Returning User? Login Here | Bookmark this site | Contests | Sitemap


Web GreatDad.com

Favorites

Tell a Friend

Subscribe via RSS

Enter your email

RSS Feed

XML Sitemap

greatdad/sitemap

Resources > How To > Manage Kids

Dads are Different Than Moms—That’s Good For Kids

Be the first to rate this article:

By Mary Lou B. Johnson

Print

It’s a good thing that dads are different than moms—kids need them to be! In many families, moms might send a message that they know the “right” ways to do things with the children and may have taken over most of their care. But children need fathers’ styles, too, so be sure to carve out plenty of time with your offspring.

All children need to learn from their dads—about the world, how language works, how dad interacts with others, and how he accomplishes things.

Dads can build on their interests, skills, and personalities to help their children grow and learn. Here are some ideas of how to capitalize on your strengths. If you are:

Physically active and love to roughhouse — do this everyday. Physical activity gets kids mentally and physically primed for learning. Follow physical activity with calmer activities such as building something, reading or “talking” a book together, or playing a game.

The analytical type — use your thinking and planning skills to make your child racecars and spaceships from boxes for pretend play, create a daily “schedule” for your child to build reassuring routines. Schedule in plenty of free play and interactive play with a parent. Carefully plan any TV or movie watching so you can see how much of that passive activity is in your child’s daily experience, and replace watching that exceeds an hour a day with more productive activities. Plan to have the TV off more than it is now.

Technically‐minded — take lots of digital photos of your child during family activities, print the best, and make a storybook for each place you have gone together. Print or type some appropriate sentence descriptions under each picture, according to your child’s language level. Sit down with your child and review at least one of your custom books every day. You could also set up a great slideshow for your child with one of the digital picture frames on the market. This could be especially helpful to the youngster who doesn’t have a very large vocabulary yet. Take pictures of common or favorite items in his life.

Musically inclined — have “jam” sessions with your child and put on a concert for the rest of the family. Make posters and props for your shows.

Dramatic or funny — make plays together or practice stand‐up comedy or magic tricks. Get a kid‐friendly microphone. Videotape these great shows.

To boost language development, make lots of straightforward comments to your child, and resist the urge to ask a lot of questions. You are your son or daughter’s best male mentor. Make the most of your child’s early years—share your talents.

- By Mary Lou B. Johnson, M.S.,CCC-SLP

This article has been sent to GreatDad by Mary Lou B. Johnson , Speech-Language Pathologist and creator of www.HelpYourChildSpeak.com

Subscribe to the pregnancy newsletter or 4-8 year olds newsletter.

Email this | Print

Login with Facebook

	Comments
	By Githa, From You're on top of the game. Thanks for sharnig. You're on top of the game. Thanks for sharnig.

Post a Comment


First Name:
City:
Email Address:
Comments:	Total Words: (400 words*)
	Enter the characters you see in the image. They are case sensitive.

Shopping

Article List

	Treat Her like Your Boss – Be A Better Dad, Tips on Father and Daughter Relationship
	Once Seen, Never Unseen – Advice for Dads on How to Prevent Kids Watching Sad Things
	Smile When You See Them – Fatherhood and Child Development
	Grow The Tree You Got – Important Parenting Advice for Dads
	Fingers Fingers – Tips for Dads on Child Safety
	Parking Lot Rules And Advice For Dads - Excerpt from Parking Lot Rules
	Key Parenting Skill for Dad - Keep Kids Out of Harms Way
	Dads are Different Than Moms—That’s Good For Kids
	Easy Ways To Be A Better Dad
	Disciplining Someone Else’s Child – A Guide for Dads
	Playdate Rules for Dads
	Kids, Credit and Credit Ratings
	Raising Responsible Kids – Ideas from Dr. Robert Brooks

All section articles

1 2

Forum Topics

New User: Im so isolated! Posts: 0 Views: 30 Gifts for Children's Day Posts: 0 Views: 16 New father-to-be, general discussion with others Posts: 0 Views: 37 Nfl jerseys cheap Posts: 0 Views: 66 How To Work From Home as a Virtual Assistant Posts: 0 Views: 89

More Forum

Local Guides

All Guides
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
DC
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming