All dads have things that they love to do, or dream about doing, with their sons. Even before a man ever becomes a father, he probably already envisions activities he looks forward to someday sharing with his boy. Here’s our list of ten things that dads dream of doing with their sons:

1. Holding him for the first time. – The moment when fatherhood first takes hold in a tangible, yet inexplicable way. You now know what it means to be a father, to be responsible for another life, and you’re never the same from that moment on.
2. Having a catch. – There’s scarcely a man in this country that didn’t at least get a little misty-eyed watching this scene from Field of Dreams. It is virtually every American man’s dream of father-and-son bonding.
3. Going to a ballgame. – Of course, the next step after playing catch in the front yard is heading out to the ballpark to watch the pros do it. Hopefully, your next catch will be of a home run ball. Whatever the case, this is the American pastime.
4. Teaching him to shave. - It’s a mundane chore for the average man, yes; but for a dad it’s a rite of passage. Showing your young whippersnapper the ropes with a razor and shave cream is pretty special, we have to admit.
5. Going camping, fishing or hunting. – Let’s face it, for a lot of dads, having a son is like getting a license for a second childhood. You’ve got a built-in excuse to do all sorts of things, this time for your son’s sake too. All those activities you once enjoyed are yours to enjoy again.
6. Attending his college graduation. – Few moments in a young man’s life hold as great a sense of promise and maturity than the day he goes from the campus out into the world. It brings with it a shared feeling of accomplishment for both father and son.
7. Acting as his agent at the NFL Draft. – Any dad who’s ever had a son with even a modicum of athletic ability has toyed with this fantasy on occasion. For most, it’s more dream than reality: but it is what dreams are made of, isn’t it?
8. Attending his wedding. – Naturally, a dad wants to see his son find a wife and lifelong companionship. It’s that next stage in the circle of life after all. Though dads aren’t quite as excited about doing this with their daughters…
9. Sharing the family business. – For some dads, the day that their sons assume their role in the family business is a special one. It’s one of mortal man’s versions of immortality, as is the next example especially.
10. Seeing his grandchildren. – Speaking of the circle of life, here it comes full-circle, with father and son becoming grand-father and father. A whole new generation begins, with whom to start the circle all over again.

There are many more dreams and expectations dads have for their sons, some more realistic than others. But these ten dreams have to rank right there among the top ones.

If you have never suffered from motion sickness count yourself lucky.  I’ve suffered with it my whole life and have tried many things.  The funny thing (or maybe peculiar) is that different things work for different people.  Some people swear by certain remedies and others have no luck with those at all.  If your kids suffer with motion sickness do them a favor and check out 10 alternatives to Dramamine for kids that are traveling.

1. Pressure point bracelet: Some people swear by these, but I haven’t had a ton of luck.  These are very common on cruises when people are experiencing sea sickness.  My understanding is that to be effective they have to press on just the right spot on your wrist to work.  Read over the instructions carefully and try them on both wrists and in different places on your child’s wrist.  This is a great drug-free way to stop motion sickness if it works.
2. Snacks: Many times kids will experience motion sickness when their stomach is empty.  Bring along plenty of snacks and make sure that your child is keeping something in their stomach.  Often times this will be all it takes to cure a mild case of motion sickness.  This method is easy and drug-free.  Plus, it’s always fun to bring along special snacks that you only get for car trips.  Don’t let them over eat as that will cause problems too.
3. Avoid fatty, greasy meals: It’s actually always a good idea to avoid fatty greasy meals, but if your child suffers from motion sickness do not let them eat a fatty greasy meal the day before travel or the day of travel.  Smaller low calorie meals throughout the day will work best for helping to avoid motion sickness.
4. Acupuncture: This is an Eastern remedy originating in China that uses solid needles inserted and manipulated into the skin.  The premise is that there is energy in the body called Chi or qi that can be corrected by the placement of needles in acupuncture points.  Studies have shown that it works better than the pressure point bracelets.  While it may work better it is a lot more expensive and not nearly as convenient. Plus, most children have issues with needles.
5. Biofeedback: This treatment has no side-effects, but it does take time.  Biofeedback is a treatment where the patient is hooked up to electrodes. While working with a therapist who specializes in biofeedback treatment you will learn to control your bodily responses.  Heart rate and skin temperature are two common things that can be controlled.  The nausea associated with motion sickness can be controlled with some treatments.  The number of treatments required varies by individual, but many people see results after 10 weekly treatments.
6. Ginger: Ginger is not only a root, but it has been made into an extract.  250 mg. of the extract three times a day is said to help with motion sickness.  Ginger is a common remedy for an upset stomach or nausea.  It can also be taken in tea form.
7. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Many times people will get motion sick because they have gotten it in the past and have an anxiety that they will get it again.  In cognitive behavior therapy a specialist will create a mild case of motion sickness by using a moving or tilting chair and then by using relaxation techniques, among others, they will help the patient get over the mild motion sickness.  The severity of the motion sickness is increased and the therapy continues until the patient is able to work themselves out of being motion sick altogether.
8. Breathing exercises: Taking slow deep breaths seem to help almost half of the patients that tried it.  It makes sense because motion sickness is brought on by stress or anxiety and deep breathing helps people relax.  Short and shallow breathing will make motion sickness worse and should be avoided.
9. Vitamin B₆:  This vitamin is often suggested to help with nausea in pregnant women suffering with morning sickness.  The idea is the same in that it will often help treat or prevent nausea.  Ask your doctor about appropriate doses for children.  B₆ also helps with mood elevating in a safe and natural way.
10. Look at the horizon and fresh air: Two easy things can help to prevent motion sickness or help to alleviate it once your child has complained about feeling sick.  Motion sickness is caused by a disconnect between what the body feels and what the body sees.  So if you are in a cabin on a cruise ship your body will feel the rolling of the boat on the water, but since you are inside a cabin you cannot see what is causing that motion and therefore the disconnect happens and, boom, motion sickness.  If you are in a car with kids, try playing Eye Spy so that the kids are looking up and out of the car.  Roll the window down because fresh air will often be helpful for kids already feeling sick.

Long car trips, plane trips, or boat trips are often the cause of motion sickness complaints. The next time your child complains of being motion sick, try one of these ten treatments. Sometimes the simplest things can have the biggest effect.

Developmentally children of a younger age will never be able to argue logically.  However, kids will learn what works and what doesn’t.  Trying to teach them how to argue logically will help them in school debate as well as every other public office where they might have to argue their point.  It will probably even save you a few gray hairs in the process.  Check out 10 ways to teach your child to argue logically.

1. Explain what logic means: Start out by explaining what it means to be logical.  Give examples where you say, “I want chocolate cake for breakfast because it looks good”.  Or a more logical argument would be to say, “Chocolate cake is a great breakfast food item because it contains eggs that are protein and milk that’s dairy.” 
2. Catch them being illogical: The kids are fighting in the backseat of the car because your youngest son thinks his older brother is hogging the backseat.  You ask your younger son to try to persuade his brother to move over.  He says, “I can’t he’s just a hog”.  So you then say, “So your argument is that you deserve more space in the backseat because your brother is a hog?”  Once you show them what they are saying they will start to see how they aren’t being logical.
3. Teach by showing: During an argument listen to what they are saying and then ask them to make their case.  Repeat what they are saying and point out the holes in their logic.  Then show them how they could make a stronger argument.
4. Define the difference between fighting and arguing: When you ‘fight’ you make contact with the other person be it with your body or with some sort of weapon.  Tell them you will not tolerate fighting, but arguing is okay.  If you argue you need to keep your voice down and make logical points as to why you are right and the other person is wrong.
5. Show them how persuasion plays a role: When arguing your point you need to be persuasive.  To be persuasive you have to be conscious of the person’s point of view and explain why you believe your way to be better while not insulting the other person’s view point.  Point out facts that will logically show your way is superior to their way.
6. Be sympathetic: Let your child know that sympathy is always a great tool to use in an argument.  Making statements like, “I understand you like to watch Sponge Bob and I enjoy him too, but the season finale of Witches of Waverly Place is on and it’s not a rerun.”  Using instances like this that they will understand will help to further their learning process.
7. Explain what it means to win an argument: Some children will just use force to get their way.  Tell your child that winning an argument means that they have successfully changed their opponent’s mind so that now they agree with them.  If they get their way by hitting their opponent ask them if they think they changed that person’s mind.  If the answer is no, then they didn’t win the argument.
8. Reward them when they are logical: Once your child learns how to argue logically you need to let them win on occasion.  If your child comes to you and explains that they would like to have a dog because owning a dog will teach them to be more responsible, give them exercise by walking the dog and will save you from having to entertain them because they will play with the dog, they have made a very good argument.  It’s persuasive, it’s logical, and it shows sympathy for your time spent entertaining them.  If you can’t do a dog try to let them have another pet that will achieve the same results.
9. Dock them when they aren’t logical: There will still be times when they come crying to you or they start yelling at their sibling.  When you need to play referee you need to side with the child that isn’t breaking the rules of good arguing.  Make sure you let them know that they didn’t get to have their way because they yelled, hit, or drug up some nasty drama from the past.  You can call it ‘hitting below the belt’ or ‘strikes’ or ‘fouls’.  Whatever you decide to use will be fine.
10. Help them see the big picture: If you are watching something on TV you can ask the kids to point out whether that argument is persuasive or not.  Did that commercial convince you that you need to buy that toy? 

You’ll be surprised how good your kids get at being persuasive and arguing logically.  While it will help them throughout their lives keep in mind that it will also mean that you will probably lose more arguments than you win.  And that’s okay.

There’s no more frightening thing in the world to a parent than the thought of losing their child.  In this day in age when we hear all about child abductions and human trafficking it’s a scary thing.  At least technology has come a long ways since I was a child.  If I got lost then I just had to find an adult and tell them I was lost.  Fortunately back then most adults would just help you and not kidnap you.  Check out 10 gadgets for tracking your child.

1. Mommy I’m Here: This is a child locator that is kid friendly.  It’s a bear that you can hook to your child’s shirt or shoes.  The other half is a keychain that will cause the bear to emit a loud noise when pressed, letting you know where your child is.  Make sure to practice this with your child so that the loud noise does not scare them and that they know they should not go looking for you when the alarm sounds.
2. PocketFinder GPS:   A wonderful invention that I’m glad someone finally developed.  You can attach this to a pet, to your kids’ handheld electronic game, to their jacket, or to your car.  With the app made for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you can track down any lost person, place or thing.  Although at $149 a pop I am not sure it would be worth it to track their jacket or some other less expensive thing.  Hopefully these will come down in price in the future.
3. Little Buddy: This tracking device is small, about the size of a jump drive, and can be placed in anything from a backpack to a pocket to a purse or gym bag.  This little device will even send you a text if it leaves a designated area.  You can buy these at Best Buy for about $100 when they can keep them in stock.
4. Locate 1:  This GPS tracking device is a bit bigger and more sophisticated than the others have been.  It’s about the size of a deck of cards and weighs about as much as a cell phone.  You can hide it in the backpack, glove compartment, trunk or under the seat.  This system keeps track of everywhere it’s been and can give you daily, weekly or yearly reports.  This little baby can even tell you if the car has gone over a certain speed limit or travelled out of a designated area.  This system does require a monthly service plan, and an activation fee along with the fact that they run about $500!
5. AmberAlertGPS:  Like the others this is a small device that looks a bit like a hockey puck that is brightly colored.  It emits a GPS signal and can be tracked by an app on your smartphone.  It does not have to be an iPhone.
6. My Nino: This is an app that can track the calls being made and received by your child’s phone.  You’ve seen how they track cell calls on TV shows like NCIS, well this is very similar.
7. Nu-M8+: This is a watch that is actually a GPS device.  Your child could wear the watch and not even know that you would be able to track them with it.  If the watch is removed an alarm will sound for the parent. 
8. GPS Tracking chip: In every cell phone or PDA there is a GPS tracking chip that can be activated.  You can do this as a parent without letting your child know so that you can track their movements without letting them know about it.  This kind of tracking is good if you are worried that your child is doing something behind your back.
9. Spark Nano 3.0: This is a small device that is 2” by 3” and can fit in the palm of your hand.  It costs about $200 and does require a monthly fee for the plan.  The price of the plan will depend on what you want it to be able to do.
10. Trackstick:   One of the smallest devices with an 8 week battery life.  Some of the other trackers have a battery that will last about 23 hours.  If your child was kidnapped and you were trying to track them the last thing you would want to have happen is that the battery goes dead.  This item costs less than $300 and there are no more fees.  You can track it with your smart phone.