Take Time To Be A Dad Today

Gentlemen, I'm sure you've seen the commercials on ESPN where they show a scene of a little kid doing something, and then the dad comes over to help. Then they go off into the music and say, "take time to be a dad today". I believe they have the right concept behind those commercials, however, being a good father has to come from inside of you.

I can admit, I haven't always been the best father. I know there were times where I could have done a better job at being apart of my kids lives. Now, this has nothing to do with me and my father and our relationship. I can honestly say, I'm the father I am today because of my dad.

True enough, you may have grown up in a home where your father was barely around or not around at all. Some of you even had your father there the entire time. As we do in most family settings, we take what we know as "normal" from our childhood and try to incorporate that into our lives. We do this knowingly and unknowingly. The think that they are still doing studies on this: Will a boy grow to become a good father, because they had a great father growing up? Will the young man grow up to be an absent father because his own father was not around much? Will a young man know how to treat his kids by not having a father figure in their lives at all? I don't care how much research they do, there is no way of knowing. There are plenty of troubled young men that didn't have their father growing up that turned out to be great fathers with a successful marriage. There are young men that had their father around and gave them everything. They grow up to resent them for being there.

Being a dad isn't an exact science. There are plenty of books and people that think they know. I suggest talking to men you trust. Read a book or two on parenting. In the end, your kids are your kids. Spend time with them. Get to know them and who they are. As much as we'd like to think they are mirror images of us, they aren't.

Take the time to be there for you kids. That hour you spend with them can be life changing compared to that hour in front of the TV, at the bar, playing games. I'm not saying forget who you are and just kids, kids, kids. What I am saying is understand the importance of spending time with your kids. They really do listen and believe it or not, they really do want to spend time with you. Take time to be a dad today...