Are you building your kids up or wearing them down? Discover practical ways to become the dad who makes his children feel safe, known, and loved.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romance. It’s a powerful opportunity for dads to intentionally affirm their daughters and sons, shaping their identity, security and understanding of love for years to come.

An uplifting call to fathers to harness the power of their words, reject self-limiting speech, and intentionally speak life, courage and affirmation into their children and themselves.

Through consistent love and the support of other wise men, single dads can walk in confidence and leave an impact that lasts generations. Here are five essential principles—three “do’s” and two “don’ts”—that can help single fathers navigate this important calling.

Billy Graham once said, “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets of our society.” That’s especially true of single fathers.

When we capitalise on the positive events and good ideas, we lift each other and our marriage up. This enhances our relationship and builds marriage resiliency.

Over time, our staff learned to identify some of the best dads based on some tell-tale comments. When we heard them talk about certain fathering habits or topics, we knew those guys really get it. They incorporate traits and attitudes that translate into great fathering.

Encouraging your kids about good behaviour is one of the most effective ways to train, or disciple, your children.

Singing is truly enjoyable with little ones — and it’s a great way to bond with them. The best songs are the made-up songs. They make up songs that rhyme, songs about putting on your shoes, and songs about eating crackers. My girls make up songs about nearly everything they do!

Though I have gained many insights into working with single fathers over the past 16 years, here are some that I consider to be the most foundational. I believe these five principles — three “Do’s” and two “Don’ts” — will prove successful in your parenting.

Father’s Day is for all the dads you know, so let’s consider broadening the boundaries of Father’s Day to include a few more men who could use an encouraging word. Here are a few men to keep in mind on Father’s Day and questions to help inspire a meaningful message.

Dads, let’s look at positive habits we can pursue — 5 things to do that will help us be more affirming and encouraging for our kids and more peaceful with our exes and others.

Even if nurturing wasn’t a strength for your dad, you can learn from others, and pass it on to your kids. Men do feel, and we do nurture. Let’s just do it… now! With our arms, words, eyes and ears, we can give our kids the physical and verbal affirmation that lasts a lifetime.

Dads, you are important in the lives of your children. Whether you have contact with them or not, you are important. Make your presence count. See what your children are up to, listen to what they are going through, and speak words of encouragement to them.

I delight in that time that is exclusively ours. Time spent one-on-one with either of my daughters is a rare treat for dad and daughter. Making exclusive time for my children is critical for us. Our relationships are so much better for it.

Common sense parenting isn’t so common sense, and the support networks once available to new parents are no longer there. But is it our schools’ responsibility to train parents?

Apparently, a strong-willed child (I parent one) needs their soft underbelly affirmed five times for each critique.

Whether new to the dad guild or a veteran dad-lifer, blunt affirmations offer sharp relief. Telling ourselves objective truths keeps us fit for the fight.

Larry Stockstill is a world-recognised multi-talented leadership coach, with over twelve books to his credit. He has six children, five sons and a daughter, and fifteen grandchildren, and he lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Larry Stockstill is passionate about encouraging fathers and families, and he writes on integrity, purity, example, pace, purpose, marriage, children, and legacy. He believes in modelling his message and helping leaders develop “from integrity to legacy.” Father’s ...

In a fast-paced world, our attention is a rare and valuable commodity. Is your marriage suffering from attention deficiency? True confession: some evenings you’ll find us sitting on the couch with the TV playing, and us both on our laptops or other individual devices. We know — it’s not particularly noble and we have a sense of unease with it. But truly, movies and TV simply don’t seem to hold our ...