Blog

I’ve noticed something in homes lately—maybe you have too. We used to gather around the fireplace. Now we gather around the flat screen. Walk into most new homes or renovated living rooms, and you’ll find the TV mounted proudly above the fireplace like some kind of glowing family crest. It’s front and center. The focal […]

Things Dad Did That’d Never Fly Today (Because We’ve All Got Helmets and Knee pads Now) by Mike Austin Remember when being a kid meant staying out until the streetlights came on, drinking from the garden hose, and somehow surviving a day at the lake without SPF 50, a flotation device, or a cell phone […]

Divorce can feel like a storm. One minute you’re steering your ship, the next you’re trying to patch the sails in high winds. But even after the papers are signed and the dust settles, there’s something incredibly important still riding on your shoulders: being Dad. And being Dad doesn’t stop when the kids aren’t with […]

There’s a quiet ritual I used to watch without realizing it was a ritual. My dad would come home from work and, without fail, head to his bedroom and empty his pockets. Keys, coins, receipts, screws or nails, a folded note, his pocket knife. Always the same routine: left hand holding the money, right hand […]

It starts with a phone call. Or maybe a quiet moment at a family gathering. Your wife glances at you across the room, nods toward her dad sitting a little too still on the couch. Or maybe it’s your own dad, the guy who once worked 12-hour days and fixed the lawnmower with a butter […]

There’s this strange, beautiful thing that happens when your dad is gone. His voice—maybe not always loud when he was alive—suddenly becomes the loudest thing in your head. Example: You’re fixing something around the house, the kind of thing he could do with his eyes closed. You mess it up, of course. And suddenly there […]

Let’s talk superheroes. My son once told me, very matter-of-factly, that Batman could totally beat Superman—as if it were common knowledge, like gravity or the smell of a full diaper. And as we debated this comic book conundrum over a bowl of cereal and a juice box, I started thinking about how kids view the […]

When the Storm Hits: How Dads Can Help Kids Face Natural Disasters and the News That Follows Hey dads, Natural disasters are one of those unavoidable parts of life—floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes… even the occasional derecho (yes, that’s a real thing). And with 24/7 news coverage and social media, our kids don’t just see what’s […]

Summertime Fishing – A Simple Dad-Kid Tradition by Mike Austin, Radio Dad There’s something about fishing in the summer that just fits. The warm breeze, the buzz of cicadas in the trees, the glint of sunlight off the water… and your kid, sitting next to you, eyes wide as they feel that first tug on […]

It’s Good for a Kid to Mow the Lawn Mike Austin There’s something timeless about the sound of a lawn mower on a summer afternoon. It’s a rite of passage, really—like riding a bike without training wheels or building your first treehouse (even if it’s more of a tree-platform). And when your kid finally steps […]