People ask me what it takes to be a good father... my answer: Showing up. And it is not just showing up in the physical sense, but being present and being attentive to your children's needs. Three things... 1. When I show up every day, I’m iterating on my passion. Which in this case is my children. 2. I’m not showing up if my attention is elsewhere. 3. My attention can only … [Read more...] about Showing Up, Being Present, Being Attentive
Fathering
When and How to Talk to Your Kids about Sex
This blog has been sitting in the draft folder for over a week. I needed some time to think about what I've written. I've rewritten parts of it because as always, we worry about being criticized. Many adults find it hard to talk seriously about sex to their children or other adults, so I felt the need to be honest and not piss everyone off. The rule of thumb that I … [Read more...] about When and How to Talk to Your Kids about Sex
Bullying
There’s been a lot said about bullying, bullies, and the bullied recently, so I hope I’m writing something a little different. I’ve offered a number of suggestions for you to analyze and decide if it will work in your situation. I was bullied as a kid. Sometimes kids who are bullied become bullies themselves. Just like children who are abused become abusers themselves. … [Read more...] about Bullying
The Twenty Four Hour Father
My son changed the heading of our blog to 20 4 Hour Father and I thought maybe I should talk about that. I think about both my children often during the day even though they are now grown. But when they were kids my wife and I often talked about them and what we should or should not do in raising them. At night, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d think about something they’d done or … [Read more...] about The Twenty Four Hour Father
Giving Your Kids Unconditional Love
Refer to the Seven Most Important Fathering Skills for previous blogs. Unconditional love should have been in my list of seven most important fathering skills, but in life, new ideas (or old ideas in this case) come along and surprise us. It was while watching my son and daughter-in-law working with their children (4 and 18 months) that I remembered how important this skill … [Read more...] about Giving Your Kids Unconditional Love