Change your week by reading this on the way home today

SAHD FAHD #1 Location

Location Location Location

I often get asked about the best advice I can give to Dads to be better dads. The best answer I have ever given or seen for the highest impact is to think about your location.

If you are joining us this week, we are kicking off the Famous at Home Directive. This is for parents who want to improve over the summer. Each article will be concise and offer a single, practical idea. This week, we're discussing location.

The realtor readers are already salivating and chanting their slogan, “location, location, location!” Why? Because no matter how perfect the house, you cannot change its location.

Now, it’s easy to think big on location. Are you at home or on the golf course? If you are on the golf course and your family isn’t there with you, then you aren’t going to be famous at home. You will be infamous. But I want to give you the extra morsel to chew on, think small.

When we think big, we think about ourselves. Thinking small means stopping to pay attention to where your children are.

The Couch Conundrum

For example, when your kids are small (toddlers and down), they exist on the floor. So when we sit in the living room, we have two options to join them. We must either lower ourselves to them by sitting on the floor or raise them to the couch or chair. If your children are like mine, pulling them up won’t last long. They taught me that no matter my strength, expertise, or experience, I have to go to them. And as I have aged, I recommend you bring a pillow along the way.

Here is what that simple act does. When we come down to their level, we give them dignity. They are on our level by their own strength. And if you have boys, they are probably going to wrestle you. If you have girls, they may snuggle into your lap. Being on the floor subtly communicates that you are present for them rather than requiring them to be present for you.

When you are present for someone else like that, you are on your way to becoming famous. What if the biggest person in your world reached out to you? The shift from couch to floor can be painful, but I haven’t ever heard anyone give me anything less than a stellar report.

How do you do life?

Now your life might not be sitting on the couch. It might be wildly different. But the thing about this first lesson is to go to your kids rather than forcing them to be with you, on your level.

Faithful Fatherhood is about reimagining principles for your life, your faith. We are naturally different, and that is good. But we can all move toward our kids rather than pull them along the way. Please let me know how you interacted with your kids this week. We all need the encouragement of success and reinforcements when we fail.

I look forward to seeing you next week.

In Faithful Fatherhood

Jacob Pannell