This post comes to us from our friend Mike Johnson, Founder of @PlaygroundDad.
By definition, a Playground Dad is a guy always looking for ways to spend the best time with his kids. During the early years of fatherhood, this is relatively easy. You can find cool things to do at places like your local museums, zoos and science centers: Once you manage to drag the kids out, you’ll be in for lots of fun and memories.
As kids get older, it gets tougher. Instead of looking for fun activities to do on weekends, the Playground Dad’s role changes. The kids now have their friends and all their activities filling up an increasingly busy schedule. The older they get, the harder it is to stay connected. As a dad, your role changes from the fun event-coordinator to more of a background facilitator. You try to instill smart, thoughtful decision-making skills in your kids. The key is to quietly guide and never to preach—always easier said than done.
Playground Dads with kids in high-school are especially familiar with this background-facilitator role. We help the kids make smart, informed decisions—and then get out of the way. With this goal in mind, we were excited to discover Knewton’s SAT prep course.
These days, parents and kids alike are organizing more and more of their lives online. With Knewton, there’s no carpooling or waiting around in strip-mall parking lots; instead, the online courses seamlessly connect our kids with the best SAT teachers in the country. The parental alert system built into the course also helps busy dads (and moms!) stay informed on their kid’s progress… from the background. Did we mention that the courses are half the price of the traditional classroom SAT prep courses that the kids never want to go to?
At Playground Dad, we strive to “spend better time.” We realize that the definition of “better time” will change meaning throughout the course of fatherhood. Our purpose is to connect Dads with the right information, no matter where they are in that journey. We’re excited to work more with Knewton to fulfill this goal!
-Mike Johnson, Playground Dad
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