Five Hobbies for Dads and Kids Alike
Hobbies don’t have to take you away from your family. Here are five fun hobbies you could do independently but are more fun with your kids.
Every dad needs a hobby. The problem is many too many hobbies involve dads spending time away from the family or are simply too dangerous for kids to be around.
Don’t get me wrong, solo time is necessary. I play basketball on Saturday mornings with a group of guys who take time away from their families to get a few runs in. Outside of the 6am wake-up call, it’s something I look forward to every week.
Being a dad is about more than communicating lessons to kids. It’s showing them the ropes. Teaching them how to overcome challenges or find joy in simplicity.
Hobbies come in all shapes and sizes, but one of the most incredible things you can do as a dad is incorporate fatherhood into things you love. Joy is infectious. Why not share it with your kids?
Don’t know where to start? Here are five hobbies you can start doing today with your kids.
Making Ice Cream
Who doesn’t love ice cream? I know kids do, and you probably do, too. I started making ice cream in 2015. Originally it was a way to make tasty treats I could enjoy while paying homage to the fantastic ice cream shops I grew up around in Upstate NY. As I became a parent, That goal eventually transitioned into a way to make memories with my little ones.
Pick up an ice cream machine. Mine was $80 in 2015, and 8 years later, it still works as well as ever. Start with an easy recipe like Vanilla and build from there. From start to finish, you’ll spend about 45 minutes getting the ingredients together and letting the ice cream churn, and if you let your kids make it with you, they are highly likely to be engaged for every minute. Plus, there’s a tasty payoff at the end!
Yoga
A few years ago, we came across Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube. We’re not a “let’s find something on Youtube” family, but in the early days of the pandemic, we were trying anything to keep these kids engaged. My daughter picked the Cosmic Kids Frozen episode, and before I knew it, we were both on the floor doing yoga poses, following along with her every word. Even now, if the kids get a little rambunctious, I’ll put on Cosmic Kids yoga, and we are all locked in.
Kids love to be active, and they love to be with you. There are many yoga tutorials to be found online and in person. I’ve done Peloton Yoga classes, and you can find several beginner yoga classes for free online. Get involved with your kids, as this can be a fun activity to do together while bringing down the noise level in the home, even for a moment.
Gardening
I love gardening. You’re outside, hopefully on a sunny day, playing music and looking at flowers, trees, and plants. My girls love it too. Watching that first fruit appear or finally cutting off some basil to throw in that night’s dinner invokes a sense of pride that is tough to match. I planted a Meyer Lemon bush in our backyard six years ago. The giddiness I feel when picking fresh lemons and making lemonade on a warm day is equal to hearing Earth Wind and Fire’s “September” for the first time in a few months.
Kids love playing in the dirt. So let’s make it productive! The cool thing about gardening is you can make it as easy as you want. Start with seeds and watch them sprout over time, or pick up a mature plant to give yourself a head start. I’ve done both.
Growing a flower or a cherry tomato you can eat means a little more when you’ve watched it grow from the beginning. Kids love seeing their work in action, and watching their work grow over time will produce a level of satisfaction that is tough to beat.
Photography
I’m not a great photographer. I’m what you would call a great husband photographer. I’ll find a good angle, take 20 pictures, show you the 20 pictures, and then take 20 more. But when anybody sees their work on a wall or a picture frame, there’s a sense of “I did that” that can be powerful. Plus, have you ever left your phone unattended for 5 minutes and returned to 100 blurry selfies, all cuter than the next? Kids love taking photos; everybody loves a good picture, so lean into it.
Start with your phone and take photos of nature, your home, and yourselves. You can eventually upgrade to things like Polaroids or even more advanced digital cameras designed for kids.
There are fun Youtube videos that will teach you about photography principles, so take a few minutes and learn together. Then, print out an image and take pride in their work while educating them throughout the process, and maybe slowly remove their beautiful artwork from the walls and replace them with their photographs (Who am I kidding? Don’t take down their artwork. It’s the best!).
Astronomy
I was a dad before I realized you could see certain planets without a telescope. My daughter expressed an interest in planets, so I downloaded an app that would identify stars in the sky, and when I looked up, I said, “Hold up, that’s Mars? That’s Jupiter? I just thought those were big stars!” You may have known. I did not, so in essence, I was able to learn about our solar system with my daughters, and low and behold, they still know more about our sky than me. Still, learning together has become a hobby I’m grateful for.
Everybody loves looking up at the night sky. Turn that curiosity into something more. Start by downloading a Planet app just to get a basic understanding of what you’re looking at. Then if you’re ready, pick up a kids’ telescope and look for the planets yourself. Depending on your location, you may find a local planetarium that you can visit where you can pick up more information and turn your stargazing hobby into a fun hobby that can be enjoyed with the kids.