Dads Unplugged

The first time you laid eyes on your son, what went through your mind? Have you imagined playing together? Have you imagined playing with dolls, dressing up and having tea parties? No Dad imagines that but many find that is what happens when their boys grow up wanting to be like a girls. In a recent NY Times article, this issue was discussed at length. Todd and Kent had their own chat about what to do when your son wants to be like a girl. Do you force your child to be something they're not? Do you let them go to school in dresses and wear wigs? Much of this episode focuses on this, while there is also a larger discussion about how we as Dads can be even better.

Has your Dad ever embarrassed you? How bad was it really? As a dad, I am pretty sure I have made my boys blush. President Obama did it to his daughter, Malia, and while some focused on what he said, if you listened closely you heard ideas that inspired his daughter and made her better. Todd goes solo and talks about how we as Dads can have an impact on our kids. The choices we make are critical and whether it is sending your kids to public or private school, or listening to our kids rather than telling them what or how to do something. It's not a rant, it's a discovery, it's an opportunity to learn something that may change the way you parent. Also is Oregon fixing their school system? Does their new scoring system help schools and ultimately support the kids?

Do you remember taking math in 9th, 10th and 11 grade? Did you flourish? Did you struggle? One College Professor in NY claims that kids struggle with Math so much that we should abolish it as a required class and make it an elective. It has ignited a firestorm of conversation, which could only mean that anyone with an interest in higher level math has a really loud voice, because statistics show that only 1% of graduates have a degree in math. Andrew Hacker (http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/political_science/hacker.html), Professor at Queens College City University New York (http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Pages/default.aspx), and the author of "Higher Education? How colleges are wasting our money and failing our kids and what we can do about it" wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html?pagewanted=all) and now everyone who wasn't talking about math is talking about math. He claims that of the 1.25 Billion kids on earth, 1 Billion of them won't graduate from High School and that their struggles in math are a major player in that decision. Nobody here or the Professor is saying that kids should not learn basic math skills, but we all are questioning the need for Pre-Cal and Calculus classes. A great replacement option would be Financial Literacy classes, but in this day and age with No Child left behind and National testing, there is no way that public schools are going to allow something like this. Are we all doing our kids a big disservice? I will only accept your answer if you can tell me what the (CoSin of A + Sin of B)/CoSin of G equals. Seriously, I want to know. I never could get that right.    

Jason Alexander (https://twitter.com/IJasonAlexander), aka George Costanza, set off a firestorm with a recent Tweet on Twitlonger.com (http://www.twitlonger.com/index.php/main_new). He challenged the thinking of many people in the aftermath of the Colorado murders. In the end, he asked only that we be willing to have an open discussion about Guns Laws. Roger Ebert, the movie reviewer, piped in via the NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/opinion/weve-seen-this-movie-before.html) about violence in movies and violence in our lives. Is there a correlation? By allowing our children to see violent movies or play violent video games are we, as parents, actually the ones creating the problem? Todd and Kent sound off about how Dads can make a difference and keep our most beloved family members safe. Kent also shares his story of shooting an AR-15 and the amazing story of how it wound up in his hands.

Malcolm Gladwell (http://www.gladwell.com/bio.html) wrote the book, "Outliers" (http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html) In it, he speaks of how the older kids in classrooms have all the advantages. Some parents have taken this to mean that they should redshirt their children, i.e - hold them back so they are 6 in Kindergarten and 11 in 5th grade. Does this really benefit our children? Does it harm them? Gladwell's research stems from the world of sports where statistics have shown the advantages of having an early birthday. Kent and Todd speak of their own experience, academically and athletically, and debate this latest trend is hyper parenting.

It's summer. It's beautiful outside. So why are your kids sitting in the basement playing video games? Why are you allowing it? The Oregon Recreation & Park Association has come up with something all kids will enjoy. It's the Outdoor Seekers (http://www.outdoorseekers.com/) program. Learn the Oregon kids Bill of Rights (http://www.outdoorseekers.com/aboutthebillofrights/ocobor/). Get them their own Activity Passport (http://www.outdoorseekers.com/becomeanoregonoutdoorseeker/outdoorseekerpassport/) and make this summer more memorable than ever. Find places that are closer than you think where you can hike, camp, boat, swim, fish and learn. Stephanie is full of answers and in the final 10 minutes of the show, Todd and Kent unleash a plethora of information (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/08/is-the-internet-making-us-crazy-what-the-new-research-says.html) you have to know about your kids' brain. The more they stare at a screen, the more it actually shrinks. This is scary research delivered the way only Todd and Kent can deliver it.

I am sure everyone has heard, "Respect your elders." My philosophy on that is this. Why do I have to respect someone just because they have lived longer than me. That doesn't mean I have to respect them. It could mean they have some great input and ideas, but in no way does that mean I have to respect me. they can earn my respect but that is the only way they are going to get it. David Frum (http://www.thedailybeast.com/davidfrum.html) wrote an interesting article in the latest Newsweek (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/24/david-frum-on-how-we-need-to-learn-to-say-no-to-the-elderly.html) and talked about how the elderly are making roads unsafe and making our future unsafe as well. The only other drivers like them on the road are teenagers and those are the ones that the elderly are actually hurting with their ability to live longer. So what to do about it? Well, ironically Greece has a great answer for the driving issue, not the money problem. we all know that. Kent and Todd share some ideas about how to approach this delicate subject that nobody in politics wants to deal with. Don't make the elderly mad, because they will get even. But maybe all we really need to do is listen and that could lead us to a greater future.

Anne Marie Slaughter (http://www.princeton.edu/~slaughtr/) is 100% wrong! You can have it all. Todd discusses her Atlantic article (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-can-8217-t-have-it-all/9020/) which proves that feminists have had it all wrong from the start. While Slaughter's heart is in the right place, so is everyone's after they have screwed up and learned their lesson. But in parenting, by then it's often too late. Hopefully that's not the case in Slaughter's situation, but she misses the boat right and left about what one has to do to have it all. It's very simple. I will tell you how every single person can have it all.

Craig Nicholls shared with us the joy of his yearly event,  the North American Organic Beer Festival (http://www.naobf.org/). It's about good times, family and organic beer! Then we travelled across the world to learn how Marc-Antoine DeMees, the owner of Brunehaut Brewery (http://brunehaut.com/products.php) in Belgium makes real Gluten Free Organic beer and why. Finally, we return to Portland to talk with Mike Wright, who started brewing in his basement only to jump off the cliff of life and join the big boys. Now he produces 8 different beers, which are all on tap at his tasting room in his Commons Brewery (http://www.commonsbrewery.com/). Just livin' the dream boys. Anyone else thirsty?

With the virality of David McCullough Jr's Commencement speech at Wellesley High School, everyone is wondering, "Are our kids special?"  McCullough says no, 9 times in his speech. But have you heard the entire speech? Todd and Kent have and they agree 100% with the English Teacher. Find out why this speech is one you must listen to with your kids and why it is so wrong to tell your child he or she is special. If you want to find out who is special, keep listening, because Kent breaks down on the air recounting a story he was told by a special child who has grown into an even more special man. Plus how does the head chef for McDonalds say this, "I don't see anything on te menu that's unhealthy." with a straight face?

Divorce Lawyer Jody Stahancyk doesn't let up in Part 2. The questions that she asks clients really gets to the heart of the matter. Start with what year will you be 100 years old? This is your canvas. Now what? Well, Jody explains, but you will have to listen. It might change the way you view your future and with whom you view it...    

If you live in the Northwest and you have been divorced in the past 30 years, there is a good chance that you have come across the name Jody Stahancyk (http://stahancyk.com/). This is one powerful Divorce Attorney. But while many view her with disdain, the more you get to know her, the more you get to understand how she is practicing Divorce Law in a different way. Her crusade, Child Centered Solutions, (http://www.childcenteredsolutions.org/) puts the children first and it has made a major difference in the lives of thousands of kids of divorce. Along the way she has also helped hundreds of parents into, through and out of their divorces. It's an entirely different kind of spin that will amaze you. Find out which marriages are working the best these days.  Even those of you that are still married might learn a thing or ten.

Kent finally got back behind the mic and we had to get his reaction to the Attachment Parenting cover on TIME. Usually Todd and Kent are on the same page, but this time, they weren't even close. How did they navigate this conversation? It brings up the question, is Coddling the same as Attachment Parenting? Also they both reacted to the epidemic that is hitting our teens: Diabetes. Why is it happening. What can we do as parents to stop this? We have answers.

Whether it's a 55 year old grandpa from Alabama, or someone on your kids baseball team, adults can get heated when it comes to sporting events. How can we be better? How can we model for our kids better behavior? And what about when your kid gets hurt at game? Have you ever said, "You're fine. Shake it off." You may be doing much more harm than good. what are you really telling them. Find out in this episode, and find out what you should be telling them as well...  

With Mother's Day around the corner, how about a show that gives you a critical resource: what to get the mother of your children on Mother's Day! Find out what women really want on today's show and find out why men keep giving her the wrong gifts on her special day. AskMen.com (http://askmen.com) is leading us all astray! Also, what love song (http://jasonmraz.com/?show_four_letter_word=false)would you play for the mother of your kids on Sunday? I have one picked out. Do you? And we say goodbye to someone who really messed all of us up as kids: Maurice Sendak. The author of "Where the Wild Things Are" died at age 83 on May 8th and he leaves a legacy. Was it good for you? If you want to laugh with him, might I suggest his interview with Stephen Colbert, Part 1 & Part 2 (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1).