Dad Tip of the Day: Get excited about the things your kids get excited about to help foster their imagination and further their learning.
Kids go through all sorts of phases and get excited about many different things - dads should get excited about these things too! These things will come and go, but an involved and caring dad will help kids learn through this excitement and create new ways to play, particularly through their imagination.
For my son Jacob, the phases have been construction vehicles, Cars (the movie) characters, Snoopy/Peanuts characters, hot wheels, and Thomas the Tank Engine, among others.
Before Jacob, I couldn't name any of the Thomas the Tank Engine trains, other than Thomas. Now, since Jacob has obtained numerous trains and begun watching the TV show a little bit, I can virtually name them all! It is fun to use this excitement of his to play and reenact different scenes and situations that we have either done in the past or that he saw on TV. It makes him happy when he asks "play trains daddy?", and my response is, of course!
Of course, I have attempted to get Jacob excited about things I like or think he would like as well, with some success and some failures. He thinks fishing is OK, but is not the biggest fan of playing with the mini hockey sticks I got him. He also isn't amused by bonfires yet, preferring bubbles and dirt.
So do what you can to get excited about the different things your kids are in - they will enjoy it and I am sure you will enjoy the bonding time as well!
Brian