Dads, we might feel inadequate, but our kids are listening to what we say about faith issues and watching how we live it out.
Dad Tucks In
by Jay Payleitner: The benefits are many. Mom gets a break. Dad gets a clear assignment and a daily chance to spend one-on-one time.
A Gift for Your Ten-Year-Old
by Jay Payleitner: When a child learns one of these household maneuvers, they feel like they’ve been invited into the inner circle.
Spiritual Equipping: Raising Kids to Be Discerning
Children need guidance about right and wrong and why it matters. As dads, it’s our job to equip our kids to prepare our kids for life.
Protecting Our Kids: Body, Mind and Heart
It’s a traditional fathering role that’s still very important. But how does protecting our children look in today’s world?
Effective Fathering for a New Generation
Dr. Ken looks at his research-based 7 Secrets of Effective Fathers and how they have changed through the years.
Do Your Teens Own Their Faith?
For spiritually minded fathers, this is one of the main goals we have as parents. Here are four relevant factors from a research study.
See the Glory
How to Be a Better Dad by Jay Payleitner – Be grateful for each season of fatherhood while you’re in the midst of it.
Leverage Life Moments for Your Kids’ Future
How to Be a Better Dad by Brian Phipps – Paint a picture of a preferred future for your kids, and leverage every life moment to help them accomplish it.
Storing Up Treasures
A father ponders his priorities during the Christmas season. A story by Peter Lewis
Doors Opened Early: A Charlie Brown Christmas Pageant
“I set my sights on the role of Linus and did something I had never done before…” Jay Payleitner tells a story with an insight for dads.
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.
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...