Summertime Fatherhood

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Fatherhood Advice for Summer. Learn how to adjust your parenting skills this summer a couple of quick tips from SingleDad. Fatherhood, Parenting, Teen Parenting Advice for Dads on SingleDad

Summertime Fatherhood Tips

Let’s face it, we all want to do what’s best for our child
and let them have fun this summer, however, sometime’s our parenting skills
need a little adjusting when it comes to properly balancing good judgment as a
Father. Here are few tips from SingleDad on keeping your fatherhood skills fair
and balanced with your children this summer.

Activities:
Sleepovers

Summer time activities involve a lot of all day activities
and sometimes lead into the occasional sleep over. As a Father of three, I don’t mind having a night off of one
less kid, but I want to make sure I am speaking to the right person who is
organizing the event. Make sure you are having a “Parent to Parent” chat on the
phone and away from ‘outside ears’ listening to the conversation. There is
nothing worse than having your child or other children, ‘chiming in’ on the
conversation between two adults.

My advice is to make sure the parent on the other end of the
phone has complete freedom to say if the overnight stay is cool or not.
Depending on which side you are on with the sleepover, make sure there is a
pick up time agreed and be flexible about the times if you are dropping your
child off. Another great reminder when you are hosting a sleepover is to ask if
the other child has been to a sleepover before. Why do I ask, well let’s just
say experience has shown me that not all kids are the same when it comes to
sleepovers. Some kids fuss a little about missing home, but then subside; while
some kids can get freaked out about sleeping away from home and can keep you up
all night with their anxiety.

If you don’t have access to the other parent, well let’s
just say you will have an event to remember…. If you are hosting the overnight,
make sure you have access to the other parent’s cell phone, home phone and
email.

Don’t do this, Do
this… with Teens

I have a 16-year-old son. It’s tough saying “No” to all the
things he wants to do; especially when they are the EXACT same things I used to
do when I was his age. The problem is, I now know what he is really up to and
it’s not always fun being a Father to a teenager. The fact is, being a Dad
sometimes means you have to make tough decisions with your teen.

In most cases, my teen parenting has been fun and I am
learning a lot more about my son and myself from most of his summer time
activities. Here are a couple tips that will help your summer with your teen
become more positive and less negative.

Curfew:

Most cities across the US already have Teen curfews, so it
is more than fair to use that time frame as your guide. I live in San Diego and
any teen under the age of 18 has to off the streets by 11PM. This time frame
includes driving time, so it doesn’t hurt to remind your teen that ‘off the
roads’ means at home, on time, every time. Teen Driving accidents and
fatalities increase dramatically after midnight, so do yourself and your teen a
favor; stay off the roads before midnight and keep to a curfew that you can
enforce.

Teen Discipline

Mistakes will happen, and it is an opportunity to be a
better Dad rather than be a jerk about it. When it comes to your teen making a
mistake, make sure you have your cool and wits about you. There is nothing more
mentally damaging to your teen than a, “I talk, you listen” conversation.
Before going down that road, try to relax and gather your thoughts and reflect
on a time or place when you were in your teen’s shoes with a similar, (but always
different) situation.

Sometimes sharing your own personal ‘teen mistake’ is a good
way to have your teen relate to the discussion and disappointment that you can
both share. The point to good fathering skills during a disciplinary talk is to
remain a good listener and be fair and reasonable about the punishment or
restrictions to their liberties that you carry out. Bad choices have
consequences, so be fair and set reasonable expectations between you and your
teen when issuing out the discipline.

How To Be a Better
Dad

Being a better Dad to your children is about making plenty
of mistakes and being human enough to change your parenting style, forgive your
child, and learn along the way. Showing your children your ‘Humanness’ and your
gratitude for being their Father is important. Make those memories count and be
grateful for the relationships you create with them. Good Fatherhood is not
about being a ‘YES Dad” to everything your child wants; it’s about teaching
good behavior by example. Being a better dad to your children now will enable
them in the future on making the right choices in life and the relationships
they develop with other people from their experiences with you.

Richard JaramilloRichard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com,
a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children.
RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents
“Make Life Happen…Again!”

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Richard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com, a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children. RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents “Make Life Happen…Again!”