Dad Tip #3: Watch TV

If you're like any other American adult, you're probably the kind of guy that enjoys watching shows that are violent or sexual, adult oriented at least. Maybe the shows you like would be considered boring by those of a younger stature. Shows like 24, the Office, Top Chef, Dexter, Lost, The Shield, Nip/Tuck etc. etc.

But if you're like any parent that wants to be a good parent you're probably willing to sacrifice those shows or maybe DVR them to watch later and watch shows like Dora the Explorer or Go, Diego, Go with your kid. If so, that's great. I've got some handy dandy advice for you.

Watching these shows can be pretty boring. Shown on Noggin or Nick Jr all day every day, there are many reruns but your kid won't mind. You may though and you may want to do something else while your child watches TV. This is perfectly understandable, but here's my advice. Your child probably likes watching stuff WITH you. They probably get some bonding feeling out of it, much like your wife might if you both watch something like Bridezillas.

So by all means watch with your kid, but you can shift your look at the show and instead of sitting there letting the images blast your mind away, take a look at it from an adult's perspective. Ask yourself engaging questions that a child would not usually ask and then you can talk to your spouse about it later.

Questions like:

"Where are Max & Ruby's parents?"

"Is Wubbzy and adult? If not, why does he own his own house?" This can apply to Spongebob too.

"Can you ever look at Fred Savage the same way knowing he's the voice for Oswald the Octopus?"

Don't be scared to watch your kid's TV shows, if you let them watch TV. I let mine watch TV and so far she's pretty smart. She can repeat a ton of the words you say and she remembers motions to songs, you can tell her to get something specific and most times she gets it, you can tell her not to do something specific ("Get your foot off of that.") and she'll do it. She's smart. Maybe Noggin has something to do with this.