Things I’ve Learned about Parenting from My Dad

My mom says that when people ask her what the secret to her parenting success is (what me? a parenting success? Why, thank you), she responds, “Marry someone who is a really good dad.”

My dad? He’s a really good dad.

1985

Now that I’m a parent, I’m trying to follow his example. Here are a few things I remember about his parenting style:

• Say “Yes” as often as possible
• Don’t even think about letting your kids play you against the other parent
• Teach your children to work
• Let your children hear you speak well of them to other people
• Make work a game
• Don’t tease
• Take your child’s interests seriously
• Don’t be too busy to talk to your kids, especially late at night
• Be strict about a few things that matter a lot and laid back about most other things
• Tickle your kids, but stop while it’s still fun
• Let your children see you be involved in things that are interesting and important to you
• Your child won’t know how much you love them until they have children of their own

1987

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I love you!

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 This post is sponsored by Disney Baby. I’ll be joining the Disney Baby blogging
team next month, and look forward to sharing these kinds of stories
(projects/ideas/etc) with you over there! Stay tuned for more details!