Fit Dad Life

Keeping the "why" alive Featured Dad: Kyle Adams My daughter is seven, and she is full of questions. How does this work? Why does that happen? What if we tried this instead? Over the past year, I've learned that the best thing I can do as her dad is get out of the way and let her curiosity lead. When I stay patient and give her space to explore, she grows in ways I couldn't have planned for. She's stopped taking everything at face value. She wants to research and discover with me, then...

Give yourself some grace, Dad Featured Dad: Pat Damiano With fatherhood just around the corner for me I have gotten a lot of advice from people (some solicited… much of it unsolicited haha). One that has come up a good amount of times, and sticks out the most to me is “give yourself some grace”. Fatherhood is hard, and you essentially get thrown into it with no instruction manual. From what I have heard and what I am expecting there is a lot of trial and error and wondering if you’re doing...

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...