What Is A"Good Dad?"

May 17, 2010

Interview with John Badalament, author of the book The Modern Dad's Dilemma: How to Stay Connected with Your Kids in a Rapidly Changing World

_______________

Mike Carruthers:
The job description for being a Dad has changed…

John Badalament:
The expectations for being a good dad were completely different just a generation ago. Dads were not expected to emotionally connect with their kids, being a good dad was being a provider, a breadwinner – today it’s about being a breadwinner and a caretaker.
 

John Badalament, author of the book The Modern Dad's Dilemma…

Sure the modern dad’s dilemma is how do I give what I didn’t get. In other words how do I build the kind of strong, healthy, close connected relationship that I want with my kids when for most dads that was not something we saw growing up. In other words that’s not to knock past generations of dads but that’s to say the expectations have radically changed for what it means to be a dad today – what it means to be a good dad.

So if you’re a father who wants a better relationship with your kids, John says think about this scenario.

20 years from now imagine your kids are interviewed for a documentary film about you. What would you hope they say 20 years from now about your relationship? What do you hope they don’t say? So in that then naturally leads to the question of Ok if you hope that your child says dad was there for me and dad really listened to me. What are your priorities today and needs changing?
 

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here