Practice Makes Perfect
Have you ever had this thought? You buy a Powerball ticket and discover you won the jackpot! You’ve made it!! You can quit your job, pay off the mortgage, buy the car you’ve always wanted, and retire to some Caribbean…
Tag health
A Good Use of Time: How Dads and Teens can Find Compromise with Screen Time, Cell Phones and Technology
Purchasing a personal device for a child may be simple, and teaching them how it functions, easy. In fact, it’s too easy—but something that is not simple or easy is the task of reversing a bad habit or psychological damages…
Are Good Dads Happier?
Will looked at his bank statement and wondered again what he and Elise were thinking when they decided to have children. It’s not that he didn’t love their three kids, but raising them wasn’t cheap or easy. Sean (15), regularly…
Your Daughter’s First Period
Arm yourself with knowledge and empathy to be better prepared to support your daughter during her first period
The Power of Play: How Sports Benefit Growing Bodies & Minds
Logan, now a high school athlete, first experienced the transformative power of sports at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield. He vividly recalls stepping onto the basketball court at six or seven years old. What began as a simple…
Raising Resilient Children
The Growing Good Dads Blog features some curated content from online resources. This post originally appeared on the Institute for Family Studies website and was not written by Good Dads staff. The following essay is adapted from the author’s speech…
The ABC’s of Coaching & Parenting: Advice from a Football Coach and Father of Two
This month on the Growing Good Dads blog, we’re diving into the ways you can be a good dad to preteens. Children at this age are in a period of growth and discovery: they’re learning who they are and figuring…
Starting Strong in Elementary School: 3 Strategies for Dads
If your child is entering the public education system (maybe for the first time), you probably wondering how to make sure it’s a success. I understand, and I am in the same boat as a dad of a preschooler. I’ve…
Parenting Goals: Creating a Value-Based Environment for Your Child
Goal Setting for Parents I strongly believe in the idea of setting goals. If you aim for nothing, you’ll get nothing every time. This concept is typically used to set personal goals, but I’m here to talk about goal setting…
Why You Should Try Gardening with your Children this Spring
Gardening is a great way to get your kids outdoors, having fun while learning invaluable life lessons. It’s educational, promotes physical and mental health, it’s a wonderful bonding opportunity, it connects them with nature, and it teaches them important skills like patience, perseverance and dedication. I’ll dive into more detail about each of these benefits.
3 Ways Dad Makes a Difference in Baby’s First Year of Life
The importance of a father figure in a child’s life simply cannot be overstated. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative (another great place to visit about the importance of fatherhood), homes with a father’s presence are at lower risk for…
My Baby Contracted RSV: A Parent’s Nightmare (With a Happy Ending) | From the Good Dads Podcast
Recently on the Good Dads podcast, we welcomed Tim Lewis to the studio. Tim is a new dad to four-month-old Ophelia, a happy baby who gave Tim and his wife, Chelsea, a big scare late last year when she contracted…
You Can’t Stick to Positive Habits in a Negative Environment: Lessons Learned from “Atomic Habits”
Habits give us a sense of control in our lives. They may give us confidence and help us feel normal. In many cases, we don’t even realize how ingrained our habits have become. Take, for example, the stories of three…
How the Golden Rule could help reduce meth and opioid addiction in the Ozarks
Which substance is the biggest threat to people in the Ozarks? This used to be a pretty straight forward answer: methamphetamines. Meth is a powerful psychostimulant that impacts the central nervous system. It causes an intense sense of euphoria by…
What I Hear from my Clients About Addiction, and What I Tell them About Recovery
Addiction is all around us, and the data is distressing. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2023) estimates more than 60 million people age 12 and up used illicit drugs in the US in the last year.…
The Impacts of Trauma on the Brain
The Men and Mental Health Blog features some curated content from online resources. This post originally appeared on the Operation Red Wings Foundation website and was not written by Good Dads staff. Did you know that the most common symptoms…
Reinventing Manhood: A Need for Connection and Purpose
The police academy, fire academy and military boot camps are filled with 18 to 20-somethings pushing harder mentally and physically than they have ever pushed themselves before. These platforms are mostly for young adults and are even more highlighted than…
Mid-Life: Transition or Crisis? (part II)
This blogpost is a continuation of last week’s story. If you haven’t read part one yet, we encourage you to catch up first before you read this week’s article. Find part one here. When Alex and Allie showed up at…
Mid-Life: Transition or Crisis?
Alex stared out the window and wondered what the problem might be. He liked to golf and was always ready to get together with the guys and go out for 18 holes. Sometimes he went to the golf course and…
The Power of Playing Catch
My baseball career ended at the age of 16, as a junior varsity benchwarmer. I couldn’t throw as hard or run as fast as my teammates. But, that is still longer than most kids play these days. Now, by age…
That one time I had a nervous breakdown
Let me tell you about my brain. Imagine thinking about all the things you have to do one day at work. While you are thinking about those things, a constant song plays in your head. While this song is only…
I hate my life all over again (part II)
You forget to set your alarm, wake up late, spill coffee on yourself, and trip over your kid’s toys on the way out the door. Your wife texts you on the way to work, unhappy about the mess you left…
5 Things I Learned Coaching Children’s Soccer
Let me explain. I was a network administrator. Sounds much more glamorous than it was. I basically worked for 10 hours straight through the night printing reports, changing out tapes and monitoring multiple screens to make sure nothing went down.…
A Good Dad and the Power of Play
“The Power of Play” – that’s the theme for the Downtown Dads Spring Lunch Series. I’m very excited about this series for a number of reasons. Here a just a few: Dads tend to play with their children…
6 Ways to Foster a Sense of Creativity in Your Kids
School. Soccer practice. Homework. Dinner. Piano Recital. Bed. Repeat. Does some variation of this sound all too familiar? Intentionally or unintentionally, our Generation Z kids are enduring heavy schedules filled with highly scripted activities. This leaves little (if any) downtime…
True to You in ’22: Recognizing Your Role in a Family With Addiction
For most of his life, it seems, Josh has been responsible for keeping the peace. It started when he was a child, negotiating conflict between his parents, especially after his dad had too much to drink. It’s not like he…
True to You in ’22: What if I Grew Up with an Alcoholic?
Shannon is worried about the way Derek drinks. He could always “hold his liquor,” but lately it seems to be more and more important to him. She has tried to talk with him about how his drinking affects their kids,…
True to You in ’22: Could I have a problem?
I was probably about 15 years old, staying overnight with a new friend, when it happened. We were upstairs in her bedroom when loud voices could be heard emanating from the kitchen below. I looked at my friend and saw…
New and Improved ‘You’ in 2022: Care for You in 2022
In a year of chaos, stay at home orders, and the uncertainty of the future, self-care is important now more than ever. With health screenings, body weight, and water intake being discussed everywhere at all times, we felt it was…
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…
Fatherhood and Mental Health
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a father who was responsible, worked hard, had integrity, and made time for his family. At the time I did not comprehend the intentionality he had to take care of himself so…
The Difference A Dad Makes: Physical Health
Why Dads Matter to Child Health and Behavioral-Health Related Outcomes 1. Children with father loss have, by the age of nine, a 14% reduction in telomere length—the most reliable predictors of life expectancy. In addition, the telomere loss is 40%…
Are we There Yet?
Taking a road trip with your kids can be an unforgettable experience. The open road leads to endless possibilities and a chance not only to bond with your children, but also create memories that last a lifetime. But the road…
How did I miss that?
“Has that always been there?” my husband asks, noting some new structure on a familiar route. “I think so,” I say, “but honestly I don’t know for certain. It could’ve been there a long time.” “It’s odd we didn’t notice…
Plan B
Nearly every day I meet with someone who is disappointed that some realistic life expectation failed to be fulfilled as imagined. They thought they would be married by now, but they’re not. They hoped to conceive a child, but they…
How Dads Make a Difference: From “The Boy Crisis” by Dr. Warren Farrell & Dr. John Gray
When I recently spoke with the Care Managers at Jordan Valley Clinic about the importance of fathers to children’s health, I was happy to have The Boy Crisis by Dr. Warren Farrell and Dr. John Gray to use as a…
Responsibility with Social Media
Quiz time! What happened on these dates in history? March 22, 2002 August 1, 2003 February 4, 2004 …
Showing Love Begins at Home
What does it mean to “show love?” Hugs, kisses, kind words, not pestering someone incessantly with questions, or telling someone, “I love you”? As a Dad of three young children (ages 9, 9 and 5), I’m constantly learning more from…
Why Rough-Housing with Dad is Important to Children
There’s so much good information in The Boy Crisis by Warren Farrell PhD and John Gray, PhD that we could devote the contents of the Real Good Dads blog to it for the next six months. At the same time,…
Good Dads Take Care of their Health
In May 2013 Sean Murphy watched Forks over Knives and made a decision. He would no longer eat meat, fish, poultry or any other animal products. In short, he would become vegan. Many people go from eating meat and fish…
WHO INFLUENCES YOUR KIDS?
One of my son’s teachers, who also happens to be a very good friend, gave the kid a graduation card that was a special encouragement to him. I was moved when I read it as my friend talked about being…
Staying Connected Over the Road: Prime Driver & Good Dad Larry Hinex
Larry Hinex describes himself as “a pretty simplistic guy,” driving for Prime with a goal of earning enough money to help his daughter, Jakeisha, who is in college pursuing a degree in a law-related field. Larry also has two sons,…
“When Can We Go Fishing?”
Baseball. Ice Cream. Apple Pie. Each is part of an all-American summer for many dads and kids, but there’s another activity many dad, granddads and kids enjoy all over the country—fishing. If you talk to Ron Hartman, father of two…
Keeping the Lines of Communication Open with your Daughter
I am a proud father of two boys, who are 8 and 14, along with a 16 year old daughter. Over the past 4 years, I’ve noticed more and more gray hairs on my face and in my hair line…….95%…
What a Girl Gets from Her Dad
Statistically, it’s more likely for a dad with daughters to divorce than a dad with sons. I’m not certain why, but it probably has something to do with a father being able to identify more with his son (having been…
The Whisper of Fatherhood
If ever a story, a relationship, a social infrastructure, or a magical phenomenon been more under emphasized than the importance of a child’s need for their father’s love and attention, I cannot imagine what it would be! My own experience,…
Encouraging School Success with Dad of Three Kevin Weaver
If you have looked at social media for even a minute during this, or the past few school years, it can seem that there is a constant stream of “look-what-my-kid-did” announcements. Our society has become more competitive than ever, and…
I’m Thinking of Moving Out
“I don’t think I can stand this much longer. I’m thinking of moving out.” “This is just not working for me. I want a divorce.” There’s no question that the global pandemic has created a great deal of stress…