How to Be a Better Dad by Jay Payleitner – Be grateful for each season of fatherhood while you’re in the midst of it.
Great Dads Honor Moms
Part of the How to Be a Better Dad series – Most of us aren’t alone in our efforts to shape our kids, and we should recognize the many benefits moms bring.
Dad, Are You REALLY Listening?
Problems arise for dads because many of us want the plain, cold facts, and our children don’t always communicate that way.
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.
“Why Us?” An Incredible Child & a Heroic Dad – See Video
Patrick Hughes was born blind and with physical restrictions that keep him in a wheelchair. Can you imagine how his father must have felt? Patrick Senior often wondered, “Why us?” But then …
How to Talk with Your Kids as They Process the Current Political Unrest
by Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield: “I hope you view the difficult and often shocking headlines and videos as opportunities to teach and connect with your children.”
Become a Better Dad – One Step at a Time
Pick one fathering challenge, find a way to address it, and make some positive things happen.
A New Commitment to Encouragement
Chris told me a story that provides a great example and a new word we can all use to help us remember the importance of encouraging our kids.
The BEST Christmas Present from Dad: Put It in Writing
One of the greatest presents you can give your daughter is to affirm her through writing. – Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield
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.
10 Reasons I’m REALLY Thankful for Fathers
This Thanksgiving week, it’s fitting to let you, dads, hear from my heart about what I really think about you!
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.
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...
“Why is my father always angry?”
There’s a powerful fathering insight that some of us need to hear and take to heart, and it comes from our online search data. Quite a few people come to fathers.com using search terms like: “how do I deal with my angry dad”“why is my father always yelling at...