provide space for your most-used tools. In short, the best aprons make you more efficient and empowered in the kitchen. Whether you prefer a full or half apron, something soft, or a stiffer, more durable option that will become more pliable over time, your apron should only enhance your cooking experience....

Today, the peacoat remains a staple. While it has seen many different iterations, the core qualities of the best men’s peacoats — tough, warm, and stylish — remain the same, and it deserves a spot in your closet. Like cotton chinos or the humble white T-shirt, or the field jacket (most famously), the peacoat remains reliable as hell, and the ideal thing to reach for when you’re going for a more casual cold-weather look....

There are a ton of great podcasts for teens and younger kids that both amuse and inform. Whether your kid is interested in where boogers come from or how dogs became domesticated, there’s a podcast that can explain. Family podcasts aren’t only learning tools in the most literal sense though. There are plenty of story podcasts for kids too. Research shows that a big part of learning to read is being read to, and the best story podcasts are a great addition to having parents read to their kids....

Americans reportedly toss more than 2.5 million plastic bottles an hour (that’s about 700 a second) — a plastic Everest, or several, that could take more than five centuries to decompose. So switching to insulated water bottles is a small decision with a huge positive impact. You want your insulated water bottles to be durable, easy to clean, and leak-proof. Because a soaked backpack can put a damper on a day of hiking....

“Playing with cars is a sensory activity and one that gives children insight into the cognitive concept of cause and effect — as they experiment with a hard push or a soft push, or holding the car with lots of pressure or less pressure, they discover how the car reacts,” says Rebecca Parlakian, the senior director of programs at Zero to Three. “Car play is a form of pretend play, like when kids make beep-beep noises....

Especially in times of stress or uncertainty, dollhouses let kids escape, play, and express their fears and fantasies in a tiny cosmos of their own design. And because life under the coronavirus lockdown can feel like life in a giant dollhouse, its therapeutic value to adults shouldn’t be underestimated either. The child development experts at Zero to Three encourage doll-play because caring for others helps younger kids learn empathy. Not to mention that pretend play with dolls helps kids develop language and literacy skills, problem-solving skills, and the ability to sequence events....

Through the course of Evan and Will’s conversation, Evan learns about the heated debate around circumcision, the actual health benefits, and what it means to be circumcised in the Western world as opposed to around the globe. Will lays out a bunch of arguments against circumcising your kid. These arguments include: You let them make the choice themselves; the surgery is largely cosmetic; and the medical benefits are negligible. There are also a lot of research about problems with what happens to your child’s foreskin after the surgery has taken place....

But if you’re set on hosting a junta of small male endorphin machines in your house for a night — and especially if you’re new to the idea — I’d implore you to keep these tips, thoughts, facts, and hideous truths to help you navigate what will, for a few hours, be louder and more chaotic than presidential tweets. (Incidentally, I am limiting these tips to boys, because I only have boys, and wouldn’t have the first clue how to administer a girls’ sleepover anyway....

On The Fatherly Podcast, Bottura spoke about how he’s balanced his professional ambitions and personal intensity with the need of his daughter and of Charlie, who was born with a rare genetic disorder that necessitates constant and creative care. Bottura is nothing if not a thinker and he dove into his intellectual approach to both cooking and considering the needs of his children from a distinctly Italian perspective (his daughter butted in to keep him honest)....

The trial, spearheaded by the nonprofit 4 Day Week Global, includes roughly 4,000 people employed by 28 North American firms. Eighty percent of the firms switched to a four-day week with fewer total hours, while a handful opted for half-day Fridays or longer workdays earlier in the week and one additional day off — all with no decrease in pay. After six months, the companies will assess the results including changes in productivity and morale....

Hartley’s article went viral. Many women nodded in agreement. Many men rolled their eyes. And it helped bring the concept of “emotional labor”, the invisible work necessary to manage households, into the public eye. Her book Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward, released last fall, expands on this premise, taking a deeper look into the concept of emotional labor and how ingrained societal expectations contribute to the issue....

We spoke to a dozen dads all shared tiny, seemingly insignificant parts of their relationships that actually make a huge difference in keeping their partnerships happy, healthy, and productive. Every example shares the common thread of something small and special that helps them stay strong. Here are the small things that keep them going. We Run Together. “My wife and I are fitness fanatics. It’s how we met and has been one of the joint interests and passions that have bound us together....