Netflix Parental Controls Update
Finally, Netflix has given us a more granular way to control what content we let out kids consume on their platform. This level of protection should be standard on all media platforms. Not only have then introduced PIN protection but will also display the rating levels before each program on their platform so we can better understand what our children are watching. As an added bonus adults can block individual programs from being streamed even if they are classified within an accepted rating class.
h/t Netflix Netflix Parental Controls Update
This IS The Droid You Are Looking For!
We’re back from Toy Fair NY and buddy we found him! R2D2!! Wait, is a R2D2 is a him right? Can a droid be a he or a she? It? Should we say we found…it? We live in confusing times people, the verbiage is key, so let’s just say we found the droid you are looking for.
The amazing littleBits is a tech startup from NYC that creates toys that empower kids to invent with easy to use electronic blocks. Hmm, what little droid is made up of tiny electronic blocks? Why R2 of course. Question, was Luke Skywalker the first S.T.E.M. icon?
This littleBits kit comes with everything that you child needs to create their very own R2 unit at home. Once they are done creating the droid continues to impress as it drives around your house in three different modes. Trust us, the force mode is the BEST! Check out the video below and smash that buy link. read more…
We don’t mourn in America anymore, but we should.
We don’t mourn in America anymore, we just don’t. When people say this is a time for mourning I don’t even know what they are talking about honestly. Maybe, if we had the time to, things might end up different the next time. Yeah, probably not. One burst of mass death leads into the next with such fervor here in America that we swell with outrage for a moment and then change the channel on the tv, in our minds, in our hearts because surely “that won’t happen here.” Won’t it though? Maybe not at scale but gun violence in America is far more than mass shootings. They are just sexy that’s all. That is why they take up so much real estate in our psyche. The deeper and far more insidious scourge is the hourly homicides and suicides that take place all over our communities. They hardly get a mention on the 5 o’clock news let alone make it to the ears of the rest of America. For every 100,000 Americans, statistics show that3.85 of them will be killed, or kill themselves with a firearm in a given year. That number is absolutely sickening. Outside of the areas of the world ravaged by drug wars and conflict America leads the pack in this stat. Something to be proud of? Nobody would say so, but when you shrug that number off and refresh Instagram instead you are in some way complicit. And look, I sit here sussing this out guilty as charged. It’s something that seems like an annoyance to think about because what can I possibly do from this desk to change a damn thing? The truth is probably not much. Not much by myself but, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead said that. So then Marge, where do we begin?
Everytown is a group of Americans who work together to end gun violence and build safer communities. Sure the bad guys have the NRA as a lobbyist but Everytown has mothers and fathers of children who have been murdered or taken their own lives and I want to be on their side. I want to have their backs when the legislation is written to help end this scourge.
When an organization’s goal is simply to half gun deaths in America in half by 2025 you have to support that. We can do so much more to save our children’s lives. It’s our duty as parents. In turn, it’s our duty as children to save our parents lives.
Suicidepreventionlifeline.org –
This organization is perhaps the one that we can all relate to the most. Mass shootings and homicides are a drop in the bucket compared to the 21,000 suicides by firearm in America each year. Statistically, you know someone or someone who knows someone who has or will commit suicide by firearm and that number we have the power to change the most. Please visit the participate section of the website and learn some way you can help. https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/participate/
We don’t mourn in America much anymore. The energy that it takes to do it over and over again is too much for us to take, so we move on and ignore that reality punching us in the face over and over. It’s time to take back that emotion. It’s time to feel the pain we wrought, it’s time to bath in it and then it’s time use that devastation to create a positive change. You CAN do something about gun deaths in America. By yourself, in a group, in your community, in your America. Start mourning the people we have lost right now. read more…
The Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Bailout
Oh shit…Valentine’s Day is like right now. You’ve known that for weeks but you still haven’t picked up anything yet, have you? Thought so. Sure, you could overnight something on Amazon but she’ll see right through that. Besides, she may not even want stuff. Chances are she just wants some downtime to herself. Here are some last-minute ideas that could potentially save your ass this year.
Flowers from Urbanstems ($35+)
Sure, flowers die and it’s kinda cliche, but you should still get them anyway. If you don’t have a garden where you can pick your own, Urbanstems is a new startup that offers a selection of fresh, seasonal bouquets hand delivered within hours via bicycle in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and DC areas.
Breakfast in Bed (or Out)
The point is: don’t let her cook. Find an easy recipe on Yummly and let her stay in bed while you cook (tip: make sure you have some Nutella on hand. Moms love Nutella). The kids will probably want to help, too. If you’re the type of guy who can’t even make toast, then take her out to brunch or, better yet, pick up her favorite breakfast dish from her favorite restaurant and serve it to her in bed.
Make a Card
Any guy can swing by the corner drugstore the day before and pick from a limited/terrible selection of Hallmark cards. But don’t. Make your own. It doesn’t have to look nice. The most appreciated cards we’ve ever given our wives were made in Microsoft Word and printed on computer paper because the sentiment and words came 100% from the heart.
You Can’t Sleep More But You Can Sleep Better
I’m so tired. Why won’t she sleep? I got what…4 hours total last night? It’s okay if I curl up under my desk for a few right?
You give up a lot of yourself when you become a parent, but perhaps the thing you will miss the most is sleep. Oh, sleep sweet sleep where did you go? Listen, we don’t know how to help you sleep more once you have kids, it never gets better, at least not for years. So, in lieu of not having any advice on how to sleep more, we can offer you some products that will help you and your partner sleep better.
Moonlight Pajamas ($70) For the relevant mom, a super nice pair of pajamas that will make her feel like a starlet from the silver screen.
Vintage Pajama Set ($95) Relevant Mom swears by these J-Crew pajamas, ultimate style and comfort.
Summer Pajama Set ($23) Running up and down the stairs fulling bottles or grabbing lost lovies is hard work. No sweat dad, these summer pajamas will keep you cool in between winks. read more…
Everything Sucks!
Oh man, this mainline of nostalgia will surely be a hit for all of us older millennials. Are you excited for this new Netflix series?
The ANIA Line Is WILD!
We have tons of small figurines here at home, Peppa Pigs, Disney princesses, nearly everyone from Sesame Street and of course M. I. C. K. E. Y. – M. O.U. S. E.. When we got the new line of ANIA figurines from Tomy Toys the first thing my kiddo explained was “They are real daddy!” She meant that they are lifelike in appearance which is a commitment to their amazing design. Each figurine has one or two minimal movements that help create that spark of imagination that will propel your child into adventure with their new animals. These toys have three distinct lines, Ocean, Grasslands, Prehistoric and Arctic but if you are like our family you will totally have a T-Rex mixing it up with a red panda and a meerkat. We may have had a princess or two riding a polar bear at one point no big deal.
You can find these figurines at your local Toys R’ Us or online in a very family friendly price range. Get playing!
ANIA Get ready for a pack of animal fun with ANIA Animals, the all-new preschool line of articulated animals and playsets designed to inspire hours of nature-themed play and exploration. Highly-detailed ANIA Animals feature multiple points of articulation for realistic role play and feature animals from around the globe. Ages: 3 years and up.
Tully Trailer
Wake Me Up When They Invent a Babysitter Pod
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to begin our descent into Sydney. Please fasten your seatbelts and place your trays in the upright position. Local time is 8:42pm and a humid 27 degrees. Our flight crew wishes you a Happy New Year, and we hope you fly with us again in 2025.”
Screeech. You’ve landed. Time to relax those butt cheeks.
It was only this morning you booked this flight, and now you’re on the other side of the planet. Amazing. You’re nervous but excited to visit Australia for the first time. One week to explore the city and five weeks on a new design project. When that project match showed up in your feed you claimed it in two seconds. You’ve already earned 24,000 $design in the peerism economy.
Ping. “Need a room?”.
You hadn’t booked any accommodation yet. “Yes please”, you respond.
“Just out the front, number 420”.
You giggle, then follow the augmented directions leading to a sleek driverless hotel room. It’s about the size of a mini bus but without the seats, steering wheel and engine. A giant transparent panel stretching the length and height of the vehicle greets you on approach. The panel opens and you step inside.
Inside is everything you’d expected. On the left, a couch seat that folds into a queen-sized bed with the push of a button. To the right, a small kitchenette with electric stove, running water, sink, microwave and bar fridge. Behind that is the detachable bathroom module with toilet, shower and wash basin.
“Hi there, welcome home. Hungry?”
“I could go some pad thai and a beer thanks”, you respond.
“That’ll be here in 6 minutes. Want a quick tour of the city?”
“Nah early one tonight. Let’s checkout Bondi beach tomorrow”, you say.
Your room begins driving itself towards Bondi and a live map displays on one of the side panels. You sit back and relax with some Netflix on the other side panel. Exactly 6 minutes later, a drone lands on the roof and lowers your order through a compartment in the ceiling. If you need to order any package you simply ask the room and a drone arrives; it even does laundry!
Okay, this seems reallly cool but honestly just let me know when they invent the daycare pod and the babysitter pod. That is the future we deserve! Right parents? Babysitter at the touch of a button, Netflix on the way to a date night and then late night drone pizzas! Hip, hip horray to 2025!
Give Me All The Coffee Please
It is not a cliche to say that one’s coffee consumption skyrockets upon the arrival of a new baby and never really plateaus until they leave for college. Okay, maybe not college maybe just sleeping through the night but both milestones will seem eons away in those first months of parenthood. You know, come to think about it ones coffee consumptions really just increase with the child’s age, speaking as a father of a 3 year old and a 9 month old coffee may be the most important thing in my life. So, why not consume it in style? What’s that told adage? Work smarter not harder? Well, I say drink smarter not harder. No, that makes no sense. Drink smarter not hotte…nevermind I need a coffee to figure this tagline out. In the meantime check out our list of coffee items we are enjoying here at Relevant Dad.
Ember Ceramic Mug – $80 The number of times you will find a cold cup of coffee forgotten in the microwave will go from 5,000 to 0 with this mug that keeps your coffee at the exact temperature you want it from “this first sip to the last drop.”
La Colombe Coffee Flask – $30 Because give me one good reason not to have a coffee flask? Exactly.
Ten Cup Chemex – $48 With pour over coffee in vogue and quite frankly a better cup this Chemex is the way to go when you have the time. It’s way prettier than a Keurig and your taste buds will thank you.
Cafflano Portable Pourover Kit – $110 Speaking of pour over superiority this portable kit from Cafflano is just amazing. Impress your significant other on the picnic or family hike or just enjoy while watching soccer practice from the sidelines.
Trees Knees Coffee Maple – $14 Okay, so this one is a cheat but dammit it’s sooooo good. Drizzle on ice cream or pancakes just about anything that brings you comfort can take a dollop of this gem.
Sweatproof Earbuds Perfect Exercise – Hexnub
Not going to try and blow smoke here guys, it’s been awhile since we have exercised to the point of ruining a pair of headphones with sweat. In our 20’s it happened on more than one occasion, oh how we long for the days. Running around town shirtless looking like a slightly older Zac Efron (or not) waving to the passers-by while listening to Graduation on the awesome iPod Nano.
The time has come to get back into shape and we found our new favorite headphones from Hexnub. These sweatproof earbuds are perfect for exercise, connect wirelessly with Bluetooth and are actually comfortable to wear. The battery life is around 8 hours and the price is amazing for the quality of these earbuds. At the rate that we break or lose headphones, you bet we will have these bookmarked for repeat buying. It’s been a few weeks of playing with these guys on our commute, doing yard work and yes even on the elliptical while watching The Office on Netflix. The sound holds up in all settings and we could not be happier. Check them out below by clicking the BUY button and grab some for a gift this holiday season as well.
Keurig K575 Single Serve Programmable K-Cup Coffee Maker
Listen, we know that in a moment of weakness you thought it would be effective to smash up your coffee maker because your old buddy Seany might retweet your vertical video. Look, man, how about you take a step back and think about why Keurig pulled their advertising. If you are all about family like we are here at Relevant Dad, then pay your penance and then buy a new Keurig so that you don’t look like a complete fool at best or at worst a supporter of a horrible man who did horrible things to kids. We suggest the K575, it’s what we brew with here in the office and it will fit into that empty spot on your counter perfectly. It also makes a great gift so why don’t you buy one for your neighbor whose old Keurig is in the trash bin holding down their Ed Gillespie lawn sign.
Related:
Is This Kid A Genius?
Look, not saying that having a piss drawer is for everyone but this kid might be onto something. Having to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night is a pain in the butt right? What if you could just pull down your Spidey jjs and piss into a drawer then just flop back into bed. I mean, if it were me maybe a liner of some sort… but this is a good start kid! You are going places, and those places are hidden compartments of pee pee.
mum has just found a draw full off piss that my 3 year old brother has been pissing in and he blamed the dog HAHA!!! pic.twitter.com/9F0VSDywoa
— phoebe bartlett (@phoebebartlett_) October 24, 2017
Watch This With Kids: Sesame Street Halloween
The soundtrack of your house if you have toddlers is now available for endless plays on Youtube. Sorry for doing this to you.
Bonus: Pumpkin Face (Sesame Street Halloween)
Yeti In My Spaghetti
Not to sound overly fretty but KIDS COME QUICK…there is a Yeti In My Spaghetti. This Game Of The Year winner is so much fun to play with the whole family. The concept is simple enough that even though it’s advertised as 4+ we found that our toddler loved playing too. Be careful what noodle you pull out, you don’t want to be the first one to let the yeti fall into the bowl dad!
Who knew yetis liked spaghetti?!? We did! In this wacky, fun game, the noodles are laid across the bowl and the yeti is just sitting there on the noodles…but as you remove the noodles one by one (be careful!), the yeti could fall into the bowl, and that would mean you lose!
Pair this with Happy Salmon and family game night just got lit!
Way Better Than A Dollhouse – Roominate
What we love about the award-winning brand of Roominate are the endless creative hours your kids can spend building, playing and tearing apart. Any toy that both teaches STEM skills and occupies the kiddo’s time is a win in the Relevant Dad book.
Snap the pieces together to start your creations…if you can imagine it, you can make it! Design your carnival, and try other things, too. Arrange the food and game play pieces, along with the stickers, or add your own accessories and artwork! Then, bring your creations to life with the circuits and motors!
NFL PLAY 60 Turns 10
Huge congrats to the Play 60 team who has brought this important program all over the country to enrich kids lives. You all should be super proud of all the great things you have done.
Ten years ago this week, at a playground in New Orleans, we launched NFL PLAY 60 – an important program to keep kids active and healthy.
PLAY 60 has helped children get their necessary daily physical activity. Our players recognize the value of staying healthy, and it’s important that our youth also understand the benefits of exercise, whether through organized sports or playing outside with friends.
Since Oct. 9, 2007, millions of kids and thousands of communities have become more physically active through PLAY 60. With the help of NFL teams, players and partner organizations, more than 2,000 PLAY 60 events are held annually, and more than 250 NFL Youth Fitness Zones have been constructed nationwide. As a result, more than 16 million kids are getting the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day through PLAY 60 programs, play spaces and events.
It is exciting to see the positive impact PLAY 60 has had over the last ten years, but we have more work to do. Together with our players, teams and partners, we will continue our efforts and inspire kids to lead healthy lives for decades to come. Roger Goodell
Bas & Lokes Leather Double Wrap Bracelet
I have been having a serious bit of fomo lately with the whole man’s bracelet game heating up so I rectified that by getting this awesome leather double wrap bracelet from Bas & Lokes. This Australian company has a wide range of products that any guy would be lucky to have. What makes them really cool it that everything is handmade in their shop down under. With the holiday gift-giving season coming up fast keep these guys on your radar ladies and gents.
BIRDCAGE NIGHT LIGHT
We have been having a toddler getting out of bed 2-3 times a night problem for a while now. First, it was the scary AC kicking on in her room, then it was because she was thirsty and most recently it was to check on her little sister. We have compromised with leaving the door open a crack, buying her new Frozen sheets, like Anna and Elsa Frozen, not actual sheets that freeze her into her bed although that is a pretty good idea no? What has actually worked for the time being was buying her an awesome new night light. This birdcage night light was just cute enough that she was both excited to get it but it also was a good incentive to stay in bed. She loves the two different brightness options and the fact that it stays lit all night on a single charge. Check out how cute this thing is and click the BUY button below.
Google Clips – Wireless Smart Camera
Google has just released a new smart camera that you can set up in your home to capture those oft-forgotten or missed candid moments. “Google Clips is smart enough to recognize great expressions, lighting and framing. So the camera captures beautiful, spontaneous images. And it gets smarter over time.” The AI tech on this camera seems pretty fun. The more it recognizes a face or your pets the more it will take clips of that subject which means the quality of clips that you save will improve over time. The shots will save to your phone’s Clips app and you can edit them into moments using the amazing Google Photo’s app. This is just the perfect app for families who want to spend time IN the moment and not sit behind the screen snapping photos. Now you can laugh with your partner and capture the moment remotely as your toddler puts their legs over their head and mimicks farting while yelling “toot, toot, toot from the butt, butt, butt!” Wait…is that just in our house?
