As your daughter grows up, she’ll develop relationships with young men. But the one man she should be able to count on to always be there for her is you: her Dad.  You play a huge role in your daughter’s journey from a little girl to a young lady.  And on that journey, here are 7 things your daughter needs from you.  First, she needs you to be involved.  Ask her about her day, join her in her hobbies, and become a part of her daily life.  Second, she needs you to demonstrate a healthy marriage.  Show her what a relationship filled with love and respect looks like.  Read more about the 7 Things a Daughter Needs from Her Father.

When our kids are young, we map out in our minds what we want for them.  We want them to be successful in school, in work, and in relationships.  But many unexpected things will occur in their lives.  Our kids will fail, face rejection, get sick, and make poor choices.  A key to parenting is to expect the unexpected when raising your kids.  Here are 3 reasons why. First, it helps you avoid overreacting.  Expecting the unexpected will help keep you from feeling frustrated or disappointed when your child performs less than perfectly.  Here are the rest of the reasons Why Expecting the Unexpected is Important in Parenting. 

We all know that boys are very different from girls.  Generally speaking, boys are rougher, louder, and less attentive.  So how can you raise your boy to be a responsible man?  Here are 7 principles for raising sons well.  First, channel their energy.  Rather than try to get rid of your son’s energy, channel it into something productive like sports, arts, or other activities with friends.  Second, protect their eyes and ears.  As a mom, it’s important to protect your son from harmful things like media violence, graphic sexual images, and inappropriate music.  Here’s more on the 7 Principles for Raising Sons.  

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told us what greatness is all about. He said, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” One of our jobs as parents is to talk to our kids about the significance of serving others and show them how to do it. Serving others starts in your family. You don’t have to look any farther than the four walls of your home to serve others. Doing chores together around the house, such as washing dishes, vacuuming, and taking the garbage out, will teach your child how to serve.

For more on this topic on my blog, go to 5 Places You and Your Kids Can Serve Others.

There are some things we need to survive physically—air, food, water. There are some things we need to survive emotionally in marriage—things like love, trust, truth and understanding. When a marriage is deprived of such things, it can slowly start to die. Here are 3 ways to revive a dying marriage.  First, stop suffocating your marriage.  Your words are powerful—the words you say out loud to your spouse and the words you say silently to yourself. When your words and thoughts are constantly negative, the oxygen will be sucked out of your relationship. So be careful to use words that breathe life into your spouse. Read more about How to Revive a Dying Marriage.  

In life, we tend to overthink so many situations.  But by the time we study, observe, and contemplate the issue, it’s already passed or gotten worse.  Sometimes, the best thing to do is nip it in the bud and deal with issues right when they arise.  This is where life hacks come in handy.  Life hacks are short cuts that make life easier.  So when life gets stressful, here are some Life Hacks for you Dads.  First, we have the Time Management Hack to help you make better use of your time and stay on top of things.  Next, there’s the Common Fix-It Hack so that dads can know some simple ways to fix anything from car troubles to cooking.  Read more about these and the rest of the 7 Life Hacks for Dads.  And in case you missed them, here are 7 Life Hacks for Moms too. 

Once when my wife and I were about to go out, my daughter said, “But Mom, I want you to stay here!”  My wife replied, “No honey.  I’m going on a date with Daddy.”  Wow, I felt like a million bucks. My wife was protecting her time with me and making us a priority. Our kids need to know how much we love them…that they are a priority to us as well…but, that they are not the center of the universe.  If they think they are, 3 things will happen. First, your marriage will suffer. Putting all your time and energy into your kids leaves only leftovers for your spouse. Here are more reasons to not let your kids think they are the center of the universe.