5 Essential Gadgets for Dad
November 01, 2011, By Michael Sheehan 0 comments
Wow, it's fun being a dad in this day and age. Not only do we get to step up a lot more in terms of "being a parent," but there are lots of "toys" to help us do that even better! Long gone are the days when the men went off to work and the women stayed home taking care of the children. Personally, I think it's great that we have broken down those stereotypes and now both parents share responsibilities.
Moms and dads, however, still have different roles to play. In my family and those that I know, the mom is more in charge of the social side of the equation (planning parties and play dates) and the dads typically handle the "toys" of the household. By 'toys' I mean tools, gadgets, electronics, cars and so on. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, but for the purpose of this article, I have to generalize a bit.
For a dad today, there are some core gadgets and devices that should be part of the war chest. All dads probably have their personal preferences, so be sure to leave a comment at the end of this article about the gadgets that you could NOT live without.
But here is my list of of essential gadgets for dads to get you started:
#1 - A Digital Camera
If you are a father and not taking lots of pictures of your children all of the time, shame on you. There is no excuse to NOT be a shutterdad...er shutterbug...and document every "cute" thing your child does. Just a quick word of advice, though, as you photo-document your child's every move—just because YOU think it is cute, doesn't mean that you have to post every photo on Facebook. Just pick the best ones and do it sparingly.
But having a camera with you is an essential! So shoot away, save those photos, burn them to CDs or DVDs or store them in the cloud somewhere. Make a book every year of the best photos and store it on your bookshelf. It's also worth your time to check out some of the best cameras for new dads that we've chosen.
#2 - Video Recorder
Recording your child's activities in a digital format is something that should be second nature by now. Video cameras continue to get smaller and offer more storage space. And many digital camcorders now record in high definition, so you can see each and every piece of food stuck to your baby's face (and the walls and floor and chair and clothes) as they learn to feed themselves. You can even gain some YouTube fame if your kid does something especially cute or funny (just be sure to run it by a "focus group" of peers and friends before you upload it).
Like my advice for photos, you should regularly make DVDs of the best videos. Do it yearly and store your collection somewhere. When your children are older, they will love seeing them (or pay blackmail for the DVD to be destroyed).
NEXT: GPS
