Honest, unsponsored advice for parents who travel, think for themselves, and refuse to let kids end the adventure. No mommy-blog fluff. No fear-mongering. Just one dad's notes from the trenches.
The aquarium that lets you touch a whale shark. The retro arcade in Shinsekai where nobody minds a three-year-old mashing buttons. The okonomiyaki joint near Dotonbori that hands you a beer before you've sat down. Zero queues, zero theme parks, zero regret.
Read the full post →Boundaries aren't rude — they're the thing that keeps you from resenting the people you like. A script for the polite decline, plus the one phrase that works every time.
Mar 28 · 3 min readWhat's in my carry-on: a spare shirt (for me), a pack of wet wipes (for everything), a charging cable that reaches the floor, and exactly three snacks — because four means negotiation.
Mar 25 · 4 min readOne-pan pasta with whatever's in the fridge. Sheet-pan eggs and roasted veg. The rice cooker that does the thinking for you. Three meals, zero stress, all under a quarter-hour.
Mar 21 · 3 min readMy six-year-old is a world-class negotiator. I've learned to give him three choices — all of which end with him in bed. The framework works for teeth-brushing, shoe-tying, and leaving the playground too.
Mar 18 · 4 min readThe rolling method is a lie. The real trick is cubes, a ruthless one-in-one-out rule, and accepting that your kid will wear the same hoodie three days in a row. Nobody notices. I promise.
Mar 14 · 5 min readUnpopular opinion: screens aren't the enemy. Mindless restriction is. Here's what we do instead — and why our kids read more books than any of their timer-limited friends.
Mar 11 · 6 min readDrag to scroll through our family-tested destinations — each one vetted for nap-friendliness, snack accessibility, and genuine fun for adults too.
The aquarium, the retro arcades in Shinsekai, and the best okonomiyaki we found near Dotonbori. Zero queues if you go at 10am on a Tuesday. Bonus: the subway is so quiet your toddler might actually nap on it.
Seven days, six state parks, three tide pools, one melted crayon in the cupholder. The itinerary we actually followed — with nap stops mapped to the minute and a diner in every town that serves pie before 10am.
Which piazzas have shade by 2pm. Which trattorias hand you a menu before you've sat down. Why the Villa Borghese is your secret weapon. And the exact gelato shop near the Pantheon that gives free tastes to kids.
Natural History Museum (free, huge, indoor). The South Bank under cover. The one café near Borough Market that lets kids draw on the walls. And the pub that serves Sunday roast at noon — game-changer.
Cenotes shallow enough for wading. The Mérida market on Sunday (mariachi, mangoes, handmade toys). Why you skip Chichén Itzá until they're 8 and go to Uxmal instead. The hammock strategy for afternoon naps.
Tram 28 is a rollercoaster disguised as public transit. The Time Out Market has enough food options to please any picky eater. And the aquarium in Parque das Nações is one of the best in the world — changing tables in every bathroom.
The underground city is a godsend for strollers. Bagels on bagels on bagels. The biodome lets kids run free. And the poutine at La Banquise will cure whatever cold you caught on the walk there.
The practical stuff nobody teaches you — from folding a fitted sheet to negotiating with a tiny tyrant who's very good at it.
The method that finally worked. Two corners in, then the other two. No, really — it takes 20 seconds once you've done it twice. Video included.
2 min readZone shopping, snack math, and the aisle you should never skip (frozen fruit — it outlasts fresh and smoothies save breakfast every time).
4 min readOil, tires, jump-start, and when to just call the shop. You don't need to be a mechanic — you need to know enough to not get stranded at a rest stop with a screaming toddler.
6 min readThe only sewing skill you'll ever need. Thread, knot, four passes, done. Your kid's favorite jacket lives another season.
2 min readEight minutes, no equipment, lower back will thank you. Designed for people who haven't stretched since high school gym class and have 8 minutes between bedtime and collapse.
5 min readAge-appropriate answers for the hard questions — where babies come from, why people die, why that person on the news is angry. No euphemisms, no panic, just honest conversations.
7 min readI started Dadvice in 2022, sitting in a parked car while my youngest napped in the back seat. I'd just spent 45 minutes trying to find a café in Lisbon that had a changing table and wasn't playing techno at 9am. I thought: someone should write this stuff down.
So I did. What started as a Google Doc shared with three other dads from the playground turned into a weekly newsletter, then a proper site. No sponsorships, no affiliate links, no mommy-blog euphemisms — just honest notes from the trenches of full-time parenting and the travel that somehow still happens around it.
I believe in raising kids who think for themselves. That means answering their questions honestly, taking them to places that challenge their assumptions, and modeling the kind of curiosity I want them to carry into adulthood. We're secular, we're libertarian-leaning, and we travel with our kids because the world is too interesting to wait until they're grown to show it to them.
I live in Brooklyn with my wife, our two kids (Leo, 6, and Maya, 3), and a very patient cat named Toast. When I'm not writing, I'm probably making a sandwich, looking for a lost shoe, or planning a trip we'll talk about for years.
New posts every Tuesday and Friday. No spam, no ads, no affiliate links — just one dad's honest take on parenting and travel. I usually write back within 24 hours.