I am pleased that a sharp, focused vision for 2021 and beyond has emerged amid this sea of change. And you can be assured that we are focusing on new opportunities and ways to broadcast our timeless message: dads matter.
6 Positive Dad-Responses to Crises & Difficulties
How we respond to difficulties or crisis situations will create a reference point that our children will remember and carry forward into the future.
Cultivating a Spiritual Connection With Your Kids
One of the most common questions we hear from dads is: “How can I connect with my children spiritually?” Here are four ideas to help you move in that direction.
3 Ways Dads Have Grown: More Pandemic Survey Results
“As a result of the pandemic, how have you grown in your fathering role?” These past months have shone a light on our relationships with our kids—revealing the good and bringing us face-to-face with some areas where we need to grow.
Engaging Illinois Fathers – and Dads of Special-Needs Kids
Longtime NCF friend and fathering advocate David Hirsch describes his inspiring work to combat father absence and encourage dads in challenging situations.
Survey Results: Dads & Pandemic Challenges
“What barriers or obstacles have you faced in your fathering as a result of the pandemic?” No less than 11 common themes surfaced that are worth mentioning—which reflects the wide variety of situations and challenges experienced by today’s dads.
Stretch to Connect with Your Child
It’s almost a guarantee that we’ll have to stretch a bit—or maybe even take some risks—to connect with our kids and become better dads.
What Consistency Looks Like in a Dad: 5 Keys
As a father, your children need you to be a dependable, predictable reference point in their lives. Children should know what to expect from you.
Nurturing Becomes the Man
We can and must become nurturing dads through giving affection, affirmation, and attention to our children. We do this with our arms, words, eyes and ears.
Must-See Video: Josh’s Kindness
High school was difficult for Josh. He was teased and harassed quite a bit. Then one day he had a simple but profound idea …. Watch the video for more.
Making Involvement a Priority
Our children place great value on our time and our presence. Numerous studies confirm the benefits they see when we invest in their lives.
Dad, Turn Your HEART Toward Your Daughter
by Michelle Watson Canfield – A girl needs head connections with her dad in order to navigate life, but heart connections with him are vital to her ability to thrive in life.
Categories
Welcome to the fathers.com fathering library.
On the left you will see how our blogs and articles are categorized. Choose your stage in the fathering journey under Your Kids, click on a specific situation that applies to you, or browse through the items in our hot topics and fathering fundamentals. Also, check out Tools for the Journey – short downloadable pieces with tips for specific challenges.
Fathering is a Marathon: Embrace the Journey
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Dad, while you’re in the middle of dashing around as a busy dad, I want to provide some perspective and an important reminder: Fathering is a marathon. Being a good dad is a distance run. It’s a long, trying journey and we must be disciplined if...
Beyond Conditional Love: Rethinking Expectations
When it comes to your kids, dad, What do you expect? We’ve often heard comments like these from grown sons and daughters: “My brother was an all-state quarterback, but I played tennis, and I never quite measured up for my dad.” “I made a B average in school, but Daddy...
Valentine’s Day Tips for Dads of Daughters – and Sons
Your Valentine’s Day shopping and planning for your wife is surely well under way, if not complete—and that’s good! Some may view this "holiday" as just another excuse for greeting card and flower companies to make money—as well as jewelry, candy and clothing...
Entering Your Child’s World: 5 Areas for Dads to Stay Connected
Dad, are you really plugged into what’s going on in your children’s lives? Do you have a good handle on what happens in their typical day, who is influencing them, and how they are processing the things they see and hear? In today’s world these can be unsettling...
Self-Disciplined Kids & the Power of Saying “No”
by Dr. Ken Canfield Dad, are you instilling in your children a strong “internal locus of control”? You’re probably thinking, What does that mean? And I get it. It’s a term that I’ve come across as a researcher from time to time through the years. Some years ago, one...
Everyday Heroes: Dads Have Superpowers!
by Donald Calkins That’s right, dad. Your children believe the world revolves around you; they see you as holding the universe in your hands. While that may be exaggerated, the truth is that most dads have extraordinary influence over their children. I remember going...
Make Every Day Count: A New Year of Fathering
Dad, what will it take to make this year the best ever for you and your kids? The media has a New Year tradition of remembering well-known people who died during the past year. A few years back, one of those people was a man who really seemed to “get it” as a father,...
16 Ideas for Father-Child Holiday Traditions
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC One December back in the late 60s, a father-daughter tradition began. One afternoon, my father drove my younger sister and me—seven and five at the time—two hours away in our turquoise station wagon to cut down our family...
Single Dads: Will it Really be OK this Holiday Season?
by Matt Haviland If the holiday season ushers in an assortment of emotions to most people, that’s even more true for single dads this time of year. Joy, laughter, and anticipation may be at the forefront. What about dread, anxiety, or doubt? “Yes” to all of the above,...
Ways to Give Meaningful Gifts to Your Kids
How do you decide what gifts to give your children this time of year? Maybe your family has settled into an annual routine that seems to work pretty well. Maybe the kids create lists to help you know what they want. Maybe most of the gifts have already been bought...
From Duty to Delight: Transforming Your Fatherhood
What’s the secret ingredient of good fathering? And maybe more importantly for many dads: What can you do if you never saw that kind of father as you grew up? Jeff is a committed dad who has a great perspective on fathering. He’s passionate about being the dad his two...
Time: Are You Spending or Investing?
by Ron Nichols There’s a common expression that we use all the time. It’s pretty harmless in itself, but as fathers we need to think differently with it. It’s the simple concept of spending time. We always say, “I spent a lot of time on that project,” or, “I spent 20...