Dads

Fatherhood Friday is a community of dads and moms sharing their stories and experiences on fatherhood. This large community is part of the great site dad-blogs. If you haven’t already, stop by and check it out.

This week you get to meet the youngest of my four children, Anah.

Anah

Anah “Banana” is the youngest of the four children in the Coupon Dad clan (We’ll get to the “banana” explanation in a second). Anah turned seven years old in April and just (today actually) finished the first grade.

Ok, to the “banana” thing….. you see, like 99% of the girls out there my little one idolizes Hannah Montana. So she has come up with her rhyming “stage name” for when she becomes a star just like Hannah Montana (just makes you smile doesn’t it). My little Anah also loves clothes, jewelry, shoes, accessories and can’t wait until she can wear make up. Oh, I forgot to mention……were not talking about your Wal-Mart or Target type stuff here. I completely blame my wife for this, because Anah has an eye for the finer things (not that she has any yet). I get constantly bombarded with…..”Daddy when can I have a Coach purse?”….or…”I love you daddy, will you take me Macy’s”.

I feel sorry for her husband……..heck, she takes after my wife, so I feel sorry for me. Of course they both will tell you it is my fault that they are that way (and they are probably right).

So as you can imagine Anah’s birthday lists are quite comical. Actually for the past two years they have been rather short. There is the usual books, game boy games or Hannah Montana items on the list….but, this list is not for dad. Oh no, that is for relatives and friends. Dad’s list has only consisted of one thing.

1) To go shopping with Dad’s credit card.

Oh, her husband is screwed……….

So for the past two years Anah, Mom and Dad have gone to the mall for her birthday to see how fast we can wear out the little strip on Dad’s card. Of course she has a pre-set limit though…..and of course she always sweet talks Dad into increasing that limit as the day goes on. What can I say, I’m a sucker for cute smiles and batting eyelashes.

Fatherhood

Growing up in a frugal minded household my children are being taught and coached about finances. They all know it takes hard work, a good education, making smart financial decisions and to not always have your hand out if you want to live a comfortable life. They are taught about not being wasteful and always being thankful for what they have.

With that being said I also think that you occasionally have to let your children experience some of the finer things in life (I said occasionally now….I am still Coupon Dad after all). Reason I say this, I believe that you have to be rewarded for your hard work or you will lose motivation and won’t strive to succeed in life.

Tagged as: Dads, Fatherhood Friday, Parenting

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Fatherhood Friday is a community of dads and moms sharing their stories and experiences on fatherhood. This large community is part of the great site dad-blogs. If you haven’t already, stop by and check it out.

This week I’m going to introduce you to my little reader Amber and the third oldest.

Amber

Amber is the third of my four children, she is nine years old and is in the 3rd grade. As you probably guessed by the title, Amber loves to read (loves might be a understatement……no, no it is definitely an understatement ). Now all of my children are big readers but Amber takes the cake (more on this later). Amber also has dad wrapped around her little finger (as does Anah, who you’ll meet next week). Of course this you may also have guessed by the picture above.

Now, why I say it is an understatement to imply Amber just loves to read. I guess one of the best examples I can give is to tell you about the note cry for help her librarian sent to all the school’s teachers. You see Amber had read all the books in the library at the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade level and the librarian had nothing left for her to read. So the cry for help was for all the teachers to break into their own personal stashes at home and bring in some books. So far this has worked, but I’m curious what ideas they come up with for the next two years Amber is at the school!

Amber’s love for reading has made her a very bright and quick witted little girl. This love for reading I’m proud to say, is something she picked up from her father. Unfortunately (depending on who you ask), she also managed to get the “smarty pants” gene from her father as well. Add this to that quick wit and what I refer to as the “wisenheimers” fly left and right…..and somehow usually at my expense. This my wife thinks is absolutely hilarious……and I have to admit usually makes me crack a smile as well.

Fatherhood

This week I thought I would touch on what I feel is the importance of a father in their daughters lives. These are my observations and opinions.

First, your daughter is learning about relationships and how they should expect to be treated by watching you and your spouse. If you treat your spouse with:

* Respect
* As an equal
* Cherish and love them

…then the chances your daughter will end up in a good relationship are strong. If you argue, bicker, are distant or abusive towards your spouse then the odds increase your daughter will end up in a similar relationship.

Second, all girls need love and encouragement from a positive male role model in their life. If they don’t get this at home, than they will go searching for it in other places, like their boyfriend, which could lead to an undesired outcomes.

Tell them that you love them, that you are proud of them and take an interest in their lives. It will go a long way in them learning to respect themselves, building their confidence and self esteem.

What are your thought on a dads role in his daughter(s) life?

Thanks

Tagged as: Dads, Fatherhood Friday, Parenting

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