One of the most important things a dad has to learn is balance- balancing work, friends and extracurricular activities with being a husband and father. Here are NCF's top 5 Tips to Balance Being Dad in our weekly Tools for the Journey!
5 Tips for Dads Who Travel
Are you a dad who travels for work? Download our FREE Tools for the Journey: 5 Tips for Dads Who Travel! Five Tips for Dads Who Travel
A Moving Video: “Daddy Phone”
The new song "Daddy Phone," by country artist Marty Raybon, portrays a divorced dad who only gets to see his son occasionally. To stay connected, the dad gives his son a cell phone and tells him, "When you're missing me, or feeling all alone, just push '1' on your daddy phone. I'll be on the line when I hear that ringtone. We'll talk anytime on your daddy phone."
Busy Dads / Staying Connected
Are you a busy dad? Like you, I often rush through each day trying to keep up with a slew of deadlines and responsibilities. Before I know it several days have passed and sometimes it seems I haven’t connected with each of my children.
My Father’s Voice
With supper finished it was mom's time for a break from her children. It was our time to be with dad. Cindy, my eight-year old sister, got the book while Tom, my six-year old brother, and I (four-years old) climbed on our gray couch. Book in hand, Cindy joined us on the couch and we all waited for mom to start the old reel-to-reel tape player. Dad was piloting airplanes in Vietnam for the Air Force. His one-year isolated tour would be over soon and he would be coming home.
Dads on the Road
For many dads, the challenging task of fathering is made even more difficult because we spend so much time traveling. If you're like me, there are times when your job demands that you be in Chicago tomorrow, and out on the west coast by next Tuesday. There's no getting around it.
SuperDad
Recently, Sue Shellenbarger, the work and family columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote about “Undercover Moms”—women who find themselves changing outfits on the run several times a day as they juggle their various roles. In her article, Shellenbarger included this statement: “It’s been a long time (read it: never) since I’ve seen a dad changing from a suit to soccer shorts in a parked car.”
Work and Family: The Ongoing Tug-of-War
Every month or so, we hear about someone else “retiring” to spend more time with his children. We applaud him and perhaps even hold him up as an example for all fathers. But in reality, these people are usually politicians, professional athletes or business CEOs. Not all of us are in a position to choose outright between work and family, but must somehow reconcile these often-opposing forces.
Corporate Priorities
Should your job ever take priority over your family? Ever?
Bill is a successful attorney, but he’d tell you it’s much more important to be a successful father. But he didn’t always think that.
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New Dad Feels: Enthusiasm and Cost
For most men, being a new father ignites some new feelings that don't really come from any other experiences in life. Maybe you're a new dad who is in the middle of this, maybe these thoughts will bring back some fond memories, or maybe you're preparing to be a...
Let’s TALK: 4 Keys to Connecting with Your Daughter
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Dad, there’s something important you need to know about your daughter. Here it is, short and to the point: When a girl or woman knows and feels she is loved by her dad, she will have: greater confidence stronger inner fortitude...
What Makes Your Child Laugh?
As a father, it's good if you actively observe April Fool's Day—not by playing cruel tricks on your children, but by celebrating those relationships with lots of laughter. Victor Borge said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." You already...
Dad: Your Faith Matters to Your Kids
Holy Week is a great time to remind and challenge you about one of the most profound ways you can influence your children—in faith and spiritual matters. There’s a wide range of approaches to faith, just like there are many different traditions for the Easter holiday....
Encouraging Our Daughters
Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers recalls the spirited discussions around the family dinner table she had when she was growing up. Their family discussed politics, world events and other goings-on of the day. One day, the topic was President Roosevelt’s attempt to...
When Your Daughter “Becomes a Woman”
What are some needed strategies for us dads to how to navigate life with our daughter when she starts her monthly cycle? You have to admit it’s foreign territory for a dad. In a nutshell, I recommended that you not make a big deal out of it, but continue to show your...
Teaching Daughters About Sex?
A dad named Allan wrote to me, not asking should I teach my daughter about sex, but how should I? You see, he’s a single dad. And, he’s wondering, should I find a woman to talk to her? I commend Allan for recognizing the importance of this area of his daughter’s life....
Take Your Daughter to Work
I’m reminded of one father who instilled the value of hard work into his daughter. Harry regularly took his daughter Demi to work with him, where she learned the value of hard work, honesty, and generosity. When she grew older, she went to work for him every day, and...
Sex: Daughters
In a world that is sexually spinning out of control, what can we do to protect and support our daughters in this caustic environment? Now, we know that girls are wired uniquely different than boys. Where boys may be lured in more by the visual temptation, it’s the...
Reflection Dad / Lunch with Daughter
teve had an important lunch appointment. He had traveled several hundred miles, and he was more than a little nervous. But this meeting wasn’t to cut some business deal. It was to start a new relationship. His luncheon partner was his daughter. Michelle had left home...
Daughters and “the Gender War”
Some time ago, I spent a week in the mountains with my daughter Sarah on a father-daughter retreat. For me, it was a cleansing, refreshing time; for Sarah, it was a time of empowerment and blessing to be all God meant her to be. That week deepened our relationship,...
Daughters and “The Real Thing”
How would you train someone to spot a counterfeit bill? Well, you’d probably make them aware of the common methods of copying the original, and you’d point out telltale signs of fakery. But most of all, you’d want that person to be very, very familiar with the real...