Archive for the ‘Dads’ Category

You can only spend time

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Recently a few dads mentioned they are not spending enough time with their kids, or in other cases, they felt the time slipped past them since their children are now older.

As I noted in my book Because Kids Don’t Come With Manuals® time and money have much in common, but one very clear distinction: you can make money and you can spend money, but you can only spend time – you can’t make time.

Despite what you might think, if given the choice, children would much rather spend time with you as compared to you working harder or longer hours to make money to buy them things. The best plaything in the world is you.

I point this out as Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon Professor who gave the famous Last Lecture recently passed away. The famous speech, which is now a book, was really meant for his children, but the rest of us eagerly listened in.

The world wanted to hear more from Randy, but he didn’t want to miss any time that he could spend with his children, so he collaborated via cell phone with Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall St. Journal as he rode his bike an hour a day for 53 days.

Putting myself in his shoes, I can’t imagine not being there for my children in their moments of joy and more importantly in their moments of need. But it comes down to being there, which is about the choices we make. As Randy reminded us, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

If you don’t know how to play with your kids – find someone who does effortlessly and do the same things. If you think the time has passed where you didn’t teach your son to ride a bike or throw a ball, ok, but you can still talk to your grown son and learn about him.

The key to time is making the most of what you have.

How do men learn to be fathers?

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=vwNcuikop8A]How do men learn to be fathers? By the example set by their own fathers.

I was watching the new coverage of the passing of Tim Russert and was so saddened by the loss. Having also come from a blue collar background, I appreciated his sense that true wealth was simply being happy with what you have.

To the new fathers out there – remember, your sons are watching.

-Happy Father’s Day

How you face adversity

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

carrots-eggs-coffee-picture.png

A young woman was complaining to her father about how difficult her life had become. He said nothing, but took her to the kitchen and set three pans of water to boiling. To the first pan he added carrots, to the second, eggs; and to the third, ground coffee. After all three had cooked he put their contents into separate bowls and asked his daughter to cut the eggs and carrots and smell the coffee. “What does all this mean?” she asked impatiently.

“Each food,” he said, “teaches us something about facing adversity, as represented by the boiling water. The carrot went in hard but came out soft and weak. The eggs went in fragile, but came out hardened. The coffee, however, changed the water to something better.

“Which will you be like as you face life?” he asked. Will you give up, become hard, or transform adversity into trimumph? As the ‘chef’ of your own life, what will you bring to the table?

Dad, I want to be just like you

Sunday, June 10th, 2007

A wise person once said that a father’s love for his children is greater than the children’s love for the father. The magnitude of that love cannot be appreciated until a child becomes a father himself.

We’re featuring stories about dads each day this week on Parental Wisdom’s Daily Inspirational Call Line. Dial in (641) 985-5999 ext. 24290#. You can participate by sending a story via email to stories@parentalwisdom.com or leave a message on the call line number (above).

Today’s fathers are very involved in their children’s lives. They change diapers, coach sports, chaperone school trips, help with homework, give baths, and tuck children into bed. Non-custodial fathers without even knowing the schedule, show up at their children’s sporting events because it’s important for them to be there.

Dads are good at being dads. But are we still good at being children? If your father is still with you, do you appreciate him? The objective of our daily inspirational call line this week is simple; to remind you how lucky you are that you can tell your dad how much you care. Better yet, perhaps we can even change some behaviors:

You will not let the call go to voice mail when you see his familiar number appear on caller id.
You will listen to his stories one more time, just as he read the same story to you hundreds of times.
You will tell him how much you appreciate what he means to you now, and how much you learned from him rather than wait till you deliver a heartfelt eulogy
That he taught you everything you need to know about character and perseverance by the simple eloquence of his example

I was inspired by Annie Fox, a Parental Wisdom advisor, who wrote a letter of thanks to her dad, who she lost too early.

We’ll be reviewing a great new book for dad for evaluation of the Good Parenting seal entitled Big Slick Daddy: Poker Strategies for Parenting Success by Mark J. Borowski. If you are interested in reviewing this book, simply send an email to tina@parentalwisdom.com and I can share more information.

Finally, please visit Parental Wisdom Free Reports to get some fun Dad Coupons that your children can share with their dads.
Hope you tune in to the daily call.