The Rogue Parent

Five Dangerous Things For Kids to Do

When I saw this video, I instantly realized how great of a job my parents did with my sister, brother and me.  We grew up in a rural area where my grandfather gave me my first pocket knife when I was barely in school, had a bb gun and played outside.  What I didn’t realize was that I was learning all kinds of great life lessons that would help shape me into who I was going to become.  I found this article on Digg and was immediately drawn in by the title, 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.  After watching, I think I’m going to go get my 21-month daugher her first swiss army knife, but that’s a job for a grandfather.

I GUARANTEE that this video is the best thing that you will watch today, perhaps this week… Read the rest of this entry »

Does HGTV Recommend Spending Home Equity for Vacation?

After our daughter went down for her nap, we slumped on the couch before i had to go out and tackle the grass.  My Home is Worth What was on HGTV, so we thought we’d give it a shot.  This episode was about a family that wanted to pull some equity out of their house and put it into a vacation cabin.  The owners were their home was worth around $610k - $625 and called in expert Kendra Todd to help them get the answer.  Unfortunately the home ended up being valued at only $580,000, which was 10k more than they had invested.  Not the return they had hoped for, but a positive increase.  What surprised me was at the end of the show the host said, “You won’t be able to get the cabin, but that’s still a great vacation.”

WHAT! Are you telling me that they’re suggesting we pull out home equity to pay for a vacation! Read the rest of this entry »

Applying the Web 2.0 Concept to Parenting 2.0

This is not my blog…

This blog is a combination of the template designed by bob, the widgets designed by Matt Mullenweg and others, the backend structure designed by WordPress, plugins designed by hundreds of designers, and content added by me.  I’m in the web business and I’m always getting asked about what I do and what the term “Web 2.0″ means.  In short, it means participation and collaboration.  Using all the ideas and content at your fingertips to create something that is uniquely you.

As I started really thinking about it, I realized that the concepts used to create a great site are not much different than what it takes to create a great family.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Dial-up Modem & Other Things My Kids Won’t Know

I’m in the technology business and am always pushing the envelop of what’s possible online and in my personal “techie” life.  This got me thinking, our kids are so lucky they don’t know what we had to go through to get to where we’re going.  Perfect example, I was in a meeting with an intern and we made a joke about the sound of a dial up modem and she just stared blindly at us while we made that weird noise.  Come on, how can you not know that wonderful, ear-piercing, sound of a modem connecting.

So in an effort to preserve the great moments in our technology lives, I give you the list of things my kids will never know.  With special thanks going out to the Yahoo! Answers community for helping with my research.  Please jump in here and add some of your own.

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It’s Official: My Daughter Loves the Show Hi-5

Every morning when I wake up my daughter (20 months) runs in the bedroom and tell me that Hi-5 is going to be on.  There’s nothing amazing about this post, but as excited as she gets, I’m sure your kid will too.  Hi-5 is a pretty cool kids show that’s on every weekday at 7:00 on Discovery Kids.

I will offer a word of caution, you will be stuck singing their weekly song all day after you watch the show.  Over the last two weeks, I’ve had either their “Some Kind of Wonderful” or “Action Hero” in my head non-stop.  You know, before our daughter came around, I’d have the White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army” bouncing around my skull.  Now, I’m at work reciting the full lyrics to “The Wheels on the Bus” verbatim.  Aside from Hi-5, let’s look at the official, “My Daughter’s Top 3 Favorite Shows” list… Read the rest of this entry »

Rogue Review: Summer Video Baby Monitor

Do you need to spend $180 on a monitor?  No, but this thing is so cool and it’s the only handheld unit that has color video + day/night vision and is built like a truck.  There’s a few reasons that you’ll want this, most importantly, you’ll save trips to the nursery.  There’s been a ton of times when we would have rushed into our daughters room to see what was wrong if it wasn’t for this monitor…  Read the rest of this entry »

McCain vs Obama: Which one is Better for Your Children? Part 3

The final installment of a three part series
In part one; we reviewed how each of the two candidates stands on taxes, health care, inheritance and the environment. Part two covered the environment, life skills and the economy and the final upcoming installment will discuss security, financial planning and government reform. As we wrap up this series of which presidential candidate is best for our children details of this part, let’s review where we stand:

Round 1: Taxes = Winner John McCain
Round 2: Health Care = Winner John McCain
Round 3: Inheritance = Winner Draw
Round 4: Education = Winner Barack Obama
Round 5: The Environment = Winner John McCain
Round 6: Life Skills = Winner John McCain
Round 7: The Economy = Winner John McCain
Round 8: Security
Round 9: Financial Planning
Round 10: Government Reform

Click here to read the part one | Click here to read part two

If you’re all caught up, let’s see how this all concludes…

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McCain vs Obama: Which one is Better for Your Children? Part 2

Part two of a three part series
In part one; we reviewed how each of the two candidates stands on taxes, health care, inheritance and the environment. In this installment of Which Candidate Is Better for Your Children, I will review how each candidate plans to address the environment, life skills and the economy. Before we dive into the details of this part, let’s review the ten rounds and where the contest stands:

Round 1: Taxes = Winner John McCain
Round 2: Health Care = Winner John McCain
Round 3: Inheritance = Winner Draw
Round 4: Education = Winner Barack Obama
Round 5: The Environment
Round 6: Life Skills
Round 7: The Economy
Round 8: Security
Round 9: Financial Planning
Round 10: Government Reform

In the first part, John McCain beat Barack Obama 2 to 1 with 1 draw. Click here to read the part one if you like; If not, let’s see how the next three rounds go…

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Rogue Review: Evenflo X Sport Convenience Stroller

Stop looking for an regular umbrella stroller right now. I don’t know why I always see parents pushing their kids around in those cheap pieces of junk when for just a few bucks more you can get a decent set of wheels. We wanted the compact size of an umbrella stroller, but couldn’t give up the storage that we had in our full size (a buddy of mine called it the Hummer of strollers). We ended up going with the Evenflo X Sport Convenience Stroller after a head-to-head competition with the Jeep compact stroller. here’s why…

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McCain vs Obama: Which one is Better for Your Children? Part 1

Part one of a three part series
(Part 2 |  Part 3)
Everyone’s wondering the same thing… Which candidate is best for my kids? Since many of the policies that a president puts in place have far reaching consequences, both good and bad, we’re not just choosing for ourselves, but future generations. Add to that the pivotal time in in history in which we live and you’ve got a big decision coming in November.

Aside from the here and now you are bombarded with on the evening news, let’s look at each candidates’ official views from a child’s perspective. All information has been taken directly from the official candidate sites for John McCain and Barack Obama and then run through my super accurate analysis system known as my opinion.

Round 1: Taxes
Round 2: Health Care
Round 3: Inheritance
Round 4: Education
Round 5: The Environment
Round 6: Life Skills
Round 7: The Economy
Round 8: Security
Round 9: Financial Planning
Round 10: Government Reform

Now that we’ve got the criteria, lets begin…

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Rogue Review: Alpha Omega Elite by Cosco

We had gotten this as a shower gift before our daughter was born. As new parents, you go through Babies R Us with that scanner and get everything from about 1,000 novelty bibs to a backpack for their first day at school. Had we known that we wouldn’t need this for over a year, we might not have gotten, but I’m very glad that we did. Easy to use, comfortable and just looks good.

We got the Alpha Omega Elite Car Seat from Babies R Us for a shower and started using it just about six months ago once our daughter turned one. It actually has an infant setting when you recline it and face to the rear, however, it was just so much easier to use the carrier that has the associated stroller and car base. It’s Alpha Omega Elite is very comfortable and is a snap to move from one car to the next. We only have two issues with the design… Read the rest of this entry »

Keeping the Castle Clean: Working Parents Need to Pitch In Too.

I’m not the cleanest person in the world. Sometimes I’ll get into a little hot water for leaving a cup out, forgetting to put food away or some other ‘guy’ thing. I’m working on getting better, but can’t make any promises. What I can promise is that I do try.

My wife recently met some of the girls out for dinner and I had to bathe, feed and put our daughter to bed. That’s when it really sunk in, how can you have time to vacuum, dust, get the dishes done, water the plants, sweep the entrance, and on and on. That’s why both parents need to pull their own weight around the home and I’m amazed at how many guys just leave all that stuff to their wives and go relax (keeping in mind that i need to get off my butt a little more too).

So… Here’s my list of things that a family needs to do to share the household chores:

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Tips and Advice: Assembling the Woodridge Playset from Sam’s Club

If you keep up with this blog, you’ll know that I did some pretty extensive research into the best playset for my little princess and chose the Woodridge Playset at Sam’s Club. You can read the original post here.I started the project and wanted to share my experience and insights with anyone out there that may be planning a construction project. It is a construction project, they use the term “Assembly Required” to loosely mean, “we cut the wood, you do the rest.”

Here’s the complete story and step by step tips to build the Woodridge Playset right. I’ve made the mistakes so you don’t have to…

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Hey Parents, You’re Not Allowed to Flake Out! Plus the 10 Commandments of Parenting

When that new little bundle of joy came out you took on a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to feed, clothe and care for them, you have to be a good stable role model. Uh oh, you know what that means? You’ve got to go to work everyday, you’ve got to associate with good people everyday, you’ve got to grow up and keep your eye on the prize EVERYDAY.

My wife has an acquaintance who constantly has drama going on in her life, and it’s taking it’s toll on her kids. Aside from getting moved around the country unnecessarily, they have no stability to anchor themselves. Parents are the only anchor a child has and if they’re flaking out and doing what might “feel good” instead of what “is good,” the children will have no steady point-of-reference, they’ll be learning a powerful (negative) lesson.

Here’s my ten-commandments for parents for the sake of their children:

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The Family Budget & Personal Financial Statement

The single biggest problem in America today is the complete lack of financial education. It’s not taught in schools, glazed over college and completely ignored in 99% of Americans’ lives. Here are five things that a parent MUST DO to improve their family’s financial situation. As the person responsible for the education of the next generation, you’ve got to get your financial house in order and pass that along to your kids. If not, you’re failing as a parent and educator.

1. Get Educated
2. Develop Your Financial Statement
3. Develop Your Budget
4. Get Rid of Bad Debt
5. Plan for Success

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