Your Final Lecture

What if you had one final lecture to give your children before you departed from this life? What would you say? Dr. Randy Pausch had this privilege.

and while you’re watching his story, reflect that any of your lectures could be your final lecture. Speak to encourage; not humiliate. Words well-spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Do You Ever Feel Unappreciated in Your Family?

Greetings! Fathers can often feel unappreciated in their families. Usually what this means is that they’ve forgotten a fundamental rule of being successful in their family relationships. If you ever feel unappreciated in your family, this article might be just for you. Enjoy!

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I’d had about as much as I could handle for one day.

My computer was frozen, I was tired from a weekend with little sleep, and I was working in a yard that would soon need a scythe to cut it. Kids activities were crowding an already crowded schedule, and there seemed like no time to relax.

When do other people find the time to do all these things?

Podcast - Paul Curry

A Podcast hosted on International Dad featuring show hosts Scott Lancaster and co-hosts Eric Mooij and Stefan Korn from DIYFather.com.

Today guest is Paul Curry, CEO of the Families Commission.

About Families Commission

The Families Commission is an autonomous Crown agency set up in July 2004 to actively speak out for better policies, services and support for all New Zealand families and whanau.

The Homework Debate

How can parents best help their children learn?

Is homework necessary for young children, or is it burdensome? This debate is not new to America, but in recent years it has gained new momentum. News sources from PBS to The Washington Post have discussed the issue, searching for the balance that would educate children at all socio-economic levels without overloading them. Some innovative schools have begun to work at eliminating the kind of monotonous busy-work that kills a child's incentive to learn and keeps them from their families for extended periods in the evenings.

But could all homework be bad for children? Homework proponents insist that some subjects cannot be mastered without repetitive rote memorization. Even homework critics allow for the fact that well thought-out assignments can certainly contribute to a child's love of learning, especially when it requires the full engagement of an inquiring mind. However, many educators believe that the over-application of monotonous rote learning often has the opposite affect.

In addition, some teachers find that when children are left on their own to complete homework, their misunderstandings about certain tasks can become entrenched. Unfortunately, fewer families than ever are intact, and single parents may find themselves working long hours with less time and energy to spend helping children complete assignments.

Every Parent Needs a Break

Our break came in the form of a trip to Aruba that Megan won through her work. If you're sitting at home with your little ones you can either throw stuff at the screen or you can take a little trip in your mind with me. If you chose the latter, go make yourself a pina colada. I'll wait...

The trip almost didn't happen. With my family in California and Megan's parents in Florida, we don't really have a local option to watch the kids for extended periods of time. We've done a couple of trips in the past where we scheduled several sitters in blocks of time, but that was too stressful for everyone involved. Just as we were about to give up on the idea, the heavens opened up (singing choirs of angels and all) and delivered to us my sister Tracy.

Dads, beat the Christmas Stress!

Just in case you haven't noticed it's that time of the year again. And if you have not already sorted your Christmas purchases out yet, you will be feeling a pinch of stress.

If not coming from your Childrens relentless requests that sound like "I WANT, I WANT, I WANT IT ALL!" than from your wife "What do you think we should get for the kids this year?". Chances are, the Christmas stress has already taken root, and is feeding upon your vulnerability. No matter how much you love Christmas, stress and anxiety are the other side of this season of cheer.

Is there a way out?

Yes there is. Dads can beat Christmas Stress. All it takes is a little planning, and being proactive. Here are a few simple tips to help you keep unwanted stress at bay during Christmas:

Lists: A good old Christmas shopping list is a surefire way to keep a tab on what is necessary and what is unwanted expense.

Never turn them down

Play of the Day subscriber Brian writes, "When my son was born 19 years ago, my goal was to have him grow up without his Dad ever having turned him down when he sought my interaction. I have not been perfect in attaining my goal, but for 19 years, I have spent my most rewarding moments with my son one-on-one, coaching, and spending family time, like road-trip vacations or family game night.

I think my wife and I have been successful because he still wants to play cards on Friday night instead of going out and carousing. So much for the nest being empty, but I know I'll miss it more than ever when it does taper off. Appreciate it while you have it. I can't wait to spoil the grandkids."

10 Ways to Make Time for Your Children

1 - Commit to a family mealtime each day.

2 - Write your children's activities into your schedule book - in ink!

3 - Identify one thing on your weekly schedule you can do without and replace it with kid time.

Soft on discipline = hard on family

It’s been a long, hard day at work. You want to come home and just relax and have fun with your kids. You don’t want to deal with discipline. But Mom has had the children for most of the day and she’s tired of the fighting and bickering. So she starts to discipline and wants you to help. This is not your idea of unwinding.

So what do you do? Support her. Absolutely. Children need a unified front from parents, and when Dad is viewed as the Softie, it makes Mom look like the Bad Guy and makes her job so much more difficult. And marital tension increases dramatically. If you have an issue with the way Mom is disciplining, wait to talk to her about it after the children go to bed. Short term, backing up your wife will be extra work. But long term it will be well worth it as your children will be unable to pit Mom and Dad against each other. The softer you are on discipline now, the harder it will be for your family.