Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.
- Claude Monet
Dad Suggests was created to share with others the many different things that we have loved sharing with our own children.
Our hope is that - by reading or visiting our children’s bookstore - you will find something special to enjoy with your own family.
- Ryan
These are the best cooperative board games for 3-year-olds. Our 3-year-old is very opinionated about the games she loves and grabs from the shelf to play with us. Not only is it an immense pleasure to see her excited about choosing the games we play, but the rest of us legitimately have fun with them too.
Society is doing a very good job making children believe they’re worthless if they aren’t good at tests. I recently discovered the absolute perfect way to teach children otherwise - a picture book called All the Ways to Be Smart by Davina Bell. You simply must read this one with your kids.
25 years after first being published, 13 Dead End Drive has been resurrected for a new generation. This family board game is full of working booby traps and plenty of treachery - and it’s great at sparking the imagination. Who will inherit Aunt Agatha’s vast fortune? And, more importantly, who will survive the night?
Dad jokes are the antidote we all need to protect us from the dangers of being too cool for school. After years and years of being exposed to the embarrassment of dad humor, our kids will fear nothing. The best gift we can give them is a role model who is unafraid to be himself. Bring on the groans!
The great thing about a family camping trip is that everyone is guaranteed to be unplugged and focused on enjoying each other’s company. Next time you head to the woods, make sure to try these fantastic family board games at your campsite. They’re sure to set the right atmosphere.
This month we’re giving away one copy of Solitaire Chess from ThinkFun! We’ve called it one of the very best logic games for kids, as well as one of the best gifts for chess players. And now we’re very excited to give away a copy to one of you!
Dads are important role models for children to look up to. They can teach their kids what’s really important - and build up their self esteem and their sense of wonder. In return, kids teach their dads the meaning of life in ways they could never have imagined. The book on this list do a remarkable job of capturing that special relationship.
As far as I’m concerned, books that tackle topics like empathy and friendship are tackling meaning of life stuff. They’re trying to give kids the tools to build meaningful relationships and spend their days on Earth in a worthwhile fashion. A Sick Day for Amos McGee provides these lessons better than any other picture book we have.
Peaceable Kingdom is the king of cooperative family board games. And not only are they promoting cooperation, but they’re cultivating kindness through board games as well. Is it any wonder they’re one of our very favorites?
Gone are the days where kids will see other kids and adults reading for fun all around them. Nowadays it honestly feels like even well-meaning, book-loving dads like me need to be even more intentional about reading in front of our kids than we ever thought.
This is not your typical list of alphabet books. That’s because these books could easily be considered some of our favorite picture books ever made. They’re funny, they’re exciting, they’re beautiful, and, most importantly, they’re interesting. Who has time to waste reading A is for apple and B is for ball? Just because it’s the alphabet doesn’t mean it can’t be wildly entertaining and inspiring.
One of my most important jobs is promoting creativity and imagination in the kids - so I get very excited about new board games with good stories and engaging gameplay like The Enchanted Tower.
Julian Is a Mermaid is simply the ultimate champion of being yourself. I’ve never seen another book that teaches children to be true to themselves as well as this one. It also flies directly in the face of the arbitrary gender norms our kids might have already been exposed to and sets them up for a life of empathy, happiness, and confidence.
The following board games are some of our very favorite fantasy-themed family board games. If your family loves fantasy as much as ours does, or if you have a little one obsessed with dragons and magic, make sure to give these games a try.
The classic story of a tree and its boy has a lot to teach children about life, and it’s also a work of art that evolves and delivers more meaning as you age. I couldn’t be more excited to share a copy of this masterpiece with one of you this month!
The important thing to remember is that kids with good parents will almost always thrive despite a school’s obsession with standards, but it still begs the question - is it necessary? Let me tell you the #1 reason we decided to homeschool our first grader.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a collection of 75 songs from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The songs are presented as a volume of poetry, and they’re beautifully illustrated and brought to life by Luke Flowers. And it’s basically the only parenting manual you will ever need.
These are the best picture books that teach colors. Illustrating a picture book must always be a challenge. But I imagine that illustrating a picture book about colors is a very special challenge in-and-of itself. You’re tasked with capturing the very essence of illustrations themselves.
