Engineering Fatherhood

Engineering Fatherhood

By Owens BrothersComedyKids & Family
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Engineering Fatherhood episodes

  • Episode #41 – Women in Science w/ Special Guest – Dr. Bob Cook!
    We finally brought in an expert!  Dr. Bob Cook, professor of Computer Science at Georgia Southern University.  Dr. Bob has been teaching college students about technology for over 35 years!  In addition to GSU, Dr. Bob has taught at Ole Miss, UVa and the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Cook’s take on the issue of women […]
    1 hr 15 min
  • Episode #40 – Sleep Extravaganza!!!

    Have you had trouble getting your child to sleep?  Have you ever had trouble KEEPING you child asleep?  Have you ever had trouble waking your child up?  These answers and more!  Just tune in.

    Getting them to sleep:

    • Some children (John’s) needed background noise such as running water.
    • Letting the kids into your bed can be fun (and snuggly) as a treat, but we don’t recommend ever letting it happen two nights in a row.  Then the habit sets in and you will have to fight to change it back.
    • Please include bedtime reading for just SO many reasons.
    • Don’t listen to websites/magazines full of obvious advice.  Do you really need someone to tell you not to give you kid caffeine before bedtime?
    • The Ferber Method is a good compromise between you and your wife if simply letting them ‘cry it out’ seems to harsh.  With this method you are still letting them cry it out but you are doing it with science!

      • Keeping them asleep:

      • No super ideas here other than ‘be firm’.
      • John likened this to weight loss – you know what you need to do but that doesn’t make it easy.
      • Matt emphasized that it is really hard to make good decisions when sleep deprived!

        • Waking them up:

        • Try being nice first – if that doesn’t work steal the blankets and turn on the light.
        • As early as they can take it, make it the KIDS responsibility to get up on time.  If they are late for school, they will have to go to the office – not you!

          • In other news, after all my complaining, Luke slept right through the night in his own bed last night.  Apparently the solution to getting him to sleep is to talk about it on a podcast!

          Amazon – You saw the banner.  Most of our purchases have been marked as ‘ineligible’.  Oh well.  You can listen to my rant, but the bottom line is that Amazon still rocks.  However I am not happy about their policy of using a ‘proprietary model’ to determine eligibility.  C’mon Amazon it is 2013!  Secret algorithms are soooo 2007 (financial crisis).

          No rants this episode and I think we kept it to under an hour!  See you next episode!!!!

          Mark

          Engineering Fatherhood Episode 40

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        • Episode #39 – Christmas Round Up and Kids Birthday Parties

          Welcome to 2013!   Hear about the best toys of Christmas by age.   Did you know that power wheels (battery powered kids vehicles – Jeeps in our cases) are actually motorized vehicles in the eyes of the law?  That means they must obey the speed limit of course.  And as the safety nerd points out, they are insurance nightmares.  Should we put a jeep on a trampoline and really blow his mind?  Skylanders are another big hit with both dads and children.  Musical gifts such as drums and guitars are also big hits.

          Then we covered birthday parties.  Matt is going to have a house party!  This is an awesome way to go.  All families should do this at least once.  It will probably be a real pain, but they will always have the fun memories.  Mark had some of these in the past and said they were fun, but they were worth it in their way.  So… Go Matt!  I hope the Jackster has a great time!  We decided that gift bags were ‘too much’.  When they are young and the classes are small, it is appropriate to invite the whole class, but when they get older (elementary school) it is probably too much.  Mark does ‘sleepover parties’ with the older kids and that seems to make the kids happy while still keeping within budget/hassle limits.

          That is all.  We are working to make some improvements in 2013.  Mark vows to get more guests and to find better music.  Matt will round up the listeners.

          So there you go.  Another fine episode of Engineering Fatherhood.  Have a great week!

          Mark

          Engineering Fatherhood Episode 39

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        • Episode #39 – Christmas Round Up and Kids Birthday Parties
          Welcome to 2013!   Hear about the best toys of Christmas by age.   Did you know that power wheels (battery powered kids vehicles – Jeeps in our cases) are actually motorized vehicles in the eyes of the law?  That means they must obey the speed limit of course.  And as the safety nerd points out, they […]
          1 hr 9 min
        • Episode #38 – Merry Christmas

          Merry Christmas from EF HQ!  We talk about Christmas preparations, Christmas letter dos and don’ts, how great Amazon is and all that.  Oh and that dratted elf!  Tune in for some quick dorky fun.

          Also, listen to our moments and rants.

          We Owens Brothers thank you for listening all year and wish you a very dorky Christmas.

          Mark

          https://engineeringfatherhood.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/engineering-fatherhood-episode-38.mp3

          Three Brothers

          0 min
        • Episode #37 – Sibling Rivalry

          Matt and I were arguing about who would write this, but I (Mark) won…HA!  Its mine… All mine!  (I am doing the final edit … it’s mine (Matt))

          Sibling rivalry is not simply when your children are competitive, it is when they bug each other senselessly and thus argue and thus annoying you, the parent.  We listened to some funny examples of this!  Of course they are only funny in retrospect.  Rivalry is a real pain, especially for parents of children close together in age.  Here are the solutions we came up with:

          • Let them work it out – If you can stand it, this is a good option (ear plugs are cheap).
          • Separate them – This is not always possible, but when you can it is nice.
          • Watch secretly so you can see who the instigator is – The instigator will likely get all lawyer on you and say ‘I was only waving my arms near her’.  Stick with the intent and not the law.  If one child was essentially starting the whole thing, they should get in trouble.
          • Let kids keep ownership of their possessions – This is a touchy one.  The fighting commonly occurs when one child has something the other wants.  Still, if one child ‘owns’ the desired toy, you have to let them judge whether to share.  (Here you can listen to John moan about his boss mustang hot wheels car that Mark ruined…)

            • As always, we did not solve all the problems relating to sibling rivalry, but we worked through it and gave some good advice I think.

            Rants, moments, etc.  And lots of fun was had by all,

            Thanks for listening – give us a like on facebook (Engineering Fatherhood) or subscribe on iTunes.  Also – send us a guest rant.  We love those…

            Mark

            https://engineeringfatherhood.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/engineering-fatherhood-episode-37.mp3
            0 min
          • Episode #36 – Three Under Four

            Announcing Andrew Paul Owens – Hurricane Baby.  He blew in to Matt’s house on October 27 and we hear all about it.  It sounds like all went well and he is a good baby.  Still ‘three under four’ is a challenge.

            Mark chimed in with some goofy stuff from parenting.com and we had three weeks of rants to share.

            Tune in and check it out!

            Mark

            Engineering Fatherhood Episode 36

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          • Episode #35 – Comedian Justin Worsham

            Justin Wosham joins us on this episode.  What a blast!  We talk to him about being a comedian and being a father, but mostly we just had a bunch of laughs.

            We also talk about how Mary is about to pop and John’s injury prone weekend.  All this was comedy gold when Justin got ahold of it.  Seriously, if there is one episode to listen to, this is the one. We recommend wearing a diaper (we all have them, right?) cuz you are gonna pee your pants!

            Highlights –

            • Matt and the the 38 minutes (conception or delivery – I’ll bet you can guess…)
            • Justin is prime for the Hunger Games with mad arrow making (fletching?) skills
            • John makes actuarial calculations of california traffic gun violence
            • Mark gripes about cutlery cleanliness.

              • Justin (Husband, Father, Jerk), is the host of The Dad Podcast.  Astute listeners might realize that Mark was a guest on his show a few weeks back.  Therefore we got him to join us, exchange student style (without the language barrier).

              Jason splits his time between being Mr. Mom and being a traveling funny man.  In some odd way that seems a perfect fit.  Hopefully he is coming to a city near you. A native of Modesto, California, Justin has been performing comedy in front of live audiences for over 15 years. In addition to performing in comedy clubs all over the country, teaching improv and hosting numerous live events, Justin was featured on Showtime’s Comics Without Borders with Russell Peters. Both of Justin’s albums, Paternally Challenged and Justin Worsham: I’m a Good Husband can be heard daily on Blue Collar Radio on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

              Check him out at justinworsham.com.  There you can find out about his podcasts, his comedy albums and even check out his schedule to find out when he will be in your part of the country.

              This is a pretty long episode.  Just another way you get more from your money here at Engineering Fatherhood.  Still, you might want to bring an extra diaper.

              Thanks Justin!

              Mark Owens
              EF Intern
              EF Headquarters
              Somewhere on the internet

              Engineering Fatherhood Episode 35

              justinworsham.com

              0 min
            • Episode #34 – Video Games and Children

              Sage advice on raising children (especially boys) in the age of video games.

              There are several major problems with video games

              • They cost a lot of money (Here at EF we are nothing if not frugal…)
              • They are usually antisocial activities.
              • They can contain serious violence
              • They can cause an addiction

                • A lot of this is obvious but here are the suggestions that Matt, Mark and John came up with to raise a well adjusted child in the age of video games:

                • Sit down and play with them! – Obviously we do this because we are nerds and we like to play, but it is necessary even if you are a non gamer
                • Set Time limits (this enables reward/punishment)
                • Understand the types of games (strategy vs ‘twitch’) Some game are good for learning!
                • Use the purchase of games as a money management tool (incentive for saving)
                • Talk to your kids about the games.  Nothing too serious, but it will get a shy kid talking for sure…
                • The gaming should take place in a public part of the house.  Consoles/computers in the kids rooms are a bad idea!

                  • All this wise advice is free of charge!  And you get rants and moments too!

                  App/game of the week – Bad Piggies (sequel to angry birds).

                  Tune in next week for a very special guest!

                  Signing off…

                  Mark

                  Engineering Fatherhood Episode 34

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                • Episode #33 – Bill Curley from the Swamps of Jersey!

                  Bill tells us about having an only child and Matt and Mark mock him for how ‘hard’ it must be.  Bill is also inundated with pets…  I hear changing a hermit crab’s diaper can be dicey…

                  We learn how to avoid over drama.  Why we don’t let our daughters get tattoos and that iPhones can be left out in the rain.

                  Good times are had by all!  John rants about banning sugary beverages in NYC.  Matt rants about impatience at the baggage claim and Mark rants about stupid political adds…

                  Secret bonus rant by Mark – you cannot really gag a person by putting duct tape over their mouth.  YET IT IS IN SO MANY MOVIES!!!

                  Also – secret hermit crab tip of the week.  You have to listen to hear it.  It will blow your mind!!!

                  All that and moments!

                  Mark

                  Engineering Fatherhood Episode 33

                  Closing song – Rosalita by Bruce Springsteen

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