Leave it to a dad’s blog to make this case, but the Examiner’s fatherhood blog has put out a list of five reasons why dad blogs are worth keeping an eye one. You can read the post here.

(Kathy Gardner/The Journal News)

Obviously, Parents Place is a general parenting blog, with capable dads AND moms in the mix. So, we’re more inclusive and take a wider view of parenting.

But I’ve always felt that there’s a need out here for more of a voice from fathers, whether it’s dads in traditional homes like my co-bloggers Jon and Len, or myself,  a father building a blended family. So it’s reassuring to see a list like this out there, especially with more dads involved in hands-on parenting.

And remember, there’s no shortage of good dad blogs on our blogroll, including Crazy Computer Dad and David Mott’s Dad’s House.

Don’t people work? You would assume with all the working parents out there and the growing number of single parents around that you’d find more after-school activities for your kids that accommodate a busy work schedule. But try to find a broad range of after-school activities that fit that criteria and see what happens.

My girlfriend recently got an education in this. She sought new weeknight activities for her energetic 4-year-old, only to find that many after school programs run roughly from 2 to 5 in the afternoon — hardly designed for working parents. He already plays soccer on weekends, but extensive weekend activities are difficult because she splits those days with her ex as part of the custody agreement. So, a weeknight activity was the goal. She ultimately settled on a gymnastics program that runs from 6:30 to 7:30 once a week. She would have preferred something a tad earlier in the evening that fit both her schedule and met her desired goals for a program. And this place is hardly around the corner from our home. But she was lucky: It’s a good program despite the long day it results in.

I had a minor taste of this myself with my son. He’s in sixth grade now and, as he did last year, he plays the saxophone in the school band. Also like last year, he was invited to join the jazz band, which practices after school. Normally, there’s a late bus to take him right to his after-school program. Only that doesn’t start until the end of this month, which means that either his mom or I would have to pick him up by 4:15 p.m. or he takes the early bus and  misses band practice. Well, we have jobs.

The end of the world? Not by a stretch, especially with what’s going on in the world these days. But if you’re a working parent who wants an active, involved kid, it’s certainly frustrating — and occasionally unfair. It’s also proving costly for at least one single mom.

Here’s her story: Seeking a martial arts program for her young child, this working single mom signed up for a late class in Pleasantville, N.Y. The child has auditory processing delays, so he is occasionally unable to follow some verbal commands. She met with the martial arts instructor, explained this and was assured that the classes would be small in size — no more than five kids — and that his teaching method was designed to accommodate children with mild to moderate development issues. He required a contract and would not accept cash or checks: Only a credit card number. So, they were off.

Well, the class quickly rose from three kids to 12, and the teaching method changed by the second class, with the instructor suddenly facing away from the children and using increasingly complicated commands, moves and sequences that the kids were require to quickly learn and replicate. Needless to say, the single mom’s child was unable to keep up. It became a very frustrating and difficult process, and was certainly not going to build up the self-esteem she felt her child needed and would gain from the classes. So, she phoned and told the instructor she would no longer be able to attend because her child would have difficulty continuing, coupled with a change in her work schedule that made attending the classes on time very difficult. She said she received a follow-up online newsletter from the instructor, and thanked him for it but reiterated that the child could not continue.

This particular martial arts program stipulates that you must give notice if the contract is to be terminated. Nonetheless, the instructor billed the mom for an entire first month of lessons two weeks later, although her child only attended three classes. To make matters worse, when she politely asked if he could halt the billing, he mailed her a statement announcing his intent to bill her more than $700 for a three-month set of classes which she initially signed up for but, as he was now aware, the child would not be attending — not to mention that he had already billed her for an entire month’s worth of classes for just three actual sessions.

This borders on criminal. Obviously, the mom needs to take action to halt payment and report the school for misrepresentation or even fraud. But I think what irked her most — and what most bothers me about it — is the idea that she is being taken advantage of, if not outright being robbed. She had limited options for martial arts programs because of her work schedule and her child’s developmental needs. And, as a single mom, she is limited financially as well, and plopping down that much money is an indication of the sacrifice she was willing to make for her child’s wellbeing and happiness. And then this.

It doesn’t help when your schedule as a working single parent limits the extra-curricular activities you can treat your kid to in the first place. It helps even less when someone finds a way to make an extra buck from it.

My son wants to make it to a Yankee game this year before they shut down the historic Bronx stadium for good and move next door. No problem there. I’m a longtime and avid fan, and took him to his first game there years ago. I myself have been going to games since 1970, when my dad and uncle took us to the old stadium to see the Bombers get demolished by the Orioles. I also had partial season tickets for years, when I worked out of the Bronx County Courthouse during my stint at the Daily News.

Here’s the catch: My son wants to go with just me and his mom — the former family unit.

I have some mixed feelings on this, and it makes for some awkwardness. I’ve always felt fortunate that my ex and I were able to maintain a friendship, and that we are all able to get along. My girlfriend and I had my ex and her husband over for Christmas Eve dinner (it’s a feast we call Noche Buena in Cuban culture, and it’s a big deal for us), and I had Easter brunch with my ex, her family and her husband last month. As I’ve blogged before, we all went trick-or-treating together last year as well.

To be fair, I can see how my son might simply view an outing to a Yankee game as an extension of the friendship his mom and I maintain. But at the same time, I feel like excluding his mom’s husband and his dad’s new partner is a sign that he may be clinging to something. Obviously, he wouldn’t be the first child to want his parents together, even if it is just for a baseball game.

But are we letting him mislead himself if we go along? Or is it just his wish to have an outing with his parents?

Or am I just making too much out of it?

The opening days for New York’s new baseball parks are still a year off, but one thing is obvious when you get past the gorgeous renderings – the stadiums are too small. For the sake of all New York baseball fans, construction needs to stop and new plans drawn up for bigger stadiums.

The people who run the Yankees and the Mets are smart people, so how they came up with these schemes is beyond me. Baseball draws more people every year, while New York City and its suburbs are growing. So what do our baseball teams (with the approval of New York City and state officials) do? They shrink the size of the ball parks.

The new Yankee Stadium will hold about 52,000, down from the current 57,500. The Mets’ new Citi Field will hold 44,000 people compared with Shea Stadium’s 55,700. This is a bad for baseball fans and terrible for parents, kids and grandparents, too.

A baseball stadium is a place where lasting family memories are made. I won’t forget the first time my father took me to the stadium in the Bronx one sweltering August night when I was seven. The Yankees beat the Kansas City Athletics 4-0 in a game that didn’t last two hours. And then there was the first game I took my oldest son to: He chanted “Let’s Go Mets” so loud I feared he had been permanently imprinted a fan of the city’s National League team rather than the Yankees.

Not only will these ball parks have fewer seats, but the ticket prices will be shocking. If you are planning a game or two next year, start saving up by skipping lunch now. A low-cost ticket will go for about  the price of Broadway show ticket.  A top-priced field-level seat at Yankee Stadium will cost $2,500,  about the price of a used car. Ouch.

Don’t get me wrong. The new ball parks look beautiful, especially Citi Field. They will be better places to watch games – much better than the upper deck seats at Shea. Pilots landing at LaGuardia are closer to home plate than my seat near the foul pole a few years ago.

Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost recently told our sport writer Sam Borden that the new stadium could have had more seats, but they would have been further from the field. “We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to make sure that each fan had a great view and could truly enjoy the new park as much as possible.”

No disrespect meant, Mr. Trost, but Yankees fans – and Mets fans, too – won’t be able to enjoy their new stadiums if there are too few seats and if the tickets are priced far beyond their means.

Do you think you’ll take your kids to see the Yankees or the Mets as often in their new stadiums? Do you remember first game with a parent, or with your own child? If so, tell us about your memories.

I don’t remember the last time I saw my oldest son cry. I didn’t actually see him cry yesterday when his high school basketball team lost by two points.

After the small crowd had gone home and only the two teams and the score keepers remained, I looked across the court to see my son’s face buried in his hands. Then he pulled his jersey over his face as several of his team mates attempted to console him.

It had been a tough loss. His team had fought back after trailing by at least 13 points only to lose by by two. It hadn’t been his best game. He still hadn’t recovered from a torn rotator cuff suffered at the start of the season. He had scored and rebounded some, but it was his hustle yesterday that I really admired  - playing defense, wrestling for the ball while sprawled on the court, and  late in the game getting an opponents’ foul shot nullified when a player on the other team had stepped over the line too soon during a foul shot.

But with one second on the clock and his team down by two points, my son, who is 17,  was on the foul line to shoot two. If he hit both,  his team just might win its first game of the season.

The first shot bounced off the rim. So did the second.

I could guess how he felt. His teamates had named him team captain after he had led them last year in scoring, rebounding and foul shooting. But this day the shots did not go. He had let his team down and he had let himself down.

I walked across the court to him and rubbed his back and head. I told him it was OK, and that he had played a good tough game, but I don’t think he was buying it. Only after the coach had called him a second time for the post-game meeting did the jersey come down from his face.

Later I tried to figure out what I would say to him. I felt badly for him. The loss and his missed shots hurt. What could I say? But I had another feeling that I couldn’t quite place. Finally I knew what it was and what I would say – I was proud of him.

We talked after dinner last night, just the two of us, and it was the closest I had been to this stubbornly independent boy in a while. Maybe we did manage a win of sorts yesterday.

For the last nine months I’ve been on the college hunt with my oldest son, who is in the 12th grade. All of a sudden I have to add another academic search – a high school for my youngest son who is in the eighth grade.

Both sons are in an unusual public school – for our area at least. It goes from kindergarten through high school. Four years ago I had my doubts about keeping my older son in the same school for 12 years. I wanted him in a new school, where he could meet new kids and also benefit by better facilities of a full-fledged high school.  My wife, though, was convinced he couldn’t handle a bigger school, in part because he has dyslexia. My oldest son was never a shrinking violet so I didn’t share those fears. But it’s a marriage and you have to compromise (even when you know you are right.)

Now it’s time to make the decision for my youngest son – who like my oldest son,  has dyslexia*. I still have the old reasons for him to go to another school, but also a new one too. I want him to be able to pursue his interest in track. His school has a basketball team, which his brother plays, but does not have a track team.

It’s helpful for kids to grow up with a sport to which they are devoted. It provides another thing for a kid to feel good about. And those teen years can be rough; a kid needs as many things as possible to bolster his or her confidence.

Right now we’re looking at more traditional public high schools and a couple of Catholic high schools. So far my wife is on board with this plan, but the deadline is looming. We have to make a decision in early December.  

*In one of my first postings, I wrote about some of my oldest son’s experience with dyslexia. I promised more but never returned. I hope to do so soon.

This is a little irregular, but I ask the indulgence of Parents’ Place readers. What follows is of urgent importance for a group of deserving children and for the newest member of Westchester’s unemployed.

Dear Mr. Torre,

Now, for the purpose of this posting: I read of your interest in exploring future employment. As a board member for the youth council of an area church, I am prepared to offer you the job of manager/president of our baseball program.

 I am not at liberty to identify the organization because this is not a formal offer – that must wait until the youth council’s next meeting in November. I am confident, however, that we can offer you a salary somewhere in the high two figures. This would be a multi-year contract and it would be negotiable, thereby addressing two of the concerns you raised at your press conference on Friday. Furthermore, our contract would not include insulting incentive features. 

We also are offering Don Zimmer the chance to resume his duties as your bench coach. And since several of your coaches also could soon find themselves unemployed, we are offering the position of pitching coach to Ron Guidry and appropriate coaching jobs to the others. (We don’t have a budget line for their salaries, but if you chose to share some of yours with any or all of them, that’s fine with us.)

To provide a Major League Baseball amenity, the youth council purchaser already has picked up a 10-gallon vat of sunflower seeds at Costco. One caveat: We do have a strictly enforced no-spitting rule on the field and on the bench.

As a sign of my sincerity, I point to a profile of you that I wrote several years back. I held up to public ridicule a Daily News headline that had scoffed at your hiring, calling you “Clueless Joe.â€?  In that same report, I referred disdainfully to similarly misguided comments by the then-sports columnist for this publication. He remained nameless then only because it didn’t seem wise to pick a fight with my employer, a position with which I’m sure you can sympathize.

Finally – and I hope this is not out of line - once you join our organization, would it be possible to bring along some Bigelow teabags, especially for those chilly early spring practices? We will supply the hot water.

Len Maniace,

Director,
St. xxxx of xxx Youth Council

Attention Harrison residents: I need your help. Since recent events are likely to have disrupted Mr. Torre’s reading routine, he might miss this job offer. If you see Mr.Torre out raking leaves or at the supermarket, tell him about this opportunity. Thanks for your help.

Running after kids is one thing, but some moms are also running, swimming and cycling in triathlon competitions. If you are one of them — or know someone who is — contact my colleague Liz Sadler. She’s writing a story about triathlon moms. You can reach Liz at esadler@lohud.com or 914-694-3525.

This is a pet peeve for me every year: The late game times for the Major League Baseball playoffs. I mean, how do you get young kids to develop a passion for baseball with the games running ‘til midnight?

Now, my son is not an avid athlete, but does love to play baseball. As a fan, he roots for the Yanks and the football Jets, largely because his mom and dad do. And as an avid fan myself, sharing the game is a strong bonding tool with my son. It brings me back to baseball championships from when I was a kid, an experience that provided one of the few bonding times with my own father. So, naturally, I want to share the experience with my son as well.

This year, we’ll catch a break in the first round of playoffs, the division series, which begin today. Of the 20 potential games in those four series, 12 start at 6:30 p.m. or earlier. All of the scheduled Yankees games — our rooting interest — are at 6:30 or earlier.

But by the time the World Series rolls around, all scheduled seven games are slotted for nighttime. My 9-year-old will be lucky to catch the end of the fifth inning. We all know the why: There’s advertising dollars at stake, so the games cater to TV.

But it would be nice if someone in Major League Baseball threw us parents a bone sometime.

I went to the park Sunday with my youngest son for his first cross-country meet of the year. It was another beautiful day, the sun still strong enough for a tan but a cool breeze stirring whenever a cloud moved in. 

These meets are great events for kids from six to 14. They are run by the CYO, the Catholic Youth Organization, though you don’t need to be of any particular religion to join. My oldest son ran track for one or two seasons before focusing on baseball and basketball. This is my youngest son’s sixth year in track. By the way, the rabbit in the headline refers to a person who leads the runners on the race course through the park.

I volunteered to help out, something I’ve done in the past. You get a close-up look at each race. The kids’ faces are great to watch as they finsh - some are super intense and all business, even at 10; other kids are smiling and waving; and the last few across the line are exhausted and need you to cheer them to the finish. It certainly beats standing around waiting for your kid to run and then waiting again for the meet to end.

My youngest son didn’t immediately take to running. That changed when the weekly practices shifted to the hilly and beautiful cross-country course at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. Track meets there draw high schools from around the NYC area and from colleges across the Northeast. My son’s atttitude toward track changed somewhere after the series of hills known as the roller coaster; He found a burst of speed and started passing other kids. It was like a switch being flipped; He decided he liked the feeling of passing other runners.    

When I volunteered Sunday, I was handed a Seiko Stop Watch System 2129, with lap/split/reset function, a timer lock and printout. I needed 10 minutes of instruction to figure it out. But it’s a cool little machine that beeps when you hit the button for each finisher and whirrs as it prints out each finisher’s time. 

Now I had helped out in the past, but was equipped with only an ordinary stopwatch if I was a timer, or just my eyes if I was a picker, a job I will soon explain.

To run a track meet right you need a timer and a picker for each contestant running in a heat. That typically means eight timers and eight pickers – each assigned to time, or pick the person who crosses the finish line in a particular place.  For instance, timer two times only the person who crossees the finish line second; picker four needs to identify and then grab the ID tag belonging to the fourth-place finisher.

That system won’t do, however, in a cross-country race when you have anywhere from 30 to 80 kids at the starting line for an event. That’s where the Seiko Stop Watch System 2129 comes in. All I had to do was hit the button for each finisher. Other volunteers keep track of the finishers and funnel them into the chute to maintain the order of finish until his or her ID tag can be pulled.

Who knew a race for a bunch of little kids could be so complicated? I’m hooked on track for kids, though. No one sits on the bench; everyone participates; and there doesn’t seem to be any of the crazy behavior from parents or coaches that sometimes spoils other sports for kids. 

My son and I both had good days. He  finished 16th out of 53 in his race and got a medal. And I got play with the Seiko Stop Watch System 2129.

I’m sure we’ve all heard by now that 1 million Chinese-manufactured cribs have been recalled, adding to the already lengthy list of children’s products manufactured in China that have been called back for posing potential hazards to our kids. You all probably have a sense of what that growing list looks like, with Barbie accessories and a host of other products with defects that include high lead content and magnets that can come apart and be swallowed. Obviously, it’s important as parents to keep tabs on that list. (Scroll down to The Journal News toy recall database).

But, as one of our loyal readers pointed out in an earlier reply, there are more recalls than just the Chinese-made products. You may or may not be surprised to know that consumer products are recalled pretty regularly, a good number of them children’s products.

“The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission”:http://www.cpsc.gov/index.html does a remarkable job of updating its list of recalled products. While the controversy over Chinese-made goods has dominated the list of late — and rightfully so — it’s important for parents to stay on top of all the recalls, which also include everything from bunk beds from Denmark that can collapse, to children’s science kits from South Africa that can present a burn hazard.

The commission’s recall announcements often include helpful photographs and diagrams, and are arranged under various categories, “including toys”:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html as well as “other children’s products”:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html. In addition, there are separate listings for “sports and recreation equipment”:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/sports.html.

You can also “search all products”:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html by date or category.

Of course, it’s important to stay on top of the most recent wave of recalls of Chinese-manufactured toys as well. Unfortunately, that list seems to continue to grow. To conduct your own search for those products, check out the complete database we put together for you here at The Journal News:

I’m excited about this. My youngest son, who just turned 13 Saturday, has  run with me four times in a little more than two weeks. The plan is for him to run two or three times a week so he can get into shape for our parish’s CYO track team. But this routine is  good for me, too.

I’ve been an on-again, off-again runner since the mid-1970s -  mostly off since the birth of my first son in 1990. Running for me has been a 99.9 percent solitary activity, which was OK for a long time. But as I get get older, it’s tougher to run. The fantasies about winning Olympic medals don’t cut it any more and I  always have a dozen chores on my list of family-related chores which  makes it easy to skip running. I don’t know if you’re like this, but I fantasize that one day I will get to the bottom of that list. In seven years it hasn’t happened.

Running together provides both of us with an incentive to lace up our running shoes. I’m not sure how long time arrangement will last, but it’s great. 

What’s especially fun is for me to see my son improve so quickly. He now can run faster than me for a couple of laps, though I still can run for longer distances.

The last time we ran he did 1 1/2 miles to my two. With the cross-country track season beginning, though, it won’t be long before he’ll beat me on distance, too. And I’m looking forward to that.  

Good post by Julie, and I’m anxious to see what parents are doing out there to keep the kids cool in the hot weather. My son’s camp has issued an advisory, and have come up with my favorite option: An extra swim in the pool every day and tons of water and ice cubes throughout the camp. Poor babies!

Seriously, there are very real health risks associated with the hot temperatures, particularly for children and the elderly. I’ve taken to freezing bottled water and sticking it in my son’s backpack along with his lunch. My theory is he can never have enough cold water on hand. Kids, after all, will be kids, and can be easily distracted while playing a game or running around in the heat.

I’ve also scrolled around for health tips, and came upon a few basic but important ones. This falls into the category of obvious but necessary.

One good list comes from “Children’s Memorial Hospital”:http://www.childrensmemorial.org/kids_doc/advice/topic.asp?tID=128&catID=1 in Chicago. Area hospitals have similar health tip links and brochures, and it’s worth seeking those out as well. The simple recipe is water, water, water and shade. Parents are also cautioned not to give their children salt tablets, which some parents apparently tend to do, from what I’ve read.

Of course, an additional stint in the pool creates its own level of safety risks, so keep that in mind. Always be on alert when your children are around a pool or at the beach. Westchester County says drownings are the second leading cause of accidental deaths for kids under 14. That’s one story I certainly don’t want to have to write this summer.

With that in mind, the county provides some “pool safety tips”:http://www.westchestergov.com/printerfriendly/news_4599.htm  that are worth reading. There is also a good link on that page to a pool safety brochure. Print it out and keep it handy.

Personally, my top pool safety tip is to jump in with my son. Now if only I could convince my boss to give me the day off.

Today is the first day of summer and I’ve finally gotten my kids’ summers set. Funny, I don’t think my parents worried too much about that. Somehow summers just unfolded: two weeks at a cottage by a lake and, back in the city, hour after hour playing baseball or one of its variations – stick ball, punch ball or slap ball. OK, and lots of TV watching, too.

My 12-year-old will attend a summer camp at a nearby college that offers academic but fun-sounding classes in the morning, and afternoons full of sports. Sounds so good, I’d like to register.

More complicated is my 17-year-old son’s summer. He’s finishing his junior year in high school and will be doing a series of things: a two-week art program at the Parsons School of Design; four weeks of classes preparing him for the college-application process; and finally a basketball program.

I’m happy with the Parsons program for which we’ve just gotten him registered. It’s all-day classes in illustration at Parsons in the Village. I’ve always been impressed by his creativity, especially when it comes to drawing, painting, or, when he was much younger, making toys out of household scraps.

This program also fits my view of how kids should spend the summer, that is, experiencing things they don’t normally get during the school year – be it sports, unusual academic courses or wilderness adventure. And just so I’m clear, I’m not suggesting that their entire summer should be programmed.

I’m less certain about the college-application course, though. It’s at his own high school and is free, but does he really need to spend every morning for four weeks learning how to write a personal essay and filling out college applications. This comes after he just finished taking an SAT-prep class every Saturday morning this past spring semester.

Though these courses are supposed to improve his odds of getting into the college of his choice, they strike me as having less to do with learning, and more to do developing skills that have little usefullness other than getting into college.

He will also be playing basketball in a program that will get him playing with kids from around New York City and the metro area. I think that’s great. I was shocked by his improvement playing basketball this past year. He finshed the year as his high school team’s top scorerer, rebounder and free-throw shooter. Yes, his high school is small, but who knows, perhaps maybe he could get a partial college scholarship from his basketball. And that’s something that clearly interests me.

Considering that a parent’s influence and leverage is clearily on the decline when a son is 17, I guess I’m satisfied with how his summer is shaping up. There may even be time for a cottage by a lake and hours playing baseball.

How do you think high school kids should spend the summer? I got my first job, part-time at a supermarket, the summer before my senior year in high school, leading me to wonder where do summer jobs fit in the picture for today’s kids?

I have to admit that when my son was born I never envisioned that, at 9 years old, he’d have “a favorite Matisse.” But he does, in fact, have a favorite Matisse (The Red Studio). He also tells me he’s very taken by the “presence of light” in Georges Seurat’s works, and how Edvard Munch’s body of work is more impressive than just his most famed painting (The Scream). He also has a favorite classical composer (Beethoven), largely because of the 9th Symphony, and particularly now that his guitar teacher has taught him to play the basic melody, or “Ode to Joy.” But he also likes George Gershwin.

What has helped fuel this latest fad is a children’s author “named Mike Venezia”:http://www.mikevenezia.com/mikevenezia who publishes a series of biographies that are fun, quick and informative. Venezia has focused in particular on composers, artists and presidents. I’d recommend them, even if they aren’t the only biographies out there. I find that kids are drawn to the idea of “a series” or “a collection” of things, be they books, cards, toys, etc. It has been a factor in this case. I’m sure there are other examples.

Either way, I find it’s valuable to encourage whatever your child takes an interest in, and take time to turn it into something more concrete. Make it into shared experiences. For instance, this weekend we took a trip to “Union Church”:http://www.hudsonvalley.org/unionchurch/index.htm in Pocantico Hills, which, as most of you know, features stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. The Matisse window didn’t replace “The Red Studio” as a favorite, but the visit was a hit, even if the folks at the church didn’t entirely know what to make of this half-pint kid who actually seemed to want to know more about the artwork.

Of course, I’m immensely proud of my boy. Not that I wouldn’t mind a Derek Jeter or Mickey Mantle comment here and there, but I am proud that he has taken a keen interest in history, and lately in art and music history. Both his mom and I have gone through great lengths to encourage him in whatever his interests are and have been, including in his own musical tastes. (Green Day was great; My Chemical Romance took some getting used to).

This is what parenting should be about. As in all things, it’s not always so obvious. I think we all know parents who push their kids in a different direction: Whether it be towards sports, towards books, whatever. And while I try to mix it up — we push for outdoor activities when the weather is beautiful — we let him dictate the activity when our weekends are coming up.

And I’m not giving up on Jeter and Mantle just yet. Truth is my boy could always hit, and he’s taken a keen interest in classic baseball movies of late: We watched Eight Men Out and The Natural this past weekend. Next weekend we’re going to get out there and practice some Roy Hobbs moves. We’ll take a Pablo Picasso biography along just in case.