Good Dads Love their Community
I was thirteen years old and standing in the middle of a grocery store in Mexico. Just twelve hours earlier, I was in my church parking lot praying with our group before we left for Mexico – excited, nervous, and…
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Raising Resilient Kids: Good Dads Give Back
What makes you happier—giving or receiving? You probably already know what your child would say. “Getting!” You may even believe this yourself, but if you did, you would be wrong. In one study with American men and women, 632 participants…
Helping Fathers in the Heartland: Good Dads Strong Schools
Getting Started When Good Dads began, the only resource in our community that came close to helping fathers be more engaged with their children was something called All Pro Dads (APD). A small number of local faith-based efforts, primarily housed…
The Difference a Dad Makes: Poverty, Crime, and Violence
I think most of us recognize that dads are important to their kids, but I don’t think most of us imagine just how critical they are. Recently, I read a new book, The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling…
Rick Hughlett: Changing the Way we See Automotive Technicians
I was twelve years old and our car was acting up. My dad, a full-time sheriff’s deputy, was very busy and not reachable. I stood with my mom at the auto repair shop, knowing she was very distressed. I could…
What Blue Bloods Can Teach Us about a Career in Public Service
What Blue Bloods Can Teach Us about a Career in Public Service I’m a big fan of Blue Bloods. In fact, since about the time the pandemic began my “Main Man” and I have watched every single episode in the…
Why Good Dads Matter to Community Safety
I frequently speak to groups about the importance of father engagement to outcomes for children—physically, mentally, behaviorally, and academically. I also say that even if you didn’t care a thing about how children fare, you might still be interested in…
What a Good Dad Looks Like
Good dads are not always tall, handsome, charming, or engaging. Some are short, average looking, quiet and shy. But a good dad always looks like a hero to his children. His super power may be juggling oranges. His cape may…
Influencing Unlikely Friendships
As parents our focus is often on ensuring our children have the right kind of friends. We arrange “play dates.” We sign them up for teams and activities where they can interact with other children we deem suitable playmates. We…
Life Lessons from My Father
Growing up with a Dad as a pastor, our lives were always under a microscope, being construed and misconstrued. There was no shortage of voiced, or unvoiced, expectations from members of the church, the community, even those who didn’t personally…