These years don’t have to be terrible. You can help minimize difficulties with a commitment to consistency in what you say and what you do.
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.
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.
“Why is my father always angry?”
Angry fathering really does affect our children. Here’s a wake-up call and some steps to help us be calm dads.
A New School Year: 3 Tips for Dads
Your children will mature and be shaped in incredible ways over the coming months, and your involvement can help set them up for success.
Dads and Fast-Food Modeling
A research study reveals an interesting way dads influence their kids — and maybe an area where we need to step up as fathers.
Teaching Your Kids to Drive – and Other Skills
If we aren’t careful, this big moment in a child’s life can become a big conflict. 7 tips for dads in the passenger seat … and beyond.
Boys Need Men to Teach Them About Life
by Rick Johnson: When boys are brought up to feel competent and capable, they have a much better chance of succeeding at life.
A Request for Moms: Help Us Make Our Home a Hangout
by Jay Payleitner – The dividends include stronger family relationships, deeper conversations, and peace of mind.
Kids vs. Romance: Connecting with Your Bride
Having kids should not put an end to romance. Actually, just the opposite. Dad and Mom need to be even more intentional about their marriage.
Dad, Are You Behaving in the Bleachers?
There’s a lot more at stake than a win or loss. You have nothing to prove except that you love and support your child.
Be Joyfully, Expectantly Inconvenienced
By Peter Lewis: Hope for, wait for, eagerly anticipate, even relish the joyful intrusion of your children into your life.
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.
A New Life and a Vote for the Future
by Dr. Ken Canfield My family is celebrating a new life with the birth of another grandchild. That makes sixteen grandkids total, although it’s the first child for one of my adult children—the last of the five to become a parent. It’s an incredible and joyful time,...
Father’s Day: Your Kids Are Worth Your Very Best
by Dr. Ken Canfield Dad: It’s Father's Day! How will you celebrate? There are probably as many options as there are unique dads. But we all share a few things in common, and there are positive things for all of us to keep in mind. This Father’s Day, I hope you feel...
Honoring Your Dad is a Privilege
The U.S. Census Bureau regularly releases interesting statistics related to various holidays. For Father's Day, many of them focus on gifts to get for a dad: As of 2021, there were 6,000 men's clothing stores in the United States, 15,000 hardware stores, and 20,000...
Creating Summer Memories: Intentional Fatherhood
Officially, summer is still almost a month away, but for many families the end of the school year is the start of summer vacation and a time of definite change in the routine. Maybe this summer your kids have a busy schedule of sports, camps and sports camps, music or...
Staying Calm at Bedtime: A Dad Needs Tips
This week we’re addressing a question we received from a dad. He wrote: Looking for some tips on staying calm at kids' bedtime. Having to ask them to do their teeth and put their PJs on 50 &#%?@! times kills me, and then they get upset, then I get upset. Happens a...
3 Reasons to Honor Moms
by Dr. Ken Canfield Dads, you’re ready to honor your mother and your children’s mother this Sunday ... aren’t you? I hope Mother’s Day is something you throw yourself into, because moms deserve it—and it’s good for us and for our kids. By now you have probably made...
Ways to Fight Fathering Commitment Erosion
How do you maintain your motivation and commitment as a dad? According to our own research on fatherhood, high commitment is the number-one sign or predictor of an effective father. And if you’re reading this, then there’s a good chance that describes you—you’re a...
New Dad Feels: Enthusiasm and Cost
For most men, being a new father ignites some new feelings that don't really come from any other experiences in life. Maybe you're a new dad who is in the middle of this, maybe these thoughts will bring back some fond memories, or maybe you're preparing to be a...
Let’s TALK: 4 Keys to Connecting with Your Daughter
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Dad, there’s something important you need to know about your daughter. Here it is, short and to the point: When a girl or woman knows and feels she is loved by her dad, she will have: greater confidence stronger inner fortitude...
What Makes Your Child Laugh?
As a father, it's good if you actively observe April Fool's Day—not by playing cruel tricks on your children, but by celebrating those relationships with lots of laughter. Victor Borge said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." You already...
Dad: Your Faith Matters to Your Kids
Holy Week is a great time to remind and challenge you about one of the most profound ways you can influence your children—in faith and spiritual matters. There’s a wide range of approaches to faith, just like there are many different traditions for the Easter holiday....
Encouraging Our Daughters
Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers recalls the spirited discussions around the family dinner table she had when she was growing up. Their family discussed politics, world events and other goings-on of the day. One day, the topic was President Roosevelt’s attempt to...