Nina Sebastiane: Most children think their dad's are brilliant fountains of endless knowledge with a huge array of entertaining tricks up their sleeves. Well, most dads do their best to live up to this image, however it isn't always that easy. That's where this new book comes in. Dad's stuff is packed with everything that a dad in the 21st century needs to know to keep your children entertained. So, Simon Rose and Steve Caplin in the office joined me in the studio now. Welcome guys. Now, you must the best dads in the world.
Steve Caplin: We're brilliant dads -- there was a point at which were really finishing off the book and it was during the school holidays and our kids were saying, dad, I'm bored, I want to go away -- that I am.
Nina Sebastiane: Go away, I'm writing a book.
Steve Caplin: That was kind of tricky.
Nina Sebastiane: So, busy.
Steve Caplin: The thing is dads don't do the talking thing about, you know, how to bring up their children in the games to play and that's -- football. So, we don't have that resource, the mom they've got.
Simon Rose: Neither was interested.
Nina Sebastiane: Well, is this book could be for moms as well, but it is really gait towards that.
Steve Caplin: And it's that what needed.
Nina Sebastiane: And having said that, my partner picked it out when I got the copies to have a look at and before they interview and he couldn't put it down. He thought it was brilliant. So, certainly how --?
Simon Rose: His ways did not just of entertaining -- but doing of what having good time yourself. Response of the secret is just reminding you how many things are offered, and you know, where it was being childish, well, this gives us the excuse to each other and say we are looking after the kids.
Nina Sebastiane: So, you spent six months doing all of this and it was fun?
Simon Rose: It was great fun.
Steve Caplin: It was great fun. But our children really enjoyed it.
Simon Rose: We've tried them out on our children.
Nina Sebastiane: Oh, you need to show as if you brought a few bits of elastic band sticky bag plast what else.
Simon Rose: That's for the toddler ones. Are we?
Steve Caplin: Yeah, I think so --
Simon Rose: I mean great simple things. You don't necessarily need equipment. But one thing that was very popular with all my kids when they were -- wiping the smile of your face, which you just like this, which is incredible, the action toy, you can do the action toy.
Steve Caplin: The action toy. Yes, very good literally, that one. Oh that one, yes. The action toy where you do
Nina Sebastiane: Excellent. Yeah, I mean --
Steve Caplin: It's so simple.
Nina Sebastiane: So how could a two year old, I'm in the car, the constantly you know I'm having to think of ideas and I said, go look out of the window. Oh look darling, there is a tree. That's not very interesting.
Steve Caplin: Exactly. That thing that you mustn't you do of course is, ever stop playing ice by with them, because that's the real killer. Once you start, you would playing it over and over and over again and it's a dreadful day. We got several --
Simon Rose: And then you have drive into a tree.
Steve Caplin: Exactly. One of the, the ones that we wouldn't like is, when you've got children of different ages, you've got to try to entertain all at the same time. Oh, be wary that the question comes off again and again. One thing is I think of something, so you say to a three year old, think of something furry. And you would say to a seven year old, think of something made of aluminium and you would say to an 11 year old, think of something on the Holy Agnes.
Nina Sebastiane: Holy Agnes.
Steve Caplin: Holy Agnes Gracey. I will say that they can all join in at the same time, all playing the same game, but playing in a different way.
Nina Sebastiane: Well, I mean flicking through this book, I just want to sort of couple of things that I love. This is a brilliant what, where, why, who, how section, which is things like how do planes fly, you know how does a flying buttress work; where do babies come from?
Simon Rose: But the things children expect that parents, particularly for some reason, dads. He is to know all these things. When you're done even if you did once going to the school, you tend to forget and there is a surely a correlation between having children losing your memory and convince the two things go hand in hand.
Steve Caplin: The children expect that their moms to know where their socks are, what's the supper and where they're go in a holiday and they expect the dad's to know all the serious stuff like how fast is the speed of light.
Nina Sebastiane: Well, the best part here at the back is, you've got, you've got this whole section here on what today's money would have been worth then, which is brilliant, it's almost insight --
Steve Caplin: It's for solving those families' arguments.
Simon Rose: And for winning in pub quizzes.
Steve Caplin: Oh, its worth very well, yeah.
Nina Sebastiane: So, you could use this is in pub quizzes.
Steve Caplin: Oh, yeah.
Simon Rose: Yes. It's a sort under excellent book in many ways in that respect.
Steve Caplin: So, we've got lot of tricks for things to do with just what you've got in your pocket. So, rubber bands for example, there is really nice visual trick, where you put the rubber bands over the back of your fingers like this and you put back your fingers and it jump up to the other ones, but it is so simple, but it'll kick small children.
Simon Rose: And the person of course gives him free rubber bands.
Nina Sebastiane: A free rubber band. So, stick it in your pocket as your dad, you know don't forget rubber band wherever you go.
Simon Rose: Rubber band is fantastic. You can use them for so many things. You can use them for training chop sticks.
Steve Caplin: Very, very good. you tie two chop sticks together with the rubber bands and you get chop sticks a child can wear and if you've got them.
Nina Sebastiane: That's gone off the set.
Steve Caplin: And there's another one. Here's the other rubber band.
Simon Rose: You've got a nice little, quite nice little trick. Show them that they can actually defeat gravity. Look, goes down the rubber band. Now if you concentrate hard, you can make that with your mind go up the rubber band.
Nina Sebastiane: I am thinking, oh, hey, that's good.
Simon Rose: It's just great. Lots of things you can do like that.
Nina Sebastiane: So, this book is obviously, you've not gait it just towards older kids. You can entertain all ages with it.
Simon Rose: You can entertain and also educate small children without them realizing their learning anything and I think that's the key to it. You know once you say, I'm going to teach you all about -- oh, it is going to be bore. But in fact, you can actually workout with your kids, the speed of light by using a plate of cheese in the microwave. Now, that's fun and that's a sort of thing that kids are going to remember. Sort to get interesting.
Nina Sebastiane: Yeah, don't come -- they are all over the place.
Simon Rose: See you can actually pull the candle off.
Steve Caplin: And that's fantastic.
Simon Rose: And if you're in the bath as well and you get a small stream of water coming through the tap and you charge up the balloon, you can actually bend the water that's something really, really -- seeing water bend.
Nina Sebastiane: So, I mean essentially this is all of the things that you needed to know or wanted your dad to know when you were a kid.
Steve Caplin: All the stuffs your dads would have done with you and he didn't write a book. Exactly.
Simone Rose: Yeah.
Nina Sebastiane: Well, its brilliant and I'm delighted that you've come in. Now, have you any sort about the grande finale tricks that you could --
Steve Caplin: There are very simple ones and one of the best lessons that kids can learn is never quite to trust grown ups. So, you want to be a kid for a moment.
Simone Rose: okay.
Steve Caplin: Here is a glass of water. I'm going to put this hat on top of the glass of water and I am going to drink that glass of water without touching the hat.
Simon Rose: Okay.
Nina Sebastiane: This I've got to see.
Steve Caplin: Okay and here it can be done -- there you go.
Simon Rose: You don't get it.
Steve Caplin: I don't get it.
Nina Sebastiane: This is going to work.
Simon Rose: Ones that involve the children, I think the nicest ones though, there is a wonderful mind reading trick in the book that is fantastic for little children. Okay. That's good.
Steve Caplin: You be the child again.
Simon Rose: Alright, I going to be the child. That mind reading routine you work at --
Steve Caplin: How many fingers am I holding up?
Simon Rose: Seven.
Steve Caplin: How many now?
Simon Rose: Three.
Steve Caplin: Now?
Simon Rose: Two.
Steve Caplin: It is simply you count the number of fingers.
Nina Sebastiane: With words?
Steve Caplin: Yeah --
Simon Rose: So, it leaves me at a stage with children and words.
Nina Sebastiane: That is brilliant. That is so clever.
Steve Caplin: And even really small children can do that. Now the younger they're, the harder it is for them to count the number of words, as so the more it looks like they really concentrating to workout, as if am doing the mind reading.
Nina Sebastiane: Well, Steve and Simon, thanks very much for coming in and showing that's dads stuff, it's out at all good book stores as we speak. If you're a dad, don't leave home without it. Thanks very much.
Simon Rose: Thank you.
Steve Caplin: Thank you.
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