Fathering Archives

Seven Ways for Dad to Help Out Mom on Weekends

Do you want to help, Dad, but you just don’t know how? Your guy friends’ suggestions just are not working right now? Sometimes you need advice from a woman’s point of view. Trust me; you are looking in the right place.

Let her sleep in. Between midnight diaper changes and chasing after children all day, moms get exhausted too. Let her take advantage of your days off and give her a break. As worn out and tired as she is she could probably sleep for days straight.

Clean up the house. That pile of laundry could be folded. The dirty dishes need washed. The washer and dryer don’t take a genius to figure out. Floors could use some vacuuming, and the counters need wiped off. Even the simplest things you could do moms would appreciate. Anything to take a little stress off of her plate is what is needed. Quit leaving your dirty socks on the floor: you know where they go, too. If the trash needs to be taken out, don’t make her tell you twice.

Bathe the kids. Come-on dad! Get in there and splash with them. Everything doesn’t always have to be serious. Have fun while they’re getting clean.

Cook. Just because meals taste better from mom doesn’t mean they always have to be made from her. Dad, you can make simple things if cooking is hard for you. Some simple things could include: Hamburgers, hamburger helper, macaroni and cheese, and sloppy joes. Spark up that grill. We know you love it. Quit letting it sit around and get some use out of it! You didn’t buy it for the looks.

Let her go out. You have your night with the guys for football, or whatever you please. Let her have her night out even if it is just a movie with the girls or coffee and girl talk. You are focusing on her relaxation. Don’t make her worry about the kids or the house; it is her night. Take care of everything while she goes out and has fun. We all know this doesn’t happen often. So when it does, let her enjoy it.

Step up. When the kids ask her for something, don’t make her get up. Take the initiative to get it yourself and make them start asking you for stuff instead of her. Explain to them that mom needs rest on the weekend. Tell your children instead of making mommy get up and fetch or do stuff for them to ask daddy. You can do it just as well as mommy can.

Take time alone with her. After a hectic week, it’s comforting and relaxing to just be able to cuddle and talk with you, Dad. We don’t always have to be on the go. Take time to spend with her alone. Put the kids in bed and pop in a movie to cuddle up and watch it together. You don’t have to go out to spend time together. Stay in, because it’s so much more peaceful.

We know you are tired after a long work week, but moms have more than one job. Moms are the nanny, dishwasher, laundromat, housekeeper, chauffeur and the cook every night. Moms are on the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. Give moms a night off. Moms deserve it every once in a while.


Gabriella enjoys sharing parenting advice and writes about topics such as toddler bed sheets, toddler bed sets and toddler bed furniture.

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Start Being A Good Dad Now

By definition, fatherhood is the state of being a father. And being a great dad is the most important job in a man’s life according to President Obama, a cool dad to Sasha and Malia.  Fatherhood “doesn’t have to be hard” says President Obama. “Play catch, go to a park or visit a zoo. Help your child with their homework. Sit down together for dinner. Ask them how their day was. Things get busy, and sometimes we all fall short, but the smallest moments can have the biggest impact on a child’s life,” he said.

We all know the remarkable impact fathers can have in our children’s lives. The more time fathers spend with their children, the greater their impact. It’s called the “dose effect” says Adrienne Burgess of the “The Fatherhood Institute.” But sad to say, the majority of fathers are missing from too many children’s lives and too many homes. They seemed to have abandoned their responsibilities. As a result, mothers raising children without fathers reported more severe disputes with their child and that they are more aggressive, have a low self esteem and perceived themselves to be less cognitively and physically incompetent than their peers from father-present families. But it’s not too late to start being a good dad.  There are so many sites and many books teach us how.

Fatherhood is a great task, a great responsibility of providing not only our children’s food, shelter, clothing and education but also on their emotional and spiritual needs. Play it cool and do it good. It doesn’t have to be special, elaborate or expensive, but something pleasant to recall and discuss. It could be just being around, doing stuff together and chatting as the need arises. Also, showing concern for their education, grades, teachers; books they are reading. It could be as simple as giving compliments and appreciation and recognition on their accomplishments, building genuine self-esteem and self-respect. And of course, constantly give them assurance of your love, protection, and confidence, both by word and deed.

Fathers, here are some great, and sometimes creative, ways to get together with your kids in a positive way. Tell them a story about your childhood, about your favorite books or televisions shows or anything that interests them. Younger children love stories. Do not forget to plan a picnic at the parks, hit a road trip or plan a vacation, and grow a garden. Kids love to be outdoors with their dads. Eat together when you struggle to find time to interact together and you’ll soon find out that dinner time is one of the best bonding times.

Fatherhood is filled with joys and challenges but fame and money cannot compensate the joy of successful fatherhood. So “if you want to keep your child off drugs or out of gangs, the best way is to build a strong, positive relationship with them as a tiny child then maintain that relationship as they grow up” says Burgess.


M Patelle builds sites on diverse topics, such as http://printablevalentines.org, which has information for fun printable valentines and valentines coloring pages.

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The Importance of Being a Good Dad

Growing up without a dad is not the best for any child. If a dad is absent from a child’s life they miss out on having a manly influence for boys as well as girls. The mom has to step in and try to be both mom and dad but a lot times it is too hard. The influence is different for each gender because each person’s needs are different. Being without a dad gives the child a view on males that is usually bad. The child spends their life fighting to find the male role model. Hopefully they will find someone who has a good influence on them. If the male role model has a bad influence on them the results can be devastating.

Many people believe that women marry men that resemble the male influence growing up as a child. So what about the little girl whose dad is not around? A little girl growing up without a father or a dad who is not good tries to find love in all the wrong places. If the mom is not able to guide the child completely because she is working to provide then other influences come in. The influence comes from television, music and peers. It could even come from other family members. If no one teaches the child right from wrong then she is likely to fall into the wrong crowd. The crowd that is promiscuous at a young age fulfills loneliness with physical touch. The little girl will start to think this is the only way for her to get the love she has been looking for all her life. Then she will end up pregnant at a young age or marry a man who does not love her correctly. This little girl has low self esteem because she does not know about true love.

The little boy growing up without a dad is a little different. Boys need someone to teach them to be a man. They need someone to show them how to provide for themselves and one day a family. They need someone to show them how to fix things and to use their strength for good. Boys who do not have a positive male role model have a higher chance at falling into the street life. They fall into a gang or a group of kids who do drugs and party. They are focused on providing in a negative way instead of doing something great to help make the world a better place. The boy will more than likely grow up to disrespect women. He will have a lot of anger and resentment with an “I don’t care” attitude about life.

A lot of people reading this may be thinking they know a child who needs a positive male role model. The child may not have a dad and the mom is working hard to provide and trying to do both roles. The world should come together to help these children by guiding them and helping them to become good people. Some day these children will be in charge of the world. Hopefully they will be a good influence and give or invent things that can move everyone’s lives in a positive direction. However, without the proper guidance the lives of fatherless children might just perpetuate more unhappiness.


Gabriella Gometra builds sites on family products, such as http://childrenssewingmachines.org, which has information about sewing machines for beginners and a toy sewing machine for fun.

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Child support is a topic not fully understood by many single mothers or fathers. When this is the case, speaking to an experienced family law attorney is often very helpful in sorting out the particulars of a case and recovering unpaid financial support.

Most cases of this nature involve a single mother receiving financial assistance from the father. The first step in collecting child support is to establish paternity. This may be accomplished through a court ordered paternity test obtained by the single mother. If the mother is forced to receive welfare payments to support the child, the government may file a lawsuit to collect reimbursement for welfare paid to the mother. To do this, a paternity test must be ordered to prove that the person is actually the child’s father.

Paternity may be established in various ways, although certain laws may vary from state to state. As mentioned, a paternity test may be used in some cases, but in others the father may simply acknowledge that he is the child’s father.

The amount of child support payments ordered may depend on the amount of time spent with the child. One thing to consider, however, is that the court may only go by court ordered visitation or custody documents. If a father does not obtain court orders, the court may consider their time spent with the child at 0%, which may drive up the cost of payments.

Women struggling to collect payments may turn to the District Attorney’s office to enforce payment, but this may take several weeks or months. Fathers who fail to meet their financial obligations to the child may be subject to interest payments, have their driver’s license taken away, have their tax refunds intercepted or may face criminal charges. Speaking with a family law attorney is often very important.


For more information it is advisable to get in touch with an experienced and professional Child Support Attorney in Riverside or schedule a consultation with a Ontario Divorce Lawyer visit the offices
of Diefer Law Group
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Fathers, Spend Quality Time With Your Children

As a father, no matter if you are from a traditional family set-up, a stay-at-home dad, a step dad, or anything else, you need to spend time with your children. This is the best way to keep bonds with your children and it shows them that you love them. Your time is better than any gift you could give them. There are many ways that one can spend time with your children, and here are a few examples.

A great way to enjoy nature and each other’s company is to go outside and have a picnic. It is fun for kids to spend a spring or summer day with their father and eat delicious food while being one with nature. You can play games together, and there are no distractions like cellular phones, televisions, or the like.

Bedtime stories have always been fun for children, and they still are. These are great ways to create memories with your child, and it will improve their skills in imagination and inferring. You can learn how to become a good storyteller and they will have fun listening to you, and sometimes you can even create a circle story together.

During the summer vacation, kids love to get out and travel to places they don’t normally go. This is a great opportunity to go out and take a vacation. Find out where they want to go and what activities you can do there together. Amusement parks and the like are great fun for children, and just because it’s designed for young ones doesn’t mean that you can not join the rides with your children and have fun with them.

You can travel to different places by going on a road trip. Although some people don’t like road trips, they are great ways to spend time with your family if you handle the situation well. Make sure to pack healthy snacks to eat along the way, and you can play games while on the road.

On weekends and days when you are free, you can spend the evening with your children. Go out to eat or go through the mall. Or you can just stay home and play family games. Anything works as long as it is just the family for that night. You can even make this a weekly event and call it “family night”. A lot of families benefit from this, and it lets children realize the importance of a strong family bond.

Children who go to school are always swamped with homework, and this leaves them with less time to spend with you. You can turn this con into a pro though, by helping them with their homework. Not only will they love you for helping them, but you can also spend time with them and understand how they work and learn in school.

With these activities, you will be able to build a healthy and close father-child relationship. It is important to let your children know that you care for them and that you will be there for them, and spending time with them is the best way.


Michelle Patelle, stay-at-home mother and writer, hopes that nursing mothers will investigate their choices at sites such as http://babylovesyourmilk.com which has information about breast pump reviews and breast shield fit.
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