I watched my sons carefully to see if they were buying into mom's passionate ode to nature. The boys seemed to be warming up to the cicadas swarming around them when several flew up and landed on Connor. "Dad!" he yelled. "Get them off me!"

Two years ago this month, I experienced every parent's worst nightmare. My 10-year-old son and I were playing catch when I launched the ball in the air. What happened next is still a blur.

Playskool, a division of Hasbro usually touted for bringing Mr. Potato Head into our children’s lives, found itself at the center of a Twitter fires...

For me, spring begins when the air fills with the crack of the bat or the snap of a ball hitting a glove. It begins in February, when baseball spring training gets underway. As a parent, my real joy comes from watching Little Leaguers play. I can't wait to root for my kids on the ball field.

Parents always say they want their kids to be polite. Well-mannered kids are nicer to have at the dinner table when guests come over and they can carry on a polite conversation with a college recruiter or a potential employer down the road. But, like money, manners don't grow on trees.

We spend too much time on shopping, entertaining, and shuttling around and too little time with the family. If only there was an alternative? Maybe there is. Try storytelling at home with the kids. It's the perfect activity for the holidays.

When it comes to the question of whether athletes are appropriate role models for teens, Robert Griffin III could be a game changer

Shortly after this month's election, I overheard several of my son's friends talking "smack" on the playground about the election's winners and losers. Nothing too derogatory, but several voiced digs along the lines of, "I can't believe your parents voted for [Candidate X]."

To restore its good name, the Boy Scouts must place the interests and needs of abuse victims before the protection of their own organization.

Is there more that we as parents can do to find real solutions to cheating? What actions can parents take to affect real change so that cheating doesn't become an indelible part of our educational system?

Last week, I sat down with my 11-year-old son to deliver that time-honored rite of passage -- for parents as well as kids -- our first "Birds and the Bees" talk. I was prepared for every possible question, except the one he asked.

Storytelling, in short, teaches a child to walk in another's shoes.

For this working dad, rediscovering my own pursuit of happiness starts not at the office, but at home with my family.

When my baseball-loving son asks about Roger Clemens, what do I tell him?

My family recently complained that Father's Day has turned me into a lazy bum. So this Father's Day, instead of just receiving gifts, I'm going to give back to my family.

When I became a father, I realized for the first time what it might be like to send a child off to war.

How do I tear the kids away from flashing lights and explosions and get them to sit with a book or tell a story?

I used to wonder why my sons asked for the same story night after night. I came to the conclusion that kids simply enjoy the comfort of repetition. Think of it as an emotional security blanket.

When dads tell me they don't know how to tell stories, what they're often saying is, they don't know how to talk with their kids.

As an overworked Dad, I'm always looking for ways to find more time with my kids. I've found that storytelling is the ideal activity to enrich family time by creating a fun, free tradition.