Grand gestures are great, but it’s the little things that win your family’s heart.
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They’re made tackling each other in the back yard.
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Parenting requires big tasks. It’s a heavy job. Sometimes moms and dads can get overwhelmed by the huge responsibilities that lie in this position. While the big things are critical, sometimes the small details make a more significant impact. Dads, if you want to score extra points with mom, do the little things.
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1. If mom gets the kids ready for bed, do the late-night chores that will allow her to go to sleep earlier. There is nothing worse than feeling the need to tape your eyelids to your eyebrows to make it through the bedtime process only to have dirty dishes, left-out leftovers, a full trash can, and toys scattered across the floor that need picked up before your head can hit the pillow. If mom is in charge of all responsibilities while dad goes to bed, you’re in for one tired, angry momma. If the chores are done at the same time that the kids get put to bed, everyone gets to go to sleep sooner. And dad, if mom gets to go to sleep early because you helped her out, you may even get lucky!
2. Play a game instead of watching one. Catching a game on TV now and then is no big deal, but memories are not made staring at a rectangle in the family room. They’re made tackling each other in the back yard. They’re made when everyone is twisted like a pretzel on the living room floor trying to put their left foot on the blue circle. They’re made playing “telephone” sitting around a campfire. In ten or twenty years, you won’t remember who scored for your fantasy team, but you will remember the points you scored as “World’s Best Dad.”
3. Wear the baby in a baby carrier. There is no particular reason for this other than it’s just incredibly cute.
4. Make a big family breakfast every Saturday morning. Anything that gets the family together and excited is a plus. Food easily does that. If mom doesn’t have to cook it, that’s a bonus. This should also get the lazy teenagers out of bed.
5. Help with enforcing rules. Mom asks the kids to do chores. Two hours later, the chores remain undone. She asks again. Finally, she does them herself. This is more exhausting than if she would have just done the chores in the first place. But, if dad asks the kids to do the chores (and makes them follow through), mom gets a break from nagging and doesn’t have to do them herself. Again, dad may get lucky.
6. Laugh at yourself. Of course, dad wants to appear to be the strong, “got-it-all-together” guy, but nobody is perfect. Kids learn from parents when they least expect it. Keep it light. Laugh it off. Admit mistakes, take advantage of a teachable moment, and demonstrate how to make it better.
7. Plan things. Show the family that you want to spend time with them by making plans to spend time together. It could be a day trip to the zoo, an evening of miniature golf, or staying in to make a special dessert and watch home movies. Show interest in your family and you will hold their interest.
8. Lead by example. If you expect your children to behave a certain way and respond a certain way, demonstrate it. Model the right behavior for them. Children are observant. They understand hypocrisy before they know how to spell it.
9. You love your family. Say it and show it. There is nothing more attractive than a man showing his children that he loves them. You don’t need to spend lots of money and buy the newest tech gadgets. Live every day with the love you have for your family in view. It will change how you see the day. It will change how you view problems. You’ll be thankful, peaceful, and without regret. No matter what you family is facing, they will feel that.
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Those two qualities are demonstrated in the small things.
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When it comes to the qualities that good women want in a man and father to her children, it has nothing to do with a paycheck or status. She wants integrity and character, and those two qualities are demonstrated in the small things.
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Photo: Flickr/ Stephane Venne
Another day, another article telling men what to do to make women happy.
Let me tell you one thing every man wants the mother of his children to do – notice the thousand things he does every, single, day, and appreciate it, just as much as he appreciates her for the things she does.
This ridiculous man-shaming is tired, old, and doing nothing to improve the situation between men and women.
Too many articles on this website about pleasing women. What about things women can do to keep their men happy?