Here’s an article I wrote recently for ‘Dads for Life‘, a new website with resources that help us be the dads we were meant to be. (Dads for Life is a national movement to inspire and involve fathers to be good influencers in their children’s lives for life.)   Hope you enjoy reading it.

Being a Dad with 3 young kids – 9, 6 and 5 years old, it’s not always easy to find a family activity that all can participate and enjoy together. But I’ve found one that not only promises lots of fun and bonding, it costs only 60 cents and gets my car cleaned! =)

I must admit I’m more of a spontaneous kind of Dad. I don’t have a meticulous plan for weekly family outings or activities. I prefer to integrate the daily things we have to do with the time I spend with my kids. Often I would take one child along when I run an errand.

My child and I would enjoy the time alone with each other while getting the task done which gives us an interesting topic to talk about.

So back to our weekend activity. I enjoy taking all my 3 kids out to go get the car washed! They go crazy when I tell them “Let’s go for a carwash with Daddy!” They simply love it! And I must confess they’ve helped me enjoy what was previously a chore too!

I love to see them go wild as they do their best to ‘help’ me wet the car, soap the car, rinse it off etc. The truth is, it’s Daddy who really gets the car sparkling but I delight in seeing them have so much fun. I will never forget the time when my youngest son lifted the quarter-filled pail of clean water over his head, while flashing me with a broad grin. At the end of the day, the task of getting the car washed is not as important as simply hanging out with the kids, going through life together.

Sure the car is not as clean as it would have been had I driven it to the carwash, but the rewards of connecting with my kids, enjoying them, and at the same time teaching them life lessons along the way is totally worth it. Try it. All it takes is a little pocket change for the water, a little courage, lots of love, and the willingness to ‘get wet’ with the kids. =)

Original article here