Are you the father of a pre-schooler and looking for valuable ways to interact with him or her? Check out this week's Tools for the Journey: 7 Tips for Fathering Your Pre-Schooler!
Be Present with Your Children
We dads are busy with our jobs, our hobbies, our pursuits, and we often say we’re too busy for some things that may be important to our families. So then we often pass up opportunities to be present and make a difference in our children’s lives.
6 Tips to Connect With Your Teen Daughter
Download Tools for the Journey: 6 Tips to Connect With Your Teen Daughter from NCF now to get 6 great tips on how to keep the line of communication open between the two of you!
Dial In with Your Daughter: 10 Things NOT to Do
Here are ten landmines to avoid if you want to raise a healthy, vibrant, loving, and spirited daughter. Think of these as a field training manual to support your deep desire to truly dial in to your daughter’s heart.
5 Ways to be a Great Dad
by Steve Huff Last summer I was selected as the 2014 Kansas City Father of the Year. What a humbling and surprising experience! Braxton, my 15 year old son, had written an essay for his English class titled “What my Father Means to Me,” which was chosen as the ninth...
8 Classic Things to do with Your Son
Looking for activity ideas to do with your son? Download our Tools for the Journey: 8 Classic Things to do with Your Son!
Priorities vs. Lifestyle, and a Really Cool Machine
by Jon Alexander A few years ago, a drawing by my 4-year-old daughter sparked a conversation that would spawn an app, start a business and begin reconciling our lifestyle with our priorities. (See the video below for more on the story.) For most of my professional...
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
Dads, a “Great” Christmas Is All About Attitude
Does it ever seem like most of what you hear about the holidays is about how busy and stressed people are? It’s almost like we’re being told that we’re supposed to be exhausted and depressed at Christmas. Dad, don’t let it drag you down. A lot of people are going...
Dad, Make Holiday Memories with Your Kids
How are those Christmas plans coming, dad? You have a couple weeks left, and as a leader for your family, you need to make the most of the holidays. So what does this mean for you as a dad? Is it the time to start stressing about money or run everyone ragged with...
A 10-Year-Old’s List Becomes a Daddy Wake-Up Call
Have you heard of Mohamed El-Erian? He’s a multimillionaire. Until May 2013, he was chief executive of the PIMCO investment fund, one of the largest in the world. His annual earnings were estimated to be more than $100 million. Why did Mr. El-Erian step down from such...
Real Fathering and the Glue that Holds Families Together
Isn’t that real life for dads? Accepting your role, whether you’re in the middle of a challenge or just doing what needs to be done?
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.
Give Yourself for Christmas
Dad, do you want to know one the best gifts you can give your kids for Christmas—beyond the presents you wrap and place under the tree? Since the material gifts are likely already purchased and wrapped, let's talk a bit about a truly lasting gift you can give your...
11 Things That Make Your Family Special
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. What makes a family a family? There are many ways to answer that question, and it will likely be different for each family. One idea is to consider the regular activities that you do together—the activities that help to develop a sense of...
Where Are You as a Father?
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. For many decades, we men had a bad reputation when it came to navigating the world. We wouldn’t stop and ask for directions. Maybe we thought, Hey, I’m a guy and I know where I’m going and how to get there. Or at least I should. Sometimes this...
A New Resource to Equip Dads Like You
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Dads and Friends of Dads: It’s a privilege to be working with an organization that is committed to a cause, and here at the National Center for Fathering, that cause is you, dads! We sincerely believe that responsible, engaged fathers are heroes...
Teens: Make the Most of Opportunities
Be ready, dad. When chances come to spend time with your teenager, don’t miss ‘em. Roy had a thirteen-year-old son named Sam. As you might expect with a father of a teen, satisfying connection times were hit-and-miss, and often it was "miss." Both of them were busy...
How to Bond with Your Baby
When Gary first held his son, it was awkward. The child cried and he didn’t know what to do. It was obvious that his wife already felt a deep affection for this new member of the family. But Gary didn’t know what to say, and there was no rush of emotion, no glow in...
Dad, do you shirk discipline?
A few years back, a research study on parental discipline emerged from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and here's the big headline for fathers: Dads are largely shirking discipline duties. "When it comes to disciplining the kids, there's been a role...
Treat Your Daughter Like Royalty
Insights Straight from Girls by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Dads, I'm here to give you an all-access pass behind the curtain of a girl’s heart from the vantage point of a few courageous girls who shared their thoughts. Romance and royalty. I wonder what it is...
Laugh with Them. Cry with Them.
by Jay Payleitner Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. - Romans 12:15 When our kids come to us with emotional news, why do we often reflect the opposite emotion back to them? I will never forget a brief conversation I had with my dad my...
5 Ways to Make a Difference for Your Son
According to recent research, boys in our country are "fragile." And this isn't a new idea. Similar things have been written for almost the past 30 years. When compared to girls, boys generally show much higher tendencies to struggle with issues such as: learning...
Single Fathers: Press On
by Matt Haviland Is it possible to be a great father as a single dad? The short answer is, “Absolutely!” However, since being a single parent brings a variety of outside factors and dynamics, we may have to take a slightly different approach. It will surely look...
4 Qualities of Growing Dads
Howard, who grew up without a dad, became a father in his teens and has struggled for years with the demands of raising five children, especially since he never had a male role model. Working two jobs, he was always too tired for his kids and made excuses instead of...