I hope I don’t love this story just because I want an excuse to play more Wii with Haley.

We got a Wii for Christmas and have enjoyed playing Wii Resort and Just Dance together.

What’s not to love. Fun music, colorful graphics, and it gets our bodies moving.

This recent study suggests that girls not only bond with their fathers while playing games, it helps them to be generally happier and less aggressive.

Video games are often criticized for their negative effects on children and teens, but a new BYU study has discovered several benefits for adolescent girls who spend that screen time with parents.

“If you’re looking for a way to connect with your daughter and she’s into gaming, it might be a really good thing to do,” said BYU professor of family life Sarah Coyne, and lead author on the study, which is being published in February’s Journal of Adolescent Health. “Video games have a pretty bad rap, but when used in the right way, they can have positive effects and even bring you closer.”

The study found that 11- to 16-year-old girls who played age-appropriate games with their parents (mostly dads) exhibited three times better pro-social behavior and about four times less aggression than boys. They also displayed a greater sense of connectivity to family.

Read the full article here.

This is short and sweet.

I’m just including this link, because this dad, Keagan, at the Fatherhood Factor seems like a good guy. And judging by his blogroll, we have some overlapping interests.

There’s a few short tips, a video, and an entire site to look around.

If you’re like me, the forestry atop your head today is a little more sparse than it was before you had kids.

Let’s face it…raising kids is extremely hard work! Even the best parents are going to have days when a root canal would seem to be less painful.

So, how do you prepare yourself for “those” days? What steps can you take that will help you keep your cool?

Although there is no silver bullet, there are a few things that you can do to prep for the catastrophe’s that lie ahead.

Watch the video and visit Keagan’s site here.

Last week in Oregon, a 3-year old boy saved his dad by calling 911.

The toddler dialed emergency services when his dad sliced his arm open while using a woodworking tool.

“Hurry! Daddy needs help!” he said before hanging up the phone.

Kids are often more capable than we give them credit for!

Dispatchers called back to ask if the boy’s father needed a police officer or an ambulance. A.J. r
eplied, “OK,” and hung up again. When they called back a second time, they heard the boy’s father screaming in agony in the background.

A Keizer police officer was first to arrive and heard the weakened father softly say, “Come in.”
The officer found Aaron Hayes ashen, leaning over the kitchen counter, almost unconscious and surrounded by blood. The officer grabbed some towels and began applying pressure to the wound.

Read the full article here.

So all you dads who love to be the “fun” parent (yeah, that’s me, too), you can use this as evidence in your corner.

There’s a new study from Ohio State University that suggests that it actually strengthens the mother/father relationship when the parenting is done mostly by mom, but the playing is shared.

In a study of 112 couples with four-year-old children, both mothers and fathers were asked how often they were involved in play activities with children (Shoulder rides! Yay!) versus how often they were involved in caregiving activities (Bathtime! Boo!).

The families were then observed, with both parents helping their child to draw a picture and build with blocks. The test? To detect how much the parents or supported each other or underminded each other in parenting their child.

Read the full post here.

I love the part about being Batman and killing Mr. Freeze!

This story where two six year old boys save their father when he is suffering from a seizer in his Aurora, Colorado home is as sweet as the boys in the video.

Shepard’s wife, who was not at home, did answer her cell phone, rushed back and took her husband to the hospital.

“I wasn’t conscious but they didn’t seem to second-guess anything,” Shepard said. “They just jumped right to and responded to the emergency. They’re my heroes.”

Ironically, his sons had just been instructed how to use the phone the week before.

“We practiced and it was an emergency situation,” said Morgan, referring to his father’s collapse.

“That’s really amazing that they were able to remember that (their mother’s phone number) in a time of crisis and call my life,” said Shepard.

The twins are proud of their accomplishment which earned them a certificate of recognition from their parents that’s now displayed on the family refrigerator.

“I think we were like superheroes saving some man that was gonna die,” said Logan.

“Logan was Robin, I was Batman and we were just killing Mr. Freeze,” said Morgan.

Read the rest of the article and watch a video of the boys here.

I’m not the biggest sports fan.

Nothing against sports at all, I just didn’t grow up with an interest. I was never put into any teams as a kid, and sports was something my dad watched in the background of my childhood (though we did have a nice run of going to basketball games together in high school).

I share the common perception of the pampered athlete, but this story made me super happy.

Gil Meche, a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals officially retired from baseball because he is unable to pitch with the precision he was signed for. Gil would rather retire than get paid for work he can’t properly do.

It seems that sometimes integrity is in short supply. It’s wonderful to know stories like this are out there.

“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”

Meche’s decision plays against type — the modern athlete out for every last dollar. There have been, over the years, athletes who took less money to play for one team over another, Cliff Lee being the latest when he agreed to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies. And yes, Ryne Sandberg retired from the Chicago Cubs in 1994, forgoing nearly $16 million.

Read the full article here.

I came across a rather adorable site this morning, “My Kid is Gifted.”

My Kid is Gifted is rather similar to Dave’s wonderful yet still on hiatus Things My Child Says, but definitely does its own thing in its own way.

The premise is simple – visitors to the site can enter their own little story about the quirky yet wonderful things their children say.

For example:

Topher, Age 3

At swimming lessons for the second time…

Swim Teacher: “Topher, can you blow bubbles in the water?”

Topher: “Yes. Do you want them from my mouth or my butt?”

Read more here.

Just a quick note for the dad bloggers out there.

If you’d like to be included in Keith’s roundup (he’s looking for all the daddy bloggers he can find), just let him know and he’d be happy to include you.

Saturday is a slow blogging day. Thus, I’ve decided to put out the word about this year’s Almightydad Top Dad blog list. But, I’ve been disorganized this past year, and I’m missing some URL’s that I know are out there but I haven’t caught. If I missed anybody in this list who I regularly communicate with — well, I’m a dumb dumb and I’m sorry. Just like last year I’m going to run all of these blogs through a formula which I make up myself but which will be slightly altered from last year (For instance, Social media will weigh more heavily this year and PR will have a lesser role). The rankings are totally unbiased. I just want all the blogs I can get. If I don’t know you, it doesn’t matter; I still want your blog. The Almightydad Top Dad Blogs 2011 are going to be whatever the formula spits out for numbers 1 through 100.

Read the full list and get in touch with Keith here.

Jadan Smith was awesome in The Karate Kid, and wonderfully believable in The Pursuit of Happiness. And I’m glad Super Dad Will Smith can open doors for his children.

I would do the same for mine.

However, Whip My Hair might be the worst song I’ve heard all year (though I do find Jimmy Fallon’s version, singing as Neil Young, hilarious).

If Ethan or Haley wrote a terrible story, I wouldn’t publish it just to publish it, even if I could.

Pint-sized pop phenomenon Willow Smith is said to be in talks to star in a big screen remake of musical Annie.

The 10-year-old singer’s father – movie heavyweight Will Smith – is ‘exploring with Sony the potential’ for the film, according to industry magazine, Variety.

Keeping it in the family, the Men In Black would produce the movie through his Overbrook Entertainment production company.

Read the full story here.

Yeah, I know Reader’s Digest isn’t that funny, but it’s an innocent type of humor that can be enjoyed by both genders and across every generation.

I’ve no idea why these Father’s Day jokes showed up in the news today, seeing as how Father’s Day is half a year away, but I thought I’d share them with you anyway.

Might be good for a laugh or two. And even if it’s just one, at least you’re still smiling!

The Right Choice My 16-year-old brother, Ryan, was out late with friends one night. Suddenly he realized it was Father?s Day and he had neglected to buy a card for our dad. After much searching, Ryan located an open store, but was disappointed to find only two cards left on a picked-over rack. Selecting one, he brought it home and, somewhat sheepishly, presented it to our father.

Upon opening it, Dad read this message: ?You?ve been like a father to me.? He looked at Ryan, puzzled.

?Well, Dad,? Ryan tried to explain, ?it was either that or the card that said, ?Now that I?m a father too!?? ? Submitted by Anne Carlson

Read all nine jokes here.