Dad Bod Weekly

America’s Kids Have Stopped Reading, and It’s Making Them Easy to Control. The Reading Crisis No One’s Talking About: Only 11% of Teens Read for Fun. There is a reading and critical thinking crisis happening with our sons and daughters. “Not my child!” I hear you pushing back. But it’s true. Our kids are struggling with reading long-form, thought provoking, intellectually challenging works. If they are reading a class assignment, programs like Chat GPT, Gemini and Claude can easily summarize it for them. But A.I. programs don’t challenge our kids to think for themselves. They don’t encourage them develop their own opinions or give them the confidence to defend their arguments. And that’s dangerous. Why? The world our kids inherit won’t be divided by left and right. It’ll be divided by thinkers and followers. As the Tik Tok trend puts it, the Lions and the Sheep. Algorithms and A.I. programs can only summarize. They don’t teach dissent, they don’t teach contrarian thought, development of personal values, taking a stand, empathy or morality. Algorithms are only teaching reaction and calling it engagement. But it’s not true intellectual engagement framed in exploration and debate.
Dad Bod Weekly on Substack
https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/p/americas-kids-have-stopped-reading
Author Joe Paul on Substack
https://joepaulwriter.substack.com/p/americas-kids-have-stopped-reading

At least 4 states are taking some form of legal action against ROBLOX.

The main issue is creating an environment that where sexual predators can target and exploit children

5 Disturbing Reasons I’m Banning Roblox in My House (and Why Parents Should Too)
Roblox promises creativity for kids, but delivers predators, hate speech, and unsafe content. Roblox is an open platform, which allows for communication between strangers. Anyone can chat with my kid at any time and tell them anything. When playing these innocent games kids are exposed to sexual grooming, Manosphere bu****it, Alt-right extremist lies and sexual advances. Anything goes. A BBC investigation and reports from organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) have confirmed that predators use online gaming environments, including Roblox, to groom children. They build trust by interacting in games, offering in-game currency like Robux, or promising special items. Their ultimate goal is to move the conversation to an external, unmonitored platform like Discord or Snapchat, where they can continue their predatory behavior without any oversight.

READ FREE
https://dadbodweekly.com/2025/08/28/5-disturbing-reasons-im-banning-roblox-in-my-house-and-why-parents-should-too/

SUBSTACK
https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/p/5-disturbing-reasons-im-banning-roblox

My Kids Don’t Go to Church, and I’m OK With It.

I grew up Catholic. Served as an altar boy. Sang in the choir.
Church was my moral compass.
Now my kids don’t go, and surprisingly, I’m OK with that.

They talk about kindness, justice, and empathy.
They volunteer. They question. They wrestle with belief.
Maybe that is faith. Just not the version we grew up with
Read the full reflection → dadbodweekly.com
Substack: https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/

My Wiener Is Bigger Than Your Wiener 🔥

At Lake Crescent, five Scouts discover the secret to manhood: it’s not about the biggest wiener—it’s about laughing hardest when life burns your buns.
Read the full story of bratwurst, brotherhood, and bad decisions.

READ FREE: https://thegreatamericaneaglehunt.com/

Substack: https://americaneaglehunt.substack.com/

Saturdays are a great day to hit the gym

But please follow common etiquette!

Why Are You Blow-Drying Your Balls Where I Can See You?
Why do old guys at the gym insist on using the communal hair dryer on their balls?

Take a Shower, you Sweaty Bastards!
There’s a sacred locker room rule: shower before you soak. Some of you meatball marinaders never got the memo.

READ FREE
https://dadbodweekly.com/

Substack https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/

Holden Caulfield wasn’t obsessed with ducks.

He was asking if anyone still cares about fragile things.
74 years later, our kids are still asking.
We just stopped listening.
🦆 Read the full piece:
dadbodweekly.com
SUBSTACK: https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/

HELP! MY KID IS JERKING OFF AND THE WHOLE HOUSE CAN HEAR HIM.

It’s Puberty. And It’s Loud.

But seriously, what in the name of all that's holy was going on? What fresh adolescent hell was unfolding? Was this the soundtrack of puberty that will take over our house for the next few years?

”God damn it,” I cursed. “I think he’s going to hurt himself.”I speed walked as fast as I could to my bedroom. On the way, I purposely targeted every squeaky floorboard in the hall. Maybe that will send a signal to take a break.

In our room, my wife was just about to fall asleep.

”You ok?” She asked. “Is there an animal outside?”
"Worse. I just overheard puberty."

Read the full article on Dad Bod Weekly →
https://dadbodweekly.com/

Substack
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Punk Rock Scouts: Why The Clash, Green Day, and the S*x Pistols Create the Best Eagle Scout Leaders

From DIY grit to standing up for the underdog, punk rock kids already live the Scout Law, just louder.

Imperfect Patches Make Perfect Scouts

Kyle’s Model Patrol had uniforms pressed so sharp they could cut glass.
Our patrol? Crooked patches, duct-tape repairs, mismatched socks, and a skateboard wheel for a neckerchief slide. We looked like rejects. Until our scoutmaster asked one question:
“Who sewed your own patches?” That silence said it all. The crooked patches weren’t sloppy. They were proof of independence. Proof we’d earned it.

👉 Read the full story here:
https://thegreatamericaneaglehunt.com/

Substack https://americaneaglehunt.substack.com/

Do your kids ever just… wonder?
Or do they immediately Google, Yelp, review, dismiss, and move on?I realized something recently:
My kids don’t experience curiosity the way we used to.
They don’t wander.
They don’t get lost.
They don’t chase weird ideas just to see where they lead.Everything is already mapped, reviewed, ranked, and optimized before they even experience it.And then I found the stats:
📉 Curiosity drops from 76% → 49% by high school
📉 Up to 54% of kids say school isn’t engaging
📉 Nearly half say what they learn isn’t even relevant.
Add in testing culture and smartphones and… well, we’ve created a generation that doesn’t wonder.
And that scares me.
My latest post digs into why curiosity is dying, and how we can bring it back.👉 Read the full article: The Death of Curiosity
https://bit.ly/4iMDCqJ
SUBSTACK
https://bit.ly/3KmOrU1

🚨 Parents, this isn’t “someone else’s problem.” S*xtortion scams are exploding — 26,000+ cases reported last year alone.
Teen boys are being targeted through games, Snapchat, and fake “girl” accounts.
This isn’t about shame. It’s about survival. One wrong click, one risky message, and your kid could be trapped.👉 Here’s the guide every parent needs: how sextortion works, where it happens, and the warning signs.

Read the full article on Dad Bod Weekly →
https://dadbodweekly.com/

Substack
https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/

🚨 Parents, this isn’t “someone else’s problem.” S*xtortion scams are exploding — 26,000+ cases reported last year alone.
Teen boys are being targeted through games, Snapchat, and fake “girl” accounts.
This isn’t about shame. It’s about survival. One wrong click, one risky message, and your kid could be trapped.👉 Here’s the guide every parent needs: how sextortion works, where it happens, and the warning signs.

Read the full article on Dad Bod Weekly →
https://dadbodweekly.com/

Substack
https://dadbodweekly.substack.com/

Would You Spot the Red Flags?
Is your son spending more time with friends outside, or locked away in his room? The difference could mean everything.
Warning Signs Your Kid Might Be Slipping Toward Incel Culture
⚠️ Learn the top warning signs parents can’t afford to miss. Read FREE:
https://dadbodweekly.com/
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