UPDATED: 6 Tips to Enjoying the Game Without Being a Terrible Father

The mission of Playground Dad is to connect today’s dads with products and events that help them maximize the time they spend with their kids. So during the process of building Playground Dad, it has always felt a bit hypocritical to ignore my family every single minute or every single Sunday from August through February while I vegetate in front of the television watching every second of every NFL game.

So to not be a hypocrite, I’ve created these 6 tips that help dads enjoy the beauty of NFL Sunday while at the same time not being a terrible dead beat, sitcom father. Easier said than done? A little, but try a few of these steps and you’ll get better every week.

1. Invest in Gear
Point blank, kids are better natural fans than adults. They have more unbridled passion and they don’t have bills and jobs to muddle their fandom. Whoever your team is, get your kids some gear and let them share in Sunday cheering. Plus, when kids get a gift from their dads, it means a lot. A little jersey, a team hoodie; get their size and get them some gear to create a true connection to your team.

2. Make Halftime an Event
The kids, of course, won’t have the attention span to sit there and watch the entire game for 3 hours, so make halftime an event and help them watch the game clock as it ticks down to the half. At halftime fire up your own games…board games, maybe a favorite video game, better yet, go outside throw the Nerf football around and get some exercise! Either way, make halftime a huge event dedicated to games with you and the kids.

3. Create a Villain
Kids fundamentally understand good and evil. For example, in our house, the New York Giants are evil. For years, we compared Michael Strahan to Swiper from Dora the Explorer. Creating a villain extends their fandom and interest in other games around the league as they look out for the villains.

4. Cook
Bring the tailgate experience home and create an NFL Sunday menu that the kids can help out with. Let them create the actual paper menu and then chip in with preparation of the food. You can even have a first and second half menu to keep kids engaged throughout the day.

5. Create & Collect
Another way to encourage fandom with the kids is to start collecting football cards with them. Go to Target, buy a box of cards, and they will just start hitting you with questions about players and teams. They will be excited to see the same guys on the big screen. Also, getting them to create and color new uniforms and helmets for teams will have them exploring the myriad of designs and colors throughout the league. There are some great idea starters for this kind of thing on the NFL Rush website for kids: http://www.nflrush.com/

6. Get a DVR
Let’s be honest, kids are going to spill, cry, get bored and do kid things that will prevent you from watching your games uninterrupted. Don’t be naïve…get yourself a DVR, so you can deal with life between games.

Enjoy your NFL Sunday and let us know if you have tips that make it a family friendly day in your house!

Image Credit: US CPSC
originally posted on this website in 2009

About Mike Johnson

My Family. Boston Sports. Music. Food. Video Games. Founder of Playground Dad. Live in Northern California with my wife and 4 daughters. The Wire is the best TV show ever. My daughters still tell me I'm funny and that's all that matters to me.

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