Aug

Most kids adore their dads. Unless the father is abusive, addicted, or criminally inclined, children have an extreme love for their fathers. I remember when my boys were much younger how they would run to the door when they heard my keys in the lock. Even now, I still catch them copying me in subtle ways and quoting me like I was the final authority on everything from cars to comics.

However, despite this natural love, it does not hurt to do things with your kids to round out the experience. Think about your kids thirty or forty or even fifty years from now. Do you want them to remember you as a workaholic with no time for the family? Or just spaced out in front of the television? Or always angry and bitter?

Of course not. So I'm going to list a few things that fathers can do with their children to help create a wonderful bank of memories. And hopefully, fifty years from now, your child will think back and reminisce about just hanging out with their dad.

Before you pack up your offspring and strap them into the minivan, first try to understand The Joker action figure You probably already think you know your children. However, you might Watchmen comic surprised what you'll learn about them if you commit to some analysis or long conversations.

Maybe you like baseball and football. Maybe they don't. Maybe you're a great artist. Maybe they can't draw a straight line. So study you children and find out what they like.

Also try to find some common interests you both share. Do they like drawing and coloring? Maybe you can Odd Rods them to some of your favorite childhood superheroes. Do they like Harry Potter? Do you remember some of your favorite books as a kid? Get them a copy and maybe they'll like it as much as you did.

I suggest you try to do things together that you'd both enjoy. The more you enjoy something, the greater the chance you'll do it again in the future.

Here are some things you can do that generally don't cost any money.

• Ride bikes together.
• Take walks together, preferably through parks or in a serene environment.
• Read them a book or comic book. Try to act out the scenes since kids love seeing their parents act goofy.
• Watch a movie at home.
• Wrestle with them. Yes, I said wrestle. Most boys love to play fight and relish the chance to beat up on Dad. And many girls do too.
• Just talk.
• Take a drive together. If they're old enough to sit in the front seat, let them sit with you talk about anything.
• If you're artistic and you can paint, draw, or sculpt, then do it together. Even if you're not artistic, you can still do it together.
• If they're into athletics or drama or music make it a point to see them perform as often as possible.
• Play with them. Play baseball, basketball, football, street hockey, soccer, tag, hide and seek, video games, chess, checkers, cards, Monopoly, tic-tac-toe, and whatever else comes to mind. Just play together.

And now for some activities that might cost some money.

• Go to the movies. Just make sure you take them to something they want to see.
• Go to a sporting event together.
• Visit a children's museum.
• Visit a real museum. Not all kids will like this, but some might.
• Visit the zoo.
• Take a class together. My sons and I take a martial arts class together. Find a regularly scheduled class in music, art, or sports and enroll together.

As your kids age, they will eventually stop wanting to do things with you as often. That's only natural and there isn't much we can do about it. However, if you spent a lot of time with them during their younger years, then you should have had ample time to give them good advice and coaching that they will refer to when faced with tough decisions. Of course, no matter how old they are you should still continue to give sound advice.

I have one more piece of advice for you dads out there. Behave yourself. As the parent, you must lead by example. If you are bitter, spiteful, gossipy, malicious, or just down right dirty, your kids will pick up the same habits.

I have four kids so I know how difficult it is to find time to spend with them. I take them to movies as often as I can. Check out my blog http://watch-and-read.blogspot.com to read some of my movie reviews and what my kids thought about them.

Visit my website http://www.horror-fiction.info if you want to know more about some of the greatest books and movies ever made.