Ten Tips for Fathers

1. Be there.
   Children want and need your physical presence, from infancy onward.

2. Listen.
   Being there means more than being present physically.

3. Support your partner.
   Work together on behalf of your child, even if you're not living together.

4. Learn to disagree appropriately with your partner.
   Disagreement is a normal part of parenthood. It is how you resolve those differences that matter.

5. Get to know and be known to the people in your child's world.
   Teachers, caregivers, doctors ? all of them are an important part.

6. Get to know and be known to your children's friends and their parents.
   If you have concerns about who your child is hanging out with, be sure to discuss this with your child.

7. Play with your children.
   One of the best ways to learn about and develop a lasting connection with your children is to play with them ? to enter their world.

8. Teach by example.
   Children follow what you do more than what you say.

9. Discipline with love.
   To discipline means to guide or lead out the best in your child, and that is best done with love.

10. Keep your sense of humor.
    Nobody said fatherhood would be easy. If you can survive fatherhood, you can survive anything!