Our love and respect for our kids shouldn’t be based on a sense of our rights, or even what we think a child deserves. Our respect for them has to be selfless, active, and not dependent upon our mood or their behavior.
Know When to Pick Your Battles, Dad
If you choose a battle, Dad, prepare yourself to fight that battle and win that battle.
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!
Don’t Be a Disney Dad
by Scott Moore What is a Disney Dad? A "Disney Parent" actually has a legal definition: "a noncustodial parent who indulges his or her child with gifts and good times during visitation and leaves most or all disciplinary responsibilities to the other parent." It's...
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.
Conflict Resolution – Fly Away Home
Resolving conflicts means telling the truth, admitting wrong, and seeking forgiveness as you try to move forward.
Be the Good Boss
If a dad just tries to be the disciplinarian without building a foundation where his kids trust and respect him, it will end in failure.
Discipline Lessons from a Speeding Ticket
People attending our events have requested more practical information on discipline, and we know all dads (and moms) will benefit from the practical ideas presented by Dr. Bob Barnes. He teaches that children learn best from experiencing the natural consequences of their actions, and it's pointless for parents to get caught up in power struggles with their kids.
Great Fathers Make Good Neighbors
The teen years can be the best of times and the worst of times. At no other time in your child's life can things be more trying. One common mistake made by loving parents is that they don't give teens enough responsibility soon enough. Too often parents don't trust the values they have instilled over the years, so they attempt to force values on their children in adolescence, and the children rebel.
Prepare To Fight Fair
The Williams family was at it again. Mom accused Dad of being rude to her that morning, and Dad denied it. His memory, he claimed, was much more accurate than hers. Mom said he was crazy—if he couldn't even remember to put up the toilet seat, how could he claim to remember the fight?! Dad exploded in anger, and mom said he was acting just like his father. Dad yelled that she was stupid and overweight.
How to Make Discipline a Positive Experience
How do we teach our kids responsibility and self-control without losing control ourselves?
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.
Nurturing Daughters
More and more research is finding that “a key component of a woman’s sense of worth is rooted in her experience with her father.” Cute little girls just love to be hugged by their daddies. It’s nurturing at its best. Yet before you know it, she has become more than...
Value Your Daughters’ Opinions
Nicole Gallagher was the behind-the-scenes producer for ABC News’s American Agenda. I got to know her over the phone when she was working on a piece that focused on fathering. From our first conversation, I knew this woman had a high sense of self-esteem and a...
Daughters and Sports
Here’s something that some dads rarely consider. Daughters can be athletes, too! As a matter of fact, girls need to learn about teamwork, good sportsmanship and the thrill of victory just as much as boys. According to a recent article in the Kansas City Star, high...
A Father’s Heart for Daughters
There are a lot of reasons for you to be a loving father to your daughter. She’ll have a more positive view of men in general. More self-esteem as a woman. She’s more likely to stay sexually pure until marriage and have a healthier view of sexuality. But, today, I’d...
A (Re)Vision for Fathers & Society
by Dr. Ken Canfield I believe it’s good to plan for the future as fathers so we’re better prepared for the changes and challenges that our kids will bring our way. It’s also good to have dreams and aspirations for what we want to be, like setting high goals that...
Dad: Harness the Power of Sibling Competition
by Jay Payleitner Competition between siblings (or cousins) is a great tool for dads. While you can still outsmart them, there are all kinds of ways you can shape and motivate your kids and they won’t even know it. Got a pile of bricks that need to be moved from here...
Fathering Is Worth Doing Badly
Here at fathers.com, we want all dads to do their best. Be devoted to your children. Make them a top priority. Commit yourself to being there for them through all the ups and downs of life. Give them lots of encouragement and affirmation. Teach them skills and...
Questions to Help Dads Connect Heritage & Legacy
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Becoming a father is life-changing in many ways, as all dads know. At some point, often during the first few weeks or years of fatherhood, there is a kind of nexus between the past and the future in each man’s journey. Regarding the past,...
Tension with Our Kids’ Mom Deeply Affects Our Fathering
When there’s tension with your child’s mother, it impacts everyone. That might be an odd message to convey so soon after Valentine’s Day, but we all know what real life is like all the other days of the year that aren’t our anniversary or a special date night. And for...
A Dozen Activities to Help You Win Your Daughter’s Heart
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC With Valentine’s Day less than a week away, here’s a reminder that the holiday isn’t reserved only for romance between sweethearts. It’s also an opportunity for a girl to be treated in an extra special way by her dad, thus...
Winning and Losing in Father-Child Contests
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Bob’s two teenage sons were challenging him in many ways physically—arm twisting and wrestling and so on—and they talked about racing him to see if they were faster. It leads to a common question for dads: What’s the impact of winning or losing...
One Way to Restore Hope to Your Fathering
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. What keeps a dad motivated and hopeful? That’s a key question that I’ve been pondering and researching for some time, and I’ll have more on this in the coming weeks and months. I’m more and more convinced of this: Hope is a powerful force and...