Fatherhood is a difficult thing to quantify or measure. It’s hard to tell when you’re doing it right. So, how do you know when you are? What does it mean to be a good father?
Being a father can be difficult, but not impossible. Dads are pivotal to bonding with their kids. They can be role models for their future. When you take the time to have fun with your children, you both come out happier and more fulfilled. It is a great way to teach your children skills, and it will teach them how to have a good time. The best part? It’s all for them!
It is rewarding and such a euphoric feeling, but also very tough at times. Kids are a handful and can be frustrating, especially when they are having a bad day. There are a few ways to show the kids that you’re there for them and that you love them.
Bond Through Activities
One way to do this is through bonding activities like taking the spot in the kitchen to cook, playing sports, or interactive games. You can also build things together like the treehouse in the backyard they’ve been wanting to have, or even as simple as a playhouse in their bedroom. When using spray paint or anything that might make a mess, remember to use overspray protection, so mom won’t get mad when things get messy. It can also serve as a protection to the floors and any equipment in the room.
There are many more fun bonding activities you can take part in as a father-son team or as a father-daughter team. Take a walk in the park and search for treasure. Go fishing together. Get down on the floor and play I Spy or another favorite game. Play in the sprinklers in the backyard. Remember, just because your kids want to do something all by themselves doesn’t mean you’re not bonding with them. You might be having just as much fun, if not more than they are.
To continue to be there for your children, make sure to have many fun bonding activities that you’re willing to do with them. Some say that “Fatherhood is like an art. It’s like anything else. There are no right or wrong ways.” Making sure you spend time with them and create the best memories possible is essential for building a solid foundation for their childhood.
Another thing that makes fatherhood so delightful is that you get to experience the same parts of childhood as your children, and you get to break out of your grown-up responsibilities and be kids again. One of the best ways to bond outdoors is to take them on a scavenger hunt, where you rotate between looking for clues and looking for the next clue. The first person to find all the clues is the winner.
These activities should be exciting and interactive so that the children will have a good time, and the child and father will have a chance to spend more time together.
Make an Effort
Take an interest in their hobbies. Get involved with what they are doing. Ask them about their day. Listen to their music. Offer to take them to their favorite activity. Eat with them. Do something they enjoy, but don’t usually have time for.
Another enjoyable way to get to know one another is to arrange Do-It-Yourself or DIY activities. Doing activities like these also helps in building their creativity and style at a young age.
Bonding with children as a father is essential for various reasons:
- The relationship fathers develop with their children, and family members are beneficial since it increases the likelihood of happiness. It also increases levels of well-being among all members of the family.
- Fathers do not always have the opportunity to be present in the child’s life due to work, which can lead to lower quality of life and be detrimental to the child as well as the family as a whole. This can be offset by fathers bonding with their children as much as possible.
- Bonding also benefits the father himself, as these moments are an opportunity for a man to grow and learn more about themselves.
Fathers are not allowed to be free of maternal responsibilities. You are supposed to make the kids bond with the family and ensure that they reach their full potential.
Some fathers can’t share custody, while some live too far away from the kids. For those kinds of fathers, they have to make sure to stay in touch with their kids, to make time for them at least twice a month. Fathers have to be there for their kids, even when the mothers are not there.
