In this episode of the Dads Toolbox, we are bringing you Jason ElRite of BalconyDads.com to talk about what is new and exciting for the spring 2016 television lineup and the top television shows for 2016!

We talk about Super Girl, Agents of Shield, Walking Dead, The Flash, and much more! We even have a bit of a conversation about the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie! Listen in and learn more!

 

Is this the time that you want to get fit? If so, now is the perfect time to do it.

 

SIGN UP TO GET FIT WITH CHRIS & DON

 

[amazon text=The Whole Life Fitness Manifesto &asin=1928055079]– registration for the phase 5 has started and the fitness journey begins with this episode – Learn more about Dai’s program and community.

Want to hear more from Dai? Listen to some of the other episodes that he has been on in the past!

* A Fitness Challenge with Dai Manuel

* Fitness and Nutrition With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

* Sugar Detox With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

* Fitness With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

If you are getting ready to get fit and looking to also start eating healthy we wanted to tell you about another great company that we learned about:

Get 40% off on Healthier Snacks. Find a fun and convenient way to discover all-natural or organic surprise snacks delivered to your home or office for FREE. Subscribe Now at LoveWithFood.com!

We also completed the the 21 Day Sugar Detox that we have been talking to you about over the past few weeks and in our interview with Diane Sanfilippo. Just because we are done, you can do this too! Check out the program for yourself!

If you have not yet gotten your free guide: 15 Low Cost Ways To Engage With Your Kids – Pick it up today

As always, please swing by to visit us on iTunes and Stitcher to stay connected to the most up-to-date happenings with the podcast. Also, if you are on iTunes<...

Welcome back to The Dads Spotlight, where we share with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. Many of us struggle with living a life of purpose and being effective in the things that we strive to accomplish. In today’s episode we are bringing you a great guest, Richard Greenberg, also known as the Common Sense Dad. Richard Greenberg is the author of [amazon text=Raising Children That Other People Like to Be Around&asin=1909740241]. A native of Los Angeles, California, Richard graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in English. Shortly thereafter, he married his childhood sweetheart JoAnn, and they continue to happily parent their four children. After more than 30 years working in the entertainment industry (as a post-production executive, editor and writer/producer), Raising Children that Other People Like to Be Around is his first book.

Today, Richard Greenberg talked to us about his book but also shared some amazing resources to help all of you be the best dads that you can be. One of the things that Richard Shares is that his book is set up around 5 common sense rules that spell out SMART. This stands for:

* Set an example

* Make the Rules

* Apply the Rules

* Respect Yourself

* Teach in Everything That You Do

Encouragement and positive reinforcement is much more effective than negativity. As parents Richard and his wife worked hard to not be as critical as his own parents were. From his own experiences, he put together lessons from these experiences to make an owners manual for having kids and that was how this book was created!

This book was an interesting read and what Richard Green. Yes, it is common sense but when you often look around in our world at how some children act with their parents , it makes you wonder where the common sense is. I like to think there are more children who are brought up with learning to respect themselves and others, that they learn there are boundaries to follow, and that they become loving, caring, and treat others with the Golden Rule.

So this book has five common sense goals: set an example, make the rules, apply the rules, respect ourselves,and teach in all things. Richard Greenberg wrote a book that is easy to read with multiple examples of each “common sense” applied within his family dynamics as he and his wife raised their children. His book will make the reader think about their own parenting . Maybe tweaking your parenting is not such a bad idea or maybe you will find that you apply most of his ideas.

Richard Greenberg believes that the greatest gift parents can give their children is to be loving, caring and firm. You are your child’s first teacher. Children live by example in many instances. Why not take a look at his ideas and ask yourself how you measure up?

Other Tips for Parents

Gratitude, respect and taking responsibility are the things that matter when it comes to raising kids in the long run. Setting up opportunities to introduce these concepts to your kids is something that each of you as dads must do.

We loved hearing about the Armistace that he was able to have with his parents and how he used this with his own kids. Listen in to learn more!

Finally, Richard shared his family experiences at their Friday family dinner that was always required. Do you have a set meal that you share together as a family?

 

Last week in our Dads Toolbox interview with Dai Manuel – we told you that we started a fitness challenge with Dai and challenged you to do the same. If you do not know Dai,

Welcome back to The Dads Toolbox for our 50th Episode! This is a big accomplishment for us and we want to thank you for being a part of our journey!

This week as we have been telling you over the last week we are bringing back Dai “Coach Moose” Manuel who is a fitness and nutrition expert and writes at http://www.daimanuel.com/. Dai Manuel is also the author of the [amazon text=Whole Life Fitness Manifesto&asin=1928055079] which was recently published and is also a book that Chris and Don both read and are implementing in their own lives.

Did you know that 50% of all of the people that start a fitness routine as part of a New Year’s resolution give up? Has this been you? If you said yes, then listen to today’s

Dai Manuel shares some great insights into how we can all incorporate fitness in on a daily basis. Today is the best day to jump into fitness yourself. If you join Don and Chris on a fitness journey you have an opportunity to win some great items including:

* 1 of 3 signed copies of the [amazon text=Whole Life Fitness Manifesto&asin=1928055079]

* 2 lucky participants will also win a 30 minute skype calls with Dai Manuel himself! (We will contact all those that enter the book giveaway who decide to take a fitness pledge with us!

Enter the Giveaway today!

Is this the time that you want to get fit? If so, now is the perfect time to do it. The Whole Life Fitness Manifesto – registration for the phase 5 has started and the fitness journey begins with this episode.

 

Dai Manuel mentioned Bronnie Ware’s – 5 regrets of the Dying:

Also, he mentioned that her book, [amazon text=Regrets of the Dying&asin=140194065X] is fantastic too!

In her book, she found that in working with the dying that one of the top regrets of the dying was not being happier and part of being happy is being healthy!

 

Want to hear more from Dai? Listen to some of the other episodes that he has been on in the past!

* Fitness and Nutrition With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

* Sugar Detox With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

* Fitness With Dai Manuel – The Dads Tool Box

 

If you are getting ready to get fit and looking to also start eating healthy we wanted to tell you about another great company that we learned about:

Get 40% off on Healthier Snacks. Find a fun and convenient way to discover all-natural or organic surprise snacks delivered to your home or office for FREE. Subscribe Now at LoveWithFood.com!

We also completed the the 21 Day Sugar Detox that we have been talking to you about over the past few weeks and in our interview with Diane Sanfilippo. Just because we are done, you can do this too! Check out the program for yourself!

Welcome back to The Dads Spotlight, where we share with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. Many of us struggle with living a life of purpose and being effective in the things that we strive to accomplish. In today’s episode we are bringing you a great guest, David Yarde, who for some time has been an advocate and educator on how to create a meaningful and sustainable life. 

David has written a books on this topic that shares his own journey as well as provides tips for what you can do to live a similar life.

* [amazon text=Explore: Journey from Fear to Happiness&asin=1502866803]

 

This was only his first book, and he is currently completing a second book that will follow his first.

If you want to explore his book and see what he has to offer!

Thanks again to David Yarde for being in the Dads Spotlight today, these were some great books that we hope you will find to be amazing reads as well!

We completed the the 21 Day Sugar Detox that we have been talking to you about over the past few weeks and in our interview with Diane Sanfilippo. Just because we are done, you can do this too! Check out the program for yourself!

If you have not yet gotten your free guide: 15 Low Cost Ways To Engage With Your Kids – Pick it up today

As always, please swing by to visit us on iTunes and Stitcher to stay connected to the most up-to-date happenings with the podcast. Also, if you are on iTunes  and you are a listener, please leave us a review as this helps other people find us too!

We also hope that you will take a moment to share their thoughts on this quick survey. The results will be used to create even more targeted shows here on the Dad Spotlight to help you be the best dad that you can be!

We are very interested to have your input on a 4 question survey about being a dad can you please take 2 minutes to fill this out!

 

Welcome back to The Dads Toolbox, where we share with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. In today’s episode we bring back Chris Baccus of SustainableDad.com. Chris Baccus has a BIG passion for food and as many of you may have heard in Episode 32 as he talked to us about Thanksgiving, he also has a great style for sharing practical and easy ways to make your cooking experience fun and tasty! 

We asked Chris Baccus to talk Mexican Food this week. Chris Baccus shares some great recipes, tips and hints about how all of us as dads can bring some spice into our kitchen. Notice we did not say spicy food, but spice, and this food definitely has great flavor for the whole family and after listening we hope that you will agree.

 

Mexican Food!

Mexican:

–  Chicken Tinga Tamales — Sustainable Dad

Chicken Tinga Tamales — Sustainable Dad

      Nothing says Christmas like making Tamales. At least that’s the case for a lot of families, but not ours.  I wasn’t raised in a house that made tamales for th…

View on sustainabledad.com

Preview by Yahoo

Vegetarian Chiles Rellenos — Sustainable Dad

Vegetarian Chiles Rellenos — Sustainable Dad

Mexican dishes offer a lot of options for vegetarian cooks.  There are a ton of recipes for vegetarian or vegan enchiladas, including some I’ve made myself.  Tacos,…

View on sustainabledad.com

Preview by Yahoo

Street Tacos al Pastor for #SundaySupper — Sustainable Dad

Street Tacos al Pastor for #SundaySupper — Sustainable D…

September 16th is Día de Independencia in Mexico (Mexico’s Independence Day) and to celebrate...

 

Welcome back to The Dads Spotlight, where we share with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. Many of us struggle with living a life of purpose and being effective in the things that we strive to accomplish. In today’s episode we are bringing you a great guest, Angus Nelson of AngusNelson.com and the Up In Your Business Podcast. Angus is going to be talking with you about living a life of purpose as well as the journey that he himself went on to find and create this type of life for himself, as well as how you can live this type of life too.

One of the things that we love about Angus is his openness and honesty that he provides in everything that he shares. Below was one of the first representations of this that we saw as he was introducing his podcast:

Angus is also the author of a great autobiographical book called [amazon text=Love’s Compass&asin=0615340938] which is a book that is perfect for a person that has felt alone and lonely, wondered if this is all it adds up to . . . if you found yourself on the losing end of a relationship, wondering if there can ever be a next time . . . if you pounded yourself in guilt and shame for falling into old patterns . . . or if you questioned if you are even capable of healthy relationships because of the wreckage in your past.

Thanks to Angus Nelson for joining the Dad Spotlight this week. We hope you learned as much from him as we know we did!

As we have been mentioning, we have a very exciting fitness challenge with our friend Dai Manuel that will be starting on January 14, 2016. We hope that you will listen in then as Dai talks to us about fitness, about his new book: [amazon text=Whole Life Fitness Manifesto: 30 Minutes a Day for a Healthier Body, Mind and Spirit&asin=1928055079], we fill you in on some great incentives and more!

 

If you have not yet gotten your free guide: 15 Low Cost Ways To Engage With Your Kids – Pick it up today

As always, please swing by to visit us on iTunes and Stitcher to stay connected to the most up-to-date happenings with the podcast. Also, if you are on iTunes  and you are a listener, please leave us a review as this helps other people find us too!

We also hope that you will take a moment to share their thoughts on this quick survey. The results will be used to create even more targeted shows here on the Dad Spotlight to help you be the best dad that you can be!

We are very interested to have your input on a 4 question survey about being a dad can you please take 2 minutes to fill this out!

 

Welcome back to The Dads Toolbox, where we share with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. In today’s episode we bring Esther Lombardi back from A Book Geek to talk about the Books we’re thankful for and ones that we want to share with our own kids this holiday season!

Esther shared some great books with us this week:

[amazon text=Island of the Blue Dolphin&asin=0547328613]

In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind.

This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

[amazon text=The Velveteen Rabbit&asin=0385077254]

Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

Like the Skin Horse, Margery Williams understood how toys–and people–become real through the wisdom and experience of love. This reissue of a favorite classic, with the original story and illustrations as they first appeared in 1922, will work its magic for all who read it.

[amazon text= How the Grinch Stole Christmas&asin=0394800796]

“Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot . . . but the Grinch, who lived just north ofWho-ville, did NOT!” Not since “’Twas the night before Christmas” has the beginning of a Christmas tale been so instantly recognizable. No holiday season is complete without the Grinch, Max, Cindy-Lou, and all the residents of Who-ville, in this heartwarming story about the effects of the Christmas spirit on even the smallest and coldest of hearts. Like mistletoe, candy canes, and caroling, the Grinch is a mainstay of the holidays, and his story is the perfect gift for young and old.

[amazon text=Owl Moon&asin=0399214577]

Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird.

But there is no answer.

Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don’t need words. You don’t need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn’t an owl, but sometimes there is.

Distinguished author Jane Yolen has created a gentle, poetic story that lovingly depicts the special companionship of a young child and her father as well as humankind’s close relatiohship to the natural world. Wonderfully complemented by John Schoenherr’s soft, exquisite watercolor illustrations, this is a verbal and visual treasure, perfect for reading alound and sharing at bedtime.

 

Here are a few other books we think are great!

[amazon text=Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving&asin=0439669375]

The incomparable Dav Pilkey adapts Clement Moore’s classic Christmas poem to tell his wacky Thanksgiving tale. The day before Thanksgiving, eight boys and girls take a field trip to a turkey farm. They have fun playing with eight exuberant turkeys but ...

The holiday season is usually filled with so much stress and chaos.  From shopping and entertaining the family to budgeting for gifts and attending holiday parties socially and professionally, that to-do list can seem never-ending.  Between all of the holiday frenzy, how can you de-stress effectively?

This week in the Dad Spotlight we find out. We are bringing you Jennifer Grace who is the Hay House radio host, former SAG actress, and Executive Transformational coach who now teaches Stanford University’s famous Creative in Business course at the Standard Hotel in Miami, Florida.  As an executive transformational coach she has taught thousands of people how to remain calm and reduce stress and today she is passing some of that wisdom onto you!

 

Jennifer Grace shares some great hints, tips and more in today’s interview that you can use immediately. We hope that this helps you as you get through the holiday season and into the new year!

If you have not yet gotten your free guide: 15 Low Cost Ways To Engage With Your Kids – Pick it up today

As always, please swing by to visit us on iTunes and Stitcher to stay connected to the most up-to-date happenings with the podcast. Also, if you are on iTunes  and you are a listener, please leave us a review as this helps other people find us too!

We also hope that you will take a moment to share their thoughts on this quick survey. The results will be used to create even more targeted shows here on the Dad Spotlight to help you be the best dad that you can be!

We are very interested to have your input on a 4 question survey about being a dad can you please take 2 minutes to fill this out!

In this episode of The Dads Toolbox, we are sharing with you great information to help you be the best dad possible. Today we are bringing on a new guest, Dai “Coach Moose” Manuel who is a fitness and nutrition expert and writes at http://www.daimanuel.com/

Dai tells us that when you think of him he is a Dad, Husband, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Professional Blogger, Social Media Strategist, Brand Architect, CrossFit Athlete & Coach, and soon to be published Author of the [amazon text=Whole Life Fitness Manifesto&asin=1928055079].

Fitness has become a large part of my life. Growing up as an obese teenager, I experienced a “Defeated” mind state, knowing all too well what it means to be “health concerned”. It’s not a place I enjoyed being. Experiencing all the stigmas of obesity was traumatic. At age 15, I made a decision to change my lifestyle and I haven’t looked back since.

Click here to learn more about WHY he does the things he does.

We talked a bit today about why all of us as dads need to become more attuned to physical fitness and why it does not have to be hard.

You see, as Dai put it, kids should be the reason we stay healthy, not the excuse why we can’t be:

* http://www.daimanuel.com/2014/01/22/help-my-kids-are-making-me-fat/ 

* http://www.daimanuel.com/2014/02/13/survey-says-because-of-my-kids-theres-no-time-for-fitness/

This week Dai Manuel has a ton of great fitness resources that he is sharing with you that he is pulling from his great new book the [amazon text=Whole Life Fitness Manifesto&asin=1928055079]

We were very inspired by his story and his transformation and over the next few episodes when we bring Dai Manuel back get ready to join us on making a transformation in your own lives! We are in this with you to not only help you be the best dads that you can be, but we are working to be the best dads that we can be and that means being healthy too!

If you have not yet gotten your free guide: 15 Low Cost Ways To Engage With Your Kids – Pick it up today

As always, please swing by to visit us on iTunes and Stitcher to stay connected to the most up-to-date happenings with the podcast. Also, if you are on iTunes  and you are a listener, please leave us a review as this helps other people find us too!

We also hope that you will take a moment to share their thoughts on this quick survey. The results will be used to create even more targeted shows here on the Dad Spotlight to help you be the best dad that you can be!

We are very interested to have your input on a 4 question survey about being a dad can you please take 2 minutes to fill this out!

This interview was sponsored by Kidde.

Amy Acton, Executive Director of the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, joins us this week in the Dad Spotlight to talk about the Phoenix Society, and burn and fire safety awareness. Amy was named Executive Director of the Phoenix Society in 1998.  She has dedicated her career in advocating for the expansion of burn recovery services and resources for burn survivors and their loved ones.

 

 

The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering anyone affected by a burn injury through peer support, education, and advocacy. This is an important organization for Chris Lewis because he is a burn survivor. He learned about this organization soon after having third-degree burns on his hand in February 2013. Not only does the Phoenix Society support burn victims, but they also support burn victim families, too.

 

It’s important to realize that burns not only leave physical scars, but emotional ones too. This is why the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors is so important.

 

As fathers, Don and Chris also realized how their own kids reacted when they saw people with severe burns. It is not easy for many kids to understand how to act or react around people with these disabilities. The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors suggests the following four steps that dads can take to help their kids to come to a better acceptance of people with burns:

 

* Start early with your kids

* Model communication with your kids

* Look those who have burn scars in the eye and say, “Hi” instead of looking away

* Remind them that although people may look different, they are the same as you and me

 

The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors is a quality organization that provides support and resources for so many. Whether you are a burn survivor or not, there is so much available on their website that can help you be a better advocate and a better father for your own kids!

* Journey Back Program

* Stories of Survival

* Get Support

*