The Family Guy - Parenting From a Single Dads Perspective

It was a hot summer day in august and The courthouse was without cold air. I wiped my brow as I entered the crowded courtroom. Several times I had appeared in family court, petitioning to get custody of my children. On each occasion I left the courtroom alone. The court had taken the girl's mothers rights away, but fighting through all the red tape had dragged on for two years.

I did all I could to keep my faith. Then came that magical day. The girls were coming home with me! Wait a minute; the girls were coming home with me! Do they mean today?

I fell to my knees,right there outside the courtroom. Fighting my tears of joy I thanked god for the miracles he had blessed me with. I asked for his guidance. I asked him to help me be the best father I could be and told him I could not do it without him.

Soon we were in the car and heading home. I glanced at them in the mirror, as they smiled ear to ear. They were my angels and I felt overwhelmed with joy, smiling all the way home. Has a man ever been so blessed as I was on that magical day?

Now it was time to put my parenting skills into action. I put on the superdad cape and transformed into The Family Guy.

Right about this time Faith had just turned 8, and Elissa was 5. At first I let them eat what they want, bathe when the want, and go to sleep when they wanted. This wasn't working for me, so nice daddy had to set som rules and bondaries.

The girls were soon given chores to help out around the house. They put up quite a resistance at first, but after they lost some of their privelages they quietly surrendered.

Two years have passed and the three of us are very happy. I work from home so we get to spend alot of time together. I love my role as The Family Guy. I am blessed to have such amazing girls who are so loving and giving. Sometimes they call me Mister Mom. Sometimes they just call me daddy, but my greatest happiness comes each night, hearing their precious voices call me to tuck them into bed.

This Article was Written By: Jay Bartels

Jay is a leader in the family benefits comunity. Faith and Elissa are Healthy,happy, and growing up a bit too fast for daddy. Please look for more from jay at the sites below, and his next article coming very soon.

http://www.freewebs.com/BOCABOYJAY

http://www.Ryze.com/go/bocaboyjay

BOCABOYJAY@AOL.COM

---

Gifted Children - Getting the Balance Right

One of the challenges for parents with a gifted child is to encourage them to develop a range of interest outside the academic sphere that not only rounds them out but stops them... Read More

Teenagers Taking Risks

It can be hard being a parent with a teen going through what I term the 'I'm Invincible' phase. This is the phase when teens start doing scary and dangerous things (according to... Read More

Parenting Your Teenager: Are Sleep Overs with the Opposite Sex OK?

Q. Our 17-year-old son wants us to let his girlfriend spend the night at our house in his room. He has two beds since his older brother left for college. He says nothing... Read More

Parenting Your Teenager: The Power Struggle

Q: My husband and I are at a loss as to what to do with our two teenagers. They have been great kids and all of a sudden it seems like we are... Read More

Parenting Your Teenager: Teens and Violence

I have a bit of a different response than most therapists to the often asked question:"How can all this teen violence be happening?"My questions are:"How could this not be happening"and"Why doesn't it happen... Read More

Choosing Names For Twins

There are many reasons for treating your twins as individuals rather than a pair. But if you must choose names that go together here are a few suggestions. But first, always make sure... Read More

The Top 5 Reasons Why Unwed-Parents Must Establish Paternity

"It takes a village to raise a child" is more than an African proverb, and when the village is small and one parent is missing the task becomes even more challenging. Fortunately, being... Read More

Picky Eater - Fighting the Good Fight

Often, the struggle at dinnertime with your picky eater is not so much about food as it is about control. As children become more independent, conflicts can arise as they carefully scrutinize what... Read More

Can Mineral Deficiencies Lead to Behavioral Problems in Children?

A while ago I received this story from David in England, who wrote: I am following your work with great interest as I am trying to get more information about the subject... Read More

Authoritarian Parenting, Permissive Parenting, or Loving Parenting

Angie was brought up by rigid, authoritarian parents who kept her on a tight leash. They rarely considered her feelings about anything, showing a complete lack of empathy and compassion for her feelings... Read More

Ten Terrific Ideas for Rainy Day Fun

It's been raining for a week and the kids and bored and restless. How do you cure those rainy day blahs? Try some of these parent tested and kid approved ideas and your... Read More

My Children

I have been a single mom for almost 20 years. My kids were 3, 7, 12 and 14 when my ex left.As a single mom, it's often hard because you are the only... Read More

Twins - Double The Trouble Or Double The Pleasure? Both!

If You're Having Twins..is it double the headache, or double the joy? Probably both!What Causes Twins? The number of twins is on the increase, probably because of IVF treatment where more than one... Read More

Responding to Criticism Without Being Defensive

In an actual war, to be attacked means to have our survival threatened. Thus, we might chose between surrender, withdrawal, or counterattack. When we feel attacked (criticized or judged) by others in conversation,... Read More

Ten Ways To Become Your Teenagers Best Friend

Best friends! It may seem impossible to believe, but today's teens do want to consider their parents as friends, even though they think we could never understand the realities of their world. They... Read More

Role Models for Your Teen

By the time your children reach their teens, there is only a limited amount of time left to influence them and get them started in life in the right direction.The teen years are... Read More

Lead with Love:How Mothers Can Use Their Greatest Strength to Manage Around Their Technical Weakness

My wife and I have been working on a video scrapbook for our son now for about a year. The project originally started out as a movie of all of our video clips... Read More

Bad Company

Here we will come to know who are the most responsible person to make your child an addicted person & failure.In general we see kids who are addicted of tobacco , drinking, smoking,... Read More

Tips For a First-Time Dad

So you're going to become a father. Now is not the time to panic. You've got lots of time to get used to the idea, before that new life you helped create, arrives... Read More

Why First Borns Fuss, Seconds Are Resilient and Last Borns Like To Laugh

How can two or three children in the same family be so different? They are brought up in the same broad social environment, under a similar set of rules and an identical family... Read More

Assume Personal Responsibility? Who, Me?

As thinking, acting human beings we have the ability to choose our response to events, people and circumstances. We do not become responsible when we mature; we mature when we become responsible.Psychologists teach... Read More

Getting through the School Daze

It's back to school time again. Does the thought of having to get everyone organized and out the door make you want to send for boarding school brochures? Here are a few tips... Read More

Fuzzy Names, Sweet Names

As with everything, names go through cycles of change with passing generations. I also tend to think that names have improved immensely since the first Elmas, Minervas, Bufords, and Alfreds graced the baby's... Read More

Calming Tips for Hyperactive Children

Parents of hyperactive children know the "Would you please just settle down?!" phrase well, and likely use it on a regular basis.There are a number of tips to help parents settle their hyperactive... Read More

How Public Schools Coerce Parents Into Giving Mind-Altering Drugs To Their Children

Despite the potentially dangerous side-effects of Ritalin, public school authorities now pressure many parents to give Ritalin to their children so these kids won't "act up" in school.Naturally, most parents don't want to... Read More

What Parents Should Do For Children To Do Their Best After Divorce?

Why do some children still do best after divorce and separation? Is there divorce parenting approaches that really work? Read and learn the divorce parenting approaches that really work.Going through the process of... Read More

THE NEW SCHOOL VISIT: 5 Things to Look For

Today the little red school house is not what it use to be, and along with changes in how our schools are funded, how they are governed, how teachers teach and how children... Read More

Joining a Gang: How to Help Kids Prevent it, How to Tell if Theyve Joined One, How to Help Them Out

While youth gangs are nothing new -- they've been traced back to the early 19th century -- the demographic of a youth gang is something that is constantly changing. Many people stereotype gang... Read More

Why have children? DINCs, This is For You!

First there were Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals). Then came the Boomers, the Busters, the Boomlets, and Generation X. Now we have the DINCs, which stands for Double Income, No Children. I'm not talking... Read More