How Does a Father Show His Love?

One day I was talking to my wife about how we show our love to our children. It included the different ways we express ourselves, as men or women, and that her way of “loving” the girls as a mom is not the same as my way, as a dad.

It reminded me of a story I was once told that exemplified the difference between a mom and a dad with respect to their children. It involved the son playing with a coin around a light socket. In one instance (with the mom), she saw the imminent threat to the son’s safety and quickly ran over and took the coin from him to make sure he didn’t stick it in the socket. Conversely, the dad saw the son playing with the coin, ready to stick it in the socket. He nudged his buddy and said, “watch this.”

I don’t think it is a secret that men and women aren’t the same. And I won’t try to list how mothers show their love, but I would like to offer my view on how father’s show it.

I came up with the below list, just my thoughts, and welcome fathers to ask themselves how many of them do you show:

- Tell them - Hug them - Encourage them - Mentor them (in life) - Provide for them - Give them endearing gifts - Be honest (time appropriate) - Share experiences - Protect from unwarranted pain - Discipline their behavior - Respect their mother - Fidelity to your spouse - Spend dedicated and focused time with them

Happy Independence Day!!