Raising daughters is an adventure! Maintaining focus on doing the right things makes raising strong and healthy daughters more likely.
7 Things Every Daughter Needs to Hear From Her Dad
“I will always be here for you” and 6 more statements every dad should be telling his daughter regularly.
Speak to Your Daughter’s Heart
by Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield – “Every single girl is interpreting every single interaction, good or bad, between her and her dad.”
Be a Life-giving Voice in Her Head
by Michelle Watson Canfield: As her dad, your words can either suck life out of her or they can breathe life into her. It’s your choice.
10 Things to Teach Your Daughter
Dad, you're an influential person in your daughter's life. Make sure you teach her the most important things that she needs to know before she grows up. Teach your daughter to love herself. Teach your daughter to change her oil. Teach your daughter respect. See what...
11 Tips for Talking to Your Daughter About Sex
Talking with a daughter about sex might seem like a mom’s job, and that’s likely best for some conversations. But dads can play an important role too.
10 Ways to Date Your Daughter
Dad, taking your daughter on dates is one of the most important things you can do for her. These dates can shape the way that she will expect to be treated on dates when she is older. What example are you setting? Here are NCF's 10 Ways to "Date Your Daughter". Make...
Messages on Mirrors: One Great Way to Affirm Your Daughter
by Michelle Watson, PhD, LPC I forget what age I was when I heard my first nursery rhyme, but there is one in particular that is burrowed deep into my memory bank like a steel nail into softened wood: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” This...
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.
First Hero, First Love: A Dad’s Role for Sons and Daughters
“To a girl, a father is her first love. To a boy, a father is his first hero.” How can you do your best in each role?
How to Bond with Your Daughter
The best bonding times for dads and daughters—and what often become positive turning points in those relationships—are shared activities.
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.
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...
The Best Things to Say When Kids Are Competing
What’s the best way to handle ourselves at our kids’ sports events? Brad was frustrated by his son’s baseball schedule. After spring sign-ups, the family was notified the team would be starting “spring training” right away, and those pre-season skill-building sessions...
“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...
The Paradox of “No Guarantees”
As dads, there’s a truth we need to embrace—and the earlier in the fatherhood journey that we do it, the better: Our kids don’t come with guarantees. Some of the most powerful examples of this are found in the tragic episodes of violence that crop up in news feeds all...
Meeting Your Children’s Basic but Important Needs
For quite a few years, our staff at NCF had the privilege of interviewing dads as part of essay contests and Father’s Day celebrations around the country. Those interviews brought out the unique and often inspiring ways each man expressed his commitment to his...
A New School Year: 3 Tips for Dads
Your children just started school or are about to go back, and that should be a big deal in your mind—whether they’re starting kindergarten or the last year of graduate school. They will mature and be shaped in incredible ways during coming months, and of course you...
Intentional, Joy-Filled Fathering
When someone announces, “I’m going to be a dad!” it’s a reason to celebrate. When one father made that announcement, his wife quickly followed with a report on his recent surge of activity at home. Apparently his joy and anticipation inspired him to rearrange their...
Effective Fathering for a New Generation
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Recently, someone reminded me that it’s been 30 years since the publication of my book, The 7 Secrets of Effective Fathers. 30 years! A lot has happened with that book since 1992, including dozens of weekend 7 Secrets events in cities all over...
Dads and Fast-Food Modeling
Are you a fast-food dad? A few years back, we ran across an unusual way of looking at a father’s influence and the importance of setting a positive example ... and it has to do with food! Here’s a statistic that probably won’t surprise you: In 1974, out of all the...
“Dad, I Wish We Could Talk About ________”
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. What topics do teenagers want to talk about with their dads? A few years back, we asked that question to a group of teenage daughters at one of our father-daughter events. (I try to never miss an opportunity to capture a few more insights and...
Involved Fathering … or Connected Fathering?
Here at NCF, we often talk about involved fathering. Dads need to be engaged in their kids’ lives. Involvement is the "I" in the I-CANs of Fathering, the four key fundamentals dads put into practice. And it’s no surprise that research shows a strong link between a...
Let the Selfies Begin: Creative Summer Fun for Dads & Kids
by Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield The past few years have been intense, as we all know. Not only have we been struck with a pandemic and political and social unrest, but it seems like shootings in schools and stores and other places are continually on the rise. If...