DA-F0130 secAnswer Your Child’s Bid for Attention
Topic deck · 24 cards · prefix DA
Become a Dad They Can Count On
Small, steady ways to show up for your young child.
You love your child (birth to six) and want to be more than the fun extra or the tired one at bedtime, but you're not always sure what actually helps day to day.
- Foundation 6
- Growth 7
- Mastery 6
- Challenge 5
17 sources citedCard evidence: 4 A · 20 C. Grades describe evidence, not deck quality.
Is this deck for you?
Where it takes you.
Show up with something useful: small exchanges, shared play, clear boundaries and demanding missions for fathers of children from birth to six. Choose a few practices that fit your child today, and build a dependable relationship through the care and curiosity you share.
From
I love them, but I'm distracted, reactive or unsure what helps
To
Showing up in small, dependable ways and learning who my child is becoming
What the cards have you do
- Answer your child's bids for attention and add one word to their phrase: tiny exchanges that build talk and trust.
- Follow their play for five minutes without teaching or fixing, so they get to lead and you get to watch closely.
- Hold calm limits: block hitting, offer a safe alternative, and agree the same safety wording with other caregivers.
- Run a bounded two-week experiment: try one new response to a recurring conflict and record what happens.
The world of this deck
Four ways to use this deck.
Everyday Together: expressive colored pencil and translucent watercolor, real fathers and children in imperfect everyday settings, native painted lettering.
Foundation
Small responsive moments in cream and ochre.
Growth
Shared play and care in rust and denim rooms.
Mastery
Sustained learning about a changing child in moss and mulberry.
Challenge
Bounded father-behavior experiments in turquoise and paprika.
Warm, direct, observant and lightly funny. Give the father something to do; let the child remain a person.
The wall
All 24 cards.
Choose recurring practices that work together, or take on a special mission. Tap any card to flip it.
24 cards · tap a card to flip it
Foundation 6
Small recurring actions with little setup. Choose anchors that fit your day.
DA-F0230 secAdd One Word to Your Child’s Phrase
DA-F0320 secDescribe the Next Care Step Before Touching
DA-F0430 secPause Play When Your Child Turns Away
DA-F0530 secLet Your Child Choose a Greeting
DA-F061 minRepeat Your Child’s News Before Replying
Growth 7
Practices that need preparation, a recurring slot or a useful tool.
DA-G015 minFollow Your Child’s Play for Five Minutes
DA-G025 minTalk About Pictures During One Shared Book
DA-G032 minLeave a Turn in a Familiar Song
DA-G043 min setupSet Out Two Safe Open-Ended Materials
DA-G052 minStop Hitting and Offer a Safe Alternative
DA-G061 minSay Goodbye With a Truthful Return Cue
Mastery 6
Practices you develop over weeks through skill, planning and trade-offs.
DA-M0110 min weeklyAdjust One Play Offer to Your Child’s Changing Interests
DA-M0215 min weeklyTake a Child-Paced Outdoor Outing Each Week
DA-M035 min weeklyTell One True Family Story at a Weekly Meal
DA-M0420 min fortnightlyArrange Regular Peer Play and Stay Available
DA-M0510 min reviewCoordinate One Clear Safety Limit With Caregivers
DA-M0615 min monthlyLearn From Your Child’s Care Setting Each Month
Challenge 5
A bounded mission with a clear finish. It can combine practices over days or weeks.
DA-C0114-day missionTest a New Response to One Recurring Conflict
DA-C023-week missionMake One Self-Care Step Easier to Reach
DA-C0310-day missionRedesign One Rushed Family Transition
DA-C043-week missionInvestigate One of Your Child’s Questions Together
DA-C052-week missionBuild a Two-Week Connection Plan While Apart
Start with your situation
Ways into this deck.
Find a useful first step, with related cards from across the library.
13 cards · draft
How can I connect with my young child through play and talk?
Begin with a response, a richer phrase or a moment of listening. Add one shared game or picture-book conversation when it fits. With a baby, follow a sound or gesture; with a toddler, join their exploration; with a preschooler, let their ideas lead. A small everyday exchange can be worth returning to.
12 cards · draft
How can I guide big feelings and support growing independence?
Help your child know what is happening, read their need for a break and respect choices about touch. Keep unsafe behavior from hurting others, then offer a next move they can manage. Choose one experiment only when the ordinary moments feel workable. For babies, respond to signals; for older children, keep choices and explanations concrete.
12 cards · draft
How can I become a dependable caregiver, including while apart?
Learn your child firsthand, share useful observations and say goodbyes you can stand behind. Agree safe handovers and care boundaries with the adults involved. When you are apart, prepare short familiar contact that fits your child and your real availability. Start with one responsive moment in the care you already provide, then choose a shared-care practice or mission.
Get the deck
Free to download. Worth printing.
The same 24 cards either way. Download and print them at home today, or get the printed edition and have them ready to pin up.
Free · digital download
Print it at home
$0
- All 24 cards, front and back
- Print on your own printer or save as a PDF
- Each card's full page online, with its source
- No account, no email
Paid · printed edition
Keep it in print
Price set before launch
- Professionally printed, full-colour fronts and backs
- Cut, stacked and ready to pin up
- QR codes that open each card's page
- Pays for the free library
Printed edition in the works · waitlist open
What's the difference between the free deck and the printed deck?
The cards are the same. The free deck is a download: open it in the print studio and print it at home or save it as a PDF. The printed edition is professionally printed, front and back, with each card's QR code, so it's ready to pin up the day it arrives.
Can I buy a printed deck right now?
Not yet. The original boxed decks are sold out, and the printed editions of the library decks are being prepared. Join the waitlist on any deck and we'll email you once when it's ready to order.
Do I have to do a card every day?
No. You can pin one card and keep at it until it sticks, or draw a card a day for variety. Both work. The point is repeating something worthwhile at a moment you already have.
What if I miss a day?
Pick it up the next time the cue comes round. In the best-known study of habit formation, missing a single day didn't measurably set people back. Every card also says how the habit usually slips and what to do about it.
Are Challenge cards required?
No. They're bounded missions with a clear finish, from one evening to a few weeks. Do one when you want a stretch, and skip any that don't fit your life or health.
From the screen to the fridge
Put the card where the habit happens.
Every deck is free to download and print at home, then pin up: on the fridge, the mirror, beside the monitor. Or get the printed edition, ready to pin up the day it arrives.