Email of the Day: Four Things Every Father Should Do

After raising four children with my wife, I have learned the following critical roles of a dad:

1. Provide – if you cannot provide enough income to meet the needs of your family on your own, you should not be starting a family. So, do whatever it takes so your kids can be kept out of daycare and in the loving care of your wife.

2. Protect – Learn how to legally protect your family so you are safe. Spend time with them so they learn they can trust you will always be there for them. Alcohol usage, tobacco use and other substance abuses are often learned in the home. Take care that you don’t allow those influences into your home.

3. Preach – Don’t trust the world to teach your child values. With your wife as your partner, set standards of living in your family, and hold these standards up to everyone, including yourself. And talk to your children about sex. Don’t let them learn from the kids on the bus with unmonitored cell phones!

4. Prepare – Mothers teach children how to live within the home, and fathers teach them how to live outside the home. Teach your children to be hard workers. Teach them that the world is not fair and not to expect it to be, but that doesn’t mean they have to be jerks to achieve prosperity and peace.

We already know that we are on our own, so it is now your turn to teach your kids how to deal with life. If I can raise four slightly above-average kids, you can do it too.

Edward

Four Things Every Father Should Do