Here are things you can do today to build the father-child relationship you want and your child needs.
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.
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...
Dads, #GiveTIME to Your Kids
If you’re like most dads, you want to succeed as a father and in your other roles, too. Often, that comes down to where you invest your time. This is a special early-week blog due to Thanksgiving. It’s also “special” because, in case you weren’t aware, one week from...
Family Challenges and Issues – Everybody Loves Raymond
Kids are defiant sometimes. It may take everything a dad has to handle it positively, without losing his cool.
Family Challenges and Issues – Cinderella Man
Kids have a lot to learn about life, and figuring out the best way to shape their character—including correction and discipline for their mistakes—is always a challenge.
Moral and Spiritual Guidance – Secondhand Lions
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.
Help Your Kids Deal with Bullies
October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, so I thought it appropriate to spend a little time talking about how to help your kids deal with bullies.
A question you should ask your kids …
A lot of dads want to connect with their kids, they just aren't sure how. The truth is, dads and kids can connect at any time — while doing dishes together, driving to soccer practice, or while running errands.
One Girl’s Dream-Come-True Dad
Every year at this time, we get to judge children's essays as part of our Father of the Year Essay Contest. And just when we think we have read just about every possible insightful and inspiring expression from a child to his or her father, kids come up with things...
The Changing American Family: Good or Bad?
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.
Dating Dangers for Teens
A report by the US Department of Justice states that one in every three teen girls is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse — not by a stranger but by a dating partner. That figure far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.
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.
9 Ways to Leap Beyond Father’s Day to Dad Awesome Day
by Jeff Zaugg I’ll never forget the joy that swelled up inside my 9-year-old heart as I watched my dad leap into a swimming pool from a raised perch in front of hundreds of cheering cruise ship passengers. It was the biggest event of the four-day cruise: the Belly...
What to Do When You Dread Father’s Day
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Father’s Day is an occasion to celebrate, no doubt about it. It might even be a day for dads to recommit themselves to loving and investing in their children in meaningful ways. That’s what all of us are about at fathers.com. But...
A Script for Your Call with Dad on Father’s Day (Or Any Day)
by Jay Payleitner Traditionally, Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for phone calls. So where does that leave dads on Father’s Day? Well, maybe fewer calls are made because talking with the old man is more frustrating than talking with mom. Too often...
Each Child Is Different! 3 Important Truths for Dads
Each of your children is unique and special. You had your first baby and had the incredible privilege of relating to and learning about that one for a few years. Then a second one came along, and that child was totally different in hundreds of ways. Maybe you had some...
Important Father-Child Interviews
Dad: are you ever confused or frustrated as you try to figure out what makes your kids tick? One of the key fundamentals of fathering is Awareness of our children—simply getting to know them better. As dads, we should make it our mission to gain insight into who they...
Mother’s Day: Tips for Dads to Honor Moms
Dad: you have some remarkable women in your life—your mother and your kids’ mom. And you can play a big role in making Mother's Day truly memorable for them. Ideally, you would already have some plans in place by now. Maybe you have thought through what she...
What Dads of Daughters Need to Know in 3 Words
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Dads: In the past few weeks I’ve had a 47-second video go viral, with nearly 2.6 million views and counting on Instagram! (And honestly, I suspect a good number of the views, likes and shares are coming from daughters and wives...
Young Kids & Behavior Issues: Mean What You Say
Darren is a frustrated father of a two-year-old. You might be thinking, Yeah, so? That’s normal. In many ways, it is normal, and it’s easy to understand why parents came up with the phrase, “terrible twos.” Many young children go through that phase where they need to...
Dad: Look Below the Surface
When was the last time you were surprised by your own impatience or insensitivity? Maybe you were in a store or a restaurant and the people on duty were not very attentive to your needs. The situation dragged on long enough to make you pretty frustrated—you deserved...
Your Fathering Journey in 6 Stages
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Once a father, always a father. That simple truth reveals that fathering is a process that lasts from the birth or adoption of your first child until the day you die. And really, we could say it begins when you start preparing for fatherhood....
A Gift for Your Ten-Year-Old
by Jay Payleitner There are a ton of things you take for granted that would be empowering to a ten-year-old son or daughter. That includes stuff you learned so long ago that you don’t even know you know. Examples? How to reset the circuit breakers. How to shut...
Don’t Miss the Good Stuff
Has springtime arrived for you yet, dad? During the past few weeks, we turned our clocks back for Daylight Savings (at least most of us did), we’re enjoying tournament basketball and all its madness, and this week came the first day of spring. Maybe that isn’t a big...