Four things, repeatedly: showing up, providing, protecting, and teaching. None of them is optional, and none substitutes for another. A well-provided-for child with an absent father is not a well-fathered child.
Part 01
The lesson
It also requires emotional steadiness. A house takes its temperature from the adults in it. If your mood decides whether the evening is safe, everyone learns to manage you instead of being themselves.
Reflection
Questions to sit with
- 01What will your children say about you when they are forty?
- 02When did your child last see you admit you were wrong?
- 03Is your family managing your moods?
Put it into practice
Action points
- 01Spend 30 uninterrupted minutes with your child today — no phone, their choice of activity.
- 02Ask your child what they think makes a good father. Listen without correcting the answer.