Fit Dad Life

Being loved vs liked as your kids grow up Featured Dad: Dylan Redekop One thing I’m learning quickly as my kids approach the teen years is that they will always love me. But they might not always like me. Being a parent perceived as an authority figure, however compassionate I might be, doesn’t work forever. When they’re 4 or 5 years old, absolutely. Have at it. But if I stay locked into being the authoritarian and disciplinarian as my kids develop their own ideas, beliefs, and realities, I’m...

It doesn't get easier. Just different. Featured Dad: Mike Vardy What’s the last lesson you learned as a dad? Reframing worry matters. You can be supportive without stagnating them. You can be concerned for their well-being without living in worry. You can let go without losing them. I didn't understand that for a long time. I thought concern and worry were the same thing, and that loosening my grip meant loosening the bond. My kids are 21 and 16 now, and I've hit the part where I get to watch...

Day 3: The difference between being "present" and giving true presence Featured Dad: Robby Miles When it comes to fatherhood, presence is more important than anything else. Presence with your wife. How you treat her will show your boys how to treat women and show your girls how they should expect to be treated. Presence with your kids. I have seven kids, and there are more days than I care to admit that it’s hard to give each of them the attention I feel they deserve. But I have a strict...

Day 1: How to actually rest with kids Featured Dad: Thom Gibson Sundays are typically a day to take it easy. But for a long time, my Sundays looked a whole lot like my Saturdays, except with church thrown in there. For years, I’d get up before the family to work on my side business, I’d try to get a workout in when the kids would nap later in the day, and maybe I’d even get a head start on the work week (which was particularly easier to fall into since I work from home) To NOT do those things...

I worry about being a good dad a lot. Am I a good example?Am I working hard enough?Am I teaching them the right values? Do I let them watch too much TV?Do I make sure they get enough sleep? Should I read to them more?Should I give them more chores? Are they going to be ok when they move out?Are they going to be successful and happy? And so on the list of worries spirals out of control until my wife wraps her arms around my neck, looks romantically into my eyes, and says: "Did you shower yet...