As the father of three boys, one of whom is rapidly rushing headlong into puberty, the subject of their “coming of age” has been increasingly prominent in our household. Sweaty, stinky clothing, sprouting hairs, and acne have begun making appearances with alarming frequency all around us, and while my wife has our daughter’s puberty concerns on her plate, the responsibility for dealing with our sons’ questions and issues falls, logically, to me. Obviously she can’t tell them about “guy stuff”…but it’s still not a comfortable subject. How do you, as a dad, guide your son through the puberty blues and your son’s coming of age? Read more

I have 3 sons and one daughter, and I know that building their self-confidence and helping them become strong and caring adults is one of my main tasks as a father. I confess, I worry a bit more about my daughter, because I know how crucial self-esteem and such is for a young girl; however, I have more recently realized that my sons need just as much attention, perhaps even more, at least in deliberate efforts on my part to impart much-needed positive male role modeling. What do we, as fathers of sons, need to do make sure they become the good men they should be? Read more

The father-son relationship is a much-stories one, one which is a huge factor in the growth and development of a boy on his way to becoming a man; a boy’s relationship with his father has a large part to play in the kind of man he ultimately becomes, and the kind of father he is to his own children. Unfortunately, the father-son relationship is often fraught with difficulties. Many men have trouble expressing their emotions appropriately, and there are many reasons that make father-son bonding harder than it should be. Read more

According to the most recent U.S. Census, one in three kids lives in a home where the biological father isn’t present. This startling statistic has clear repercussions in many ways: kids who don’t have a good paternal role model are more likely to live in poverty, engage in criminal activity, and drop out of school. Being a dad myself, it’s a humbling concept, that I, as a father, am so important to the future of my children. Dads are extremely important to the development of their kids’ intellectual, emotional, and social health. Read more

My first born bailed out a few weeks early, two days before the date set for my wife’s baby shower. That sort of created a scheduling conflict, especially since wife and baby had to stay in the hospital for three days. So, as a result, our daughter was present at the re-scheduled shower. We got a great card from one of our friends; it said, ‘So you have a baby now? How do you like your new boss?’ Truer words have never been printed on a greeting card.

Having this demanding little person suddenly taking over your life can be daunting for new dads. It can even be daunting to dads who already have children, since we tend to forget a lot of the newborn stuff in the interim between births. So, how about a quick Dad refresher course? Read more