Stephen asked me to start our first post by listing what I think are the seven (7) fathering skills I thought were the most import skills I learned in my 36 years as a father, teacher, and coach. Here's my list of seven … [Read more...] about The Seven Most Important Fathering Skills I Learned in My 36 Years as a Father
Fathering
Children Should Be the Most Important Person(s) in Your Life
The statement sounds good in principle and is, except that to do what is best for your children, you must also take the time to be good to your spouse. Don't forget, it takes a village to raise a child. So while children need to be the most important person(s) in our lives, we must make sure to take our wives out to dinner or do something special for just the two of you at … [Read more...] about Children Should Be the Most Important Person(s) in Your Life
Be a Dad, NOT a Friend
Being cool and your son or daughter's best friend is NOT the way to be a good parent or get close to your children. Children want parents who guide them and not a friend. That's what kids their age are for. You can be friendly with your child and do things with them, but you must always maintain your role as parent. I took my children on many an RV trip, backpacking, … [Read more...] about Be a Dad, NOT a Friend
Listen to Your Children–They Speak a Foreign Language
Just like adults, children don’t always say what they think. They either shade the truth or act out and expect us to understand what they are saying. For example, when children are tired they usually don’t say they’re tired and want to go to bed, they get fussy, scream, cry, and any number of other things. This happened a week or so ago after I took my four year old … [Read more...] about Listen to Your Children–They Speak a Foreign Language
Disciplining Older Children
The most important thing is for parents to establish good discipline when children are young. That sets the tone and lets children know you mean business and it will be much easier to discipline them when they are older. There may be some who read this who have meant will, but didn't go a good job of disciplining their children when they were younger. Don't feel like it's too … [Read more...] about Disciplining Older Children