Dear Mr. Dad: I’m a new dad, and a month or so after our son was born, my wife started acting strangely. Thanks to an article you wrote a while back, I recognized the signs of postpartum depression—she was sleeping more than usual, putting on weight, crying a lot, losing interest in things she loved...Continue reading
Category: Family
Why You Should Coach Your Child’s Sports Team
If you’re like most people, your kids will play some sport or a combination of sports when they’re young. Some parents are content to send their kids off to the field or court to be coached by someone else. Others want to get involved, spending quality time with their child while making memories that will...Continue reading
Grandfatherhood: Second Chances Really Do Exist
Dear Mr. Dad: I’m in my early 70s now and just retired. I put in long hours and did a lot of travel when I was working, so I wasn’t around for my son and daughter as much as I wish I could have been. But now that I’m a grandfather, I don’t want to...Continue reading
Infertility and Adoption: Sometimes Bonding is Hard
Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I desperately want to be parents. But after years of trying and tens of thousands spent on fertility treatments, our doctor is telling us that we should either consider using donor sperm or eggs or adopt. We’re considering those options, but I’m finding this whole thing rather emasculating and...Continue reading
Avoid a Halloween Fright: Keep Your Medicines Up and Away From Children
For young children, those first Halloweens can be lots of fun—wearing costumes, staying up late, counting their haul of candy, and sneaking extra pieces when parents aren’t looking. But Halloween also worries me a bit because I’ve seen how easy it is for kids to mistake medicines for candies. As a dad, I know that...Continue reading
October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month
We all want nothing more than to be understood. But for some kids, that isn’t as easy as it seems. Learning and attention issues are much more common in children than most people realize. In fact, in the U.S., 1 in 5 children struggles with brain-based learning and attention issues that affect reading, writing, math,...Continue reading
Distracted Driving: A Real Killer
Dear Mr. Dad: This may sound dramatic, but I’m hoping you can help save my mom’s life. She’s constantly on her phone, talking or texting, while she’s driving. I’m only 13 and I’ve tried telling her to stop but she says she has it under control and says I should be quiet. She’s cut out...Continue reading
Why Dads Matter As Much As Moms
For many decades, conventional wisdom told us that when it came to child development, mothers were the most important parent. Fathers, apparently, weren’t good for much more than piggybacks, reading an occasional bedtime story, and, of course, discipline. Researchers who studied child development bought into that conventional wisdom and rarely bothered to investigate whether dads...Continue reading
Are You Facing Foreclosure? The Making Home Affordable Program Can Help
Are you a homeowner and behind on your mortgage payments or at risk of foreclosure? If so, you’re not alone—one in 17 homeowners in the U.S are in the same situation. Fortunately, there is hope: The federal Making Home Affordable (MHA) program has already helped more than 1.8 million families reduce their mortgage payments by...Continue reading
Successfully Co-Parenting through Divorce
Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I are in the midst of what’s turning out to be a rather unpleasant divorce. We can’t stand to be anywhere near each other and conversations are pretty much impossible. The only thing we agree on (besides that we shouldn’t be married anymore) is that our kids need both...Continue reading
