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Being a good husband involves more than just taking out the trash and bringing home a paycheck, and being a good father involves more than holding the baby and changing an occasional diaper. I have found that many fathers are told that they have neither the knowledge nor the skills to nurture a baby or to help their wives through pregnancy. The traditional view is that dad...

When our oldest son was 2, my wife went out of town for a weekend. When a friend of hers called and I told her she was out of town, she said

"So you're home baby-sitting."

My response was

"No, I'm home being a father."

I'm sure my wife's friend meant no harm. It's just that I dislike the assumption that if a father is with his children without his wife, then he is baby-sitting.

Not so.

He is being a father.

It did get me thinking, however, about the r...

Is there a fathering instinct?

Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson maintains that adults have a fierce desire to protect and nurture the next generation. This is the generative nature of parenting...

It was about 7AM on a Saturday morning, and I was just turning over to position myself for another 3 or 4 hours of sleep. All of a sudden, I feel a gentle tap on my bare shoulder blade. I slowly open my eyes to find the biggest doe eyes staring at me. The little four-year-old princess standing beside the bed whispered, ...

1. Take day trips.

2. Spend some time at the seaside.

3. Have fun at theme parks.

4. Playtime in the park.

5. Go swimming.

6. Have friends round.

7. Stay at home and get your children to create stories and act them out.

8. Visit a museum.

9. Visit the cinema.

10. Use the computer.

11. Play computer games.

12. Play sports activities/games.

13. Homework or study.

14. Reading.

15. Watch TV/Videos/DVDs together.

With divorce and remarriage becoming increasingly common, there are an ever-increasing number of stepfathers today. Because children usually remain resident with their mothers after divorce, there are far more resident stepfathers than there are stepmothers. Of course, there are reasons other than divorce & re-marriage for a stepfather to exist, such as the premature death of the birth father.

In 1993, approximately 1 in 8 children would experience living in a stepfamily during part o...