Bronx Zoo - It Pays to be a Member

Editor’s note: As we prepare for Friday’s dads and kids trip to The Bronx Zoo, NYC Dads Group member Jason S. Grant explains why it pays to lay out a little extra cash now for a zoo membership.

I just got home from the Bronx Zoo with my son, Jake, and we’re already looking forward to our next trip – our third of this spring.

“Isn’t that expensive?” you may ask.

My answer: Not if you get a membership to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

After our second time at the zoo this year, we started to feel the pinch in the wallet. After a little online research, we learned how a membership pays for itself after a few trips and provides a year’s worth of entertainment.

Here’s how:

NYC Dads Meetups: To the Bronx Zoo

Week of May 20, 2013: Even a suburban parent like myself loved venturing into Da Bronx a few times a year when the kids were little to see what was happening at the amazing and historic Bronx Zoo.

There’s so much to do there that our family became members of the Wildlife Conservation Society, a great deal for frequent visitors of this or any of the four area zoos and one aquarium part of the program.

So please join us at our May 24 Bronx Zoo adventure and check out all these other NYC Dads Meetup Group events going on this week.

Parent-Coach Teamwork Key to Youth Sports Success

Editor’s Note: NYC Dads Group member and blog contributor Jason Greene offers a coach’s perspective on how parents can make youth sports more enjoyable for their children … and the coaches.

This season will be my fourth coaching my son’s soccer team. Coaching him has been one of the highlights of parenting for me. But with coaching comes a lot of stress, anxiety, and weariness – mostly because of other parents. Luckily, I’m more comfortable than I’ve ever been because the parents trust me and I know them.

Being a coach is a difficult job. Parents entrust us with their most precious gift in the entire world. Every game and practice I remind myself of that. But while I do my best to help children develop, the parent-coach relationship is a two-way street.

Here’s some things players’ parents should remember to help coaches and their children do their best:

Kevin McKeever Joins NYC Dads Group as Editor

First, we want to thank the growing list of contributors to the NYC Dads Group blog. We appreciate this has become a place that represents the diversity of dads in our group.

We've tried to create a win-win for those interested in sharing their voices. Some contributors want a place to write about their thoughts and struggles. Others hope to drive more traffic to their own blogs or social media endeavors. Still others use this as a platform for a writing job or book deal.

We've come to the point where we want move blog to the next level by broadening our reach and enhancing content. To that end, we are pleased to announce that Kevin McKeever has agreed to step up as our editor.

We met Kevin at the first Dad 2.0 Summit last year, but we have long admired his work on his own award-winning blog and as a contributor to the amazing DadCentric.com. As you can see from Kevin's bio below, he has built a career as a blogger, journalist, writer and editor to fit around his role as an at-home dad of two kids (and a dog).

As editor, Kevin will take the lead on developing content. He will be creating an editorial calendar and will collaborate with contributors, old and new. Kevin will also help us deepen our relationships with partners like Good Men Project and Huffington Post Parents and help us develop relationships with new partners to strengthen our voice.

Thank you to Kevin for joining our team!


Kevin's Bio
Kevin McKeever makes copy sing for Write On, Kevin! McKeever Communications, a one-man shop that provides writing and editing services for individuals and businesses. This occurs in between his duties as at-home dad to a brood of three: a newly minted teenage girl, a big-for-his-age tween boy, and a Labrador retriever known for explosive poops and losing large chunks of his fur.

Kevin also pens a newspaper column for Hearst Connecticut Media Group that has won multiple statewide awards and barely subsidizes his microbrew habit. His personal blog Always Home and Uncool (http://AlwaysHomeAndUncool.com) for the past two years has been named a Top 50 Dad Blog by Disney-owned Babble.com. He also contributes to the popular parenting blog, DadCentric (http://DadCentric.com). His work has been featured in USA Today, Canada's Globe and Mail, the New York Daily News, The Huffington Post and landfills worldwide.

Before starting his own business, Kevin helped create the employee communications program for one of the largest residential builders in the United States. He successfully managed that program for nearly nine years, the last three as a work-at-home dad 1,500 miles from the corporate office.

Prior to all that, Kevin toiled as a journalist for daily newspapers for longer than he wants to admit. He won several statewide awards for feature writing and general reporting during those years. Then he meet a Midwestern girl on her own and his life changed for the better.

Kevin, a lifelong Connecticut suburb boy, loves the New York Mets to a fault, takes his martinis up with a twist and devotes spare time to raising funds for The Cure JM Foundation (http://curejm.org), an all-volunteer nonprofit aiming to eradicate juvenile myositis – a rare autoimmune disease his daughter has been dealing with since age 2.

Win Free Tickets to New York Baby Show

NYC Dads Group still has a few FREE tickets to this weekend’s New York Baby Show at Pier 92 in lower Manhattan.

The family-friendly mega-show for expectant and new parents and their young ones features visits from Rosie Pose to Radio Disney, new products, giveaways, talks from top educators and plenty more.

NYC Dads Group will host the "DADS LOUNGE," a refuge for fathers and fathers-to-be to seek advice of those who have been there and learn about what NYC Dads Group can offer them. The lounge will have changing tables, gliders, carpeting and comfy couches for the wee ones. Influential dads bloggers, authors, some of our favorite parenting experts also will be on hand.

NYC Dads Group will also host on Sunday a mini-New Dad Boot Camp Workshop, an abbreviated version of our weekly session "for dads by dads" that give new and expecting fathers the opportunity to discuss parenting with veteran dads. Hands-on experience holding, feeding and calming real babies will be provided.

To win a free New York Baby Show ticket:
Go to NewYorkBabyShow.com and use discount code NYCDADS13 when checking out. Even if you miss the giveaway, tickets cost only $10 per person; $20 per family.

NYC Dads Meetups: New York Baby Show, Westchester Big Trucks

Week of May 13, 2013: The New York Baby Show brings the latest kiddie gear for new and expecting parents along with giveaways, talks from parenting experts and demonstrations to Pier 92 in Manhattan this weekend. Bring the tykes -- there will be plenty for the toddler and preschool set to see and do.

While there, stop in and see us at the “Dads Lounge,” a refuge for fathers and fathers-to-be to ask questions of those who have been there and learn more about what the NYC Dads Group has to offer in terms of events, education and support.

Check out these other NYC Dads Meetup Group events going on this week.

Mom 2.0 Summit - A Dad in the Momiverse, Year 2

Editor's Note: Arts and Culture Coordinator (among many other talents) Adam Gertsacov attended his second consecutive Mom 2.0 Summit, a premier professional conference for influential mom bloggers and female online entrepreneurs in Laguna Niguel, Calif., last week. Here's his take, which as he explains, is far different than what a major national publication had described just before it began.

Just prior to the start of the Mom 2.0 Summit, a Wall Street Journal article created controversy in the parent blogosphere by painting its attendees as partying housewives looking for any opportunity to leave the drudgery of kids and housework behind for a "business trip" in the lap of luxury of the Ritz-Carlton.

The attendees I meet were neither unsatisfied nor bored housewives looking to be pampered. Most were either super-savvy mom bloggers, people trying to reach super-savvy mom bloggers, or people trying to BECOME super-savvy mom bloggers. My wife, who attended with me, and I fall into those camps as we attended on behalf of our Digital Family Summit conference that happens in Oct. 11-13 in Baltimore this year. Mom 2.0 Summit is a great place to meet potential sponsors and potential attendees/speakers which made it very worthwhile for us to attend.

As with last year's Mom 2.0 Summit, I was overwhelmed in a good way. There were lots of parties and giveaways but most importantly, informative sessions. I had a great time sitting in on a number of sessions, meeting sponsors during the other portions, and -- yes -- indulging a little. I even had my first facial!

Here's a few of my big takeaways and favorite sessions:

100 Giveaway Tickets To The New York Baby Show From NYC Dads Group, Hosts of the "DADS LOUNGE"

NYC Dads Group will once again be hosting the "DADS LOUNGE" this year at the New York Baby Show. Be sure to say hi to our members hosting the "Dads Lounge," a refuge for fathers and fathers-to-be to ask questions and seek advice of those who have been there and learn more about what the NYC Dads Group has to offer them in terms of events, education and support. 

The Dads Lounge will be a furnished suite with changing tables, gliders, carpeting, and comfortable couches.  In addition to having several of our NYC Dads Group members on-hand, we'll also be joined in the lounge by influential dads, dad bloggers, authors, and our favorite parenting experts throughout the weekend.  And yes, even moms (and grandparents) are welcome in the dads lounge!

On Sunday at the New York Baby Show, we'll even be hosting a mini-New Dad Boot Camp Workshop- an abbreviated version of our weekly one-time workshops "for dads by dads" that give new and expecting fathers the opportunity to discuss parenting with veteran dads, who bring their babies along to give the rookies some hands-on experience holding, feeding, and calming real babies.

 ****Special Offer For Our Readers****

NYC Dads Group has 100 FREE tickets to give away to the New York Baby Show, coming up on May 18 and 19, at Pier 92 in NYC! The annual family-friendly mega-show for expectant and new parents and their infants and toddlers features everything from Rosie Pose to Radio Disney, along with top vendors, new products, educators, a newly expanded Stroller Test Track, local entertainers, demo classes, and an Ultimate Nursery Giveaway compliments of Bellini (worth approx. $5,000). 

First 100 families to use discount Code, NYCDADS13, go for free! 

Note: Even if you miss the giveaway, tickets are only $10 per person; $20 per family. Sign up at NewYorkBabyShow.com.