Ages & Stages

Love & Limits
Elementary age children need two things from you, Dad – 1) knowing for sure that you love them and 2) guidance & discipline when they make mistakes or have trouble following the rules.

• Ask your kids for the behavior you want. Instead of saying "Don't run." Try saying "Please walk."
• Use reasonable, respectful, related consequences. For example, forgetting to do a chore can earn them an extra small chore.
• Work on one misbehavior at a time. Give plenty of opportunities to practice the appropriate behavior and to earn a special privilege when she succeeds.

Links
Guidance & Discipline for Early Elementary Children (pdf)

Involved Dad = Good Grades
Studies show that kids get better grades when Dad is involved. Here's how you do it:

* Help with homework.
* Go to parent – teacher conferences.
* Attend school activities.
* Volunteer at your child's school.

Job Loss Triggers Grief
Your parenting ability is affected by stress. Men tend to deal with stress by working more. What do you do if your stress is caused by unemployment? You will go through a grief process as you make the adjustment to a new way of doing things. Your children will pick up on your emotional changes. You may see an increase in misbehavior or unusually well behaved children for awhile. Take care of yourself during this difficult time and your kids will benefit.

Links
Coping With Unemployment (pdf)
Helping Children Manage Stress (pdf)

Quality Time, Quality Books

Story books can help children and fathers deal with real life situations like being separated from each other. Get this book from your library and have a heart-to-heart talk tonight.

Always My Dad By Sharon Dennie Wyeth, New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1995.

In this beautifully illustrated picture book, a young African American girl must deal with the often times sad and harsh reality that her father is not always there for her. Her dad moves from job to job, and the young girl’s mother sends her daughter and her three sons to the country to live with their grandparents on a farm for the summer. Throughout the summer, the young girl misses her father a great deal, but one day her father returns. Their summer instantly becomes much better and all the children are a great deal happier. Her father must leave again because he needs to get his life back in order. The children are greatly saddened and upset by this, but they know that no matter where their father may go, he will always be their dad and he will always love them.

Me & My Dad talk about:

• What are some fun things that the children do with their father?
• What are some fun things that we do together?
• What does the young girl do to help her cope with missing her father?
• What do you do when you miss me (or another family member)?
• Do people always have to be together in order for them to be loved and feel loved?