Of course, every dad wants their kids to grow up healthy, wealthy and wise. But as childhood obesity levels show no sign of slowing, ensuring kids eat well and exercise may be a true challenge to your parenting skills.

One of the most basic ways to encourage healthy choices is by modeling these behaviors yourself. This doesn’t have to be difficult – in fact, it can be fun to plan family outings such as walking in the woods, riding bikes and visiting the swimming pool.

Being a healthy role model may involve changing some of your own habits as well. Keeping a plentiful supply of fruits, vegetables and nutritious snacks on hand can help set the entire family on track. Serve water or milk with meals instead of sodas or sugary fruit drinks.

When you’re at the grocery store, point out nutritious options to your kids and let them help you decide between two options, such as grapes or carrot sticks, for their lunch.

Giving kids a choice about what physical activity to participate in will also help them stick with it longer and enjoy it more. Some kids like team sports, while others may prefer something like dance or martial arts. If needed, let children try out a number of options before committing.

Family dinners offer a great opportunity for fathers to make sure their kids are getting proper nutrition. If you are single parenting and have little time to cook, make sure that any premade meals contain as few preservatives, artificial sweeteners and added sodium as possible.

Many experts warn that rewarding children with food demonstrates a misapplication of parenting skills. The association between a candy bar or hamburger and positive emotions can last into adulthood and lead to bad habits. The same goes for forcing kids to clean their plates – they may stop listening to their body’s cues for fullness.

Even as you use your parenting skills to encourage healthy behavior, it’s not a good idea to completely ban particular foods from the family diet. If you tell your child they can never have soda, chances are the prohibition will make them want it even more.

James Dunsford is a single parenting and parenting skills specialist for greatdad.com.

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Maybe cooking talent and parenting skills do not necessarily always go hand-in-hand.

But in these days of the Food Network and numerous reality shows based around creating the perfect dish, cooking together at home is becoming a popular way for families to bond.

And whether you are single parenting or sharing the joy with a partner, chances are your kids will love to spend some time with you in the kitchen, cooking up a fun treat.

Wondering where to start? When bringing children into the kitchen for the first time, presenting a brief safety demo is a smart use of your parenting skills.

Simply remind them about the importance of washing their hands, being careful with knives, steering clear of hot burners and turning everything off when they are finished.

What to cook? Pizza is one option that can please the entire family. Make your own dough from a recipe or purchase a premade crust, then layer tomato sauce, veggies, pepperoni and mozzarella.

Kids may also want to experiment with some unusual toppings they find in the fridge. If so, you may want to make a bunch of mini-pizzas in case some experiments wind up less successful than others.

A fun activity for weekends that can also make you popular with your wife is to team up with the kids to cook breakfast in bed for mom. Think omelets (kids love to crack and whisk eggs) or pancakes.

Cookies can be a good starter activity for kids who are too young to do much beyond stir batter. Let kids get creative with the dough and make funny or unusual shapes.

Bonding in the kitchen can be a great way to apply your parenting skills so that everyone learns and has fun – plus, you get to sit down with the little ones to enjoy the results.

Sarah Beldo is a parenting advice and parenting skills specialist for greatdad.com.
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Your intention is to motivate a child or employee to do better. You are clear in your mind what you want to achieve and the behavior that you want changed. You expect to be listened to and obeyed! You are right and they are wrong. Someday, they will be grateful that you cared enough to show them what they were doing incorrectly. The only “right way” is “my way.”

Sound familiar? When a situation calls for feedback, we tend to justify our position and come at the situation from a power standpoint. This tends to put the other person in a defensive status and what may have started out as a visit turns into a confrontation, with words and emotions expressed that are not helpful.

Criticism is Hurtful

Ridiculing someone is to mock by making fun or dismissing them in a contemptuous way. Sometimes the ridicule may be verbal as in a criticism; “You just can’t get this through your thick head, can you?” The disrespect may be done in a completely non-verbal but powerful way; rolling your eyes, crossing your arms and leaning back, smirking or looking away when the other person is talking.

Feedback is Helpful

Feedback is intended to provide helpful information for future decisions and development. If you feel that you need to offer pointers on how something should be done, first ask if they would like feedback. If it is offered without judgment or personal attacks, most people will welcome, or at least receive it.

Using the old sales jargon, you can sell any idea without making the recipient feel badly. “I know you feel that it was a hard assignment. I have felt that way when I was asked to do something for the first time and I didn’t understand the instructions. However, I found that when I went back and read the instructions or ask for an explanation, it was much easier and I was able to understand what the boss wanted and was able to do it.

What’s Right, Not What’s Wrong

If you want positive behavior with your family, co workers and friends, encourage what is good and downplay what is wrong or unacceptable. When you focus on something, right or wrong, you will get more of it. It is called the Law of Attraction.

Verbal vs Non-Verbal Language

Verbal or spoken language is the communication of information. Most people only remember about 20% of what is said. Non verbal or body language is the communication of relationships. People look at your facial expressions to see how you really feel about what you are saying and the person you are saying it to. They listen to your tone of voice to gauge how sincere you are.

If others perceive that you are standing in judgment of them, they will be much less likely to be co-operative and be open to suggestions. When you feel that you must offer feedback, touch them lightly on the back or arm to get their attention, look them in the eye and then ask for permission to share your ideas.

Mutual respect is foundation of strong, healthy relationships

As you work with your relationships, you will see that criticism and ridicule does not give you the positive results you were hoping for. Respect, encouragment and kind feedback is much more effective at motivating people and projects than criticism and ridicule.

Never Just One Way To Do Things
Before you jump in with an opinion, perhaps it is best to remember there is never just one way to do anything. Every problem or situation has at least five different ways to get it done. Are you absolutely sure that your way is best?

(c) Judy H. Wright http://www.ArtichokePress.com You have permission to reprint this article in your blog, ezine or offline magazine as long as you keep the content and contact information intact. Thank You.

Artichoke Press is the home site of Judy H. Wright, family relationship coach and author of over 20 books. If your organization would like to schedule Auntie Artichoke, the storytelling trainer, for a workshop please call 406.549.9813.

You are also invited to visit our blog at http://www.AskAuntieArtichoke.com for answers and suggestions which will enhance your relationships. You will also find a full listing of free tele-classes and radio shows held each Thursday just for you.

Thanks for joining our community of caring parents, family members,coaches, teachers and mentors who want to help raise a generation of responsible adults.
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One of the questions that many expectant dads ask themselves, if not other people, is “What will change?” My answer to that question can be given in a single word: Everything.

It sounds dramatic, I know, but becoming a father for the very first time will affect virtually every aspect of your life in some way. To begin with, your priorities will change. Right now you might be in the habit of looking out for number one and not really thinking about the welfare of anyone else. This is perfectly natural to a great extent, but when you have a child you will find that looking out for number one is a lot less important than looking out for your offspring.

With this change in priorities will come a change in how you spend your time and money. You will probably want to reduce the amount of time you spend socialising with your friends so that you can take a hands-on role in the care of your son or daughter and relieve some of the pressure on your partner. The days of leaving everything to the mother are long gone, and that’s a good thing for all concerned.

If you are like many expectant dads, you will probably approach the impending arrival of your child as if it were a project to be managed. You might draw up a list of all the things you need to buy and all the things you need to do (prepare a nursery, arrange time off work, etc.). You might even find yourself sneaking a look at your partner’s mother and baby magazines when she isn’t looking. Of course, if you want to earn maximum brownie points you should have a copy of my book, How to be a Great Dad, on display at all times.

Whilst such preparations are important, I have to tell you that no matter how much you plan and schedule, your new situation will take you by surprise. You will never fully appreciate the impact that your new child will have on your life until he or she arrives on the scene, and although you might well smile at the prospect of having to put up with a few (or many!) sleepless nights right now, when the reality of a wailing newborn hits the smile will probably disappear faster than you can say Nappy Time.

No matter how much I or anyone else writes about the changes you will experience, and no matter how much you try to identify and anticipate those changes in advance, becoming a new father will always take you by surprise. For that reason, my best advice is to read up on the subject and make sensible plans, but realise that when your new child arrives on the scene you will need to play things by ear.

If you’re an expectant dad then you’re about to embark on the biggest adventure of your life. Think of it as an adventure, commit yourself to enjoying and making the most of it, and the rest will fall into place quite naturally.

Ian Bruce is the author of the best selling book How to be a Great Dad and maintains a great dad blog at www.howtobeagreatdad.com.
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Heroes of Anothe Kind

What is the measure of a man? What is it that he calls upon down deep inside when desparate times come? Heroes are sometimes found in shooting wars and sometimes in wars of another kind. For the past year my granddaughter. Sierra, has fought cancer. January brought news that she was suffering from osteo saccoma in her right knee. This is a tumor attached to the bone. Chemo, titanium inplant, more chemo, cancer recurrence in in the calf of her leg, amputation of the right leg above the knee, another surgery for recurrence in a lung and now extended treatment with a new protocol to improve her immune system is a summary of her year with terror, seven operations and biopsies in a year! It’s 2009 and she’s back in school, looking forward to getting a prosthesis on what she now affectionately calls her “little leg”. We’ve been in three hospitals as well as consultation in another. We have met many “battle buddies” along the way, and what a blessing that has been. We have seen grace and courage in people thrown almost overnight into a nightmare they could never have imagined, a nightmare not to be awakened from, but one awakened into, over and over and over. Cancer is a thief, a robber of time, money and most of all, normalcy. Normal is good. Boring is good. But in the wild and terrifying roller coaster ride where Mr. Cancer takes away a person’s buttons and bows, there stands another MAN. He’s the guy that stays the course, doesn’t run from the unthinkable and remains true to what he vowed, “in sickness and in health” He’s the man holding his wife up when she’s almost beaten, cancer tired. He’s the dad that holds his wife up when their baby is sick unto death. He’s the hero of Cancerland and somewhere there’re making his medal of honor, his badge of courage. These men are described, I hope, in a poem I wrote some time ago and is in my book, “ POEMS BY LOU DAVID ALLEN”

My Prince Charming

Is not the richest,

Nor the smartest,

Nor the most handsome,

But when I’m sixty three

He will still love me

And put a diamond on my hand.

And should our babies be

Sick, even unto death,

He will pray God takes him

And not them.

That’s who my Prince Charming is.

B.S. degree in Physics and an
MBA. I have been an engineer,teacher,junior college administrator,mayor and a salesman. My book, “POEMS BY LOU DAVID ALLEN’ is self published. I sometimes sell some of them when I do readings for various groups.
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