As parents, we all have our own interests. Moms like to do certain activities with the kids and Dads like to do others. Sometimes one parent absolutely despises certain activities that the other parent loves to do. For a Dad who works a lot or is not able to spend as much time with their son as they may like, finding these special Father-Son activities is very important in my opinion. The best special bonding activities that you can do with your son are ones that both of you can do together, being active participants together. This can be as simple as having you son be in charge of certain things. Below are some examples that you can do with your son.
1. Build a fire in your backyard! I mean, build a campfire in a specially designed fire pit or if you have the space in your yard, build a fire pit in the ground. Make sure to take all necessary safety precautions! We use a copper fire pit I bought at a garden store that was going out of business. Have your son collect twigs from around the house to use as starter wood. Another way to make starter wood and do a project with your son is to buy a small sheet of birch wood (1/4 inch thick), draw lines about an inch wide on the sheet of wood, then use a jig saw to cut the wood into strips. Make sure both of you wear safety goggles (see another good lesson here!) and help your son saw the wood! There you go, instant starter wood! Once you get your fire started, get the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers out and make some s’mores together! The only bad thing about this activity is, the boys will want to do it every night!
2. Take them on a nature walk in a nearby forest preserve. Before you go, try to read up on some of the animals or plants that are found in the area you are going. Bring a pair of binoculars to look at some of the birds. If there is a paved trail, bring your bicycles along, ride for a bit then stop and look for some of the animals and plants you researched earlier. A variation of this in the winter is to simply go outside in your backyard after a snowstorm and look at the animal tracks that were imprinted in the snow. You can tell your boys what type of animal made a particular track. For example, rabbits hop with their hind legs so you will see a deeper imprint in the snow where their hind legs jumped, that is how you can tell what a rabbit print looks like.
3. Even if you have never done it before, take them to try snowboarding or skiing. Even if you don’t know how, just be there to balance them as they go down the bunny hill. Find part of the hill that is not steep and just practice with them. Kids are able to do this a lot faster than adults and I think you will be amazed at their progress in just one session.
4. In the summer, create a neighborhood car wash with all the proceeds going to a charity that your children choose. Boys love to use hoses! If your kids are artistic, have them design some flyers to put in the neighbors’ mailboxes. Donating the money the kids make to a charity is a great lesson in giving. To best wash cars, get a couple of sponges or better yet, buy some microfiber towels (Costco carries reasonably priced ones last time I bought them) to use to wash the cars. Buy some car wash soap to use instead of dish washing detergent (never use lemon scented dish washing detergent as it can damage some cars!). Don’t forget the bucket! Then just start scrubbing away. Dry the car with dry microfiber towels.
I hope you will enjoy these father son activities as much as we have.
I enjoy spend time with my children. I am always striving to be a better father. It is a constant learning process. Occasionally, I even get a chance to post my thoughts and experiences to help other fathers. Please visit my site at
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