Dads Archives - CuteMonster.com

Being a Dad means Some Assembly Required

June 17, 2017June 16, 2017 by Vincent Daly

Being a Dad requires the assembly of assorted parts both figurative and literal. Relatively speaking, the procreation aspect happens naturally on the path to becoming a father. The transformation from independent man to Dad employs a radically different set of tools. Oddly enough, your own children hold the key to unlocking your heart and mind. There’s no manual available to guide your way. Your journey encompasses the unknown. Yet despite the encroaching fear, an expected truth emerges. We have an innate capacity for love.

What’s new for Dads: Changing Stations

October 10, 2016 by Vincent Daly

In a week that focused on the seedier side of politics, men who are Dads might have missed a positive tidbit of progress in the United States. On Friday, October 7, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Babies Act. What’s that you may ask? It’s a law that ensures all restrooms for women and men in federal buildings will now have places to change babies. Perhaps this signals the paradigm shift towards gender parity has begun to take root. At the very least, men being able to change their own baby’s diaper in a public restroom is a good thing.

The Reluctant Sleeper who would be King of Rest

May 25, 2016May 17, 2016 by Vincent Daly

Starting with the nascent days of my existence on planet earth, obtaining the appropriate amount of rest had never been a priority. Perhaps instinctively, I obsessed over missing out on something. As the years passed I became a father and developed into a light sleeper. Possessing Dad-fueled ninja-like hyper awareness, it would take little more than a child’s inadvertent step on a piece of spilled toasted oats cereal 2 rooms away to awaken me into a state of readiness. Whether I’d actually respond or not or simply go back to sleep is another matter, but I digress. Longterm though, I found myself wading deep in the parental waters of sleep-deprivation. Clearly a change was needed.

Toys and Gadgets: 2016 CES Tech for New Parents

January 8, 2016 by Vincent Daly

Becoming a new parent in tech terms could be described as leveling up. Yet the actual tools available for new parents to succeed in their life-changing roles have historically been poorly designed. Little things possess the potential to become a daily nuisance such as installing a car seat or preparing baby formula. Advances in technology aim to alleviate much of the new parent guesswork. A couple of highlights from the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) point to a bright future.

Dads, Chores, and the Swiffer Effect

May 3, 2015April 28, 2015 by Vincent Daly

To date, finding the missing manual on how to be a Dad has remained elusive. As most fathers will tell you, fatherhood is a work in progress. In modern family life, that includes participating in domestic duties at home. Unlike the stereotypes of the past, Dads are more inclined to help out doing chores. Yet for me, I’m always in search of tools to assist me in becoming more efficient. After all, raising young children can be maddening at times. A messy home fuels the anarchy. Streamlining certain chores provides me the opportunity to be a more engaged Dad. Sometimes I need a quick action plan to handle clean ups. That’s what the Swiffer Effect is all about.

Do you know Oren Miller?

January 29, 2016March 2, 2015 by Vincent Daly

The world should know about Oren Miller. He was a good father, a loving husband to an amazing woman, courageous, graceful, humble, smart, quick-witted, and a talented Dad Blogger. He was the founder of a thriving Facebook Community group aptly named Dad Bloggers. He championed the idea that all fathers can be better Dads. He mentored fathers and encouraged change from within the Dad Blogger community to shift the narrative of what modern fatherhood meant to the world. Advertisers, Film and Television have responded in kind by depicting fathers as competent nurturing parents instead of the 1950s stereotypical “dumb bumbling Dad”. Oren Miller also had Stage 4 Lung cancer. He passed away on February 28, 2015 at the age of 41 after a remarkably courageous 9 month battle. He was my friend.

Parenthood does not mean the end of Romance

March 26, 2014February 14, 2014 by Vincent Daly

I still vividly remember the day I first set eyes on my wife. I was a chronically late high school senior which meant I routinely spent time in late detention. Little did I realize my penchant for disregarding time would provide a pivotal moment of serendipity. My wife, then a member of the high school band attending practice, had exited the school at nearly the precise moment late detention had let out. Her blonde hair along with her light pink jacket immediately caught my attention. She moved with purpose. Whatever teenage angst I had been harboring that day immediately melted away. She was different. Little did I know she’d change my life forever.

Toys Reflect Our Story

November 6, 2014June 6, 2012 by Vincent Daly

Toys. What are toys really? An extension of our imagination? A catalyst for escape to a playful world where boundaries do not exist? The embodiment of child like wonder? I suspect they represent many of these ideas and more. But as a parent with young kids, toys can be a bridge from one generation to the next. Such is my experience lately when going to Toy Stores with my children.

Review of ThinkFun’s Roll & Play

May 15, 2012May 15, 2012 by Vincent Daly

Trying to introduce toddlers to multiplayer gameplay can be an exercise in futility. More times than not, a toddler will not fully grasp the concept of the game and instead decide to create their own fun to the frustration of other players. ThinkFun, an educational game maker, has decided to take on this challenge by debuting a game called Roll & Play designed specifically for toddlers. Since my children fell into the range of the game’s target demographics, I decided to test out Roll & Play in a real world environment, sibling rivalry and all.