10 Things I’ve Learned About Being a Dad

Written by Steve McPeters

1. Take off the training wheels. The confidence it builds in your children lasts forever while the occasional scrapped knees heal quickly.

2. Hugs reduce blood pressure. That is according to my daughter; I never actually measured it before and after but hugs sure do tug on a dad’s heart and for that moment you both are safe and secure in each other’s arms.

3. Holding hands are for mom and dad. According to my children making them hold hands to make up did not work it only gave my son another opportunity to aggravate my daughter at close range.

4. Children are a blessing. It is humbling and amazing that God would allow me to be the dad to two of His precious children. What an awesome privilege it is to be a part of helping uniquely created children find and fulfill their God given course in life.

5. Lap time does not last. There are some things about being a dad that I don’t miss such as a sick child in the middle of the night but I will miss lap time forever. What an expression of complete love and trust it is to have your children jump up in your lap and just spend time there.

6. Greater respect for my dad. Being a dad sure gave me a new appreciation and respect for my own dad in the way he raised me and my brothers but also in the way he loved and helped raise my children.

7. Grandchildren are just being children. During a family dinner I made the mistake of correcting my children’s table manners. My mom informed me that they were only being children. I refrained from asking her what my brothers and I were when we did the exact same thing at a family dinner and we got sent to our rooms.

8. Dads are like guardrails. Sometimes we may get dented and run over but our job should always be to guide and protect. Guidance and boundaries are sometimes challenged or crossed but just imagine what could happen without either.

9. Turn loose. One of the hardest to learn; from letting go the first time to a baby sitter, letting go so they could take their first step by themselves, letting them drive by themselves, letting them go off to college, etc…… But without turning loose they can never become who they were created to be and they keep coming back.

10. Dads are Superheroes. It is amazing that dads can fix almost anything or so my children thought. So what superpowers do I have? I would say it is time and hearing. It is amazing what spending time and listening to them will fix. Oh the toy might still be broken or at least it does not work like it did or the puzzle is still missing that last piece or the car still has that dent or relationship might still be broken but those things do not seem to be as important.