Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

Dad Hacks Donkey Kong For Daughter To Play As A Girl

March 12, 2013 at 8:53 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

The parenting story that has gone viral today is that a dad named Mike Mika hacked the classic Donkey Kongvideo game so his daughter could play as Pauline, the girl who Mario tries to save. So instead of Mario saving Pauline from Donkey Kong, she saves Mario.

Mike’s daughter had been enjoying playing as the Princess in Super Mario Bros. 2, which happens to be my favorite video game of all time, and she was disappointed to learn she couldn’t be the princess in Donkey Kong as well. So her dad took care of it.

I like what Mike says in his article on Wired.com:

“Having kids is incredible. And having a daughter is something special. I get the opportunity to see the world through her eyes. And if this experience has taught me anything, it’s that the world could be just a bit more accommodating. And that if something as innocuous as having Mario be saved by Pauline brings out the crazy, maybe we aren’t as mature in our view of gender roles as we should be.

I didn’t set out to push a feminist agenda, or try to make a statement. I just wanted to keep that little grin lit up on my daughter’s face every time we sit down to play games together.”

Sure, a good number of video games throughout history have featured a male hero who saves a female; that concept caters to a male audience who is wired to solve problems and earn the love and respect of a beautiful female, not to socialize and network with friends like Farmville on Facebook.

The earliest example of an action-based video game where the lead character is a female hero is Metroid; though you wouldn’t  know the character is a female until you beat the game.

That’s one of the many reasons I always loved Super Mario Bros. 2; because it was fun (and weird) to play as a female in an action game. I wasn’t ashamed to play as a character who wore a pink dress. I just wanted to win!

In fact, Super Mario Bros. 2 is still often referred to by those who didn’t own the game growing up like I did as “isn’t that the one where you can play as the Princess?”.

Today, Mike Mika has earned cool points with parents across America for thinking of such a clever idea to help his daughter feel special and loved.

I bet she feels like a princess.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, Storytelling

My Toddler’s 1st 5 K… He Just Felt Like Running!

March 11, 2013 at 11:40 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

Here’s the most flattering picture I’ve ever taken of you. (Sarcasm.)

There you are in the back seat on Saturday afternoon, indulging in a vegan chocolate cookie from Whole Foods Market.

You didn’t seem to notice there were no eggs or dairy in your cookie. All you knew is that for some reason, I was letting you pig out on a treat which you didn’t have to earn by going potty at the house.

As for the reason the cookie was vegan, that would be because, well… this is me officially coming out of the vegan closet.

I have suffered from severe allergies and sinus problems since 1992, when I was only 11; I’ll be 32 next month. But a week ago I decided to see what would happen if I stopped drinking milk with my coffee.

About two days into using coconut and rice milk instead, I noticed that my constant sinus pressure cleared up.

Then I became addicted to that version of life. It’s been 21 years since I’ve breathed so easily and have been able to think so clearly. The fog in my brain has lifted, in more ways than one.

I decided that if it meant going vegan (no dairy or eggs, in addition to no meat) to continue my heightened state of well-being, I would be willing to make the appropriate lifestyle change. Watching the documentaryVegucated on Netflix solidified my decision.

Granted, our family has been vegetarians for 15 months now. So I’ve been living an alternative lifestyle this whole time anyway. Here it is; the last picture of us together before I became a vegan. The following day I would become even weirder.

Just to be clear, the vegan thing is just for me; not for you or Mommy.

Though when I think about it, the only thing keeping you from being a vegan is Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese and your Chobani Champions Tubes of yogurt.

You don’t like eggs. You don’t like milk. But you’ll eat cheese and yogurt so I want you to keep enjoying them.

Or at least I should say, enjoy them while you can.

I’ve already learned that you and I have basically the same medical issues. The only reason you and I don’t currently still have eczema is because A) I make sure that none of your soaps or lotions contain sodium lauryl sulfate or artificial dyes and B) other than special occasions, I deprive you of processed sugar; even 100% fruit juice.

So don’t be surprised in about 9 years when you turn 11, that you’ll suddenly get this sinus pressure that gets worse at night and any time the weather changes. It will feel like you desperately need to blow your nose, but there’s nothing there when you try.

Son, I hope the best for you. I hope you haven’t inherited my severe allergies and sinus problems, but if you have… at least you’ll have a vegan dad to help teach you have to live the peculiar life of no eggs or dairy, in addition to no meat.

Mmm… did somebody say vegan chocolate cookies?

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

The Difference Between 2 Year-Old Boys And Girls

March 9, 2013 at 11:45 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

You are a boy… and you definitely act like it. You make it so obvious that little boys are wired much differently than little girls.

It’s a rare sight to find you without some kind of overly masculine (and therefore predictably goofy) Hot Wheels car clenched tightly in your hand, whether it’s on the car ride to day care,watching Hard Hat Harry on Netflix at the house, or even navigating your way around any given playground.

At no point do you ever need me to tell you what little boys should like. You are currently obsessed with monster trucks, but it’s not something I prompted.

You just saw a toy monster truck one day and asked me, “I can like that? I take it home?”

The answer was obviously yes. Now you have like 7 of them.

One of your daily routines on the way to school now is to go through the colors of the rainbow in reference to monster trucks and/or Jeep Wranglers:

“I have a blue monster truck? I can drive it?”

I will reply, “Jack has a blue monster truck… He drives it!”

Next you’ll say the truck (or Jeep) is black, orange, purple, or even pink. Twice now you asked for a “dinosaur Jeep.” I’m still trying to figure that one out…

I contrast this against what I see the girls your age doing at daycare. They are always tending to either the baby dolls or the pretend kitchen and food; meanwhile the boys are wandering around, looking for trouble… I mean adventure.

It’s not that I have to stereotype little boys versus little girls. That’s just naturally how it ends up.

Even if you want to drive a pink monster truck or Jeep, the fact is still that you want to drive a monster truck or Jeep.

It would be different if you were fantasizing about a VW Bug, Mini Cooper, Mazda Miata, Dodge Neon, or a Toyota Rav 4.

I say you just can’t hide your masculinity, even behind the color pink.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Dads Like To Teach Life Lessons To Their Kids

March 7, 2013 at 10:11 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

Men are wired to solve problems. We like fixing things.

I truly feel empowered and alive anytime I correctly identify a problem, apply the solution, and see the successful result. With that being said, one of the things I love best and look forward to the most as your dad isteaching you life lessons.

It’s a huge part of being a dad.

This concept is exemplified in a Facebook page (and hopefully eventually a book) known as 100 Things to Teach My Son. It is the creative project of a dad named RJ Licata who lives in Syracuse, New York.

Since starting less than two months ago on January 13th, the project has already received over 650 Facebook “likes,” despite not being based on anything or anyone famous. He explains on his page:

“On a whim, I made a Facebook post expressing the first (#100) of the top 100 things I wanted to teach my son. I really had no intention of continuing past that one post. But then I got some ‘Likes’ and some comments that I hadn’t been expecting. So I posted #99, and I got some more positive feedback.

I continued posting my ‘lessons’ with a photo that I thought best explained the lesson in picture, and by the time my countdown got to #85 or so, I’d gotten so much positive feedback from my friends, as well as some Facebook friends that I rarely interact with, that I had no choice but to continue on.

Because so many of the lessons have been so well received, I thought there must be others out there that I’m not friends with who would also enjoy seeing/reading them.

And that is why I started this page… You’ll also find similar posts and content that I think will inspire you to be the best parent/person you can be. It’s not just for fathers. It’s not just for sons. It’s for anyone who wants to be moved to laughter or to tears, to be inspired or comforted. Mostly it’s a way for me to document my journey as a father.”

There is a reason people are connecting with 100 Things to Teach My Son. 

For me, it caught my attention because of its simplicity and honesty. I like that it is built around the idea that active and involved dads spend a lot of time thinking about what they will teach their kids, based on their own life experience.

I definitely relate to that. Here’s a prime example:

“❤ Top 100 Things I Can’t Wait to Teach My Son™ : #56 – Playing catch with dad is much more than throwing and catching, a ball and a glove.”

And a couple more of my favorites…

“❤ Top 100 Things I Can’t Wait to Teach My Son™ : #51 – If you must compare, compare yourself to the you of yesterday, not to anybody else.

❤ Top 100 Things I Can’t Wait to Teach My Son™ : #93 – We all have some sort of super powers, but we don’t all use them.”

Jack, something you will always know about me is that I thrive on teaching you about life and how the world works.

I’ll teach you everything I know, though I obviously know there are just some lessons you learn best on your own.

See, that’s one of my life lessons for you…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

All photos appear courtesy of RJ Licata, 100 Things to Teach My Son. 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

How I Choose Kids’ Medications

March 6, 2013 at 11:33 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

It’s that time of year again, when I as a your parent have this constant worry in the back of my mind that your daycare is about to call me to say I need to come pick you up because you have a fever.

Mommy and I both save our own sick days from work for the days you will have a fever and one of us will need to stay home with you.

On top of wanting to know I can help restore you back to health, I also want to be able to have confidence that the medicine I give you is as natural and healthy as possible.

You know how passionate I am about our family not consuming products that contain red food dye. I’ve mentioned several times now that the popular food dye Red 40 is made from petroleum  while Crimson Lake is derived from the powdered and boiled bodies of insects including the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal.

In fact, back when you were only 13 months old, I wrote “Why This Dad Despises Red 40 And Crimson Lake Food Dyes” here on The Dadabase.

As a parent blogger, I have a solid track record of denouncing illegitimate food and medicine ingredients in my writings. One of my goals is to actually help make it taboo for any food or medicine companies to have Red Lake or Red 40 as one of their ingredients.

I want every parent to understand where those dyes come from; they’re simply not fit for human consumption.

Companies can legally be vague when it comes to listing their ingredients. That’s why, and I’ve said this before, if I see “artificial flavor” or “natural flavor” on the ingredients list, I won’t buy it; because any ingredients generically listed as “artificial” or “natural” could be… anything.

Because after all, anything is definitely “natural” and/or “artificial.” That’s always a red flag for me. (Pun intended.)

In addition to my skepticism of artificial colors and flavors in regards to what I allow you to consume, I have to be honest, my conscience isn’t clear when it comes to giving you medicine with alcohol, either.

It goes without saying that as your parent, I have incredibly high standards when it comes to what food and medicine I let you consume. I wish I could say there are several brands of medicine that gain my approval, and therefore, that I have actually given you. Unfortunately, there are very few.

As far as a brand that is very forth-coming about being both dye-free and alcohol-free for all their products, Little Remedies is the only one I’ve come across so far.

Mommy and I actually used their Gripe Water (to relieve discomfort from hiccups and gas) when you were an infant. Sure enough, it was the very first medicine we ever gave you.

Even if as an “extreme ingredients-aware parent,” I only represent a minority of the market, I’m just glad to know there are options I can give you.

I will never stop being mindful of the ingredients that go into your medicine, because medicine that has unnatural and questionable ingredients in it isn’t really medicine, if you ask me.

Love,
Daddy

 

P.S. I invite any other readers of this letter to share your additional pointers, personal stories and struggles regarding the avoidance of artificial colors, artificial flavors, and alcohol in children’s medicine; feel free to leave a comment.

This post is sponsored by Little Remedies— makers of children’s medication without artificial colors, artificial flavors, or alcohol.  

Photo: Child receiving medication, via Shutterstock.