Parenting

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Daddy Spa 101: A how-to guide for dads to spend quality "floor time" time with their young daughters

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Sigh. I think I have a new blog crush. His name is Michael but he goes by HighTechDad (and his blog is TechDadBlog). He's funny (read: application for permission to date my daughter), geeky (read: Fix it: Cannot Sync iPhone with Any Computer) and helpful (read: Review: Netflix Player - Get Dad Movies On Demand).

The post that inspired the blog crush was one I found via ParentHacks: “Daddy Spa” - Quality Floor-time for Girls and their Dads. HighTechDad has three daughters and was looking for a way to spend quality "floor time" with his girls. He says it's sometimes "hard for a dad to find ways to interact and connect with his girls."

So he created Daddy Spa time, where it lets them play games they like but adds a tiny bit of structure.

His girls create the "environment" by dimming lights, closing shades and putting on a sound machine of waves...aka The Spa Vibe.

There are the typical spa activities. He lets the girls create some wacky hairstyles and put on makeup and nail polish that is really just water applied with Q-tips (brilliant!). He taught them how to scratch his back without digging their nails into him. There's the "back rub" where they pound away on him and the "back walk" where they, yes, walk on his back. Now I let my sons do this to me and it's awesome when you have some muscle tightness or need to crack your back (and they also think it's pretty funny when mom says, "Hey...could you walk on my back?"). My absolute favorite is a truly a "dad" addition to the spa menu: "fart-age." They make farting noises on his back.

Basically, Dad Spa means you let your girls beat up on you. And they, of course, love every second of it and probably think their dad is pretty cool.

Kudos to HighTechDad for finding a fun way to spend quality time with his girls in a way that lets them take the lead. It's too easy to let mom and dad dictate a kid's every playtime move. The complete how to guide to create your own Daddy Spa can be found here.
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Comments 1-2 of 2
  • desiree e's Avatar
    Posted by desiree e Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:51pm PDT

    all thats is great ideas, my son and daughter both love to play with their dar, esp making fart noises on his stomach or back, and love to tickle him- esp since hes so ticklish. hopefully when my daughter(1) and the new baby(girl) will be able to so spa days with their dad for now. my daughter likes to do everything her older brother(4) does. She will probably be the tom boy turn girly girl as she gets older.

    Report Abuse
  • elenasheehan@att.net's Avatar
    Posted by elenasheehan@att.net Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:06am PDT

    Wow, this Michael certainly is a terrific guy !

    Report Abuse
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