Why A Father Is Not A Dad

It can be said that any man who procreates is afather, whether present in that child's life or not. While this is technically true, it really takes a man tobe a dad!

There is nothing more insulting than a cavalier manthinking he has every right in the world to see thechild he helped to create, but was never there for himor her. It is as if he or she is obligated to him likethat of a debt.

As a child of a broken home and now as a fathermyself, I know the purest definition of being a dad isthe time spent with your child that will always prevailin the end.

Would you remember your father more if he was amillionaire but never there, or a near-penniless manwho spent time with you and showed you the loveyou needed?

To me, it's a no brainer!

However, many dynamics can and do interfere withbeing a dad. Turmoil-ridden marriages, separations,relocations, resentment from the child, and theever-abundant brainwashing of a child to hate.

So if you're a father doing his best to be a dad, howdo you overcome such obstacles?

Do everything in your power to maintain the bondyou have with your child! If that means following thatchild to Timbuktu and lose your career, getting onbetter terms with the child's mother, or simply puttingmore time into strengthening the father-childrelationship.

If there is anything I can take from my own father, isthat of sporadic appearances and child support fromover 2000 miles away never satisfied my need for adad. Today, as a 32 yr. old man, it has never beenso evident how important a dad is in a child's life. Myhumble opinion is that I would have had a lot lesssecurity issues had a dad been present in mychildhood.

When your child was created, that little personshould have been the most important part of yourexistence and to vow never to break that mindsetshould have been paramount. The seriousness ofhaving a child from the conception and subsequentlyrecognizing his or her importance could be the factorwith dead beat dads in most cases.

How do you rank your values?

Simply put, if you're ranked above your child, you'renot being a dad, you're the father of that child whosimply donated your sperm for his or her life.

Instead of just being a donor to another's life, committo taking the time to know your child and let them getto know you no matter what the conditions.

With this in mind, you will be doing the mostimportant job of your life and that is helping the lifeyou created become a loving, well adjusted personwho can pass these parenting traits down to the nextgeneration.

After all, isn't that what being a dad is all about?

by Brian Maloney-ValuePrep.com

Want to improve your personal values? Get high-quality relationship advice for guys and women from a 'Logical' standpoint.

Visit ValuePrep - Relationship Advice

**Attn Ezine editors / Site Owners**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.