A new baby is a reminder to step back and see our children as precious gifts, and invest ourselves with great commitment and humility.
Your Fathering Journey in 6 Stages
Fatherhood is a marathon, and there is great value in stepping back and looking at being a dad from a bigger-picture perspective.
5 Ways to Tap into the “Grandfather Resource”
Grandfathers can be a wonderful resource for another positive male role model in our children's lives. Check out NCF's top 5 ways to tap into the grandfathering resource by downloading Tools for the Journey: 5 Ways to Tap into the "Grandfather Resource" For more...
Be a Family Storyteller
by Steve Wilson Growing up, I loved listening to my grandmother tell stories of growing up on the western Kansas prairie in the early 1900s. Grammy was born in a sod house and raised her own family during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s! For a kid who lived in suburban...
Words that Change Children’s Lives
What would cause a woman to say she loved someone she has barely met? The answer comes from the sister of one of our staff members.
Welcoming Young Dads to the Fatherhood Party
In the mid-1990's, I was a dad of a teenage daughter and three other children under ten. Through my involvement in various fatherhood events in the Seattle area, I heard about the "Welcome To Fatherhood Party" from a dad named Griggs Irving. The idea came to him when his 32-year-old daughter was happily planning for a baby shower and his fatherly thoughts turned towards his son-in-law. What about Steve? He’s about to be a new dad. What could be done for him? he thought.
Grandfathers: An Untapped Resource
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter set aside the first Sunday after Labor Day to honor grandparents. The official proclamation made a convincing argument for this holiday:
Telling Your Stories
by Mark Brandenburg I must admit to having a fear that I believe I share with many fathers. I fear that I will some day be insignificant to my children. It’s not as though they’ll completely forget who I am; it’s that what I stand for and what I believe in won’t be a...
Don and Morgan
Most of us have no chance to change the world. But any of us can have an impact on our own little corner of the world.
Don Shulz is a 64-year-old retired gentleman who suffered a stroke over four years ago. Now, he's restricted to a three-wheeled motorized wheelchair. I'm sure some men in that condition would give up on life, thinking they had nothing more to contribute.
A Grandfatherly Legacy of Wisdom
In August of 1985, my father passed away. Fortunately, I talked with him just the Sunday before. He shared that he felt 22 years old inside but that when he looked in the mirror he saw an old man. Dad added that he couldn’t carry two bags of groceries up a flight of steps without getting exhausted. On Tuesday the 6th he passed away.
My dad’s death slammed home the fact that, in my nuclear family, I was now the patriarch, the oldest male of my family. Our sons had just moved up a notch to being the second-generation males.
Linking Generations: How to Activate Your Father Power
I returned home after another long day anticipating a good meal and then a few hours of R & R in front of the TV. But when I opened the door, evidence to the contrary was obvious: a pink coat, a small, glittery shoe, and then a shriek of delight as my granddaughter sped to greet me. Suddenly I was rejuvenated.
Overcoming Barriers to Grandfathering
I hope you enjoy a special kinship with your grandchildren. It’s one of life’s most precious opportunities. In my work among grandfathers, I have noticed that some granddads aren’t fully engaged with their grandkids because they’re held back by two life-stage barriers. I want to make you aware of those barriers, so you can hurdle them and move forward with your grandkids.
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...