April is Testicular Cancer Awareness month. And, the men’s health advocates of The Movember Foundation want guys to get to “Know Thy Nuts.”

About 70,000 men in the world annually receive a diagnosis of cancer of the testicles. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s the most common cancer found in American males between ages 15 and 35.

The good news: It’s still fairly rare, making up only 1% of all male tumors. More good news: When discovered early on in a man, it is highly treatable and the survival rate is 95%. The bad news: Most of those guys most vulnerable to the disease don’t know how to check their boys downstairs.

Online tool to help Know Thy Nuts

The Movember Foundation, a leading global organization dedicated to bringing awareness to serious health concerns for men, has created the Nuts & Bolts online tool to help dudes learn the essentials about testicular cancer. This includes:

• how to check for and recognize changes in one’s testicles
• what to do if you do notice something odd down there
• other symptoms to watch for
• what to expect if you go to the doctor for a checkup down under
• a community Q&A to help take the fear and mystery out of receiving a diagnosis
• what a diagnosis means for your sex life and chances of fathering a child later on

The Nuts & Bolts tool can even hook you up with a testicular cancer survivor to help guide you through your own treatment and recovery if you are diagnosed.

The vast majority of guys won’t find something wrong with their testicles, The Movember Foundation notes. However, the campaign stresses it’s important for men to check down there regularly. According to their website, about 70 percent of men don’t regularly give themselves a feel down there to see if everything is in order.

City Dads Group has regularly supported The Movember Foundation on its mission to make men more aware of health issues specific to their gender, such as prostate cancer, mental health issues and suicide. This includes its signature event: the November growing of mustaches to raise awareness and money for research.

Possible testicular cancer risk factors

• Undescended testicles at birth.
• Being related to someone who’s had testicular cancer.
• Having had testicular cancer before.
• Race and ethnicity – risk is higher in the United States and Europe, and lower in Africa and Asia.
• Common symptoms: Lump or swelling in testicle area; dull ache in abdomen or groin

With school on winter recess and families hunkered down for what may be the toughest season yet in the world’s COVID-19 crisis, this is a good time to brush up on your pandemic parenting skills.

What are those?

Motivating your children to exercise rather than plop down with the electronics.

Keeping the little ones busy so you can do your work.

Making online learning work for you and your kids.

Our longtime partner Dove Men+Care has been overseeing a “Dads Care” campaign series of dad-written and -produced “how to” videos in 2020, many of which cover topics specific to parenting during pandemic times. The men’s grooming products company recently cultivated several topical playlists from this collection to assist moms and dads struggling these days.

+ + View all ‘how to’ pandemic parenting videos + +

Dove Men+Care also broke down these videos into smaller playlists. One focuses on working parents, the other on remote learning. These pandemic parenting videos are include:

• How to keep kids entertained while working from home
• How to help your children learn from home
• How to teach kids to manage and express stress
• How to wash your hands properly (featuring DJ Khaled)
• How to give your child a haircut

+ + View the working parents videos + +

Several City Dads Group members have made these “Dads Care” videos, some of which have been highlighted on this blog and in these playlists.

Dove Men+Care has long been committed to shattering outdated stereotypes about what it means to be a man and a father. City Dads Group has worked with them multiple times to help champion men in their roles as fathers. These causes include:

• working to establish universal paid paternity leave in the United States,
• the “Fathers Day Taken Fund” to help for families of black fathers who have lost their lives due to racism and violence, and
• thanking father figures who have mentored children who are not their own.

+ + View the remote learning videos + +

Photo: © stockphoto mania / Adobe Stock.

Why is parenting self-care more important than ever? Because it’s been a trying year for everyone, but parents with young children have been hit especially hard because of COVID-19.

Schools replaced with remote learning, making moms and dads full-time teachers. Daycares closed. Playgroups forbidden. Playgrounds taped off. Youth sports canceled. Even the family vacation got scrubbed in 2020.

If you haven’t burned out yet, you’re probably on the brink.

The need for parents to practice self-care is greater than ever because of the added stress and demands on our time. Self-care isn’t being selfish. It’s ensuring you are healthy, relaxed and ready so you can be at the top of your game when the ones you love need you most.

Parental self-care takes many forms. It can be five minutes of daily meditation, regular walks in the woods, taking breaks from electronics or just about anything that puts you and your well-being front and center for at least a part of your day. The result: a calmer, happier you who can better deal with what life and those darn kids throw at you.

To help you rejuvenate this holiday season, our longtime partner Dove Men+Care has compiled several self-care videos for moms and dads from its “Dads Care” campaign.

These videos, part of the dad-produced “how to” series the men’s grooming products company oversaw this year, cover several topics that can help you get your groove back in the coming new year. These parenting self-care topics include:

• How to Embrace Imperfect Parenting
• How To Do Yoga at Home With Kids
• How to Exercise with Kids at Home
• How to Teach Kids to Meditate
• How to Teach Kids to Manage Stress

City Dads Group members have done several of these “Dads Care” videos, some of which have been highlighted on this blog.

Photo: © Antipina / Adobe Stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Flor Mercado of our Orlando Dads Group, with a little help from his daughter talking about co-parenting while social distancing during the pandemic.

Co-parenting can be a struggle sometimes and, let’s be honest, adding social distancing to it can bring up even greater challenges. For those unfamiliar with co-parenting, it is when a mom and a dad live in two different households and still do everything possible to take care of their child.

Take care errands when your child is away

When my daughter is with me for the week, her mom takes care of all her grocery shopping, any post office runs, doctor visits — anything that would involve her leaving the home and coming in contact with others. That way it keeps all of us safe and her out of harm’s way. Next week, I will basically do the same on my end.

Keep others away

Another precaution we take is to eliminate visits from family and friends. Although we love them and we want to see them every day and as much as possible, we have put that on pause for now. We instead utilize video calls, sometimes multiple times a day. This, again, is keep both households and ourselves as safe as possible and away from any potential threats or viruses that we may encounter.

Quarantine when necessary

Sometimes life happens and we may have to come in contact with others. In that case we do quarantine ourselves for 14 days. Even though this is outside of our routine schedule, sometimes it has to be done to ensure the safety not just of our daughter but also for us, her parents. We don’t want to be transferring things from one house to the other so a 14-day quarantine is something that we do for ourselves just to make sure.

Photo: © Satjawat / Adobe Stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Devon Bandison of our NYC Dads Group, with a little help from his son, talking about teaching children about the impact of their words.

My son and I often discuss the impact, good and bad, our words can have on others. Today, we want to focus on using our words to encourage yourself and others.

Each night, we have a ritual. We stand in front of the mirror and we do what we call affirmations. Affirmations are words that empower you, that encourage you. Oftentimes, we hear some negative things, maybe on TV or in the news or in life, and it can bring us down. We use words of affirmation because our words have powerful impact on how positive we can be.

I’ve taught my son that the two most powerful words we know in the human language are: I am. So when we look in the mirror each night to say our affirmations, we use powerful “I am” statements. Some of the ones my son likes to use are:

• I am smart.
• I am someone who can do anything.
• I am a good basketball player.

We add to these affirmations every night because what we found is that when you speak words that are powerful and positive words about yourself, they tend to have a powerful and positive impact on yourself. They make you feel good about yourself. If they have this type of effect on yourself, imagine what kind of impact powerful and positive remarks can have in others around you. They can really make a difference in everyday life.

Photo: © Josie Elias / Adobe Stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Marlon Gutierrez of our Orlando Dads Group talking about how to support your pregnant partner.

My wife is nine months pregnant and she’s due at any time now with our second baby. It’s been a very stressful time to say the least. There’s a lot of things that have happened (like COVID-19, my suffering a dislocated shoulder and more) that we could have never planned for. While there’s nothing we dads can do to take away all the stress and anxiety that comes with this very difficult time, there are some things that we can do to provide better support for our pregnant partner or spouse.

Get educated on pregnancy (and more)

It’s important for you to not only get educated on what pregnancy is all about but also on the labor, the delivery and also what happens postpartum. It may seem overwhelming to find a lot of this information, but thankfully there’s a lot of resources that you can tap into. There’s books written by other dads for you to get a clear picture of what’s going on. There’s also some courses you can take, with or without your partner, online or in person.  We found doing ones together really helped prepare us and put us in the right mindset for everything coming our way. It helped us feel like we had a little bit more control about the whole situation.

Prepare your home for baby

Put some time into a creative outlet like building the nursery and gather baby supplies so everything is ready when your child arrives. Order things early just in case there’s a shipping delay so your not scrambling at the last minute. Create a nursery environment that’s going to feel very safe and nurturing. After we created ours, we found it to be a place we could both go to break away from all the stress. Make it a place you can go to disconnect from the news of the world and just think about your baby and the hopes and aspirations you have for him or her.

Give physical support to your pregnant partner

Ask your partner if there’s anything you can take off her plate: if there’s a big decision that needs to be made or things around the house to get done so there is one less thing she needs to worry about. With the pregnancy, there comes a lot of hormonal imbalances and other things that create stress. Your being present and helpful are great ways to help with those things.

Offer emotional support, too

You have to be a friend. Make sure you’re open and you’re flexible to hearing anything your partner may say without having to react to it. Right now your partner just needs a support person they can talk to about whatever fears and apprehensions she may have.

Take care of yourself

If you’re gonna be the person that your partner needs and the dad you want to be, you have to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself. With everything going on in your home and the world, there’s a lot of stress and anxiety you are feeling. There’s a lot of things that you probably don’t share with your partner because you don’t want to add on to her stress. One thing I have found really helps me is to connect with other dads. Whether it is through an online group or in person, it has worked really well.

Support your pregnant partner photo: © Rido / Adobe Stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Brent Almond of our Baltimore Dads Group, with a little help from his son talking about how to get your children into arts and crafts projects.

During quarantine — or anytime, really — it can be easy to plop the kids in front of a screen and call it a day. Coming up with non-screen activities can be stressful.

Crafts are a tried-and-true way for kids to flex their creativity and stimulate their brains. It can also be a great bonding time with your kids. And let’s be honest, it’s also a nice distraction while you try to get some work done.

While I’ve been a graphic designer and illustrator for over 20 years, I sometimes feel like I’m still getting the hang of being a dad. But I know from experience that coming up with ideas for crafts and pulling all the supplies together can be overwhelming. So I’ve put together five tips to hopefully make it easier for you to get your kids crafting.

1. Things are about to get messy

It goes without saying that combining kids and crafts is a recipe for mess! That’s why it’s good to lay down some newspaper, cardboard or an old bed sheet on any surface you don’t want to get stained. The same goes for clothing — wear something you’re okay getting covered in dirt, glue, paint … or, of course, glitter!

If you can work outside, even better! Just keep in mind that a gust of wind, stray leaf or wayward bug can quickly ruin a prized craft creation.

2. Use what you already have

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have any “real” crafting supplies. If going to the craft store isn’t an option, take a trip through your house and you’ll likely find all the supplies you need. Some of the best stuff can be found in the kitchen, garage, playroom and backyard.

You and your kids can go hunting together to make it fun, and don’t worry if something seems unusable at first — it may spark an idea to create something amazing! Our trek around the house and yard produced an amazing bounty: straws, vegetable containers, twist ties, duct tape, plastic Easter eggs, loose board game pieces, buttons, pine cones, twigs and shoelaces.

And if you don’t have some of the basics like scissors, glue or markers, you can always grab some on your next run to the supermarket or pharmacy.

3. Have a crafty plan

Give the craft time a purpose or some direction. Even a basic plan will make it more fun for the kids and help ensure you get your kitchen table back in time for dinner.

Remember that it doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. It can be as simple as a thank you sign for the pizza delivery guy, decorating old clothes to make dress-up costumes, or a Father’s Day card for your favorite dad.

If you’re totally at a loss, there’s always the internet — search “kids crafts” or “crafts for 10-year-olds.” That will give you more than enough options.

A few other ideas to get you started: color a sign for a virtual birthday party; create a board game using action figures as game pieces; learn origami; make party decorations for an upcoming holiday; build a wind chime from a coat hanger and mismatched metal utensils. Or set up your craft time like one of those cooking shows — give the kids four or five materials, a time limit, and then see what they come up with on their own.

4. Every kid creates arts and crafts differently

When it comes to creativity, every kid is unique. Some kids need more specific directions, some like to create as they go, and some kids don’t like crafts at all. Consider what interests your kids and let that be a guide for how you go about this.

For example, if you have a kid that says they don’t like arts and crafts but they’re really into games — have them create their own board game or a deck of cards. Or if your child loves to read or write, have them make a bookmark or decorate a journal cover. Take cues from your child’s personality and interests, and you’re sure to have a successful craft session.

5. Let your kids do their own thing

As an artist, this is the hardest one for me — but you’ve got to let your kids make their own creations.

Sometimes it’s fun to do arts and crafts with your kids, but sometimes they want to go it alone. In either situation it’s key to let them express themselves however they want and get as messy as they want. Keep a closer eye on younger kids with scissors and glue, but otherwise let them go for it.

When it comes down to it, arts and crafts are really about the process, not the product. The finished crafts are often a souvenir of the experience!

I hope these tips have been helpful. The main thing is to not sweat the details — kids will be creative with whatever you give them, and will always surprise you with what they come up with!

A version of this post first appeared on Designer Daddy. Arts and crafts photo: ©Photographee.eu / Adobe Stock.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Drew Bennett of our Boston Dads Group, with a little help from his son, Andy, talking about how to help kids stay physically active. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BechfYINwI

When the COVID-19 quarantine happened, I became the de facto phys ed teacher for our family, tasked with keeping us healthy and physically active. Here’s three important tips if you find yourself in the same role or just want to get every one away from their screens and moving again.

Be consistent

Make sure that every day or every other day you are doing something. Let your children  know that some sort of physical activity is on the schedule, and that we’re doing it no matter what.

Andy and I go for a walk every morning. It helps get our day going with a little energy. We also take martial arts classes twice a week via Zoom. We make sure we do those classes at the same time so we having something to look forward to on a regular, consistent basis.

Turn a game into a physical activity and vice versa

We set up in our backyard something that that we use for a game in order to try some different physical activities. For example, we make challenges out of things like push-ups or high knees or jumping in and out of boxes. We took some chalk and turned our walkway into

a kind of ladder with different colored squares (you can also do this if you have a real ladder you can lay on the ground). You can decide that every square you step in requires a different activity, like doing high knees in one and jumping jacks in another, or just have your kids run in and outs through every square.

Make it a challenge

Here’s an example of how we get two things done at once. Matching up socks from the laundry is a chore, right? Not if you challenge your child to see who can match them up faster. For every pair of socks, I match Andy has to do a push-up. For every pair he matches, I have to do a push-up. We go until we finish all of the socks — it’s a fun and physically active way to complete a not-so-fun task.

Physically active children photo: © anekoho / Adobe Stock.

Our longtime partner Dove Men+Care is teaming with the National Basketball Players Association in an effort to better society for Black men.

The Commit to C.A.R.E (Care About Racial Equity) Now Initiative will showcase, honor and celebrate the humanity of Black men while addressing issues such as public safety, safe and fair voting, community engagement and the accurate portrayal of Black men in media.

“Black men and our community have been suffering far too long from the negative portrayals that have been built into our society, which is why we are honored to partner with the NBPA to help drive transformative change and amplify the voices and work of the players,” Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief operating officer of the men’s grooming products parent, Unilever N.A. Beauty and Personal Care, said in a news release. “We all have a responsibility to advocate for racial equity, including challenging the misrepresentation of Black men to help save lives. This partnership will help us work towards a brighter and more just future.”

The Commit to C.A.R.E. Now Initiative asks people to help by doing two things:

1. Sign the Commit To C.A.R.E. Now Pledge

The pledge says signers will:

• Educate themselves and start courageous conversations about racial injustices, particularly with Black men.
• Take personal responsibility to stand up against racism, lead by example and spread the message.
• Be an advocate for the cause by supporting legislative change that will help save lives.

2. Sign a petition for The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

The petition encourages the U.S. Senate to pass legislation (H.R. 7120) that offers a comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, end racial profiling, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives.

Black Men Care video released

A recently released video for the initiative features pros Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Aaron Gordon, Jaylen Brown and Danny Green promoting their work to correct the depictions of Black men in media and culture that too often rely on harmful stereotypes.

“Our partnership with Dove Men+Care is groundbreaking because it emphasizes the humanity of our players and calls on the world to see them as men – not just as athletes. We are eager and committed to systemic change that will make the world more equitable for them and for all Black men,” Payne Brown, president of THINK450, the innovation and partnership engine of the NBPA, said in a news release.

The Commit to C.A.R.E. Now Initiative is one of many Dove Men+Care has taken over the years to try to try the public’s perception of modern fatherhood. City Dads Group has worked with them multiple times on campaigns to champion men in their roles as fathers, such as the fight for paid paternity leave. This year, the company has placed more of an emphasis on matters of racial violence and injustice.

In June, it launched “Father’s Day Taken,” a pro-fatherhood fundraising initiative to remember the thousands of black dads who have lost their lives due to racism and violence, and the families left behind. DM+C established a fund to invest $1 million to support these families in need.

EDITOR’S NOTE: City Dads Group is working with longtime partner Dove Men+Care to create “how to” videos for the grooming products company’s “Dads Care” campaign. We will be featuring the videos and scripts our members appear in. This one features Devon Bandison of our NYC Dads Group, with a little help from his son, talking about how to teach kids to meditate.

My son and I have been meditating for about two years. We started doing about five minutes every day or every other day and then we’ve moved up to 15 minutes each morning. We find meditation is a great way to start our day. It helps us relax and stay calm, something very important during these days when so many families are home together for extended periods of time.

One common misconception about meditation is that you have to sit a certain way. You can sit on the floor, you can sit on the bed, you can actually lay down: it really is up to you and what you find most your comfortable.

Let’s look at three different types of meditation you can try with your children.

Balloon breathing

We call it this because when you inhale through your nose, your belly actually goes out like a balloon inflating. You close your eyes, inhale through your nose and fill that belly up and then exhale through your mouth so your belly deflates.

Guided meditation

This is when someone talks you through the process as you’re doing it. Sometimes they’ll tell you to focus on your breathing. Sometimes, they’ll tell you to focus on a sensation or a particular thought. You can find meditation apps — some free, some paid — podcasts, videos and audio to help you through this if you don’t know how or if you are not around to guide your child.

Silent meditation

This is exactly what is. There’s no sound. Nobody’s talking. It’s just you and your breathing and your thoughts. We like this style because it allows us to stay with our thoughts and what emphasize is that there’s no good or bad thoughts. Thoughts are kind of like a cloud in the sky. One moment, you just notice and, eventually, it will pass.

Photo: © Konstantin Yuganov / Adobe Stock.