Earlier this year, I was cleaning out my email inbox which had gotten to the 5,000 of unread emails. I was getting deleting and unsubscribing from the "many" fashion, makeup, and utterly random newsletters and sites, most of which I don’t even "remember "signing up for or "why" I thought I would ever get around to reading through any of them. One of the newsletters that I stumbled upon was for a parenting site called "Fatherly." Now, I’m not a father, I don’t have kids, I don’t go looking for tips on how to handle my not yet born kids and my invisible spouse, but I still signed up for "Fatherly," because it is an "amazing" site.
"Fatherly" is not your typical parenting site. It's where all the cool dads hang out.
"Fatherly"goes beyond the basic parenting hacks and tips. "Fatherly" is chock-full of cool inventions, innovative ideas, helpful articles from people who actually know their shit (hide-and-seek tips from "actual "NAVY Seals who are the experts in hiding and seeking; travel hacks from professional explorers; even inside educational advice and info from a former Secretary of Education.) and also stories from actual parents who are going through relatable events and just wanna talk about them so that other parents can learn or throw over some advice to them.
"Fatherly" describes its site as a parenting resource for men who understand that embracing what they’ve become doesn’t mean giving up who they are. Men who want to be great fathers without turning into cliches. Men who spent their formative years laughing at blogs about dads in short shorts, but who will never, ever wear short shorts themselves.
If that’s not an awesome blurb, then I don’t know what is. And BTW, you don’t have to be a dude to give this site a go, I’m sure there are moms that can learn and take a thing or two from "Fatherly "as well. And that’s another thing I love about the site. We’re used to the term ‘super mom’ because mom’s do most of the work from feeding to dressing to bathing to teaching and as much as dads want to help out, their resources can tend to be limited. There are magazines and TV shows chock full of tips for how mom can get her newborn to sleep easily or what the best DIY crafts are this year, but you’re not going to find a dad picking up a Cosmo and trying to figure out what the top ten best phrases are for the teenager who’s just gotten their heart broken for the first time.
The site is broken down into very helpful sections. The first header contains a list of ages that range from Trying, Expecting, Newborn, and then ages 1 to 10+. The next header has a list of categories, there are four and they are: Play, Gear, Love & Money, Health & Science. And then they even have a shopping header, which means you can actually "buy "some of the amazing and cool techy stuff they talk about in their articles! The shop is also divided into sections ranging from Toys and Games, Parenting Gear (like strollers, high chairs, baby monitors, cribs, etc.), Gift Guides for birthdays and anniversaries, and there’s even a section for moms and dads.
Some of the great stuff they’ve got on the market currently is the Albert Clock which not only provides the time but also teaches kids math. To tell the time, you have to calculate two math equations ⏤ one for the hour, one for minutes. There are four levels of difficulty, so you can adjust it according to the level of math your child has started learning and the problems change every few seconds, so there’s always a new equation to solve. It is a bit expensive, but it’s probably better than hiring a private tutor to teach your kids. Then there’s the Orboot Smart Globe which is this 10-inch globe that teaches you about different parts of the world using your smartphone or tablet.
All you have to do is aim your app/camera towards a country and you'll get tons of facts and information on the culture, the cuisine, the different traditions, and religions. So, your kid will be learning and have the time of their lives. Plus, it only costs $30.00, what’s not to love about that? And finally, there’s my personal favorite, there’s Kinder Guides which are books that are originally at a reading level of 13 and up, but are simplified and shortened for the average elementary schooler.
There are books ranging from “Pride and Prejudice” and “The Odyssey” to biographies on Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs, so your kids will already have valuable information and reading the material before they’re required to read them in high school during their summers or try to interpret them for college classes. Each book is the length of a fairytale and costs less than $17 a pop. Kinda makes me wish I had a kid already, so I could get me that globe and those books.
There are even things in the shop for the adults like the MasterPan 5-Compartment Frying Pan which is a 15-inch frying pan that lets you multitask and cook five different things at once for only $60. There’s also The Cover Clamp Bedsheet Holder, this thing holds all your blankets and sheets in place no matter how your partner or your kid tugs on them. I'm a person who gets cold easily and so, I already know I'm gonna be needing this when the time comes and I have to share a bed with someone. They’ve even got the Google Home Smart Speaker for $129.
Honestly, I’m ready to be a parent just so I can buy all that cool stuff and read all those tips on being a great parent. So, don’t wait till you’re an actual father to sign up because even though it won’t be too late by then, you’ll probably have less time to get lost in all the amazing things this site and their newsletter has to offer.
Here are links to all their social media platforms if you wish to check out some of their awesome videos and articles before signing up.