Daddy Blogger Series: You Know, for Kids

By Chris Frey
June 14, 2011

Father's Day is Sunday. And another holiday celebrated with gifts of shaving kits and money clips, pancake breakfasts and trips to the playground sounds a bit trite (though granted, it's nothing to complain about). We're looking to shake things up. So we turned to experts in the field of fatherhood—four daddy bloggers who make parenthood (not to mention crafts, cooking, and shopping for kid-related merch) look chic. They told us how daddy bloggers are different from their more buzzed about counterparts, the mommy bloggers; how they'd love to spend Father's Day; and which gifts they'd buy on eBay if budgets were no object. Read below for our last of four installments, and check out the full daddy blogger series, where you'll find plenty of inspiration and Father's Day gift ideas.—The Editors

You Know, For Kids

You know, For Kids blogger Myles McDonnell and his sons

For parents (or as anyone who has ever attempted to shop for a child can tell you), navigating the increasingly complex realms of kids' culture is a Herculean task by any estimation. Thankfully, Myles McDonnell is in your corner. McDonnell’s blog You Know, For Kids (YNFK) is an insightful, thoughtful examination of all kid-related media, including film, television, music and the rapidly-evolving, often parentally-challenging world of kids' technology. The sheer volume and variety of topics he covers is impressive (check out the "Labels" sidebar of his blog for a list that runs the gamut from board books to Greek myths and kids CDs), as is the level of detail offered in each post. Considering that McDonnell holds down a day gig as the Copy Chief of Brides magazine and is dad to two sons—Dash, 6, and Griff, almost 3—we marvel at how he gets it all done.

McDonnell wrote reviews of children’s products at Conde Nast’s beloved-but-shuttered Cookie magazine, a shopping and lifestyle magazine for parents, and he brings to YKFK that same insider expertise, infused with personal anecdotes and loving nods to both new and the classic forms of children’s entertainment. McDonnell says that his sons, who serve as test subjects for many of his reviews, at their present ages “still love old fashioned books, [so] I have them where I want them for indulging my love of print!”

1. The Inside Source: Why be a daddy blogger? What has been the most fulfilling part for you? The most surprising?

Myles McDonnell: For me it was mostly about finding a way to keep covering the kids' entertainment beat after my paid job doing that at Cookie magazine disappeared (when the magazine folded). I guess, as with any writing, really, it was love of the subject matter that drew me in and kept me posting.

The most fulfilling part has been the feedback I've gotten from readers (all fellow parents)—certainly the appreciative responses, but also the add-on constructive ones, from which I've gotten recommendations in return. Most surprising? How supportive and even enthusiastic everyone in the various industries has been, especially the book publishers and the incredibly warm and tight-knit community of kids' musicians. I sort of expected it to be a struggle for a lone blogger without the credentials of a national print magazine to stay in the loop on all this stuff, but that's not been the case at all.

2. The Inside Source: How are daddy blogs different from mommy blogs (which get a lot more media attention)?

Myles McDonnell: I don't think I realized it 'til I heard this question, but I don't think they're necessarily that different at all! I mean, of course men and women are going to bring different perspectives to the keyboard, but so are two mothers from different parts of the world, or from wildly different backgrounds. I'm sure my blog, and even my coverage of any given children's book, has a certain vibe because I'm a daddy rather than a mommy. But I feel like the fact that I have two sons rather than daughters, say, colors it even more.

3. If we were to read five posts from your daddy blog, what would they be and why?

Click through this gallery to see McDonnell's five favorite posts.

Previous Next

2010 Wrap: Music

In a post about my favorite kids' CDs of last year, I managed to be as concise as I aspire to be, for once. And it's content I'm proud of, too: These are the albums I'd recommend without hesitation to parent friends, by artists who make great kids' music that's not merely tolerable, but enjoyable (really!) for adults.
"Old School: '80s Summer Movies for Kids"

Still my most popular post ever, partly because it's a roundup, partly because it's nostalgia, but mostly because it was written as a link to a friend's post on Babble.com! [It also got a link from the Babble post.] It was a lot of fun to put together. (Maybe I ought to do more of these?)
New Books: Shadow

I choose this entry more for the subject matter than for anything I say about it: A masterpiece by the always-ingenious Suzy Lee.
Security Blanket: Neil Gaiman Novels

These are some of my favorite posts to write: about my kids' established favorites, and how we discovered them. This particular one covers the unlikely but brilliant work for children by author Neil Gaiman, which holds a place of honor on my older son's bookshelf.
New Books: The Olympians

My very first post. Funny to read it even just over a year later; not surprisingly, the tone of my writing has shifted a little since then. But I think it stands up well, and it's about a series of graphic novels my son and I still find super cool."

4. The Inside Source: Describe your perfect Father's Day.

Myles McDonnell: Any parent of young kids knows how the perfect day starts: I'd get to sleep in for a while. Then... I suspect when my boys are older, I'll say a Yankee Stadium outing with the whole family. But at this point, I'd be chasing my two-year-old around the aisles. So I'll go with a drive-in movie, which thrills the boys and still thrills me, too. To make it extra-special, it wouldn't be a kids' film, but a classic silent comedy: Buster Keaton (my fave), Harold Lloyd (their fave), or Chaplin (everyone's fave). Now, I have no idea where I'd find a drive-in playing those, but let me dream!

5. The Inside Source: If you could go on a Father's Day shopping spree, what would you buy?

Myles McDonnell: I hate to go all gender-traditional, especially after all my talk about daddy blogs and mommy blogs being much the same. But this year I’d blow my entire spree spending on a new flat-screen TV. We've only had a 24-inch old Sony since our apartment-living days, and now that my sofa is a more usual distance away, I'm finding that I can't read the subtitles in foreign films. (Maybe I should blame some of that on turning 40, but the solution is the same...)

6. The Inside Source: Do you shop on eBay? Any favorite eBay stories or frequently used keywords?

Myles McDonnell: I do, though between my blogging, my day job, and, you know, parenting, I don't have time to be as obsessive about it as I’m driven to be. But eBay was responsible for my best grandparent Christmas present ever: My grandmother's dog had broken one piece of her prized but obscure line of Lenox china, and she was despairing at ever being able to replace it. I went on eBay (luckily for my gift-giving needs, she was not the technologically savvy type of 80-year-old) and there it was: the precise piece I needed. It felt like magic—as did the look on her face when she opened that present!

You Know, For Kids Daddy Blogger Myles McDonnell's eBay Wish List

I used to do a lot of hip-thrift-store shopping when I lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn to satisfy my passion for crazy striped/patterned shirts and funky shoes. But we moved to the burbs a few years ago, and the thrift stores I've found locally... well, let's just say they don't have the same kind of stock. So I'd go for these sweet John Fluevog shoes and a shirt from each of my favorite pattern-eriffic designers, Ted Baker and Robert Graham.

John Fluevog Oxford Shoes

(buy it now price, $149)
Ted Baker Striped Dress Shirt
Robert Graham "Biba" Paisley Men's Shirt

(buy it now price, $179.95)

This also seems the perfect moment to satisfy my longstanding craving for a vintage watch. Yes, a watch is basically jewelry nowadays, but at least I can pretend it's utilitarian. This one's kind of fun, without being too exorbitant.

Men's 1940 Jaeger LeCoultre Vintage Watch

I'm a Scotch fan, so this flask set also struck my fancy. Good Father's Day gift, too, since I'd kind of enjoy having it, but would never quite buy it myself!

Set of Two Single Malt Scotch Whiskey Flasks

Finally, to bring it all back to my kids, as Dad should (not to mention to the subject matter of my blog), the full collection of Tintin books. Tintin's my six-year-old's current obsession, thanks to a handful of old copies from my own childhood. This would keep us both busy until the movie comes out at the end of this year!