Anatomy of a FATHER by Sachin Trivedi (Our NFP Contact in Ahmedabad, India)

F : Fun

A : Accessible

T : Thoughtful

H : Husband

E : Encouraging

R : Responsible & Roaring

 

Fun:

Fun changes the way we do things for better!!!! This is the slogan used in a campaign “fun theory” promoted on YouTube by Volkswagen Group; and i fully support to the fact that Fun brings around a change for the better… Try to bring the element of Fun in whatever you do with your kid and see how well it is responded by your child.
Try to act as if you are chasing the germs away in a fight with them while brushing the teeth and eventually you will see a super hero in your child who has chased away all the germs with a superb brushing session!!! the child will wait for the time of brushing the teeth’s “Twice a Day” 
Make funny songs for the family members, friends, and daily chores; make a family anthem.
Cook a meal together while making music with utensils, it will bring a cheer to the process. Characterize the ingredients like Mr. Salt, Mrs. Chilly, Curly Coriander, Sweety Pie Sugar, Tangy Tomato and so on…
Tell a story while making funny noises about the characters or animals involved in the story. Jump & act around like the characters. Try to make it Live, try to make it more Fun. Years later your child will remember the experiences and definitely he’ll say that “Dad was Fun”
Your Kids Childhood will come only once in his life; you have a choice, make it Fun 

Accessible:

A stitch in time saves nine. If you wish your child should never get lost or distracted, then don’t be lost to them, be yourself accessible to them during their childhood.
Spending time with your child will help you to understand them better. You will learn to identify their strengths, emotions, likes, dislikes, tastes & preferences.
Here you don’t have a choice; it’s imperative to give MAXIMUM “QUALITY” TIME to your Children.
Don’t be on phone while listening to your child; either the person on phone or your child, any one of them can wait, and you know who could wait at that time.
Bring work life balance especially when it comes to upbringing of your children
LISTEN when your child wants to say something to you; be a good audience if you want a good player out of your child.
Your time is an investment for a return which will be passed on even to your generations to come.

Thoughtful:

Fathering has to be a selfless act, a Kind gesture, a thoughtful action, a sympathetic approach, an attentive association.
Small acts of selflessness can sow the seeds of a greater value in your child
Say a thank you to the liftman each time you use the lift in your building.
Say a thank you to the security guard who helps open & close the door.
Treat all the people with utmost respect.
Nurture your kids well. Be thoughtful or be ready to have kids who are thoughtless!!!

Husband:

If you wish to be a good father then you have to be the best husband.
Loving your Childs mother is the foundation of trust, care & love for your child.
Your Children will be good at relationships, they will be emotionally strong.
They will display a sense of togetherness while in a team, in the family, in their lives.
Appreciate your wife whole heartedly, show her respect, communicate, trust, cheer, motivate, support, collaborate with her at home; your child will realise these values early on in life.
Your wife is your better half, so be the best to express it…

Encouraging:

Encouraging is an emotional connect. Emotional connect is through heart. Heart is the core of everything.
“The working senses are superior to the body, mind is higher than the senses, intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he (the soul) is even higher than the intelligence”
Encouragement is all about instilling confidence in your child. It’s all about making her realise the potential she has. It’s all about making the child feel proud about herself.
Your spending time with your child could be an encouragement.
Your visiting her school for parent intervention could be an encouragement
Your reading a story to her could be an encouragement
Your playing with her could be an encouragement
Your Listening to her can be an encouragement
Your every engagement with your child is an encouragement
encourage >>> enhance >>> emotional quotient

Responsible:

A responsible father displays his responsibility in every action.
At times it could be an adverse economic situation at home, but a responsible father always knows that the adverse situation is temporary, and things will be fine again with his efforts and faith. And, while the time advances towards better economic situation, the Father precisely takes care that he takes the “right path” to do so and does not practice any unethical behaviour which can cause a dent in his responsibilities towards fathering.
In sound economic condition, he ensures to share his wealth for making the society a better place to live, thus creating an exemplary practice of Responsible Fathering.
It’s a fathers responsibility to nurture his children with utmost love & care
It’s the fathers responsibility to instil confidence & empathy in their children
It’s the fathers responsibility to create a value based culture for their children & the family
A Responsible Father Nurtures a Holistically Developed Child, such Children make a superior Society, Superior Societies makes a progressive Nation and a Happier world…………..

Roaring:

You have to be a Roaring Father…
Your Roar should be heard around the world, a roar of a “FATHER”
Spread the roaring Cheer… Spread the roaring happiness…
A Roar of love
A Roar of nourishment & care
A Roar of confidence
A Roar of encouragement
A Roar for smiles
A Roar for making this world a happier place

Your choice; you can Furore or you can Roar……  Roar of a FATHER

Maternal support in early childhood predicts larger hippocampal volumes at school age

Early maternal support has been shown to promote specific gene expression, neurogenesis, adaptive stress responses, and larger hippocampal volumes in developing animals. In humans, a relationship between psychosocial factors in early childhood and later amygdala volumes based on prospective data has been demonstrated, providing a key link between early experience and brain development.

To read the full article, go to
http://listserve.icfi.com/t/410347/524794/11308/0/

Father of the Year takes Talbert House project to heart

When Ronald Smith-Yisrael first enrolled in the Talbert House Fatherhood Project in May 2008, he was essentially homeless and trying to find food and shelter for his five children. This month, he’ll be honored as Father of the Year and help lead a new celebration of nurturing and loving fathers at Sawyer Point June 19.

Smith-Yisrael had just obtained physical custody of his children when he started 10 weeks of free classes called Nurturing Fathers.

To read more, click on link: http://www.soapboxmedia.com/forgood/060711talberthouse.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SoapboxMedia+(Soapbox+Media)&utm_content=FeedBurner

Goodwill’s NFP Helps Lead Dads Down the Road to Success

Goodwill believes every child deserves a good dad; a man who actively provides guidance, love and support for the children in his life. Through its Nurturing Fathers program Goodwill helps men develop the skills needed to be successful role models who support their families.

Participants learn positive discipline tools, effective family communication techniques, conflict resolution skills and how to achieve cooperation and teamwork in family life. 

To read more, click on link below:

http://www.goodwilldenver.org/content/goodwill%E2%80%99s-nurturing-father%E2%80%99s-programs-helps-lead-dads-down-road-success

Fathers Change Their Lives

   Sunday’s event congratulated dads who completed the 13 week Nurturing Fathers for Life program. A Program designed to keep father’s in their children’s lives. Accomplishing the class led dads to make emotional pledges. Their promise is to take what they learned and apply it to their own lives.

“It is an opportunity for us to turn the hearts of father’s to their children and abolish father absence,” said executive director Burl Lemon.

To read more, click on link below:

http://www.whiznews.com/content/news/local/2011/02/27/fathers-change-their-lives

Johnson gives his children a father’s greatest gift

Johnson gives his children a father’s greatest gift

http://www.sjahs.org/joejohnson.html

“Here is the link to my article, http://www.sjahs.org/.  This article was actually published and sent out to over 15’000 people so it was pretty amazing to have that happen. I must say Mark that your fathering program is amazing and I have seen amazing results with the men I am working with and just want to say God Bless to you, you are truly inspiring!!!”

Joe Johnson

Note:  “Fatherhood Skills Classes” use the 13-week Nurturing Father’s Program.

PAPAs: Providing Resources for Teen Fathers

The PAPAs program is an effort to improve parenting skills among teenagers in the community.  It was created by Good Samaritan Community Service in collaboration with the Children’s Issue Council of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.

Our program targets teenage fathers city wide. Participants should have children ages 5 or younger.  We welcome all fathers regardless of their custodial status. We are also glad to accept teenage stepfathers.

Click on link to read more…

http://www.goodsamaritancommunityservices.org/sanantonio/papas.html