One evening, Drew's daughter came home upset that her best friend had snubbed her, and she unloaded her frustration by yelling at her dad. Drew said, "It sounds like she's not much of a friend."
Those words weren't what his daughter wanted to hear. She bolted toward her room and slammed the door behind her.
Are you a busy dad? Like you, I often rush through each day trying to keep up with a slew of deadlines and responsibilities. Before I know it several days have passed and sometimes it seems I haven’t connected with each of my children.
With supper finished it was mom's time for a break from her children. It was our time to be with dad. Cindy, my eight-year old sister, got the book while Tom, my six-year old brother, and I (four-years old) climbed on our gray couch. Book in hand, Cindy joined us on the couch and we all waited for mom to start the old reel-to-reel tape player. Dad was piloting airplanes in Vietnam for the Air Force. His one-year isolated tour would be over soon and he would be coming home.
For many dads, the challenging task of fathering is made even more difficult because we spend so much time traveling. If you're like me, there are times when your job demands that you be in Chicago tomorrow, and out on the west coast by next Tuesday. There's no getting around it.
Recently, Sue Shellenbarger, the work and family columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote about “Undercover Moms”—women who find themselves changing outfits on the run several times a day as they juggle their various roles. In her article, Shellenbarger included this statement: “It’s been a long time (read it: never) since I’ve seen a dad changing from a suit to soccer shorts in a parked car.”
Ali McGraw told Ryan O'Neal, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Well, here's one dad's love story which did involve saying "I'm sorry."
When Dietrich Gruen first became a stepdad, he struggled to find common ground with Matt, his step-son. They found it in the strangest of all places—not in fishing or music or cars. Dietrich and Matt's common ground was their own admittedly broken relationship.
If a machine breaks down, a repairman looks at all the parts and pinpoints the problem. Let's see if that works with kids.
The delightful humorist Erma Bombeck, who passed away some time ago, once dedicated a newspaper column to her stepfather. Being a stepfather is one of those heroic roles that rarely gets the recognition it deserves. Erma Bombeck knew that first hand, and wanted to give a little back to her stepdad.
Will the behavior you model as a dad really impact your child's personality and life choices? If your answer is yes, Judith Harris would like to debate you. "You have been led to believe that you have more of an influence on your child's personality than you really do," she writes in her book, The Nurture Assumption. Harris argues that genetic influences in child development have as profound of an impact on child development as the environment. She believes parenting and fathering have been "oversold."
You're not alone. Not by a long shot, guys. Did you know that since 1980 the number of single dads in the US has doubled to nearly 1.6 million? That's a lot of us. I'd bet the census count missed a few too. Single dads are growing 6 percent a year-that's double the rate for single moms. That means almost 15 percent of us men are running a dad-only household.
A few words of encouragement to single dads who have custody of their kids. In many ways, these dads can learn valuable lessons from the many single moms who have blazed the trail before them.
Brian wrote to us and asked for help. He lost his wife in a car accident and is now left to care for his two children—a 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son.
by Ken Canfield, Ph.D. There are a lot of reasons for you to be a loving father to your daughter. She'll have a more positive view of men in general. More self-esteem as a woman. She's more likely to stay sexually pure until marriage and have a more healthy view of...
Little girls are cute. Boys are cute too, but it seems natural to cuddle little girls more than boys and, in fact, parents do tend to pick up and hold daughters more than sons. But before you know it, your little girl has become a young woman, and nurturing her isn't...
Jeff found out that his 14-year-old daughter has a boyfriend, and it caught him off guard. “She’s too young!” he said. “I won’t allow her to see him without me there.” He wrote to us, wanting to be sure he’s doing the right thing. No young man is good enough for your...
Recently, we interviewed 33 young women (ages 13-24) who have attended one of our father-daughter events. Among other questions, we asked them, “What questions could your dad ask you to demonstrate that he really cares about what’s going on in your life?” Their most...
Even before your children were born, you probably dreamed about your son as a star athlete. Well, you may have gotten it all wrong. Here's something that some dads still don't often consider. Daughters can be athletes, too! As a matter of fact, girls need to learn...
by Steve Rose When exactly does a father know when his little girl is no longer his little girl? Is it when a father is walking down the aisle, with her arm on his, and she is smiling so radiantly as gazes at her husband-to-be waiting for her? Or is the moment of...
One evening, Drew's daughter came home upset that her best friend had snubbed her, and she unloaded her frustration by yelling at her dad. Drew said, "It sounds like she's not much of a friend." Those words weren't what his daughter wanted to hear. She bolted toward...
Are you a busy dad? Like you, I often rush through each day trying to keep up with a slew of deadlines and responsibilities. Before I know it several days have passed and sometimes it seems I haven’t connected with each of my children. Can you relate? If you travel a...
With supper finished it was mom's time for a break from her children. It was our time to be with dad. Cindy, my eight-year old sister, got the book while Tom, my six-year old brother, and I (four-years old) climbed on our gray couch. Book in hand, Cindy joined us on...
For many dads, the challenging task of fathering is made even more difficult because we spend so much time traveling. If you're like me, there are times when your job demands that you be in Chicago tomorrow, and out on the west coast by next Tuesday. There's no...
Recently, Sue Shellenbarger, the work and family columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote about “Undercover Moms”—women who find themselves changing outfits on the run several times a day as they juggle their various roles. In her article, Shellenbarger included...
Ali McGraw told Ryan O'Neal, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Well, here's one dad's love story which did involve saying "I'm sorry." When Dietrich Gruen first became a stepdad, he struggled to find common ground with Matt, his step-son. They found it in...