A Kid's Eye View!

The next five posts I, a ten year old kid named Clay, will tell you why a dad is important from a kid’s point of view. "Dads are important because they provide leadership to the family, they provide stability to the family environment and they teach character skills to their children." Stay tuned for the next post that will have a few more details on my opinion!

Could It Be Worse

As Director of a Fatherhood Program, I often have the time and requirement to sift through a lot of data on fatherhood. I recently acquired a copy of National Fatherhood Initiative's "Father Facts 6th edition". I have a  previous edition and it is a wealth of knowledge for anyone in the social assitance resource arena. As I read through some of the most current data, I noticed that there was a slight decrease in the percentage of children living in "father absent homes". In 2010, 20,324 children were absent a father figure. This was down from 20,516 in 2005. Although a .5 percent decrease in 5 years is a very small amount, it must be a very relative amount in the eyes of the 292 children affected! It shows a positive move toward father involvement. The true test will be having another drop in 2015. History demonstrates that there is a rise and fall every five years on this area. We'll have to see what happens!

Fatherhood

What does it mean to be a good father? What does that look like? How do we know that we are being all that we can be? Every family has a dynamic composition. This means a different number of children, a non-flexible job schedule, special needs, and relationships with and between mom and dads. These factors and more play a part in how a dad carries out his responsibilities as a father. It would be great if the job came with a checklist of items that we could go through everyday to make sure we don't miss out on meeting the needs that our families present.
However, since it is true that all families and situations are different, there is no "one size fits all" solution. There is no one fail proof checklist that we can run through and there is no "perfect answer" for the question  "How do I be a good father?". Instead of a rigid answer to the question or a set of bullet points to run through, there is a simple guiding principle... Love Your Children. Check out the next post for a deeper look at this simple truth in raising children!

When I Grow Up!

Being a great father is something the culture should promote! When you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, what is the response? Normally it consist of becoming a star athlete, having a really good paying job, or going to college. Those things are great to aspire to and certainly add to the spice of life. However, what greater impact could a young man hope for than to become a great father that raises a Godly family. A family that continues that tradition can impact the community, nation and the world as a whole more than money, fame, or education. In addition to that, being a great father is far more remembered than those other things as well!

What emphasis do you put on being a great dad?

Community Example

As I work through the issues of fatherhood here at the Wiregrass Hope Group, work and family are frequent subjects that come up! If you are part of the leadership in local business and you know the importance of being an active and involved father, what are you doing in the workplace to make it easier for guys to be good dads? Did you know that 80 percent of employees don't know the family-friendly options available to them? What are some ways that businesses might facilitate the importance of fathers in the family while maintaining a productive work environment?

New Dads

When I meet new dads, I am never surprised by the way they answer the first question I ask them. "What kind of Dad do you want to be?" Although I may get different answers, they all point to one commonality. They all want to be good dads. They may not know what that looks like but that's what they want! Guys never wake up and think, "I want to ruin my kid's life today". What causes dads to run from that responsibility? Why do some shrink in fear while others welcome the challenge? Some start with good intentions and never finish Others finish well but had a shaky start! What gives?

I welcome your insights and comments on this topic!

The Power of One

Sometimes when us guys look at all our responsibilities, we tend to get overwhelmed. At least I know I do. Some time ago, I found it helpful to pick one thing that I could do to be a better father. I decided to concentrate on that and then after that I went to the next one thing I could do. Doing this helps me to laser in on one thing until I make it a life habit.

What one thing could you do for the next seven days that will demonstrate to your family that you are making a focused effort to be the man they need you to be?