The Fort Worth three-year-old is now out of the hospital after shooting himself in the hand over the weekend. Police were called late Saturday night when the toddler shot himself after discovering his father’s pistol in the man’s bedroom.  The bullet wound cost the boy part of a finger.  Lawrence Williams has been telling reporters he went to the store, leaving the boy in the care of an adult. Detectives have questioned Williams who claims he just recently gained custody of the boy and his five-year-old sister. Now, the children are in CPS foster care until this gets sorted out.

By, Danny Deraney

First Time Feeling Like Dad….

I am not really sure if anybody remembers their first Father’s Day. I do because it was only 2 years ago. I had the privilege to spend the day in my hometown with my wife and child along with my parents. It was nothing spectacular, as I assume how many Father’s Day Holidays rarely are. But one thing I can remember is how long it took me to really feel like a Dad.

Once your child is born, it is pretty surreal. Of course you know in your mind that you are responsible for this child. You know immediately you will protect them with your life. But to me, like so many of us men, their Dad is THE Dad. I am just, me.

My Dad to me is my hero. Why? Well my Dad’s father was never really around. Ok, he wasn’t around period. However, my father vowed that whenever he had children he would make sure to be the best parent he could and have lots of fun along the way. I think because of that, I approach life and of course being a parent that same way.

The first time I really felt like a Dad (as always) has to do with food. I say as always, because most of my background is of Lebanese ancestry. We revolve around food.

So one day, I was thinking of what to make my daughter Lily for lunch. She is extremely picky and I did not want to give her what I know she will always eat. So then I thought of the meals my parents made. The first thing I thought of was my Father’s infamous Super Duper Pizzas!

What are Super Duper Pizzas? Very simple. Pita Bread, Tomato Sauce and Mozerella Cheese. Bake for 5 minutes, 350 degrees.

Growing up, these were practically staples on the weekend. So I figured why not give it a shot. So when Lily started to eat one piece, two pieces, three, etc. I really started to feel that giddiness and warmth like when you are really in love. Ok maybe drunk too, but the point is, I really felt like my father. The feeling since then has never stopped.

First Time Sounding Like Dad….

Another first that I can relate to was when I began to sound like my father at Lily’s bedtime. This was always a great time for my brother and I. Any parent knows that after reading Goodnight Moon for the 236th time, you tend to wish the book never existed. Because of that, I remember my father taking your average well-known story and make the farthest left turn you could imagine. This would make my brother and I hysterical.

For example:

There were Three Bears, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear, and look it’s their long distance cousin Samuel.

So one day, here I was, reading to my little girl the story classic story of Runaway Bunny, also the 236th time. Then out of nowhere, I started talking in a silly voice and completely changed the story. A few minutes went by and I realized I was doing what my Father did to us. So when I mention to my daughter that I love her to the moon and back, I come off sounding like Gomer Pyle and say, I love you to the moon and back, then once again because I forgot Mommy and back. Without fail, my daughter laughs on cue. At least somebody thinks I am funny.

First Baseball Game with Dad….

Till this day, not sure who won, but I can remember going to my first baseball game, Dodgers and Giants. We grew up in LA and except for my mother; nobody in our family was a Dodger fan. It was the Yankees or the Mets. But without fail, my Dad took us anywhere from 5-10 games a year. Usually it was against our beloved teams.

My Dad, raised on the east coast, happened to be in New York during the 1977 World Series. The first game I recall was Game 6, when Reggie Jackson hit three home runs. I was mesmerized by the crowd and the scoreboard flashing, REGG-IE, REGG-IE. Then I remember my mother telling me that my Dad was there. I thought that meant at the game, but in reality, it was just in NY for business. When my Dad came home, he brought home Yankee Jackets and World Series Champion T-shirts for my brother and I. From that point on, I was a Yankee fan.

So you can imagine my excitement when last year, I took Lily to her first Yankee game at Yankee Stadium. There we were, eating ice cream, hot dogs and pizza and she sat still there for 8 innings! Heaven! More than once was I thinking of that day my father was in NY and all of the games we have gone to together and continue to.

It is hard to think of all the firsts with your family. Thankfully, with modern recording devices, you can do it more conveniently. Lily can now share her first blueberry, pizza and of course her first Yankee game with her child. The fact is that each and every day is really a first.

Every day is a first because of what you get to experience with your child. To watch it all go by and not have fun along the way is a waste. Once you have a child, you realize like I did that it is the little things that connect us with one another. I am so happy, it’s the connections like that, as small as they are, are bigger than anything we could have imagined. The fact that I can bring the values he gave to me, to my family, is worth everything.

Happy Fathers Day Everybody!

Danny Deraney became a first time father two years ago and is looking forward to sharing many more firsts with his daughter. Deraney is a Publicist and PR Executive for Deraney Public Relations. Please follow on twitter @dannyderaney or visit http://www.dannyderaney.com.

By, Bill Petro

The celebration of Father’s Day goes back all the way to the beginning, actually to the Garden of Eden when Abel gave his father Adam a razor while his brother Cain gave his father a snake-skin tie. This was the beginning of Cain’s downward slide.

Four thousand years ago in Babylon the boy Elmesu carved a greeting to his father on a clay tablet, wishing him health and long life. However, as it was difficult to attach stamps to clay cards at the time, the holiday proved impractical and did not stick.

The holiday was first canonized in the West by Pope Hallmark in 1582 in the Papal Bull entitled Quando Ipso Facto Volare FTD Que Sera Sera which roughly translated means “When you care enough to send the very best.” This was confirmed years later in the United States when one of the founding matriarchs, Ma Bell, ordained both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in an attempt to help bolster the fledgling nation’s telecommunication coffers. It is well known that Mother’s Day generally posts the highest volume of long-distance telephone calls of any single day of the year. It is not as well known that Father’s Day posts the highest volume of long-distance collect calls.

In modern times, particularly in America, the celebration goes back over a hundred years. There was a one-time celebration in Fairmont, West Virginia in 1908 by Grace Clayton, but it was not officially registered. In 1910 a Presbyterian church in Spokane, Washington aided by the local YMCA and ministerial alliance helped promote the previous year’s celebration organized in that town by Sonora Dodd. She had been moved by the 1909 establishment of Mother’s Day to fashion a holiday to honor fathers. Though a bill was submitted to Congress for the first time in 1913 for a national proclamation — and the holiday got support from Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge — it was not until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. But it took President Richard Nixon to sign it into law 6 years later in 1972. Although the first symbol was the wearing of a red rose for a living father and a white rose for a deceased father, this has been replaced by gifts of highly sophisticated miniature mobile electronics or large noise producing tools.

Father’s Day has not enjoyed the same popularity as Mother’s Day in America. Perhaps this is because of recent generations’ conflicted feelings about fathers. In our lifetime, the current generation of fathers grew up in what was called the Baby Boomer generation — those born between 1946 following the end of WWII and 1964 the dawn of the post-modern period in the United States. Many Boomers came of age during the period of time when the “generation gap” was most pronounced. This was back in the day when you didn’t “trust anyone over 30″ and the older generation just didn’t “get it.” Young men respected but did not trust their fathers. Their fathers’ generation, the “Builders” or what has been called the Greatest Generation, had lived through the Depression and had fought in WWII, but didn’t get the Beatles. The Builders had done many things well, but what they were unsuccessful at was succession. They did not know how to pass on to their sons the torch of leadership. In another time, this would have meant training their sons to be first a page, then a squire, and ultimately a knight. In the ’60s and ’70s it meant successfully passing on to their sons the assurance that they had what it took to be a man. Think “Rebel Without a Cause.” Without having received the “blessing” of their fathers, young men looked for their significance in other things, in other places.

Some came to terms with it by paying tribute to their fathers. Many of Stephen Spielberg’s movies feature absent fathers but his movie “Hook” celebrates recapturing the value of being a father, even for a boy who never wanted to grow up. Spielberg’s friend Tom Hanks honored his own father Amos who served in WWII. Hanks appeared in the popular Spielberg movie “Saving Private Ryan” and went on to produce with Spielberg the award winning HBO mini-series based on the Stephen Ambrose book “Band of Brothers,” in part as a tribute to his father. Hanks subsequently narrated part of Ken Burns’ “The War” and co-produced with Spielberg “The Pacific.”

I too did a tribute to my father, who liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp at the end of WWII. It was featured on HBO’s website when the Band of Brothers mini-series first premiered, as an introduction to the episode “Why We Fight”. Ironically, my father crossed paths twice with the Easy Company of the 101st Airborne from Band of Brothers, first at the Battle of the Bulge, and later at the liberation of Dachau and its satellite camps. His story is told in full at http://billpetro.com/johnpetro.

So this generation of Boomer young men have grown up now, and they’re the fathers of the current generation: Gen X, Gen Y, the Millenials. What legacy will they pass on to their children?

Everyone has had a father, but not everyone can be a father, especially if you are a woman. But there are few challenges in the world that are more rewarding than being a father. It is a special joy and a great honor.

Bill Petro, the son of a WWII veteran and the father of a daughter and son, writes widely on history, technology, popular culture, and international travel. He has been sending articles on the History of the Holidays across the Internet since 1984. You can find him at http://billpetro.com/.

HOUSTON (AP) – A 3-year-old Houston-area girl has died after being hit as her father backed up his truck in the family’s driveway.

Authorities say the father was pulling out of the driveway in the family home in northwest Harris County on Friday when he ran over his daughter.

Officials say the girl apparently got out of the house and was wandering outside when the incident happened.

The father and a neighbor rushed the girl to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators say the girl’s death appears to be an accident.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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BIG HAIRCUT OOPS

A radio reporter decides to interview his daughters– after they get in trouble.

His five-year-old daughter Sadie thought it would be a good idea to give her three-year-old sister Eva a haircut.

After their mom finished screaming and crying, their dad interviewed them about it.

“I climb up on the bathroom and pick up the scissors.. And i just kept cutting. And it was so hard to cut. I was like la la la. I started at the bottom la la la,” said Sadie in the interview.

Dad asks, “When did you realize that something had gone wrong?”

Sadie responds, “When I finished and I looked at her and I was like uh oh. This is bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.”

Click below to listen to the adorable three-minute clip.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HONORS BOSTON

Sports Illustrated is honoring Boston, its World Series win and the city’s heroes with its new cover.

World Series MVP David Ortiz appears on the cover with three Boston police officers – nest to the the words “Boston’s Finest Hour.”

This is the second cover shot for the officers– Rachel McGuire, Javier Pagan and detective Kevin McGill.

A candid picture of the three responding to the marathon bombings appeared on the cover of SI’s April 22 issue.

TEACHER’S COOL BASKETBALL TRICK

A high school teacher’s classroom trick is going viral.

During physics class, a teacher identified as Mr. Hovan, spins a basketball on a pencil and then proceeds to grade papers with the pencil – as the ball continues to spin.

A student captured the video on his phone and posted it to YouTube.

The New York Knicks and Harlem Globetrotters saw the video and posted comments.

The Harlem Globetrotters wrote, “Okay. We’ve got to admit, we’re impressed. Got a proposition for you… You agree to teach us that trick and we’ll teach you a few of our own.”

Mr. Hovan is a teacher at St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrUp3rvFWo

DAD IN A BOX

It’s a birthday present one little girl will never forget — and the video of her unwrapping it will melt your heart.

For her third birthday — Bridget Carr’s family wrapped up a huge box and put it on the porch of their Missouri home.

You can see the box is twice the size of the little girl and it takes her awhile to get all the all the wrapping paper off.

Her family is watching her and they ask — what do you think it is?   Do you think it’s a bike?

But it turns out to be something much better!!!

Her daddy — who had been serving in Afghanistan pops out!

Bridget covers her mouth and screams for joy before leaping into her dad’s arms.

The video was posted on YouTube last September — but is just now going viral after being posted on Reddit this week.

More than a million people have seen it.

STUDENTS SLIPPING ON ICE

Depending on your sense of humor — you may or may not find this video funny — but it’s gaining a lot of traction online.

An Iowa dad recorded six minutes of students slipping and falling on the ice outside of a middle school — as he gives commentary the whole time.

The dad is identified as Alan… and you hear him laughing hysterically every time a kid falls on the ice.

About halfway through the video you hear his daughter get into the car and she joins in — laughing as her classmates continue to navigate this icy patch of sidewalk.

The video was originally posted to YouTube — but has been taken down.

The New Dad

Photo Credit Thinkstock

Sure, parenting is exhausting, admits new dad Tony Brown of Streator, Ill. “[It's] more tiring than I expected,” he confesses. For about a year, he’s been foster parent to an infant boy, but the good times make all the minutes of exhaustion worth it.

“The best part of fatherhood for me has been seeing my boy overcome things that I thought would take a lot longer, like learning to walk,” he shares. In fact, watching his child’s pride in this new skill makes him smile every time he sees it happen. He says, “It’s just absolute joy on his face when he can go wherever he wants to.”

Because of the fostering arrangement, the future of Brown’s relationship with his son is uncertain, but no matter the outcome, he wouldn’t trade the year he’s spent with this child. “Even if I don’t get to keep him the rest of my life, I know the time spent here was well worth it for me and for him. It doesn’t matter how it turns out; this has been one of the best times of my life.”

The Seasoned Dad

Photo Credit Thinkstock

David Medina of Danville, Ky. has close to a decade of parenting under his belt. His oldest, Caleb, is nine, followed by Luci, age 7, and Silas, age 5. However, reflecting on the years that have passed, he comments, “I don’t think fatherhood has changed that much. The words may be different, as well as the kids’ understanding, but the message is still love.”

Having multiple children has taught him an important lesson. “Each child needs to be taught differently, disciplined differently, loved differently.” Having three kids has also taught him that he’s “a jungle gym, a monster chaser and a couch. I kid you not: all three will find a way to sit on me if we’re watching a movie.”

Despite each of Medina’s children’s differences, they do have some common traits that make their dad smile. “I’m proud that all of my kids love to read and are imaginative and make up games with each other.” The other day, his youngest son tried shouting Harry Potter’s “Accio car!” to reclaim a toy vehicle from his brother. It was a proud moment for this Potter-fan father.

The Grandpa

Photo Credit Thinkstock

“I really feel like being a grandfather is your reward for making it through fatherhood,” says father and grandfather John Warnke of Phoenix, Ariz. His three grown children have given him six grandchildren, ages 12 and under.

There are plenty of moments Warnke treasures with his grandkids. He takes delight in their hugs and in seeing them try their best in sports. He also loves when people say that his infant grandson “looks just like Papa.” Warnke adds, “I get to serve in the role of teaching the kids what is truly important in life: love of God and love of country.” He also likes to show the children how to have low-tech fun. “There is a wonderful world to have fun in out there, without electronics,” he says.

Warnke clearly remembers the busy years of trying raise kids and earn a living, but advises young dads to make the most of their children’s young years. He confides, “As a chaplain, I have never met a man that was dying that wished he had spent more time at the office,” and adds, “[Our children] look to us for wise choices and direction for their lives.”

Dads, for all you do and for all the time you invest in your children, we thank you. Happy Father’s Day.

Meghan Ross is a freelance writer covering all things home and living. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.

Magnetic Wristband

Photo Credit MagnoGrip.com

Could your tool-man use an additional hand to hold stuff while he’s working? MagnoGrip’s wristbands keep nuts, screws, drill bits and other small metal objects close at hand. Dad can comfortably wear it on his wrist, or if he prefers, attach it to a ladder or other object in his work area. MagnoGrip Magnetic Wristbands are available in four colors, and the company also offers other handy magnetic products, such as tool pouches and drill holsters.

Self-Leveling Line Laser

Photo Credit DeWalt

Whether Dad is hanging cabinets or installing a chair rail, Dewalt’s self-leveling line laser can help. This level, which runs on three AA batteries, can be used for creating perfectly straight lines, both horizontal and vertical. It can be set on a sturdy surface, mounted on a tripod or hung from a metal surface with the built-in magnets. The sturdy design makes this a rugged tool that will keep working for job after job.

FLEXiT Light

Photo Credit Amazon

Risk Racing’s FLEXiT light can be used in any number of places. Dad can position the base on a flat surface so it stands up, hang it from the attached loop or use the magnet in the base to stick it to a metal surface. Made of flexible silicone, the light can be adjusted to shine in any direction you’d like. With 16 LED bulbs, the FLEXiT can be set to low, medium or high for just the right amount of light for your project. Whether Dad’s working under the hood of the car, outdoors at night or in a dim corner, the FLEXiT will illuminate his project in a bright, hands-free fashion.

BoWrench

Photo Credit Amazon

Does Dad have his sights on building a new deck this summer? Make his project easier with a Bowrench. Instead of fighting with warped boards, he can use this heavy-gauge steel tool to hold boards in place while he nails them down. The result is a more attractive, longer-lasting deck built with less hassle. It’s not just for decks, either. The Bowrench can also be used on walls, floors or ceilings, and additional accessories, sold separately, make this tool even more versatile.

Magnetic Stud Finder

Photo Credit C.H.Hanson

Sure, Dad’s been thumping on walls to locate studs his whole life, but that doesn’t mean he has to continue that way. With C.H. Hanson’s Magnetic Stud Finder, deciding where to hang that picture frame becomes a whole lot easier. The rare earth magnets in this handheld device are drawn to metal screws and nails in the wall. Dad can sweep the finder over the wall, and when he feels the pull, he’ll know just where a stud is. The magnets will hold the finder to the wall hands-free while he hammers in a nail, and the built-in level helps him position everything exactly right.

Meghan Ross is a freelance writer covering all things home and living. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.

LAKE DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Inside the Sumlin home in Lake Dallas the family is hitting Facebook and Twitter hard.

It’s the last day to help Austin Sumlin, 18, win a $50,000 scholarship to go to college.

Today is also his birthday and he’s hoping to celebrate big.

“Every share and tweet on Facebook and Twitter is a vote,” says Austin Sumlin. “Gotten more than 40-thousand shares on Facebook and 2500 tweets.”

The student made a video about how he met his dad.

“When I was five, I was the only kid in the daycare who didn’t have somebody to make a Father’s Day card for,” explains Austin.

His biological father bailed, so he started badgering his mom to find a new dad.

“I urged her to go to the daddy store and get a new one,” says Austin.

His pleas for a new dad never wavered.

“He would tell me what a beautiful bride I would was going to be,” says mom Heather Sumlin.

“The last time he told me I would be a beautiful bride was the day he talked about, ‘You are going to a wedding and you are going to walk down the aisle and you are going to meet this man and he is going to be my dad and he is going to love you and he is going to love me’ and I remember what it was like for him.”

Heather got on the popular dating website Match.com and she and Austin met their match.

They married Rich in 2003.

One of the most moving moments was captured in a picture in the video showing the couple walking down the aisle after their “I do’s” with Rich holding little Austin.

“It was important for Austin to know that the wasn’t losing any bit of me,” says Heather “… but he was gaining a dad.”

Since the couple met on Match.com, Austin was eligible to enter the scholarship contest.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH AUSTIN’S MATCHMADE STORY

On this birthday Austin has one last plea.

“Share it like a 100 times at least… every hour,” says Austin “… get friends to do it parents and grandparents and cat if possible.”

Austin is enrolled at a local community college right now.

NOTE: You must share the link matchmade.com/Austin on Facebook or Twitter to vote for Austin in the contest.  Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on September 1.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – Texas fathers took to the state capitol today to support a bill for equal parenting, and a Frisco dad was front and center.

Rustin Wright is the father to a ten-year-old son, who says he’s spent his son’s entire life fighting in court for equal custody.

“I’ve spent everything I’ve ever made, maxed out 50 thousand dollars’ worth of credit cards, spent my entire retirement and savings and I literally make a payment to an attorney every month,” he said.

Wright and other fathers are supporting a bill that would give a judge the option for 50-50 custody, after a divorce. They say their kids are better served when they can spend equal amounts of time with mom and dad.

‘Last month, I only got to see my son for 48 hours,” said Wright. “I miss out on being his father and teaching him the things that a father teaches his son.”

The proposal by Representative Gilbert Pena would allow the court to give fit parents equal custody, 50-50 access, unless it was determined that it was not in the best interest of the child. But those against the idea say it will only encourage more litigation.

“At the beginning, after the divorce decree is entered and in modifications,” said Lynn Kamin from the Family Law Foundation.

Kamin says both parents can agree that everything is equal. But when they don’t, a judge must step in and decide what’s in the best interest of the child, not the parent.

“What this proposal will do is throw these children into a situation where when their life is totally in chaos that they are going to be shuffled form one house to the other,” she said.

Texas is not the first state to look into this topic or to try and pass a similar law. The proposal is currently being debated in committee.

Granola Trail Mix

Photo Credit Thinkstock

Dad can start out the day with a few handfuls of this mix, then take it to work to munch on all week long. Granola is an easy, flexible recipe that can easily be modified to suit your family’s tastes.

Stir together three cups of oats, one cup of flour and a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, combine 1/3 cup of a sweetener, such as honey or corn syrup, with a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/3 cup of cooking oil. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Kids can use clean hands to really mix the ingredients together. Other good choices to include are dried fruits, nuts, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, candy-coated chocolate pieces or O-shaped cereal pieces.

Spread the oats on a baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about one hour, stirring occasionally. Once the granola cools, add in any of Dad’s favorite snacky items.

Ranch Salad Wedges

Photo Credit Thinkstock

Keep the dinner menu simple and classic with some of Dad’s favorites. Start out with a salad the kids can help put together by topping iceberg lettuce wedges with a homemade ranch dressing. Cut a head of iceberg lettuce into six wedges and rinse them under cold water. Set aside on a clean towel to drain any excess water.

Meanwhile, mix half of a cup of mayonnaise with a splash of milk. Kids can use a whisk to blend it until smooth. Stir in ¼ teaspoon each of dried parsley, dried dill weed, garlic powder and onion powder, plus a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Spoon the dressing onto each lettuce wedge. Top the salads with a sprinkle of chopped chives, bacon bits and other veggies Dad loves.

Buttery Potatoes

Photo Credit Thinkstock

Rinse about two pounds of thin-skinned, bite-sized potatoes. The fresher, the better, so consider taking your kids shopping at your local farmers’ market to pick out the potatoes for this recipe.

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover them with water. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.

Children can top the potatoes with several pats of butter–approximately two tablespoons–and sprinkle salt over them. After the butter melts, stir the potatoes gently, so all sides are coated.

Barbecue and Swiss Chicken

Photo Credit Thinkstock

Spread chicken breasts out in a foil-lined baking dish. Brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached.

When the chicken is fully cooked, help your children carefully brush on a few tablespoons of bottled barbecue sauce. Top each breast with a thin slice of Swiss cheese. Return the dish to the oven until the cheese melts.

Dipped Pretzels

Photo Credit Thinkstock

This is a sweet and salty snack for after dinner that you can personalize with fun add-ons.

Melt half of a package of white or chocolate almond bark in a microwave safe dish. Start by zapping it for one minute, then stirring. Continue in 30-second increments until the bark is smoothly melted.

Dip pretzel rods most of the way into the coating and lay them on a sheet of waxed paper. Before the almond bark hardens, kids can shake sprinkles or mini candies over them. Allow the chocolate to cool completely before moving the pretzels.

Meghan Ross is a freelance writer covering all things home and living. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Many men gain a new sense of responsibility and purpose when they become fathers. A new study suggests they also gain 3 to 5 pounds.

The research wasn’t designed to prove fatherhood causes weight gain and raises more questions than it answers. But one outside expert, while noting its limitations, said the research is provocative and should spark further study.

Doctors pay attention to the weight gain of mothers — both before and after pregnancy. But the waistline of dads? That’s not on most doctors’ radar, said Tom Wadden, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.

The study’s lead author — Dr. Craig Garfield of Northwestern University — said he could only speculate about what’s behind the extra pounds.

“For men who become fathers, their whole life changes,” Garfield said. They may sleep less, exercise less, and experience more stress — all of which can lead to weight gain, he said.

It doesn’t help that the food selection at home may gradually change to include more things like “making chocolate chip cookies with the kids,” said Garfield. A dad himself, Garfield said his weakness is finishing his kids’ leftover cheese pizza.

For their work, the researchers looked at results from another study, which tracked the health of adolescents over two decades. The researchers focused on teen boys and young men, comparing weight changes in the 3,400 who became dads and the 6,800 who didn’t.

There was a difference.

After becoming a first-time dad, a typical 6-foot-tall man who lives with his child will gain an average of about 4½ pounds, the study suggested. A same-sized man who does not live with his child can expect to gain nearly 3½ pounds.

But a 6-foot man who does not have children typically loses about 1½ pounds over the same time period, researchers found — after making statistical adjustments to iron out the potential influences of age, marriage, and other factors.

The study checked weights of the men at four times over the two decades. The researchers were not able to determine at what point in time dads put on the weight. Most of it could have gone on during the pregnancy, Wadden noted.

The study found men who lived with their children were a little heavier to begin with, on average, and ended up heavier than the absent fathers and the men who didn’t have kids.

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. men are overweight or obese, according to government statistics.

The study was published online Tuesday by the American Journal of Men’s Health.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (AP) — Clothes all over the house, milk left out of the fridge, loud gatherings with friends. These are some of a Maine dad’s complaints about his college daughter being home for Christmas.

Dan Howard, of Cape Elizabeth, has posted a humorous two-minute video on Facebook in which he describes scenes that are likely familiar to any parent with a child home from college. The video has more than 900,000 views.

Howard shares tales of carrying his daughter’s heavy luggage through the airport and being unable to sleep as she bakes cookies and cupcakes at 3 a.m. with her friends. He ends by jokingly wondering if he can get Uber to take her back to school early.

He doesn’t say his daughter’s name or where she goes to college in the video.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A five-year-old boy is recovering after he found a gun at his Fort Worth home and shot himself.

In what police are calling a very close call, the child found the gun on a nightstand next to his parent’s bed. They had just bought the new handgun. As their son played with the loaded gun, it went off.

[graphiq id=”5cXjKiXF5kh” title=”Gun Deaths by State” width=”600″ height=”499″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/5cXjKiXF5kh” link=”http://political-issues.insidegov.com” link_text=”InsideGov | Graphiq” ]

The bullet went through the child’s hand. MedStar took the him to Cook Children’s where doctors described his injury as only minor.

However, the incident is anything but minor to police.

Investigators from the Crimes Against Children Unit are looking into the incident and the parent’s may face charges.

KELLER (CBSDFW.COM) – Back-to-school is especially important for children just starting Kindergarten.

After all it’s the beginning of a journey toward adulthood.

But going to the ‘big kid school’ can cause some back to school jitters… not that a group of Pre-K students from Kids R Kids Learning Academy we spoke to are worried.

CBS11 reporter Gilma Avalos caught up with Aaliyah, Parker, Neel, Evelyn and Brooklynn. They chatted about their expectations, snacks, homework and future.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine spent his first Father’s Day as a dad of two.

Supermodel Behati Prinsloo shared a photo on Instagram of the 39-year-old holding their second daughter, Gio Grace, who was born in February. Their first daughter, Dusty Rose, is nearly 2 years old.

Prinsloo wrote the “girls are so lucky to call you dad and I’m so lucky to have you as a husband.”

The 29-year-old also saluted her father.

The couple married in July 2014.

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A loss prevention officer prevented a man and woman from kidnapping a child at a Walmart in Fort Worth.

Police said a man and woman tried to snatch the child from a cart. But the employee saw them and stepped in, saving the child.

The child was not injured.

The pair took off in a red SUV (possibly a Saturn).

Police are seeking information about the identities or whereabouts of the would-be kidnappers.

HUBBARD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Some Texas grown ups — and little ones — are winning at the definition of a blended family and now the world has had a peek inside after a very special daddy-daughter dance pic went viral.

Dylan Lenox and David Lewis are both the dads of 5-year-old Willow. The two men aren’t a couple, though they think all definitions of family are beautiful, their connection to Willow is of course her mom, Sarah.

Dylan is Sarah’s fiancé and Willow’s soon-to-be stepdad and David is her biological dad.

(credit: Willie + Rose Photography)

Dylan has been a part of Willow’s life for years and had the “honor” of taking her to her last two daddy-daughter dances. David couldn’t attend because he was overseas when one took place and in Washington, D.C. the other time.

In addition to co-parenting, the two men have developed what Dylan calls “the best friendship and bond that anybody could ask for” and this year he was thinking things should be different for their little girl.

“I knew deep down in my heart that she [WIllow] needed that memory, specifically, with him too,” Dylan said. “I knew David needed that and she need that.”

David lives in New Mexico and was already planning to come to Texas, but it wouldn’t have been in time to attend the dance. But he switched up his schedule, made it possible and arrived on the day of the dance.

(credit: Willie + Rose Photography)

Before heading off Sarah, who’s a photographer, took some pictures of Willow and her two dads. While David and the little girl went off to party, Dylan and Sarah went on out for an evening that was soon interrupted.

“My phone kept blowing up during our date, during dinner,” Dylan said. “It [Facebook post of pics] started with 25 or 30 shares and grew from there.”

Dylan’s original post has nearly 250,000 likes and a video CBS News shared about the pic has been viewed more than 1,250,000 times!

Dylan said he made the Facebook post to inspire “split families that don’t have hope” and of course for their little girl. The most important part of his post was a message to her saying,”Willow Grace you are loved by so many people in this world and your Daddies love you!”

Willow isn’t the only member of this blended family, Dylan has a son from a previous relationship and he and Sarah have a 2-year-old child together. And they’re making it all work in the small Texas town of Hubbard – which Dylan says has one stop light and a Sonic — about 30 miles northeast of Waco.