Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.
- Claude Monet
Dad Suggests was created to share with others the many different things that we have loved sharing with our own children.
Our hope is that - by reading or visiting our children’s bookstore - you will find something special to enjoy with your own family.
- Ryan
The newest addition to our collection of family games is Gnomes at Night - a cooperative maze game. But this time when I say cooperative, I really mean it. Cooperation is not a choice in Gnomes at Night, and that’s what makes it special.
We’ve been playing a lot of card games in our house recently. Perhaps it’s because our 6-year-old has recently graduated to really holding his own in competitive card games. Check out our list of the best card games for families and let us know your favorite!
Even if science somehow definitively proves that screen time actually makes us measurably dumber, even more important than that is what we could have been doing with our time instead. There’s nothing more important than the time we spend with our family, after all.
I really love it when the meaning you’re slowly uncovering in a picture book coincides with powerful feelings and emotions. I’m talking about meaning of life kind of stuff - love and loss and what it’s all about. The Fan Brothers recently came out with a picture book that does just that - Ocean Meets Sky.
Thanks to the new series of Harry Potter illustrated editions - illustrated by Jim Kay - we’ve actually hatched the perfect plan for introducing Harry Potter to our children.
The fact that my son was so enamored with the idea of booby trapping the entire house has definitely endeared this classic movie to me - even more than the power of my own nostalgia. I simply had to buy this board game when I saw it.
There’s a very good chance you’ve said this line to your own kids at one time or another: “You need to apologize right this instant!” Apologizing, after all, is important in our relationships. But did you know that not everybody believes forced apologies are good for kids? And if forced apologies aren’t effective, how are we supposed to pass on the empathy we want to teach?
We gathered together all of our favorite picture books from 2018 for the first annual Dad Suggests Kids Book Awards. We reminisced, we argued, we threw things, and we created the ultimate list to wrap up the year - The Top 10 Picture Books of 2018.
As a father of kids ages 6 and 2, junior versions of board games are a trend I greatly appreciate. In case you’re unaware, junior versions of board games are basically simplified versions of their better-known adult versions. Whether they say “junior”, “for kids”, or “my first”, they all mean the same thing - better access to the fun for the young ones.
These are the best picture books to read on a snowy day. I have very vivid memories of books that we read as children that perfectly capture those feelings of snowy adventure and magic. This list contains several of those books, as well as many new ones that I hope will stay with my children for the rest of their lives.
Extra Yarn is the best picture book ever made. In a world full of amazing stories and many talented authors and illustrators, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have created the perfect kids book.
First Orchard by HABA is perhaps the very best board game to be your child’s first board game. This cooperative game teaches basic skills like taking turns and rolling the die - and the wooden game pieces are high-quality enough to be toys by themselves.
These are the benefits of teaching chess to kids. Chess is very good for a child’s brain. Playing chess strengthens their executive functions (cognitive control) at a time in their development when they need it the most, and when it can make the biggest impact on the rest of their lives.
These are the very best Christmas movies for families. The best Christmas films and TV specials are responsible for a lot of the magic found in Christmas itself. Better than any other medium, these films allow us to sit together as a family and celebrate the spirit of Christmas through imaginative works of art.
Get kids to actually want to brush their teeth. Believe it or not, sometimes our kids don’t do what we’d like them to do. Occasionally, brushing teeth is one of those things we’d prefer that they did. This is how we change their mind.
Children should be allowed to believe in Santa. The magic of childhood should be sacred. But some people seem to be of the belief that believing in Santa Claus is harmful to children, and that you should tell them he doesn’t exist.
These are the best Christmas picture books. A good Christmas book has great potential for teaching a profound life lesson. I think that’s because the true meaning of Christmas has many parallels with the true meaning of life.
These are the best film versions of A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens’ classic is the ultimate Christmas story. The selfish Scrooge gets himself a wakeup call about love, and the whole thing basically culminates in a greater understanding of the meaning of life. What more could you ask for?
