About Us

I started WOW DAD! for two reasons, one serious, the other not but just as important.

When Scott was about three years old, I noticed how much he enjoyed the little things that I did for him: flipping a coin, flying a paper airplane, skipping a rock. A trip to the county fair was great, but so was a couple of hours throwing rocks into a stream.

As a first-time father and then as a single father, I had put a lot of time and energy into 'wowing' Scott. But he didn't need it. I talked to other parents, teachers, and eventually child psychologists, and I learned that the most important thing for children is to have both parents happily involved in their lives.

I learned that many parents are good at creating special events, but have forgotten the importance of special moments. And it's these moments that children treasure and remember, and that create real bonds between each parent and child.

Sometimes a big event is just plain wonderful. Every child should be taken to the circus when it's in town. But as we get caught up in our busy lives with all the twenty-five screen theatres, multi-level arcades and 3-D video games out there these days, it's easy to forget how easy it is to do something special for a child.

So I started making a list of the little tricks and fun things that had created so many special moments for Scott and me. I remembered games that my father had shown me, I did some reading, some of my friends added their own ideas, and before I knew it, I had enough to share here.

With the tips in these books, anyone can create fun and memories with children anywhere and anytime. The activities are fun, fast, simple to prepare, and easy to do. You may find that some of them stimulate a few questions along the way, and the search for the answers will create more special moments for you.

And here's my other reason for writing WOW DAD!

I love it when Scott looks at me as if I'm the greatest thing since the Muppets. Cultivating curiosity in a child is definitely a worthy goal. But the real fun of these books is to make your child say "Wow Dad!" because after "I love you," that is the greatest sound of all.