I am by no means an authority on parenting. I do not claim to have mastered the art of parenting. If anyone says they have I do not believe them. However, all this does not mean that we cannot be good parents. Good parents make mistakes and learn from them in order to help their children develop. There are certain characteristics that fathers need to be good ones for their children.
Fathers need to be Fixtures in their children’s lives. There is no substitute for the father in the home. When God created the home in the Garden of Eden, He established it with a father and a mother. God knew that children need both in their lives. A father teaches his son how to be a man and treat his wife. A father models for his daughter how to be a man and how she should seek to be treated by the one who will be her husband.
Fathers are to Adore their children. Love should pour forth from the father to his children. He needs to hug and kiss his children as much as he can. His children need to know how important they are to him.
Fathers are to Teach their children. Fathers are to bring their children up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). One does this by teaching them God’s will from His word. A father also does this by modeling for his children how a Christian should live and act and talk.
Fathers are to Hear their children. There is no excuse for ignoring your children. They like to talk to us and we need to listen to them and let them know we hear them. Things go on in their lives and they want to tell their dad and he needs to hear what is being said. Things are also said that are not meant for the father that he needs to hear in order to correct them.
Fathers are to Encourage their children. Children need to hear from their father words that encourage them in their efforts. Fathers show to their children that they are interested in them and want what is best for them by being encouraging to them. Fathers need to encourage their children in their Bible class efforts, in their doing good for others and in all good things.
Fathers need to Rule their children. The inmates are not to run the asylum. Fathers have been put over the home by God (Ephesians 5:23). Fathers are to discipline and teach their children in order for the children to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Christ.
If each father will be a Fixture, Adore, Teach, Hear, Encourage and Rule their children, our children will be blessed with good fathers and we will be pleasing to God in this.