Honoring Commitments
It is our responsibility as a father or father-figure, to honor commitments to our children. Traditionally, our children's needs can be summarized as investing in time together, teaching life skills, providing direction and understanding, convictions through modeling, and most of all our hearts.
When we invest in time together, we are showing our children that they are an important factor in our lives and they truly matter to us. Every child needs to know their father is happy to be with them. When we build life-long positive experiences with our children, they will build them with their children. Some examples include bike riding, camping, fishing, mountain climbing, reading to each other, and playing catch.
When we teach our children life skills, we are educating them with appropriate and responsible behaviors in the management of personal affairs. Some examples include personal care, organization, work, respect for self and others, communication, and social skills. (Proverbs 22:6)
When we provide direction and understanding, we are teaching them philosophies concerning the significance of life, faith, and our legacy. Through legacy milestones, we can prepare our child for adolescence, purity for life, and their rite of passage.
(Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
When we allow convictions through modeling, we are teaching our children a firm adherence to morals and building integrity. As we all know, our children learn from not what we say, but what we do. We will leave in our children what we live out in our homes. (1 Thessalonians 2:10-11)
When we give our children our hearts, we are showing them we love them. Every child needs to receive affection which can be received when they hear "I love you," admiration which can be received when they hear "I'm proud of you," and affirmation which can be received when they hear "You are good at..." (Ephesians 5:1-2)