Future Shop | Getting Geared Up for Fatherhood!

Last updated on May 3rd, 2021 at 02:01 am

16 months into fatherhood, I barely remember what stressed me out in the beginning. The nights of worrying whether he’s still breathing, tip-toeing through the nursery to check his diminutive frame in the crib gave way to hoping he’d sleep in long enough that I wouldn’t feel the late night I’d just gone through. Gingerly changing his diaper like it was a delicate operation where I’d break my son with the slightest miscalculation soon became holding him firmly in place while I worked around his all-too-powerful limbs to change his diapers with the foulest of odours.

While the name of the game has changed and my fully mobile child keeps me plenty occupied with his antics, the struggles we face at each stage are a rite of passage for any Dad—a rite that comes with a hefty price tag.

Parenting: Things Done Changed

My relationship with my parents changed when I fulfilled their decades-old desire for me to procreate, opening up with many a tale of what it was like to raise me now that I’d proven myself adult enough to objectively handle the truth*.

Any parent raising babies in the ’80s can tell you the parenting industry wasn’t anything like it is now. Lite-Brites weren’t choking hazards—they were hours of fun. TVs were suitable substitutes for babysitters. Car seats were novel concepts. They didn’t fuss and fret like we do, a tech-savvy generation of parents overexposed to information, trying to pick out the nuggets of wisdom that’ll help us excel at raising our kids!

But it ain’t easy—you’ve gotta buy the right stroller. The right crib. The right swaddling blankets, bathtub, monitor, change table and dehumidifier. Any wrong decision could negatively impact your precious offspring forever.

Scare tactics aside, it is a very different world to raise children in, and an ever-increasing number of stores are understanding that it’s 2015, and parents are looking for great deals on the things they’re looking for (after exhaustive hours of research, of course)—often from their couch at home in those rare moments where the baby’s asleep, the chores done, and they’re not “on”. Companies have quickly realized that the very nature of consumer shopping has changed, and stores like Future Shop and Best Buy have stepped up their online offerings to give their diverse customer base exactly what it needs!

* Despite whatever my parents think, fair warning to any upcoming Dads — you don’t naturally mature once your progeny is born unto this world. I’m moderately less immature than I’d been a couple of years ago, but it’s largely because I’m too tired to even bother with the hijinks I’d usually get up to.

What can I say—babies are energy vampires!

Future Shop: Changing the Way You Think About a Tech Store!

Car seats and cribs aren’t the first things that come to mind when I think “Future Shop”. And Future Shop isn’t a new fixture in my life, either—when I started working at my Dad’s restaurant as a teen in the late ’90s and got my first taste of some hard-earned money, I went to Future Shop to get myself a Discman with anti-skip for those hours spent on public transit. When I got my first computer in 2004, tired of sharing with my siblings and in dire need of personal space to keep up with my LiveJournal ramblings, it was Future Shop I turned to for the desktop that graced my desk for several years. Over time, Future Shop and I have been steady bedfellows for video games, routers and many things tech that’ve enhanced my life… but as I grew and my lifestyle changed, so did Future Shop and what they offer consumers in a digital age.

While I don’t remember the stresses parenthood had for us in the early days, I do remember the hours spent poring over comparisons, wondering which features would win us gold stars in parenting versus those which would gain the scorn of our community, banished to the remedial parenting class for re-education. I remember racing across town to pick things up that we’d need, because some things you just can’t anticipate.

All this in mind, Future Shop and I have teamed up to hook one lucky winner up with a Father Starter Kit, filled with over $500 of great tools from FutureShop.ca to help point you in the right direction, because trust me—there’s no manual for parenthood, and you quickly learn to accept whatever help you can get!

The Father Starter Kit includes:

• Evenflo SureRide Car Seat Montery, $139.99
• Evenflo Playard, $149.99
• Lorex Care ‘n’ Share Video Baby Monitor, $159.99
• Lulujo Swaddling Blankets, $15.99
• Bert and Bratt Sterilizer, $49.99

While the challenges are different 16 months in, one thing’s definitely stayed the same — parenthood ain’t easy. Here’s hoping that CaseyPalmer.com and the $500 Future Shop Father Starter Kit (try saying that ten times fast!) can help make someone’s life a little easier!

Good luck to all those who enter, and in the meantime, I’ll be readying myself for whatever comes tomorrow—for a father’s work is never done.

Adios amigos,

Disclaimer: Though I was compensated for this post, all stories and opinions are true—I really have been going to Future Shop since well before I was old enough to drive myself there!

Future Shop has been around as long as Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982), growing to become Canada’s largest retailer and etailer of consumer electronics.

If you’re looking for more of yours truly, track me down at my regular haunts on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Good luck!