This is the third post in a four-part series on our ultimate go-to spot for an L.A. play date. Check out our first post on why these dads came to LA and our second post on kid-friendly places to eat. And come back next week for the next in the series on the author’s most “L.A.” parenting experience.

Where is your ultimate go-to spot for am L.A. play date (weekday or weekend)?

My go to spot for a play date is the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys. There is so much to see there, and yet you think you’re no longer in LA! There is also an adjacent park area to picnic and allow the children to play.

-JOËL LËOJ, L.A. Dads Group Co-Organizer; blogger @Joël Lëoj

So many places! We love everything that the City of LA has to offer from the Zoo to Griffith Observatory to any City park, public library, or pony rides in the park. The Central Library in Downtown LA is an incredible building with a huge children’s book section, story time, and lots of places to play. You can also go to the 100+ year-old Angel’s Flight and ride up and down on the world’s shortest rail and then get lunch at either Grand Central Market for a smorgasbord of food or Clifton’s Republic – a blast-from-the-past playground for kids (and adults – they have a bar, too!). Most of them have free parking but check open times first because I have definitely shown up too early or on days when they aren’t open.

– Eli Lipmen, LA Dads Group Blog Editor; Blogger @Badassparenting

My kids are older now (tween and teen, respectively), so play dates have been replaced with extracurricular activities and the occasional “hanging out.” That said, the overwhelming majority of play dates over the years were held at outdoor areas: parks, beaches, hiking trails, etc. In fact, those are still our go-to spots for family fun and fun with other families.

– Whit Honea, Author of The Parents’ Phrase Book; founder of @dads4change.

Soccer of course!

– Juan Pablo Delgado Gomez, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer

This is probably the most predictable answer, the beach! You have the most options: swimming/surfing, building sand castles and so much more!

– Trevor Mulligan, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer; Blogger @OneSAHD

Happy Father’s Day

 Sunday 8:30am:

I am making a bagel while putting away clean dishes, waiting for my coffee to be done brewing and singing along with Pearl Jam. My boys are watching Larvas on Netflix in the living room and my wife is back asleep in bed (she was probably up at 5am with Mason). Miles turns 8 this Saturday. This is my 8th Fathers Day?!?!

This is fatherhood at it’s best

I am not bragging, but more enjoying this parenting bliss that can go as fast as it comes. The first full week of summer had a bit of a rough beginning but ended amazing. I feel like I am standing in the eye of a hurricane – I want to hold on to this as long as I can!

I took a big step back from social media to re-evaluate what was happening in my life. People ask if I am ok, worried I might be depressed. It’s actually the opposite, I haven’t been happier and more relaxed in a long time. I appreciate things more, I am communicating with my family better. Changing my focus has been awesome, but not without some downfalls.

 The time is flying by faster everyday. I rarely see my friends and although it does make me a little sad, I am happy to know that when I do see them it won’t be long until we fall right back into each other’s world laughing about old time and making new memories.

Fathers gather together

Last night was an amazing night at a friends house where we celebrated Father’s Day on Father’s Eve. I got to see friends I haven’t seen in a few years and meet new friends. For just for few hours we ate, drank and shared stories.

I am so blown away by the stories, it humbles me. There were all kind of dads, new dads, old dads, dads with a single child to dads with six kids! The diversity made it an incredible experience.

One dad had become a dad on a month’s notice. He stepped up to a bad situation and made sure he took care of what was most important (family). He has altered his whole existence for this child and it is the most unselfish thing a person can do. I won’t go into all of his story but it is one of many from last night.

There were different items being given away last night, such as Britax’s B-Mobile Stroller

The dads who were interested put their names the drawing and although I didn’t need it I wanted to put my name in and if I won I was giving it to the dad above. As luck has it, I won it and it was awesome to be able to give this guy something I know he will get good use out of!

Other dads had to wait years to have a child, which then ended up being twins. I can image the highs and lows of that situation. All of the fathers there had different stories of where they are, where the came from and where they are going.

I am extremely honored to be able to hang with these amazing fathers.

We are all on our own journeys but we all have the same objective, to be the best father we can be. I salute all the fathers out there that are taking an active role in their kids lives and I look forward to sharing many more Father’s Eves/Days with amazing fathers like last night.

This is the second post in a four-part series on why parents love living in LA. Check out last week’s post and come back next week for the next in the series on the ultimate go-to spot for play dates. 

Where is your favorite kid-friendly place to eat (on any budget)?

I’ve always felt that kid-friendly was a matter of opinion (unless the establishment has a rule against kids, then screw ‘em). We enjoy a variety of places, but we’re suckers for stuff like Golden Road Brewery where the food is good, there is root beer on tap and the kids can play ping-pong or watch some soccer. We’re also fans of the occasional grilled cheese at In-N-Out or the closest Mexican food restaurant.

– Whit Honea, Author of The Parents’ Phrase Book; founder of @dads4change.

Well, at this point my kids are growing up and we love to eat almost everything!! We don’t have a special place but we love sushi.

– Juan Pablo Delgado Gomez, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer

We do not visit restaurants often, but when we do it’s normally BJ’s for some pizza and homemade root beer. They have an activity sheet for the kids to keep busy and enough TVs to keep the happy and or distracted!

– Trevor Mulligan, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer; Blogger @OneSAHD

Our family eats Asian food a lot and we like to do  “sushi night” once a month where we go to the local Japanese market (either Mitsuwa or Marukai) and pick out some fresh fish and vegetables for tempura and then make it all at home. It is a fun (and inexpensive) way to enjoy our favorite food without trying to keep three young kids contained in a restaurant. When we go out, we love going to Ramen Yamadaya because the ramen is incredible, the service is quick, and all five of us can get full for under $40!

– Eli Lipmen, LA Dads Group Blog Editor; Blogger @Badassparenting

My favorite kid friendly place to eat is Gum Tree Cafe in Hermosa Beach. This place offers up organic and locally sourced ingredients. Some of our favorites are the lentil soup, Gum Tree ma and cheese (which is super fresh tasting) and the avocado toast.

-JOËL LËOJ, LA Dads Group Co-Organizer; blogger @Joël Lëoj

We have been having a hard time coming up with ideas for new blog posts (send them to us, please!) so we reached out to a few dads and bloggers in the LA area and asked them a few questions about their LA experience. We are going to share their responses in four-part series on everything from their favorite kid-friendly spot for play dates to their most memorable LA parenting experience. So strap in and enjoy the ride on this journey that we call “Parents Love LA!” 

Question #1: Why did you come to LA (or if you are from here, what has kept you here)?

We moved to the area for two reasons, one being that my wife’s family lives here and her father’s health was such that she wanted to have time with him. In addition, I had started a production company that was getting some attention and required regular flights to L.A. (from Seattle). Of course, now my wife’s father has passed and none of the production projects were ever developed, but the schools are great and the beach is nice. We’re also partial to theme parks.

– Whit Honea, Author of The Parents’ Phrase Book; founder of @dads4change.

I came here with my family almost 4 years ago to have a better understanding of the culture (lifestyle, economy, education) as well as to have for my kids a progressive-quality education since they are Mexican-American citizens. Not to mention to feel safety as well.  Yo never take for granted your safety way of life. A hostile and unsafe life-style can mess up everything. For me as a Father and entrepreneur I was looking to expand my business here but instead, I choose to start a new career here as part of reinventing myself.”

– Juan Pablo Delgado Gomez, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer

I am originally from Seattle, the weather helped me make the decision to follow an opportunity here in LA. No regrets and now the weather influences me to stay!

– Trevor Mulligan, LA Dad Group Co-Organizer; Blogger @OneSAHD

I moved here for love! My girlfriend grew up here and I started living in LA during the summer while in college. When we got engaged, I moved out here full-time and immediately got a job. While we left LA to live in London for a year for school, we came right back. And while we started out living in the Valley, we have now lived (or worked) all over the City of Los Angeles. I love that every neighborhood has a different character with interesting restaurants, parks, and places to explore. We now live in Palms, a great neighborhood with lots of things to do that are all within walking distance of our home, which is great because we are a one car family.

– Eli Lipmen, LA Dads Group Blog Editor; Blogger @Badassparenting

I came to L.A. for the food places and to experience things that were not available in my hometown area. Plus it was a great way to be in the city which was where I wanted to live. 

-JOËL LËOJ, LA Dads Group Co-Organizer; blogger @Joël Lëoj

You know you’ve met a super dad who really cares about his community when he shows up on a Tuesday morning, without kids, to volunteer for two hours.

Those were the dads who came out on Giving Tuesday to pack food and clothing to deliver to families struggling with the basic necessities.

Plum Organics, the nation’s leading organic baby food brand, delivered a pallets of food — most weighing over 400 pounds, to various cities around the country with chapters of City Dads Group. Here in Los Angeles, the Plum Organic products were delivered to the GOOD+ Foundation, a nonprofit group that works with a network of more than 100 community-based organizations throughout the United States to distribute essentials to families in need. GOOD+ Foundation added care packages of children’s clothing to the outgoing food deliveries.

Watch as dads from Los Angeles to New York worked to pack, prep, and load all the donated food and clothes to get to families during the holiday:

Los Angeles County has the largest number of food insecure families in the country – these are families who don’t know where they will get their next meal. Many more struggle to cover rent, with nearly half of all LA County residents paying more than 30% of their income in rent.

The need is tremendous here and the LA Dads Group, with help from Plum Organics and the Good+ Foundation, helped to make it a little bit easier for those families who received the food and clothes.

The group’s first task was to pack donated diaper bags with Plum Organics pouches and other donated supplies for expectant parents. The team of LA dads wrote inspiring notes to these parents, who later received those bags at a baby shower thrown for them because many cannot afford to buy everything a baby would need.

After filling dozens of bags, the team of LA Dads sorted through a massive pile of clothes to create bundles of clothes to be donated. The dads are a hard working group – we finished all this work in less than two hours, helping hundreds of people.

It was incredible doing something for Giving Tuesday 2017, which marked the second consecutive year that LA Dads Group has participated in this day of giving back through service. We are grateful to the dads who came out, Plum Organics for their support, and Good+ Foundation for welcoming us to their warehouse!

DISCLOSURE: Plum Organics partnered with City Dads Group for the mentioned above through a donation of goods and financial compensation.

I have been living in Los Angeles for 12+ years now. I left Seattle not only to avoid the overcast, dreary days but to chase an opportunity. There are a few things I miss about Seattle, but I especially don’t miss the weather. LA has provided me with more than I could have imagined. I met my amazing wife and we had two incredible boys. My wife and I cannot think of a better place that we would want to live and raise our boys.

Why Los Angeles, besides the weather?

In Los Angeles, we can find anything we want and we can find things we didn’t even know we wanted. We can see concerts large and small, eat at amazing restaurants, walk through museums all around town. There is always something going on.

My wife and I want our kids to be world citizens, and what better way than to have our kids attend a language immersion school program. We chose Mandarin, and couldn’t be happier, the fact that it is available to us excites us. Learning about different cultures and experiencing things such as Chinese New Year in Chinatown provides our boys with the opportunity to be immersed in another culture, a different way of life.

The other day @elipmen and I took a hike with our kids, as they would say “To the top of the world!” #citydads #realstrength

A post shared by Trevor Mulligan (@onesahd) on Jun 15, 2016 at 4:20pm PDT

Art & Culture

L.A. County is home to 100 museums and range from those that specialize in fine art to La Brea Tar Pits, where you can see fossilized dinosaur bones – kids will enjoy it!

Large music venues include Disney Concert Hall (home to L.A. Phil) as well as the very popular Hollywood Bowl and Greek Theatre. Getty Center (“The Getty”) is one of the world’s largest art organizations a favorite museum for many locals and tourists. Located on a 24-acre hilltop campus, overlooking the L.A. Basin, The Getty is home to two things: 1) One of the best views of Los Angeles, and 2) A world-class art collection. Best of all, it’s free! The Getty is funded by a very large trust. All you have to do is pay for parking, then hop on a tram ride up the hill. People spend the whole day taking in amazing art and city views.

Some neighborhoods are the cultural focal point for certain ethnic groups, the list below are some must-visit neighborhoods, rich in gastronomic opportunity.

• Thai Town – Thai
• Koreatown – Korean
• Boyle Heights – Hispanic
• Little Ethiopia – Ethiopian
• Tehrangeles – Persian (Tehran + Los Angeles = Tehrangeles)
• Little Armenia (or Glendale) – Armenian
• Little Tokyo (or Gardena or Sawtelle) – Japanese
• Chinatown (or Monterey Park) – Chinese

“Concrete Jungle”

Living in LA isn’t just about finding things to do in the “concrete jungle” either. We are only a few hours away from camping at Joshua Tree National Park, and close enough to play in the snow at Big Bear, we have options at every turn. One off top misconception about Los Angeles is that it’s a city. It’s not. It’s like 12 cities smashed together, bisected by a bunch of freeways and a mountain range. The point is, L.A. has something for everyone.

Being a stay-at-home dad in LA is the best. We have adventures all over town and, surprisingly for us, there are still more adventures awaiting. One of the greatest opportunities is to be able to swim and surf outside all year long, and we take full advantage of that.  Our boys have been swimming since they were merely months old. My oldest has been known to surf on a chilly February morning undaunted by the water temperature and our youngest is able to participate in soccer camps during any time of the year.

Hopefully after reading this, you’ll conclude that Los Angeles neither monolithic in terms of the people who live here or the work they do. Nor is the landscape a barren urban jungle of concrete and cars. In fact, this city is quite livable and downright fun and interesting. There are so many museums, activities, sights, sounds and foods to discover and enjoy. Living in Los Angeles is never dull. Los Angeles has become more than just a home for us, it is our lifestyle.

I will never forget the day you decided to change the way you address me. Yes you’re getting older. I’m dad. Not daddy. Daddy J was short lived. All of those references to me I love. You’re maturing. I remembered in that moment when you said, “I’m going to call you Dad now. Okay.” It wasn’t a question of permission. It was a statement. You were putting your ‘Dad’ on notice of how you would address him. You just know yourself. That’s great!

I also remembered every milestone in your life since you entered my life. You cried the whole first evening/night and awoke hungry. You ate half a dozen scrambled eggs and played bubbles until I fell asleep from exhaustion. I remembered the first time calling me ‘Daddy’ and that’s when I shed my first tear as a parent. It was love.

I remembered how it took me, what felt like forever, to figure out how to help you take a bath and not scream bloody murder when water would get on your face. Those screams were true terror. It shook me. This was a fear I felt at one point I wasn’t going to be able to help you conquer. When that time came I didn’t care that the entire bathroom floor was wet and your sister was all wet too. She passed the time away playing with the water.

I remember your first fall at school. The panicked called when you said, “Daddy I need you!” You were in pain and needed me. I was the person to help you with that. I’m fortunate. That is my joy as a parent.

I remember when you went on your first trip away from home. So young. So brave. So smart. You were so fearless. That’s so cool. I remember your laughs, jokes, funny picture poses over the years, the many ‘hello’s’ shouted from any room at any given time.

But what I remember most is it all led to now. Right now. A confident young tween soon to be teenager. I’m not ready for that yet.

You are sure of yourself. You have no fear. You are smart. You love what you love and you don’t apologize for it. You are the most confident young boy I know. You are proud of your family. You love us all. You are A W E S O M E.

I can’t wait for the journey ahead. Watching you grow up is the best gift a parent can receive next to actually having children. Life is grand beyond what it actually is. My son. The boy who always needed a hand to hold no longer needs anyone to hold his hand.

Disclosure: We proudly partnered with WaterWipes for this event and post.

Have you ever wanted to do a big art project with your kids at home, but dreaded cleaning up the table, walls, kids, brushes, and pets afterward? It can be stressful just thinking about it!

Thanks to WaterWipes, an Ireland-based company founded by a concerned parent seeking a better baby wipe, we had the perfect opportunity get super dirty at the Zimmer Children’s Museum “Art Crawl” without needing to worry about the cleanup!

The Zimmer Children’s Museum is an interactive museum that allows children and parents to explore everything from water play to shopping for groceries. There is even a small model plane! The Zimmer regularly hosts events like Etch-A-Sketch Day, safety awareness days, and a summer camp.

For our L.A. Dads Group, they set up a whole room covered in butcher paper with every color of the rainbow for kids (and dads) to paint to their hearts’ desire! There was also an art table for older kids who didn’t want to run around in their underwear getting covered in paint, and snacks for both kids and adults.

And the best part of the day? After all the fun was done, our fathers used WaterWipes to clean off little faces, ears, hair, hands, toes and more! WaterWipes are the world’s purest baby wipes made with 99.9% water and a drop of fruit extract. They  were even awarded the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance.

“WaterWipes are great. We have been using them since our first child was born three years ago,” said Kevin “Kwick” Wick, father of a 3- and a 1-year-old. “They are very pure – just water added and that’s pretty much it.”

WaterWipes are available through many major online and brick-and-mortar retailers nationwide. For more information, visit www.WaterWipes.com/us.

Has your kid done something extraordinary (like, all the time!) and you whip out your phone or camera, only to miss it by a few seconds? Well, it happens to us all the time! This time, however, we actually caught one of our L.A. Dads Group co-organizers Juan Pablo on camera trying to film his son’s first attempt at surfing. We won’t give away the hilarious story…but the moral of the story might just be that we should all just “be in the moment” with our kids a little bit more often, rather than watching our kids through our phone or our camera.

Whatever you do, first enjoy our short film about his experience, and then post your funny camera experiences in the comments section.

A couple of our local dads were featured in a video on dads by TODAY Parents for Father’s Day. Thanks to Doyin Richards for putting all the pieces today. We strive to raise our children to the best of our abilities, no matter what others may say. And we had such a great time playing in the park and working on the video. We hope you enjoy and share it!