Dads - If you start feeling like your presence in your home does not matter, keep this list handy and take a look at it often!
Fathers in the home improve their family’s lives in these areas:
Since this is a newsletter honoring fathers, I’m going to go down memory lane a bit. In today’s terms many would say I had a dead-beat dad because he wasn’t around much.In reality I had a dad who owned his own business in the 50’s and it was a “Happy Days” type 50’s restaurant. It ended up a hangout for teens, a dairy in the back and burgers, soda/ice cream parlor in the front. He opened at 11:00 a.m. and closed at 11:00 p.m. If I wanted to see him, I had to go down to the “plant”. That was not uncommon in those days for men to work very long hours.
|
I hope you feel valuable, because you are!!! It is difficult writing articles when I know that many do not have the best scenarios in their homes. I don’t want you to feel helpless!
Many things happen in lives that are simply beyond our control OR we may have made some bad choices due to our adolescent brain OR other’s choices may have created difficult situations beyond our control. Anything can happen to any of us simply because it is life! No matter how you get there, being a strong NOT a wimpy parent kicks in and we do the best we can just because we love our family! My daddy and me in 1956
My memories of him are:
|
What if Father’s Day brings you pain…for example…
What if...
1. What if you didn’t have a father figure or a good father in your life… 2. What if you had a bad father in your life… 3. What if you haven’t been a great father or feel you have even been a bad father to your children… 4. Think about if there are situations that bring you pain… Some thoughts… |
Could you...
1. BE all of those things you dreamed about and wanted for a father to your children or even another child who didn’t have a father. 2. Try to understand why he wasn’t a good father from his perspective and then forgive him. Forgiveness can help take away pain. 3. Use some self-reflection? Would it be valuable to identify how you learned to father. Did you have a good role model? If not, can you find the kind of father you would like to be like and model him. 4. Understand there are some feelings that may need to be addressed so you can know how to better handle a similar situation for your children. It can bring you peace to know you are not passing on hurtful behaviors. |
If you have some pain from your father, are you able to live and learn from the experience and be a better father yourself because of it?
|
Some great videos for your enjoyment!
|
A few questions to ask yourself…
1. What emotional benefits can a child gain from having a father figure? 2. What impact does a father have on a child’s academic abilities? 3. Does having a father figure impact a child’s social behaviors? 4. Are children without father figures more likely to experience depression or anxiety? 5. What can a father figure provide that a mother cannot? 6. How does an involved father figure positively impact a father-son bond? 7. How does an involved father figure positively impact a father-daughter relationship? Read the answers to these questions at: http://www.happeningsmagazinepa.com/2014/06/18/benefits-present-father-figure/ Fathers – You are valuable and your children need you in their lives, especially now as our world is crazy, where wrong is right and right is wrong! Look for a future article about the “dumbing down of men” that unfortunately has occurred and shamefully continues to occur! Fathers - We appreciate and need you!
|