by Bruce Provda, Esq. When Juan and his wife started to talk about divorce, Juan’s concern was for his relationship with his children. He had seen friends who lost touch with their children even though they still shared custody with the ex. Their kids were...
Divorced Dads: Choose Your Battles Wisely
We need to be careful when determining what we’re fighting for. We can easily get caught up in fighting for us—our rights, our reputation, our time—and not realize that our children are getting caught in the middle.
5 Tips to Balance Being Dad
One of the most important things a dad has to learn is balance- balancing work, friends and extracurricular activities with being a husband and father. Here are NCF's top 5 Tips to Balance Being Dad in our weekly Tools for the Journey!
Be Reliable Despite Divorce: How to Make Joint Custody Work
by Dat To Joint child custody can be a real challenge for many fathers. Putting together a schedule that pleases both parties and the children involved can be hard enough. And it can be exhausting trying to deal with the stress of shuffling children from house to...
Connect Every Day: Three ‘Dad’ Things to Do Today
Here are things you can do today to build the father-child relationship you want and your child needs.
Six Ways to be Your Child's Cheerleader
We all want our children to find a passion in life and excel — and we want to be there to cheer them in ways that truly encourage & affirm.
Divorced Dads: A Helpful Perspective on Your Ex
Since you both have that bigger goal, you need to focus on that more than your disagreements and find a way to do your best.
9 Bedtime Stories for Your Toddler
Looking for some great bedtime stories for your toddler? Check out NCF’s recommendations in this free download.
Be Present with Your Children
We dads are busy with our jobs, our hobbies, our pursuits, and we often say we’re too busy for some things that may be important to our families. So then we often pass up opportunities to be present and make a difference in our children’s lives.
6 Ways to Appreciate Your Wife for Your kids
When you appreciate your wife, you let your children know that your marriage is important, and you set a great example for them.
5 Tips for Dads Who Travel
Are you a dad who travels for work? Download our FREE Tools for the Journey: 5 Tips for Dads Who Travel! Five Tips for Dads Who Travel
Real Fathering and the Glue that Holds Families Together
Isn’t that real life for dads? Accepting your role, whether you’re in the middle of a challenge or just doing what needs to be done?
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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...
Dad Jokes: A Celebration
by Brock Griffin What’s the deal with dad jokes? Why are fathers, some of the most vital contributors to healthy families and communities, associated with humor like this ...? I was wondering why the frisbee kept getting bigger and bigger. Then it hit me....