Technology is one of the great levellers. In the hands of a Dad it can become the ultimate geeky pleasure, happily surfing the net for the latest tweaks and tips, or hours spent optimising and improving. For kids it can be the place where their creativity runs unfettered and they can enjoy hours of exploration and fun. What better way to carry on celebrating Father’s Day than with these great ideas?
Why not combine a child’s love of learning with the Dad’s love of finding things to learn about? Whether you curl together on a sofa with an Eee Pad Transformer, or snuggle in the office chair, you can spend quality time together and boost more than your relationship.
The Campaign for Learning holds a festival in October every year (yes, I am aware that this is some time in the future) to encourage parents to spend more time getting their kids excited about education. On the site is a pretty cool series of activities that you can download and work through together.
If you are planning on spending the summer holidays at home, this is a good way of keeping young minds bright and fresh, and knowledge at the fore. It is a long way to the new school year and a common complaint of teachers is that kids spend the first few weeks acclimatising all over again.
I also discovered a fabulous site for Dads and kids called Dadoodle. You can enjoy free software and learning activities as a taster course, to see what it’s like to join the Dadoodle family, but if you want access to more complex and exciting challenges, then you’ll have to pay an entry fee.
Dadoodle also has courses for Dads that are pretty darn cool. Some of them, like Dads in Demand, make me consider pretending I am a man for a bit. Who doesn’t want to learn how to make computer games or create a film?
And, if all this wasn’t enough to inspire all the Dad’s out there, check out this Daily Mail article which says that children who spend quality time with their father’s have improved brain power and are better behaved.