Dear Healthy Men: I’ve already had my COVID shot and two boosters, but my wife is bugging me to get a flu vaccine. I say that the COVID shots will protect me. She disagrees. Who’s right? A: In two words, she is. Many people, particularly guys, are trying to decide whether to get a flu...Continue reading
Category: Family
Dreaming About More Sex, Dad? Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
Dear Mr. Dad: I’m going to cut straight to the chase. Our baby was born more than six months ago, and we’ve had sex a grand total of twice since then. Right after the birth—which was normal in every way—my wife’s OB told us that we’d be able to resume our regular sex life after...Continue reading
Talking to Your Stepson About His Dad
Dear Mr. Dad: My parents divorced when I was a teen, and I had a difficult relationship with my alcoholic father, which impacted my self-worth and adult relationships for years. Now, as a stepfather, I see my young-adult stepson dealing with similar issues—especially feelings of disappointment and anger—around his deceased birth father, who was also...Continue reading
How Nurses Can Engage Men In Preventive Care
Men and women tend to take very different approaches to their health care. Women generally seek routine care for gynecology issues and childbearing. On the other hand, most men don’t typically have a pressing need for regular health care once they leave the pediatrician. But self-awareness and preventive action are essential in detecting many diseases...Continue reading
Miscarriage Grief: Not For Women Only
Dear Mr. Dad: Just after our first trimester, my wife and I lost our baby. I’ve been focusing on being there for her and supporting her every way I can. But this miscarriage has hit me pretty hard too and I’m having a tough time coping. Part of the problem is that I feel guilty...Continue reading
A New Problem: Popular Male Fertility Procedure Can Lower Testosterone Levels
Testosterone has been top of mind in medicine over the last decade. And for good reason: It is now clear that testosterone in men is essential for normal growth, maturation, health, and well-being. In the brain, “vitamin T” influences sex drive, assertiveness, mood, energy, thinking and verbal memory. It increases muscle strength and maintains normal...Continue reading
A Chore by any Other Name Still Stinks (but Has to Be Done)
Dear Mr. Dad: I’m sure this makes me sound old, but when I was a kid, my siblings and I had chores that we had to do around the house. My wife, though, grew up in a house with full-time staff who did all the cleaning and meal prep. Naturally, that’s led to some arguments...Continue reading
Parents Play a Significant Role in Their Children’s Capacity to Regulate their Emotions
“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” – Carl Jung, Founder of Analytical Psychology, Swiss Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst Attachment to Both Parents Predict Preschool Children’s Emotional Regulation A 2021 Portuguese longitudinal study measured the...Continue reading
Prostate Cancer: A Rockier Road to Fatherhood?
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men, just behind lung cancer. While prostate cancer is a serious disease by any measure, most men diagnosed with it will survive it (98% overall 5-year survival). But in many cases, therapy for prostate cancer will be needed and surgical or radiation treatments are...Continue reading
Back to School and Fatherhood
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men” – Frederick Douglass This August as kids are headed back to school, fathers and male role-models are vital in helping their children thrive in the classroom. Here are six impactful ways to play an active part at home and make back to...Continue reading