5 reasons why fatherhood is far better than football

June 8, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, dad, daddy, daughters, Father, fatherhood, fathers day, football, God, sons

I remember my first big-time football game as if it were yesterday. I was 13, sitting beside my dad and a friend in a huge stadium.

The game, though, didn’t go as I had hoped, and a loss seemed certain — when something amazing happened. With only four seconds left, my team’s kicker booted a 51-yard field goal that tied it up, and we all went wild. It was a college game and there was no overtime back then, but we rode home feeling as if our team had won the Super Bowl.

I also remember the birth of my first child as if it were yesterday. I was 36, standing in the delivery room with the doctor and nurses all around, minutes after midnight. Then something amazing happened. I heard a tiny, helpless, sweet cry, followed by a booming voice from the doctor: “It’s a boy!”

They placed my son under the warmer and I saw him up close for the very first time. He was full of life, looking all around, squirming from head to toe. It was the most precious sight I had ever seen.

My wife and I drove home two days later, feeling as if we’d won, well, the Super Bowl.

Those few seconds
when I enter the house and
my three kids go wild as they
hug my leg are better than any
balloon drop at a political rally.
To them, I might as well be president.

I’ve been to quite a few football games in my life while spending far more money than I care to acknowledge, and I can say without hesitation: Fatherhood is infinitely better than football. This should be obvious, of course, but we do live in a day where too many of us men are making a life out of our hobbies, extending our teen years into our 30s.

As we approach Father’s Day, consider these five reasons why fatherhood is better than football — or any hobby, for that matter. Continue reading →

5 lessons from Proverbs that will make you a better parent

February 10, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Father, God, kids, morals, mother, Parents, Proverbs, solomon, values, wisdom

For most of my life I’ve thought of the book of Proverbs as a collection of “moral nuggets” – a buffet of sorts that has a verse for just about any situation in life.

Proverbs certainly has plenty of wisdom in it, but lately I’ve been looking at its overarching themes. That is, the “lesson behind the lessons.”

Moms and dads can learn a lot from Proverbs. Here are five themes that stick out to me:

1. Be a parent and not a “buddy” or “friend.” That is, a parent has God-given authority over their kids, a role that comes with enormous but wonderful responsibilities. The writer of Proverbs, Solomon, makes this obvious from the start: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” Think about your best friends in high school. Did you ever give them “instruction” or “teach” them anything? No, you just had fun. Of course, I have lots of fun with my children. We laugh all the time. But even though I playfully call my two sons my “buddy,” my role is to be their father. Continue reading →

6 reasons to break that iPhone addiction — and play more with your kids

August 20, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Android, Apple, Bible, Children, Father, iPhone, iPhone addiction, kids, mother, parenting, Smartphone, smartphone addiction, YouTube

Perhaps I should have seen it coming. My 5-year-old son and I were getting on our bicycles, preparing to take a leisurely ride down the road, when he gave me an ultimatum.

“Dad, don’t get on your phone one bit.”

A dozen things entered my mind. Can I go 30 minutes without looking at my iPhone? What if, during one of our stops, I want to check my email or look at the latest news on Twitter, or even open the Weather Channel app when I see that dark cloud on the horizon?

“OK,” I said.

So for 30 minutes we rode down the road, had a pleasant time, and I survived.

Humans always have had distractions from the more important things in life, but I sometimes wonder if smartphones — through the marvel of technology – have compiled every distraction into one handy handheld device. They’re tiny portals into the entire world, with a seemingly infinite amount of possibilities.

Continue reading →

5 reasons why fathers should change diapers

July 27, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers | Tagged changing diapers, dads, Diaper, dirty diaper, Father, God, humble, humility, Martin Luther, moms, poopie

Once when I was in elementary school, a classmate in a seat near me became ill, stood up, and proceeded to lose his lunch, right there on the floor. I soon did the same, not because I had been ill, but because I was born with a very weak stomach.

I largely am still that way.

When autumn rolls around, you’ll catch my family and me at the local corn maze, but you probably won’t see me in line at the port-a-potty. If there’s a bad smell – even the thought of it – I sometimes struggle to keep my composure. I even nearly got sick once watching an episode of “Man v. Wild,” when Bear Grylls drank something I’d rather not mention. I quickly turned it off.

I do, though, change diapers – even the super-messy ones. When my wife and I were anticipating the birth of our first child, I determined well beforehand that I was going to help in every aspect of childrearing, even the ones that sometimes repel fathers.

I figure that if I can change diapers, any father can. Of course, we seem to be living in a new age of fatherhood, when men do chores their fathers once avoided. Still, I’m sure there are fathers out there who are squeamish when it comes to diapers, particularly “poopies.”

Continue reading →