Five Father’s Days in Jail for Deadbeat Dad

A judge has come up with a creative way to solve the deadbeat parent situation: he sentences dads to Father’s Days in jail for not paying child support. Moms who don’t pay up get consecutive Mother’s Days in the slammer.

Judge James Flannery of Warren County, Ohio, says jail overcrowding makes it hard for him to enforce lengthy sentences, so he came up with this alternative. Continue reading »

Dads Win Jeeps!

Check out these lucky guys. Lucky to have such adorable (and adoring) children, and now even luckier because… Continue reading »

Smile! It’s Father’s Day

We hope you’re having as much fun as this dad and kid are today, your day of honor.

If you are (and you should be!) capture the moment on film and upload it here to win a Jeep Liberty Limited Urban Terrain Stroller. You know you want one.

Join The Babble Playground and enter the June Photo Contest: I Love Dad today! Contest ends June 30th.

Finish Line - Father’s Day And Stuff

Happy Father’s Day!

You know what I like about this holiday? I don’t need to buy anyone a present. Don’t get me wrong, I like buying things for the wife, the kids, the relatives, whatever. And I like getting gifts too. I actually enjoy giving more than getting, which I like to think is a sign of maturity. (It’s also a sign of having too much stuff and not enough space. Ahem.) Still, unlike most holidays, where the gift giving is reciprocal, this time it’s one way. THIS way. Hoo-ha! Continue reading »

Dads: The New Moms

Move over, women, there’s a new mom in town. He may go by the name “Dad,” but really? He’s Mommy.

Men parents have been encroaching on mom’s turf for some time now, but this year it seems to have reached a critical mass.

Let’s start with the research. Dad gains weight and experiences mood swings during pregnancy just like his pregnant wife — the original mom. Studies also show that Dad doesn’t value  himself as a parent, which is such a self-deprecating and motherly thing to do. Continue reading »

Audio Interview: Christine Coppa

Somewhat unexpectedly, my interview with Christine Coppa on BlogTalkRadio went in a Father’s Day direction. It was on her mind, and mine as well. Continue reading »

Dads Getting Shafted on Father’s Day?

Geoff Williams thinks dads get the shaft on Father’s Day. Maybe he needs to come check out my house.

Williams bemoaned his package of boxer shorts and flip light for reading at night in a Parenting essay featured on CNN this week, comparing them rather unfavorably to the cherry tree and match bird bath he’d picked out for his wife for Mother’s Day. Continue reading »

Obama’s Father’s Day Message

While I can understand some of the criticism directed at President Barack Obama (the less over-heated criticism, anyway), I hope that even his harshest critics can agree that he seems to be a good dad. This Father’s Day, the Commander-in-Chief shares some of his thoughts on daddyhood in Parade Magazine.

First, a quick aside: Everyone who thinks that “print is dead” needs to realize that millions of Americans still read newspapers. Why else would President Obama contact Parade and ask them to publish his essay? He could just put it on the Internet, right? But if he did, many people wouldn’t get to read it. Continue reading »

6 Worst Father’s Day Gifts

As parental tribute days go, Dads totally get the fuzzy end of the lollipop. For Mother’s Day, the honoree can look forward to flowers, chocolates and maybe the occasional piece of bling. But Dads, they’re often left holding just an ugly ass tie.  As a primer on what to avoid, here is a list of the six worst Father’s Days gifts to give to the Dad in your life. Here’s hoping that this Sunday he has something better in store, that is if he deserves it. If he doesn’t? Well, consider this your shopping guide!

A Tie
The most classic Father’s Day gift? The tie. How many Dads do you know that regularly wear ties in this day and age? Not many, these days tie wearers are far and few between. And the Dad that wears the novelty gift tie? That’s an even rarer breed. A tie like this cartoon Father’s Day tie is good for one day, maybe even just one hour. It’s a fleeting gift that just confirms to him that he trapped by his rug rats who apparently find joy in torturing him  - as depicted in the image and in the motive of giving them something this hideous.

Socks
Socks run a close second to a tie as a sucky Father’s Day present. This gift say “I have no idea what you like, what you do, or who you are…but I do know that you wear socks!” You could go traditional with a plain white athletic pair. Or you can splash out on a pair like the Dad’s Stinky Feet set, with the message just adding insult to injury.

The Coupon
I myself have given the classic handmade coupon pack to dear old dad. And want to hear the sad part? Decades have past and he still has them . Apparently he is looking for the appropriate time to cash in the “Good for One Hug”, or “Good for One Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie” vouchers. But this just goes to show that although the thought might be there, they are merely scraps of paper that 9 out of 10 times end up in the bottom of a desk draw.

A Gift That’s Actually For the Giver Not the Getter
‘Mom’ go shopping for that perfect Father’s Day gift, but instead she ends up buying something for herself. She wraps it up and makes some rationalization like; “I bought these Manolo Blahnik because you always said you loved how my legs look in heels. Don’t you just love them!?!” Yeah, he probably doesn’t. She should have gotten him that bottle of booze instead.

World’s Best Dad T-shirt
This may be something that the family may believe but it is an unrealistic statement. The ‘world’s best dad’? Really? How is this measured? Through hugs? Gifts? Or just love? There is a lot of competition for this title. And although giving it may be one thing, he’d have to have some pretty big cojones to wear this in a non-ironic way.

World’s Worst Dad T-Shirt
This shirt really says it all doesn’t it.

Dads? At home? Inconceivable!

You know Father’s Day is right around the corner when the traditional media begins focusing on the fact that one half of the parenting team actually, well, does stuff. This year stay-at-home dads seem to be in the news quite a bit, and while there have been some truly ground-breaking stories on this rising trend — take Jeremy Adams Smith’s “The Daddy Shift” book for example — mostly the media take on the subject has offered just more of the same tired, wide-eyed, who’d-a-thunk-it-ness.

Dads? At home? Go figure! Continue reading »