Dads in particular seem to struggle with fear. I’m not a dad, but I talk to a lot of you and there’s one theme that continues to arise. That is, you know what you want to do as far as your kids are concerned, but something stops you.
One thing can sap the strength from any good man—fear.
Dads in particular seem to struggle with fear. I’m not a dad, but I talk to a lot of you and there’s one theme that continues to arise. That is, you know what you want to do as far as your kids are concerned, but something stops you.
You know how you want your kids to talk in your home but you hold back from telling them (or reprimanding them) because you are afraid that if you do, you will drive them away from you. This isn’t true.
Many dads come to me and begin a conversation with the following, “I know I’m probably not doing a very good job with my kids, but I have a question.” Before they ask their question, I try to stop them.
“Why do you say that you’re not doing a very good job?” I ask. Nine times out of ten, they look at me with a blank stare like I live on another planet.
Of course they’re doing a bad job, they think, because that’s what they hear from people around them.
WIVES JOIN POP CULTURE IN REGARDING DAD AS CLUELESS AND GOOFY
Movies depict dads as stupid, Father’s Day cards remind them that they drink too much beer and hog the remote control, and we wives can be pretty cruel too. We who are married to our children’s fathers often communicate that we’ve got the child-rearing thing covered and we don’t need help—at least when it comes to telling our kids how to dress, what friends to have, and what time their curfew should be. The bottom line is “we” who surround good men say, in no uncertain terms, that the job they are doing leaves a lot to be desired.