You can't teach an old dog new tricks or can you? Here's what we've taught our Dad down through the years...
If you were ever stuck for anything growing up, 99% of the time you'd turn to your dad for help or advice. He taught you how to drive, how to tie your tie, how to talk to girls (still single) and all the important skills you need. The thing is that the relationship works both ways and we've been passing on nuggets of vital information to him without him ever admitting it, obviously.
Using his smartphone
This one required patience. We think it's taken us all a bit of time to get used of using a smartphone - the touch screen, the apps, the camera, the options, the everything. The thing is that you need one these days to stay in touch with people abroad etc so he accepted he had to take the plunge.
It was pretty difficult to get JOE's dad on-board but slowly he started to get into it and when he went looking for the "twitter machine" (thanks, Vincent Browne) we knew he was comfortable. He's moved on to bookmarking YouTube videos so the entertainment for our trips home is sorted.
Skincare
Facial hair was a surprise to everyone in the family when JOE started growing some back in the day. Do you want me to show you how to shave? Pah, as if, how hard could it be? Very hard is the answer to that and the spots of tissues covering up the little razor cuts on JOE's face was the proof. That's where Dad swooped in and saved to day by teaching us his expert technique, not a cut since.
The one thing dad didn't do was look after his skin, so I recommended this combined L'Oreal Face Care and Post Shave Moisturiser for men.
The moisturiser helps to reduce the feeling of irritation caused by shaving and hydrates the skin leaving it feeling fresh and comfortable all day long.
Sporting Skill
No matter how young or old your dad is, his competitive nature will never die especially when it comes to sport. JOE's sports mad dad always harps on about the good old days but we've had to teach him a thing or two in recent years.
Whether it's a Cristiano Ronaldo step-over, a Simon Zebo flick-up catch or back-spinning a golf back like Rory McIlroy, JOE's tried hard to improve papa's sporting skills. He now looks like an elite* athlete in front of his mates. *may not look like an elite athlete
Text Speak
"Hw r u?" and "Wil u b l8?" are still regular text messages JOE gets from their dad. It was cool five years ago but now it's cool to actually spell words properly just like they are in the dictionary, imagine that. We've had to explain that and now dad is the coolest cat in town (he organises the GAA training for the local team).
Working the TV box
The fight for the TV remote used to happen way less before the invention of digital. JOE's dad loved the days of "we have one, two, three and four, what more do you need?" but slowly, with our training, he's turned in a hog, a TV remote hog and boy can he use it.
The thing about his proficiency with the remote is that he couldn't possibly let anyone else attempt to use it now, we've created a monster but he's got good taste in shows so he's not so bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-bmv_-jTE
