What does it mean to be a real man? That’s the question Tim Truesdale asked his eight-year-old son a few months ago. The boy paused, thought for a few moments, and then said, “I don’t know, Dad.” Tim says his heart sank when he heard that because he knew that teaching...
What do you believe is most important about life, and about being a man? Kids need to hear from their fathers and father figures about that.
Dads can be major forces in helping their children choose to do what’s right...
In February 2011, the Pew Research Center released results of a survey: "Attitudes about the Changing American Family." The survey lists seven trends, including "more unmarried couples raising children," "more mothers of young children working outside the home," and "more single women having children without a male partner to help raise them." For each of the trends, they asked people to indicate whether it's good for society, bad for society, or doesn't make much difference. You can respond to the questions — and see how your score compares to a national sample of 2,691 adults — here.
Recently, some political commentators have called for a return to more civil discourse. And it's a valid concern; there's a need for civility in many areas of our culture — more courtesy and respect in our actions and our speech.
Being thankful can change our perspective on what we have and don’t have, and how we should respond to those around us.
A dad in Houston got together with his two adult daughters and made a video to help promote one of our events.
Having kids gives you multiple chances to be a real-life hero. But only if your children have learned that, in a crisis, they can trust in your unconditional love.
Soon after my divorce in 2000, I became the primary custodian of my two sons CJ and Brandon. I remarried in 2007, but those years as a single parent gave me a different perspective on fatherhood and the task of training my sons in the world of dating and relationships.
I’m assuming you own a socket wrench set. If you don’t, get one soon. It is an absolute requirement for certain maintenance and construction projects. You can get a sweet set for less than fifty bucks.
Sporting events are often one of the most revealing stages where dads exhibit their fathering. Unfortunately, many of us can remember bad examples of fathering at youth sporting events.
Modeling is where our true influence as fathers shows up, because important values are caught more than they are taught.
Tristan Thompson has come to an important realization as a father. You may know him as the former NBA player who went on to be in a relationship and have children with Khloé Kardashian and make regular appearances on the Kardashians’ TV show. It’s a celebrity family...
by Matt Haviland How often do you think about the words you use? Even more: Do you understand the long-term impact that your words are having on your children? I was a single father for more than nine years, sharing parenting time with my daughter’s mom. As my...
All fathers start out as sons. Many of us probably didn’t even think about becoming fathers until it was just a few years or months away. But once we did start imagining ourselves as fathers, the obvious and natural role models we thought of were our dads. By that...
When dads and daughters get together and focus on each other, good things happen. We saw it over and over years ago when we hosted father-daughter events all over the country, and it’s a big reason why we’re starting them up again. We heard incredible stories of...
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. If you’re a dad, you know that waiting is part of the gig. {And please note: this is a somewhat lighthearted look at fatherhood, but I don't want to minimize the very real and difficult waiting that many couples do when they're trying to...
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before. Maybe you’ve even read the book by John Gray, though it first came out more than thirty years ago. I find his book title to be fitting in...
How well do you know your child's developmental milestones and progress? A study at the University of Rochester discovered that about one-third (31.2%) of parents of 9-month-olds are "clueless" about child development milestones, such as when babies talk, learn right...
Rick and his family were out at the lake, staying in a cabin for a week, getting some well-deserved vacation time. One morning they were getting ready to go fishing, and Rick was walking along the dock toward the boat with his arms full of gear. He stumbled on a loose...
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Some years back, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal set out to write a story that she believed would really impact her readers. She wanted to interview a CEO of a publicly traded company who was committed to his family and actively involved...
Ahh, the sounds of summer. No, this isn't about the crack of the bat, or fireworks, or even the sizzle of the barbecue. This is about the droning whines of your offspring. Maybe this summer you've heard statements like: “Dad, There’s nothing to do around...
A few years ago, one of our staff had the chance to talk to an active military dad during an airport layover. Jim, an officer in the Air Force, had been away from his wife and kids for four months, and he had missed Christmas with them for the second time. It was...
by Matt Haviland I was a single father for almost a decade. They were challenging years, but looking back I realize that some of my hardest moments taught me the greatest lessons. That doesn’t mean everything got easier as time went on, or that I achieved some level...