She’s your number one asset and ally as a father, and showing her love and respect is one of the best things any father can do for his kids.
Prepare To Fight Fair
The Williams family was at it again. Mom accused Dad of being rude to her that morning, and Dad denied it. His memory, he claimed, was much more accurate than hers. Mom said he was crazy—if he couldn't even remember to put up the toilet seat, how could he claim to remember the fight?! Dad exploded in anger, and mom said he was acting just like his father. Dad yelled that she was stupid and overweight.
Great Dates (even for busy parents)
Remember your dating days—those long walks, romantic dinners, and intimate conversations that were the milestones of falling in love? Those moments full of emotion and closeness became the foundation for your marriage relationship.
Marital Interaction
One of the best things a father can do for his kids is love their mother and build a strong marriage. The effort you put into your marriage is worth it to your children.
A Dad’s Secret Weapon: Parental Discussion
Our research shows that, most often, a dad’s number one fathering resource is his “teammate,” his children’s mother.
The Most Special Person in Your Life
In an effort to find out what really makes women feel appreciated, wanted, and loved, authors Lucy Sanna and Kathy Miller surveyed women from ages 20 to 70, using over 100 questions. The responses they received were not generally surprising, but they can serve as reminders to us husbands and fathers.
Write Notes to Your Wife
No argument, communication is the lifeblood of a marriage. But for some men, the notion of sitting down for some extended sharing time with their wives is intimidating. Not that we have an excuse—our wives need to hear from us often about our lifelong devotion to them.
A Wagon Ride with Dad
I'm a better father because of my wife, Dee. And, you can be a better father because of your wife.
Honoring Your Father
On Father's Day you may get another "interesting" tie, the latest golf gadget or a pair of wild boxer shorts. And then your kids may do something that really makes you feel like a king. Soak it all in, because you deserve it and it's good for your children to honor you.
But as you're celebrating, don't forget that you're also a son, and it's good for you to honor your father or father figure.
10 Questions to Help You Explore Your Fathering Heritage
A good look at your family history can help give you a helpful perspective as you seek to be the dad your children need.
Building A New Relationship With Dad
For the record: You don’t have to plow up your corn and build a baseball field to reconcile with your father.
The climactic scene of the movie Field of Dreams offers a powerful portrayal of reconciliation between father and son. With each toss of the baseball and dusty pop into the leather glove, we know that Ray Kinsella and his father are healing past hurts and building a new relationship.
Forgiveness: Steps and Benefits
What’s standing between you and forgiveness? Recent scholarly research confirms what many already know—that forgiving others is a valuable gift for ourselves. Research shows that when we forgive, we have less stress, anger, and other psychosomatic symptoms like headaches, upset stomachs, and so on.
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.
The Effective Stepfather: A Checklist to Live By
by Ron Deal Anyone who has been a father and then a stepfather knows that they aren't the same. While many aspects of these two roles are similar, it is the unique ones that lead to disillusionment. Franklin put it this way: "I've been to every Promise Keepers...
Someone Who Loves You
Children in eleven U.S. cities are giving moving tributes to their fathers as they read their prize-winning essays during Father of the Year celebration events. Each essay has a story behind it, and Haley Hubbard, a 12th grader from Tulsa, brought the entire audience...
Stepfathering Adolescents: It Takes Patience, Flexibility and Humor
by Joseph Cerquone Pre-teen and teenage kids can pose a tremendous challenge for stepfathers. As they develop their identity and self-esteem, they are very sensitive to dramatic changes in their family structure and living situations. Stepfathers can face problems at...
How to Cook a Stepfamily
by Ron L. Deal Whether you realize it or not, your stepfamily has likely assumed a specific integration style. By that, I mean a set of assumptions about how your stepfamily 'ought' to come together. I like to use cooking as an analogy to identify some integration...
Stepdads: Don’t Compete With the Child’s Father
Orville is about to become a stepfather, and he wrote to me with a question: the 8-year-old son of his fiancée minds his father very well, but wreaks havoc at home. "What should I do?" Orville writes. These situations are always more complicated than I can do justice...
The Best Gift for Your Child: Romance for Your Wife
by Michael Webb You love your children; you deeply desire to see them grow up healthy and happy. But what is the most important thing you can give your children to help them grow up feeling loved, nurtured, self-confident and at peace? There are many good answers...
What Children Gain When You Love Their Mother
"Who has helped you the most in your fathering?" We asked that very question to thousands of men as part of our research. Some answered, "My father" or "My pastor." Several mentioned Dr. James Dobson. But the most popular answer by far was, "My wife." And when we...
Prepare To Fight Fair
by Bill Beahm, Ph.D. The Williams family was at it again. Mom accused Dad of being rude to her that morning, and Dad denied it. His memory, he claimed, was much more accurate than hers. Mom said he was crazy—if he couldn't even remember to put up the toilet seat, how...
Great Dates (even for busy parents)
by David & Claudia Arp Remember your dating days—those long walks, romantic dinners, and intimate conversations that were the milestones of falling in love? Those moments full of emotion and closeness became the foundation for your marriage relationship. However,...
Marital Interaction
One of the best things a father can do for his kids is love their mother and build a strong marriage. The effort you put into your marriage is worth it to your children. To prove that, I'm going right to the source. Just listen to this sixth grade girl who wrote about...
A Dad’s Secret Weapon: Parental Discussion
Do you think of your children's mother as a teammate? This is not like when she feeds the kids, changes their diapers, dresses them and then gives them to you to play with. That's hardly teamwork. This kind of teamwork isn't even like a machine—like an eleven-man...
The Most Special Person in Your Life
In an effort to find out what really makes women feel appreciated, wanted, and loved, authors Lucy Sanna and Kathy Miller surveyed women from ages 20 to 70, using over 100 questions. The responses they received were not generally surprising, but they can serve as...