“Summer camp?” you say. “I’m still thawing out from last night’s freeze!”

Despite the bleak chill outside, you need to start thinking about summer camp now if you want to find the best summer camp for your kids to be participating in come July and August this year.

Lucky for you, our friends at New York Family magazine produce the largest “camp fair” series around. New York Family has been doing these showcases for year to help families with children ages 3 to teen discover the many kinds of day and sleepaway camps available in New York City and throughout the Northeast. These summer camp fairs allow you and your children to meet with counselors and other camp representatives to find the one that will be just right.

Four fairs are coming up, one on each day of the next two weekends, and you would be wise to register now for these New York Family summer camp fairs so you can check them out. Here are the dates:

• Saturday, Jan 23, noon to 3 p.m.: Upper East Side – St Jean Baptiste High School – 167 E. 75th St.
• Sunday, Jan. 24, noon to 3 p.m.: Upper West Side – Congregation Rodeph Sholom – 7 W. 83rd St.
• Saturday, Jan. 30, noon to 3 p.m.: Williamsburg – Williamsburg Northside School – 299 N. 7th St., Brooklyn
• Sunday, Jan. 31, noon to 3 p.m.: Cobble Hill – Brooklyn Heights Montessori School – 9 Bergen St., Brooklyn

Don’t delay with registration. These camp fairs fill up almost as quickly as the camps themselves. And make sure you mark on your calendar to start looking around for the best summer camp for kids once the mercury starts dipping into the 40s or else it sneak up you again.

Calling all New and Expectant Parents!

There are some events we put on your radar for fun, some for education, some to bond with others dads, some to bond with your children, and some for your whole family.

This is an event brings together all of that! It’s the big one! And we encourage all of you (especially the ones with babies and toddlers) to take a minute now to read on, jump in, and share one of our favorite events of the year with us and, more importantly, with your families.

In addition to the generous giveaway of 30 FREE family pass tickets, the New York Baby Show also set aside 50 tickets at 50% off for NYC Dads Group members and their families (see below).

In its family-friendly way, the New York Baby Show is the loving lollapalooza of Baby Shows, where families from the city and the suburbs get to chat with a variety of over 150 maternity, baby, and toddler brands; test-drive many of the best stroller brands in the world; and listen to expert speakers (including from the TODAY SHOW) tackle everything from maternal wellness, to nursery shopping, to adjusting to life with children. Kiddie entertainment, parent-and-me classes, and awesome raffles (like a $5,000 Dream “Green” Nursery) round out the fun.

But you should be aware of the show’s “secret weapon.” Believe or not, it’s you! It’s the dads! With your help, the NYC Dads Group has been an important part of the New York Baby Show from the start, running the Dads Lounge as a comfort zone for dads (and moms) to hang out, to gather, to learn, to use as a rest area before fanning out and enjoying other parts of the show. While we’re stoked to be hosting the #DadsLounge once again this year … we’re thrilled that Dove Men+Care has just come on to sponsor the Dads Lounge! We can’t think of a better brand that supports fathers to collaborate with on the dads lounge.

What’s a dads lounge? It’s an oasis for parents with several changing tables, glider chairs for easy feeding, couches for taking a load off, and bar top tables to socialize all staffed with several NYC Dads Group team members. We hope you’ll include the dads lounge as a mandatory pit-stop during your visit to the show.

Tickets are normally $30 for the family, and $20 per person. Visit www.newyorkbabyshow.com for tickets and details.

30 TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY! 50 TICKETS at 50% OFF!

• The first 30 NYC Dads Group readers to use the promotional code NYCDADSNYBS go for free. BUY NOW
• The next 50 to use NYCDADS50 get a 50 percent discount. BUY NOW
• All others can use NYCDADS10 for a 10 percent discount. BUY NOW

Editor’s Note: To celebrate Mother’s Day, we asked our friends in the dad-o-sphere and beyond what was the greatest lesson their mom taught them that they apply to their own children. Here’s the lessons dad learned.

Be a constant presence

My mom taught me that life happens in the nooks and crannies of our days. Perhaps that is why she always seemed content with who she was and where she was. She lived in the moment.

And she placed herself in the moments of her children. As a child, I was always aware of her presence and availability in my life. I am a better man because of this woman. And I am a better father because she was my mother.

– Jim Higley; author, speaker,
blogger – Bobblehead Dad; @jimhigley

Kitchen improv

Both of my parents can cook, but I learned a good deal of kitchen improvisation from my mother. She was always able to take a basket full of ingredients and make them into something cohesive. Even leftovers could become something new and different the next day. And nowadays, when I’m cooking dinner for my family, I don’t panic if I haven’t got a recipe or if I’ve got a less-than-ideal set of ingredients. The skills that my mom taught me in the kitchen help me feed my family without panicking or rushing to the grocery store for a pre-made meal. Plus, pizza’s cheaper and more delicious when you make it yourself.

– Zach Rosenberg; freelance writer, co-founder – 8BitDad,
co-organizer – L.A. Dads Group; @zjrosenberg

Carry on the conversation

As a teenager, I had many laughably short conversations with my mom that began with her pleasantly inquiring about my day and ended soon after with my classic teenage non-starter responses like “fine” or “good.” Thankfully, by my mid-20s, my mom and I had a very different dynamic: conversational, personal, fun. I valued her input and generosity. I enjoyed her company. She died at 72. I was 32. She once told me that as much as she wanted to see me married and with children, she knew she couldn’t compel it, so instead she just tried to be a good mom to the person I was. I couldn’t compel it either, but I eventually did become a husband (and a father) and I would say that for me the very best part of my relationship with my wife is how much we like to chat with each other. To give some very important credit where it’s due, I think that makes me a momma’s boy.

– Eric Messinger, editor of New York Family magazine

Lend an ear

My 4-year old son has started telling me stories. Sometimes it’s a ninja turtles fight scene; other times, the entire plot of Frozen (which we saw together). Whenever he goes on one of these detailed rambles, I smile and nod attentively because I’m reminded of how often I came home from a movie or finished a book and couldn’t wait to retell the entire thing to my mother — always a captive audience, never rushing me along; letting me cram in every triviality. I admire her patience and aspire to the same with my child. I look forward to many more years of him coming to me in excitement because he knows I’ll not just listen, but attempt to share in his excitement. I realize now those interchanges with Mom made me a better storyteller — to find significance in the minutia, to revel in the unraveling of a tale, and the freedom found in an eager listener.

– Brent Almond; designer – Design Nut,
blogger – Designer Daddy, @DesignerDaddy

Lessons Dad Learned: Patience

My mom taught me patience. I’m not saying she was always patient in every situation, but the times she was are the ones that I remember. In sixth grade, I had the lead in our school Shakespeare play and I couldn’t for the life of me memorize my lines. She sat with me for hours every night for a month, listening to me stall and mess up dialogue and soliloquies over and over. I don’t remember her ever getting frustrated with me once. In fact, I remember her smiling and nodding and celebrating every inch of progress. And when the performance came, she was in the front row with the same smile. She made me feel strong. She still does.

Now, when my daughter is trying over and over and over to accomplish a task, I resist the urge to take it from her and do it. Sure, I help when asked, but mostly I smile and I cheer and I hope she feels strong.

– John Kinnear; writer/editor – Ask Your Dad Blog; @askdadblog

Lessons dad learned main photo: Nissan

June typically spells warm weather, more playground time for families, and heartwarming stories surrounding father’s day.  That’s true this year, with many of our favorite local parenting and lifestyle magazines publishing father’s day articles.  However, the content has more depth this year & we hope you’ll agree.  A step in the right direction.  Here is our brief roundup:

• Our friends at New York Family Magazine leads the field on depth, quantity, and wow-factor.  With about 25% of this month’s magazine dedicated to dadcentric material, check out The DAD CHRONICLES (a round up of parenting stories from a diverse group of dads including one of our own, Jack Howard-Potter www.steelstatue.com)….or IN THE BALANCE, a GROUNDBREAKING conversation between five working fathers (you might recognize a few of the players involved here so we are biased) & a professor on the juggle of career and home…and NINTENDO THERAPY including an excerpt from Buzz Bissinger about his new book, Father’s Day: The Story of His Intellectually Challenged & Gifted Son.  Check out these articles or grab a free copy of the magazine in the Turquoise colored drop box on your street corner.

• New York Metro Parents (aka Big Apple Parent) had a unique photo story and related contest based on concept from a new book Dear Photograph by Taylor Jones (William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; $25.99) to celebrate and display special parenting memories & moments in honor of Father’s Day.   Additionally, they gave the NYC Dads Group a special shout out by including a nice piece “Spotlighting” our New Dad Boot Camp workshops  + an in-depth interview.  Thanks to Dawn Roode, Vanessa Friedman, Kaitlin Ahern, and the entire team! Check out these articles or grab a free copy of the magazine in the Blue colored drop box on your street corner.

• Manhattan Parent Guide News caught up with Jeremy G. Schneider, a therapist that is a positive voice on active, engaged, and involved fatherhood.  Check out his piece: The Father-Child Connection: Building bonds even when work calls.

A dad-friend told me this week that he’s “been failing miserably in (his) work/life balance goals.”  Instead of ribbing him about it, I commended him for even establishing a set of goals for handling the challenging juggle between career and family.  Consequently, lots of dads are starting to express their desire to be serious about their careers while also striving to be the fathers they want to be.  Recently, we have had several informal lunch conversations with dads focusing on work/life balance, it’s a topic we often write about here on the blog, and it’s a hot topic of discussion for many dads in our New Dad Boot Camp workshops.

Picture this: six working dads brown bagging it at the lunch table and having a casual conversation about juggling career and family and what the 21st century workplace should look like.  Sound unusual?  Groundbreaking?  the New Normal?  Well, this is basically what happened a few weeks ago & we want to publicly share with everyone what we talked about.  Discussing questions like: How do you balance career and family? Can you excel in your career and be the parent you want to be?  Has becoming a parent changed your career aspirations?

The team of six dads involved:

• Scott Heiferman: Founder and CEO of Meetup; father of an 18-month-old girl.
• Rob Candelino: VP Marketing at Unilever; father of an 11-month-old boy.
• Dr. Brad Harrington: Executive Director of the Boston College Center for Work & Family; Research specialist on working fathers and work/life balance.
• Eric Messinger: Editor of New York Family magazine; father of 12-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy.
• Lance Somerfeld: Co-organizer of NYC Dads Group; father of a 4-year old boy.
• Matt Schneider: Co-organizer of NYC Dads Group; father of a 4-year old and a 7-year old boy.

The editor and co-publisher of New York Family Magazine, Eric Messinger, is an involved father. How do I know this? Well, if you frequently read their free weekly e-newsletter like I do, you would know by his personalized notes on “parenting with sense and sensibility” describing his trials and tribulations with parenting his own children. Secondly, he has been instrumental in supporting our NYC Dads Group. Lastly, pick up the new June issue of New York Family Magazine and you will realize from the significant amount of real estate they devote to dads. Most dads know that June is the month that the media focuses on fathers. Most newspapers, broadcast shows, or magazines have their token heartwarming article about dad. The New York Family Magazine June issue has over 15 pages devoted to dads! If you are a dad (or any parent in NYC for that matter) and don’t read this resourceful & engaging magazine or subscribe to their weekly e-newsletter – you are missing the boat!

In Messinger’s opening editor’s note, he states “I’m going to extrapolate and recommend this special June issue as the rare parenting magazine that might genuinely engage fathers. Certainly we’ve tried our best to discuss, reflect and celebrate the complicated richness of being a dad at this time in our society.” He is absolutely correct in this statement. The magazine covers a children’s book author, an environmental advocate, the Chairman of the NYC Housing Authority, the founder of the Max Cure Foundation, an inspiring dad who was diagnosed with cancer (worried his daughters would grow up without a dad) and enlisted six of his friends to take his place, local morning CBS anchor – Maurice DuBois – sharing his story of fatherhood, and so much more including a focus piece on the NYC Dads Group.

If you continue reading the editor’s note, it was hard for me to not be personally touched(that sharp sense of reward in your gut where the hair stands up on your neck when reading it) when he shared this personal story:

The other day I was sharing an elevator ride in my building with a mom and dad and their big-cheeked, three-month old cutie. As I cooed about the baby, the father mentioned to me that he really liked an item we had in one of our weekly e-newsletters about the NYC Dads Group, a local father’s group (featured in the issue – link below) that does an excellent job of bringing together dads for playgroups and lectures, and really for friendship.

I only know my neighbor well enough to say that he’s friendly and burly. But how nice that an item from a parenting newsletter resonated strongly enough with him that he remembered it. And how nice that we’ve gotten to a place in our society that dads are now so involved with raising their children that they themselves feel like it might be a good idea to be part of a supportive group of other fathers in much the same way moms have been for years. And I don’t think my neighbor is an at-home dad either.

As you can understand, I sit at my computer writing this entry with a true sense of pride and purpose. I sit here knowing that my favorite parenting magazine “really gets” what the NYC Dads Group is all about – a caring and active bunch of fathers who enjoy spending quality time with their children during the day who want to connect with one another! Please take the time to read the New York Family Magazine personal piece on myself and learn a little more about what the NYC Dads Group are all about:

MOVING BEYOND “Mr. Mom” written by Michelle Levine.

Still seeking more? Who is the NYC Dads Group?

NYC Dads Group is a diverse group of over 200 members providing at-home dads and other involved fathers an opportunity to socialize and support each other as we navigate parenthood. We, along with our kids, meet at least weekly at various venues around the city including museums, parks, zoos, indoor play-areas, parent-and-me classes, etc. There are not enough resources, support, or services for Dads in New York City. This group is the pioneer in achieving more for Dads in NYC!

NYC Dads Group started in November 2008 as a small playgroup—enjoying visits at local kid-friendly restaurants, zoos, and museums whenever possible. Thanks to our creative and energetic members, the group has hosted other activities including baby sign-language class, children’s yoga, an excursion to Governor’s Island, playtime at indoor play-spaces, live theater, picnics, playground tours, dad’s nights out, author discussions, film screenings, parenting enrichment workshops, and more! Most events are free or low-cost.

NYC Dads Group is composed of full-time at home dads, part-time at home dads, dads who work full-time in an office, freelance journalists, photographers, teachers with ample vacation and summers off, self-employed guys, work from home fathers, numerous dads who chose their role to be an at-home dad, a few forced into the role by the economy, dads born on U.S. soil, guys born abroad, fellas of all ethnic backgrounds, dads who are diehards that come to all of the events, dads who only attend events in their neighborhood, and some dads who don’t attend any group events.” Matt S., our vice-organizer pointed out that “this is no longer a “stay-at-home” Dads group. NYC is full of Dads spending time with their kids during the day, and this group welcomes Dads of all stripes.

NYC Dads Group also manages this blog: The DESTINATION for caring and involved dads looking for interesting thoughts, relevant news and articles, children’s venue reviews, as well as playgroup information. This blog helps build community and creates a support network of involved fathers as we navigate parenthood.

• Visit our meet-up group website to join or learn more about the NYC Dads Group

• If you enjoyed visiting this blog site, please scroll down on the right margin and become a “FOLLOWER” or subscribe to this blog

With the scarcity of resources for dads out there, it’s nice to see that one of our local magazine’s really “gets it.” New York Family Magazine publishes dad-friendly information more frequently than most other parenting magazines that I read. One of this month’s feature articles was no exception! Many parents these days are more hands-on with their children. Consequently, a book has evolved on guiding couples to combine their individual strengths in order to co-parent successfully. “In their book “Partnership Parenting,” husband-and-wife team, Dr. Kyle Pruett and Marsha Kline Pruett, explore the different qualities that men and women bring to child-rearing.”

In the April edition of New York Family Magazine, “Viva Le Difference,” by Mary Squillace, includes an in-depth Q & A interview with both Dr. Kyle Pruett and Marsha Kline Pruett. The Pruetts provide insight to defining co-parenting, why splitting 50/50 doesn’t make sense, the differences between the way men and women parent, and improving communication.

The highlight for me was the question: Right away babies have a unique bond with their mothers. How can a father become more involved in building his relationship with the baby?

Kyle’s answer: The best way to take advantage of the baby’s interest in the father is for the father to be present as often as possible and involved in the physical care of the baby so the baby and father begin to develop their own rhythm, interaction and communication. It has to do with feeding, bathing, clothing, comforting— it’s not rocket science. Any social support that can get the father close to the baby early in its life is going to be quite a smart investment in the well-being of the relationship that develops between the father and the baby. The fact that you each do some things better than the other allows you to each have a role that is sort of identifiable.