Father’s Day is a day of celebration, and that is appropriate. Dads and Moms should be celebrated. It may never have been harder to be a parent than it is today.

If there is one word, one idea, one thought that jumps out at me for dads it’s this: be and stay involved in your children’s lives. Your children and your wife need you to be there and involved. Be there when they hurt, when they win, when they lose, when they need to be held, when they need to tell you a secret, when their best friend just dumped them, when they need advice or love or encouragement, or …anything. Be there.

I’ve never really subscribed to the “quantity vs. quality” time argument that says spending quality time is more important than the quantity of time you spend with children. I don’t know the definition of “quality time”. All time spent with children, as long as you are present and available, is quality time. Tickling, chasing, board games, shooting hoops, fishing, hide and seek, tea time, reading, being silly and laughing hysterically, going for a walk, getting barrets put in your hair by a 5 year old (frequently for me in my house with 4 daughters), any and all time spent with children is quality time. As long as you are present and available, time spent with children is quality time and the more the better.

Finally this thought for dads (and moms). I believe there are Big Things and Little Things in being a parent and sometimes as a dad I would get freaked out about the Little Things and forget about the Big Things. These are my Big Things and I want to encourage you to get the Big Things right and then things like whether they have the “right” sneaker brand on their feet are the Little Things.

The Big Things:
1. Are your children safe and do they feel safe when they are home?
2. Do your kids know in the depth of their souls that they are loved and do they see, hear and experience love in your home?
3. Do your children know Jesus? Do they see Christ modeled in their home and life?

Keep them safe, love them to pieces, tell and show them Jesus.
Happy Father’s Day!

Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. David Wagner, EdD, LP