Neat huh?

Its tough doing two instagram accounts but I'm trying it out. 1000 posts or 1000 followers seems like it is so far.
Part experiment, part new blog, and lots of parenting stuff I launched the instagram account for my new blog: @ThePapiDaddy.
I would really appreciate if you could follow me there as well (if you aren't already). The only warning... it's mostly kids and parenting stuff. Its cool if you're not not it too. No pressure. And #TIA

#notagrouch #thepapidaddy #papidaddy #daddyblogger #bloggerslife #parenting and #lifestyledesign

View on Instagram

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The post Parents will understand appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Update, 10/2016 After some time, I ended up starting a Daddy Blogger blog, you can check it out at Papidaddy.com

It's crazy how fast kids grow. Parents always tell you that they are going to grow up so fast and you'll almost miss it. And trust me, they're not kidding. Five months is not a long time, but when you ad a growing baby to the mix, the roughly 150 days fly by so fast, it makes your head spin.

Shortly after we brought her home: Claire Elise making funny faces.

It seems that just last week we were bringing her home and making little newborn videos. Amazed at all the little things she would do. Now, we're still making little videos (check out her youtube links above) and stuff but the stuff she does is even more surprising. Juts about 3 weeks ago or 4 weeks ago now, I can't remember, she started sitting up by herself. That doesn't seem like much to non-parents, but for those that have gone through this, you know it is a little milestone. One step closer to more independence!

For about a month now she's been trying to hold her own bottle up and just recently I think she finally got the hang of it. Although if she gets distracted she'll turn her head and forget that her bottle is still in the other position so she spills milk on her face. She is also super chatty and she keeps having conversations with us, the fans and sometimes the dog. Who knows what she's telling, but she really gets into it.

With our move and rearrangements lately we haven't had a chance to post a lot of photos, but we will. Here are a few, these will also go into her own photo album on her blog.

We've been really lucky to have her and have her be healthy. She's always happy, wakes up with a smile and makes everyone else around her smile. Hopefully it'll stay that way. I know some parents are gonna hate, but she's been sleeping through the night since like week 2 or 3 so I think we've not experienced many bad nights. (knock on wood).

We have quite a few videos and pictures that we'll be sharing on her website, google plus or twitter. Stay tuned if you want to see her grow. You can follow her on Twiter too.

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Nineteen percent of kids between the ages of two and five know how to use a smartphone application, while just nine percent can tie his or her shoelaces, according to a 2010 study conducted as part of a year-long 'Digital Diaries' research project on the influence of technology on children by the internet security company AVG.

via New Tech City: Are Touchscreens and Social Media Good for Kids? Plus, 3D Printing Puts Down Roots in NYC - WNYC.

You have to agree that the statement is misleading and sensationalist at best. The study, based on that quote, seems like a joke to me. I'll have to dig into it a little more but it just seems bogus to me.

I'm pretty sure that kids learning technology and how to use devices is only helpful to their development and future skills and abilities. I also have to say that kids have to be guided and as parents we need to balance their activities.

If kids between the ages of two and five don't know how to tie their shoelaces, you can't blame smartphones or tablets or other technology. You have to blame the parents for sucking at being parents and failing to teach basic things like tying one's shoelaces! Perhaps we should develop apps for tablets and smartphones that teach kids how to do these basic things. Then we can really outsource all parenting to technology while we stuff our faces with potato chips on the couch.

I love that people do research and studies to learn more about ourselves, but sometimes the obvious is staring at us right in the face and we refuse to acknowledge it. If your kid isn't able to do normal things that he or she should be able to do at his age (and he or she doesn't have a disability) then it most likely is your fault for not guiding your kid along the right path. Don't blame technology.

There, I said it. Now watch it come back to bite me in the butt when I have my own kid.

The post This isn’t a Technology Problem, It’s a Parenting Problem. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I think we are amidst another baby boom. And If you don't see it perhaps you need to get out more. I'm seeing pregrant women everywhere, my friends are all either pregnant, just had babies or are about to in the next 9 months. No joke, my Wife became pregnant earlier this year and just 2 short months later her best friend since childhood was pregant too. Her sister just celebrated 2 year old birthday for her son. My other friend just told me she is pregnant too!

And so I must admit that with just 3 short weeks left for our Claire to arrive, it finally hit me. I'm going to be a dad!

It takes no time to say those words and to think about it, but until all this baby talk started surfacing, I didn't really comprehend what it meant for me. My life is about to change, and hopefully for the better. I can't say I'm ready for fatherhood because everyone tells me that no matter what I think, I will never be ready. But I have to say that I have had a little bit of experience raising kids. At least from a relative's perspective. In Mexico, things are different than they are here, families are big and everyone participates in the raising of children.

Parenting and child development comes from cousins, unless, aunts and other close family. Not just the immediate nuclear family members. So I have had my share of diaper changing, child rocking and other similar things so I'm technically ready. I also am older than the average parent, 32 and so I think I'm emotionally ready as well.

Only time will tell, and well I'll tell you how it goes on this blog. I'm probably going to have a little section for my parenting adventures. Stay tuned for more.

On a side-note, today is day is day 12 of the 30 day blogging challenge and things are going really well. I have to catch up on the reading, curation and commenting for the past two days but check it out if you're interested or want to follow along.

The post Everyone’s Having Babies – Day 12 #30DBC appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.