Feeling anger or frustration isn’t the problem. It’s what you do with those emotions that’s key.
Dads: Apply Business Principles at Home During the Corona Quarantine
Dads, you can view this quarantine time as a problem, or you can be proactive and make the most of the time you’ve been given at home with your family.
How to Raise a World-Changing Daughter
Dad, if you want to raise a confident daughter who believes in herself and steps forward to change the world around her for good, be assured that you are part of that equation and your input really does matter.
Teaching Kids to Be Responsible
Disciplining kids when they already feel bad for their actions is tricky. Here are two tips for teaching kids to be responsible when they’ve messed up.
Runaway: A Moving Video of a Father’s Love
A more modern version of the “Prodigal Son” that depicts the depth of a father’s love, featuring the song “Runaway” by Jess Ray.
Halftime Shows & Helping Our Children Define the Line
As fathers, we should be aware of what our children (and grandchildren) are seeing and hearing in the media and elsewhere, and we can view these events as opportunities for thoughtful discussions with them.
Affirming Touch from Dad – 7 Tips
There’s great power and affirmation in a father’s touch. A kiss on the forehead. A rub of the head. A bear hug. A squeeze on the knee. A fist bump. A pat on the back. An arm around the shoulder.
Are You Preparing Kids for College … or Life? 7 Questions.
The leader of one private school believes that getting your kids into a good college should be the least of your concerns …
2 Big Pitfalls of the Technology Age for Kids
Do you ever wonder whether technology is hampering your children socially—or in other ways? Today’s kids spend so much time with phones and tablets, computer screens and video games that many of them aren’t learning how to hold a normal conversation or relate to...
Keep Learning and Growing – A Balanced Perspective on Fatherhood
Fatherhood should be a great source of joy. Still, keep your feet on the ground, because things can change quickly.
Use Your Words Wisely: How to Use Your Speech to Build Up Your Children
Dads, our words have so much power to heal or to hurt. But too often we forget how powerful they are.
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...
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Tension with Our Kids’ Mom Deeply Affects Our Fathering
When there’s tension with your child’s mother, it impacts everyone. That might be an odd message to convey so soon after Valentine’s Day, but we all know what real life is like all the other days of the year that aren’t our anniversary or a special date night. And for...
A Dozen Activities to Help You Win Your Daughter’s Heart
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC With Valentine’s Day less than a week away, here’s a reminder that the holiday isn’t reserved only for romance between sweethearts. It’s also an opportunity for a girl to be treated in an extra special way by her dad, thus...
Winning and Losing in Father-Child Contests
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. Bob’s two teenage sons were challenging him in many ways physically—arm twisting and wrestling and so on—and they talked about racing him to see if they were faster. It leads to a common question for dads: What’s the impact of winning or losing...
One Way to Restore Hope to Your Fathering
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. What keeps a dad motivated and hopeful? That’s a key question that I’ve been pondering and researching for some time, and I’ll have more on this in the coming weeks and months. I’m more and more convinced of this: Hope is a powerful force and...
Birthday Reflections: A Father’s Legacy
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. I recently gathered with many of my children and grandchildren to celebrate a birthday: my 70th. It was a wonderful and sometimes wild time together. During the days before that celebration, I came up with a sheet of reflections that I handed...
Game Time! Have a FUN Family Christmas
Are there gamers in your family? Actually this isn’t the kind of gaming you’re probably thinking of. And it has very little (if anything) to do with phones, computers or keyboards (unless you come up with one that involves a piano). This is about playing games with...
3 Fathering Insights from Joseph
by Jeff Zaugg Have you ever had dreams or expectations that fell flat or didn’t materialize the way you hoped? That happened to my family and me a few years ago when we were on an RV trip in Texas. We had plans to spend a few days at a lake that looked beautiful on...
Perfume Day: A Powerful Dad-Daughter Holiday Tradition
by Michelle Watson Canfield, PhD, LPC Per·fume [pərˌfyo͞om] · a fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices, used to impart a pleasant smell to one's body or clothes. Day [dā/] · a period of twenty-four hours as a unit of time;...
What’s Your Plan for the Holidays, Dad?
It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and in case you didn't know it, dad, last week was a test—or maybe a warm-up. How did you do? It’s good to ask yourself questions like: “Did I help make the celebration all it could be? Or did I just kind of show up and let things...
A Year-End Message from Dr. Ken Canfield
Dad: Please watch this short video and then keep reading below for a year-end update and request from me ... https://youtu.be/1jYUmQOTfEg Dads: This is an exciting time of the year. I love the Christmas season for many reasons. It's also a time to reflect and take...
3 Ways Dads Can Be Intentional on Thanksgiving
by Jay Payleitner Thanksgiving? Already? If the days are moving too quickly, that's all the more reason to approach the holidays with thoughtfulness and intentionality. I do hope you're feeling grateful. Even if you've had a tough year,...
5 Things Single Dads Should Do Consistently
by Matt Haviland As a father, I try to operate with the ever-present knowledge that my words matter, and often more than I realize. Of course, that isn’t easy; we all say things that are careless and insensitive sometimes. And often the challenges increase when you...