HEALTHY KIDS · JULY 2018
DADS, YOUR CHILDREN
VIEW YOU VERY
DIFFERENTLY THAN
YOU OFTEN VIEW
YOURSELF.
HOW TO BE
A HERO DAD
M
y new book, Hero: Being
the strong father your
children need, released
earlier this year and I have
absolutely loved hearing all
the stories that have been pouring in about
dads who are committed to being the hero
their family deserves and needs.
On an episode of my Parenting Great Kids
podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with
my friend and NFL quarterback for the Los
Angeles Chargers, Philip Rivers. He’s a strong
man whose priorities are of faith, family, and
football, in that order. We sat down to talk
about his role as a father of 8 children, his
career in the NFL and how h e and his wife
work as a team to make it all work. You can
listen to our full conversation in the podcast
player below.
While it would be easy to put life on auto-
pilot, I loved hearing about how intentional
Philip is about being present for his children
and making sure he exhibits the behaviors
and habits to them that he expects from
them.
Philip strives every day to embody what it
means to be a HERO Dad. And for those of
you who are making the same daily choices
to show up of your family, here are 3 things
to remind yourself of regularly.
Children define ‘HERO’ much
differently than most men do.
As a pediatrician, one of the big things that
I KNOW to be true from my many years
of practice is how children perceive their
parents – particularly, how they view their
fathers. Listening to kids and then talking to
their fathers, I can see a huge disconnect.
Fathers see themselves in one way, but their
child sees them in another way entirely. If I
ask most fathers if they feel like a hero, they
normally say “No, of course not. I’ve never
really done anything brave or heroic.” But
if you ask a child who their hero is, they will
most likely say “My dad!”. To a small child,
their father is larger than life. Men – you
must understand that your children view you
very differently than you view yourself.
Never take time with family for granted.
If you get a chance to listen to my episode
with Philip Rivers, you’ll hear that this is
a huge focus for him. Family time is so
important. Remember that being a father
brings long-term joy – is it really worth
staying those extra few hours at work when
you could be home with your wife and kids?
Don’t let your identity get wrapped up in
a job. Your work won’t sit at your bedside
at the end of your life telling you what
you meant to it – but your kids and family
members will. When you make a conscious
effort to invest in family, the payoff is
enormous.
Whatever you do with your
children is magnified.
Because you are larger than life in your
child’s eyes, whatever you do with them,
whatever time you spend with them is
magnified in their minds. For example, if
you took them to the park once a month
when they were small when they are grown
up and looking back over their childhood,
their mind perceives you taking them to
the park 3-5 times a month. In a child’s eyes,
time with you, Dad, becomes magnified. The
time you invest with your children has a far
bigger impact on them than it does on you.
Remember that.
Dads are larger than life
in their children's eyes.
Most all dads have what it takes to be a
HERO Dad, they just don’t know it. And it is
often the small things that are more crucial
and game-changing than the big ones in the
eyes of their children. Dads, the things that
your kids will often remember the most can
easily be the things you take for granted. The
great news is that you get to choose every
day what kind of dad you are going to be.
Choose to be a HERO!
By Meg Meeker, MD
9 HEALTHY MAGAZINE