Even in preschool you start to see kids who are friends with your kids and you say to yourself, I’m not so sure. That is normal and can be a tough thing to watch. How do you help kids move towards kids that build them up and make them better opposed to the alternative? This is another one of those conversations that is probably worth having 100 times. What makes a good friend? What characteristics do you look for in your friends? How can you tell if someone isn’t a good friend? Run any or all of these by your kids and see what they say. Also think about what kind of friend you are these days. Do you check in on folks? Do you reach out and make time for your friends? Having a community of friends is one of the proven ways to live a long and happy life. So make sure your kids see you having and being a friend and that will stick better than any conversation.

Try this: Set up a consistent scenario where you can talk about these types of things with your kids. Maybe you have a special snack or drink. Maybe you do it in the car going to soccer, just find a time to try. Explain the “why” and get to the point. Make sure to come back to the topics that mean a lot to you and see how your kids answers change over time.

Cook This: Single ingredient foods

Let’s stop cooking this week and just make some single foods. You can make whatever you like and what you know your kids will eat. Put them out in bowls with serving spoons and give your kids an empty plate to fill up on their own. Try to make some ground rules like just taking as much as you want and taking more later if you’d like. This is basically family style but just with simple foods. Try hard boiled eggs, broccoli, corn, apples, berries, and peas. Any combination will work. Throw in a veggie plate if you like. Do your best to not add bread as kids tend to lean too hard into options like that. Mix it up and see what happens.

During the summer finding and experiencing the metamorphasis of butterflies is as close to magic as any of us can get. You only need a few things to make this happen, milkweed being critical. This is something you can set up on your porch or yard and is something you can get your kids to watch carefully and give updates on a daily basis. You can find milkweed in your yard or you can buy a kit online to grow the butterflies. Whatever you do this will be something your kids won’t forget.

Try this: Watch this video to learn how to make this happen at home

If you are not into the telling of yarns, hear me out. I also realized on looking into this that the word “yarn” as in, a long rambling story that seems impausible, is not a common turn of phrase. All the better. You can start it out, “Did you know” or “My grandfather once told me” or “Ancient folklore has it” you get the point but start it out dramatically. This story is best if you make it up and add in your best Golden Globe performance. I personally like to talk about a big fish that supposedely lives wherever I am fishing. Where I live now there is a tale of a fairy village amoungst us that whenever you see anything miniature it is proof of it’s existence. So when you are away this summer or trying out something new tell your kids a story that is fun for you to invent and entertaining for them to imagine. I promise they will ask you to tell it again.

Check this out: Tall tales for kids

This newsletter is not professional in nature but intended to be real things to try. They won’t all work but this is a process and I’d love for you to join me on the way. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you next week.

Send me a note or your best dad joke @ [email protected]