Parents seek advice from everyone (even if we don’t always want to hear it). Sometimes that advice comes from family, sometimes from friends, and mostly it comes from our kids. But even cartoon characters can give us advice. Even the most evil and despicable ones at that.
In the new movie, Despicable Me, Steve Carell plays the world’s worst villain but maybe one of the best dads. And despite being “evil”, Gru shows us exactly what we need to do as parents. He cooks the kids breakfast, the most important meal of the day. He reads to them, which has been proven to increase kids vocabularies and help them speak earlier. He goes to their ballet classes and actively partakes in their lives. Most important, though, is that Gru puts the kids before his own needs. Maybe being a super villain is his day job but being a dad is his life. The movie hits theatres on Friday, and I think it’s a great family movie.
To learn more of Gru’s excellent parenting advice, click here.

I had never changed a diaper until four months ago when my twin babies were born. And even then, my wife videotaped it because I did such a hilariously bad job. Halfway through the video she just tells me to stop and then finishes the diaper duty herself. But fast forward a few months and I’ve gradually become an expert in changing my babies diapers.
More than that, I relish the job. Since I can’t breastfeed the babies, I sometimes feel left out. They gravitate to my wife because she has the ability to sooth them and feed them in a way I don’t. And so changing diapers is one of the best ways I can connect with the twins.
And it seems that I’m not alone. In a recent survey of parents, 69 percent of men responded that they changed diapers as often as their wives, while 11 percent said they did so even more often. Seeing this trend, Pampers has even begun marketing towards men. Using famous celebrity fathers like Drew Breese and Joel Madden, Pampers has created a community for men who take an active part in their kids health and lives. A new feature on Pampers’ Facebook page even encourages fathers to share their parenting stories with a chance to win $250 in diapers (about a weeks worth for my babies). It’s important for us men to get our hands dirty sometimes, even if its in our own kids crap.

~Yannai

I never really gave Father’s Day much thought growing up. In my opinion, it was really just an accompaniment to Mother’s Day. My mother would always get a present; flowers, pictures, or breakfast in bed. One year, I even gave her a stapled copy of all my good grades with a note that read “Thank you for the great genes.” My father, though, rarely received a gift, let alone one built on such hubris and ego. He got a card, bought the night before in a rush, and always a big hug. But Father’s Day was never given the same seriousness or appreciation that Mother’s Day inherently had.

In truth, Father’s Day really is an accompaniment to Mother’s Day. In 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington thought of the idea for Father’s Day after listening about the newly recognized Mother’s Day. Miss Dodd became an active proponent of Father’s Day and tried to spread it nationwide. But the idea did not take off with the same panache that Mother’s Day had. It wasn’t until 1972 that the holiday was finally signed into law.

It wasn’t until I became a father of twins this year that my relationship with father’s day quickly transformed. Father’s Day all of a sudden became an important and exciting holiday. Since the day they were born (they are now four months old), I have been looking forward to spending Father’s Day with my twins. And I don’t really care about a gift (but I wouldn’t mind one either). A simple hug would be a great enough. Our role as children is quickly transformed when we become parents ourselves. We grow a greater appreciation for what our parents have done for us, knowing full well how hard it is to raise a child (or two). And so, perhaps it’s a little late, but Happy Father’s Day to my dad and to all the fathers out there.

A recent independent survey conducted by HotChalk details the attitudes of teachers towards their jobs and resources. The findings show a growing concern among teachers that they are not receiving adequate support from parents. Perhaps the most disconcerting finding in the study is that 65% of teachers believe that parents find teachers to be completely responsible for their child’s education and academic progress.

Edward Fields, chairman and CEO of HotChalk, commented, “Parents often place the burden on teachers for shouldering every bit of responsibility for the education of their children. In reality, educational success of our nation’s youth requires a serious team effort beyond the bi-annual parent-teacher conference. Teachers cannot succeed without consistent parental involvement in the education process. If the parent isn’t connected to their own child’s education, they are not preparing a child to be successful. Period.”

Mr. Fields, along with his company’s survey, poses a serious question to today’s parents; how do we become involved, support, and raise our children’s education? Early literary studies show that reading is perhaps the best way to straighten our children’s educational path. In the year 2000, the National Research Council found that the majority of reading and educational problems faced by today’s adolescents and adults was the result of problems that might been avoided or resolved in their early childhood years. A separate study conducted by the National Commission on Reading found that, “The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school”.

With the advent of Speakaboos.com and other popular story book sites, today’s parents can find the neccessary resources to advance their children’s education head-on. Lower income families who are not privvy to a large library of children’s books can now interact with their children’s educational progress, without having to worry about the expense. Speakaboos has also worked with educators to make sure that all the materials we provide are educational and appropriate. Future interactive tools like “Record Your Own” and a diary feature will also help children develop proper speech, language, and writing skills. With these tools, along with the local library, our children’s school, and our ongoing involvement, we can take a proactive stance in our children’s education and become a teacher at home.

It’s a sad fact of our society that some students don’t fit neatly into our education system. Whether the blame lies on the school, the parents, or the children themselves is up in the air. A new program in Milwaukee has decided to bypass the questions inherent in such a discussion and instead, focus on a solution. This solution is called “Second Chance”.

Second Chance is a program for high school juniors who complain that, as one student put it, “I don’t like learning”. The program places these kids in a student/work environment where they earn a paycheck while continuing their education in the work place. In essence, the day is part vocational school, part high school. Students believe the dual environment gives them real world experience while maintaining the rigorous studies expected in high school. And in theory, Second Chance sounds like a great opportunity for students sick of the classroom. But that’s just theory.

In actuality, juniors devoid of a proper educational background are placed in a lackluster learning environment. Thirty students are placed in the “Industrial Towel and Uniform” company, washing, drying, and organizing towels. The men and women that work at this company do a vital service, but in no way does this prepare you in American history, musical appreciation (if your school has such a thing), or even gym. As the owner of the company so elegantly put it, “We get workers”. And that’s what this program has become, a cheap workforce for those who fall between the cracks. Why not pair these students with successful businessmen and women? Why not send them to help a local elementary school, the police force, or the library? Let’s send these kids to a place that will reinvigorate their appreciation of learning, not somewhere that will hand them a paycheck and a dish towel to wash. Of course, these are the questions which will haunt our society until a better solution comes to fruition. Until then, we’re left with Second Chance.

To learn more about Second Chance check out this video,