This is number 10 of 25 posts in this series.  I hope you are learning new things with this series.  Feel free to check out the rest of them by clicking here.  The following advice will only work if you put the time and effort into making them work.  I hope you are getting positive results by doing what I have listed already.

If this are things that you are already doing then just consider this as a refresher course as being a Dad.  But please still read the article because you might learn something new or even can add more in the comment section if you have a better way to explain it.

Moms can do these as well as Dads so don’t be afraid to try Moms.

Advice “The next time you feel like giving up on something, do it anyway and use it as a teaching moment”

This can be a very good life lesson for your kids.  There are certain times that giving up is and best choice to do at that moment.  As a Dad, I don’t like doing this because it makes me feel like a failure.  But there are times this was the only choice that makes sense.  One of those times was when I took my kids fishing and we gave up after a few hours of not catching anything.  It was a hot day and I as well as the kids was starting to get sunburned.  This was a good time to give up.  I bad time is giving up because you are losing at a video game.

Advice “Remember that everyone is somebody’s child”

We all have parents.  It doesn’t mean that they were raised the same way as you.  Sometimes we are harsh on our children because we don’t want them to do what we did as kids.  Just remember you can’t shield them forever and you have to let them be kids so they can teach their kids not to do the same bad things when they were kids to their kids.

Advice “Listen to yourself. Do you sound like your dad? Is that a good thing?”

There is a saying I keep hearing from time to time.  “You sound like your Dad / Mom”.  Have you ever step back and listen to what you say?  I have and I found out that I do sound like my dad a lot.  This isn’t a good thing most of the time.  I wasn’t raised with God in my life as a kid, but now I do.  Some of the stuff that comes out of my mouth makes me sound bad for being a Christian and it bugs me.  SO please step back and listen to yourself or have your spouse listen to you.  Do you sound like him?  Is it a good thing you sound like your Dad or not?  If not then find a way to change it and make yourself better or you will pass your dad onto your kids as well.

Advice “Give yourself a break. I haven’t met a father yet who doesn’t make mistakes”

Don’t be too hard on yourself since everyone makes mistakes and we are still learning to be dads.  No one is perfect at being a father and I will challenge anyone that says they are perfect.  So don’t sweat the small stuff and the little mistakes you make on your journey.  Enjoy the stuff you did correctly and learn from your mistakes because when your sons come to you for guidance then you can tell them what to do and not do as being a father.  This works as well as daughters since their future spouse might ask you questions as well.

I hope this series will be a big hit for everyone.  Like always if you see something that I posted wrong or if I leave something out then please feel free to leave a comment or email me the information.  I want this to be something new or veteran dads can use as well as all of the Moms out there.

You can find the rest of the Better Dad Series by clicking here.

If you like what I’m writing then please feel free to vote for my site by clicking on the “like my Blog?” banner below.

@LifeofaBusyDad from Life of a Busy Dad Blog

This is number 9 of 25 posts in this series.  I hope you are learning new things with this series.  Feel free to check out the rest of them by clicking here.  The following advice will only work if you put the time and effort into making them work.  I hope you are getting positive results by doing what I have listed already.

If this are things that you are already doing then just consider this as a refresher course as being a Dad.  But please still read the article because you might learn something new or even can add more in the comment section if you have a better way to explain it.

Moms can do these as well as Dads so don’t be afraid to try Moms.

Advice “Remember that kids mirror our actions, so watch what you say to or around them”

This is the most important piece of advice I can give a new dad is this one.  Your kids will learn from watching you.  If you act one way and trying to teach them another way then you will be sending mixed messages to them.  You need to be teaching by example.  Do what you are trying to teach them.  I’m a strong believer that hate and bitterness is taught by doing what they are seeing.  Sometimes they are pear pressured into it until it becomes normal.  Step back and look at yourself as a father or mother.  Are you showing your kids the way they should act and say?  If so then is there another adult around them that they are learning from that you should step in and change?  These are very important questions that you need to answer.

Advice “Parenting is a shared responsibility. Jump in and do something mom normally does”

Parenting is not a one way street.  It is not a 100% / 0% or a 75% / 25% split.  Parenting is a 50% / 50% split in most cases or that is what the old saying is.  Truthfully parenting is a shared responsibility for both parents.  It doesn’t matter who does the most work as long as both of you are trying to help out each other.  Don’t sit on the fence if you feel like you are doing all of the work and wait for your spouse to jump in, just do it.

Advice “Learn from your elders– ask them what they’ve learned as fathers”

This is a piece of good advice for all dads out there.  You are not alone in this world.  You can also find wisdom and knowledge out there from other dads.  You just have to ask the question.  If you have a young child and you know another dad that has an older child then you can get some pointers from them. On how to raise your child.  Many dads out there will be happy to answer your questions.  There are a couple of Dad groups on Facebook and other social media places you can ask your questions as well if you don’t know someone you can ask.

Advice “When a child does something not so nice, separate their actions from them in your mind. A child is never bad, even though their actions may be”

This is a good piece of advice when dealing with your child especially dealing with punishment for their actions.  There is always a reason your child acted the way they did.  You as a father will need to find out why they acted that way.  They might just want addition and that is the only way they can get it.  Punish the action not the child who did the action.

I hope this series will be a big hit for everyone.  Like always if you see something that I posted wrong or if I leave something out then please feel free to leave a comment or email me the information.  I want this to be something new or veteran dads can use as well as all of the Moms out there.

You can find the rest of the Better Dad Series by clicking here.

If you like what I’m writing then please feel free to vote for my site by clicking on the “like my Blog?” banner below.

@LifeofaBusyDad from Life of a Busy Dad Blog