It takes hard work to become a good father, and one of the most formidable obstacles confronting fathers is the difficulty of finding good guidance on fatherhood. This booklet gives men much-needed directions on problems fathers face, and reveals twelve commandments of successful fathers: how good fathers raise their children well.

While resources abound for stepmothers, stepfathers are often left to travel a difficult road without clear directions. Ron Deal offers advice for men navigating the stepfamily minefield, including how to connect with stepchildren, being a godly role model, how to discipline, dealing with the biological dad, and keeping the bond strong with one's new spouse. He gives perspective on what the kids are going through and why things don't work the same as in a biological family. The Smart Stepdad provides essential guidelines to help stepfathers not only survive but succeed as both dad and husband.

This update of the best-selling book draws on years of research and experience to provide guidelines for fathers to strengthen relationships with their children.

After Eric Davis spent over 16 years in the military, including a decade in the SEAL Teams, his family was more than used to his absence on deployments and secret missions that could obscure his whereabouts for months at a time. Without a father figure in his own life since the age of fifteen, Eric was desperate to maintain the bonds he’d fought so hard to forge when his children were young—particularly with his son, Jason, because he knew how difficult it was to face the challenge of becoming a man on one’s own. Unfortunately, Eric learned the hard way that Quality Time doesn’t always show up in Quantity Time. Facebook, television, phones, video games, school, jobs, friends—they all got in the way of a real, meaningful father-son relationship. It was time to take action. As a SEAL, Eric learned to innovate and push boundaries, allowing him to function at levels beyond what was expected, comfortable, ordinary, and even imaginable, and he knew that as a father he needed to do the same with his son. Meeting extreme with extreme was the only answer. Using a unique blend of discipline, leadership, adventure, and grace, Eric and his SEAL brothers will teach you how to connect, and reconnect, with your sons and learn how to raise real men—the Navy SEAL way.

"From the cradle to the day they leave for college, the daily interactions you have with your child will shape who they are and how they view the world. While there's no proverbial "owner's manual" for raising children, this book will give you the necessary tools for creating a strong relationship with your kids."--

In Father, The Family Protector, Educator James Stenson explores how fathers exercise their powerful and particularly masculine contribution to family life. His research comes from more than twenty years of working with families from two highly successful independent secondary schools for boys that he helped establish, The Heights School in Washington D.C., and Northridge Preparatory School in Chicago. As headmaster, he made it his business to know hundreds of families intimately studying their family lives, watching their children grow into maturity, very often successfully, but sometimes not. Through countless conversations with fathers and mothers, he tried to account for the differences, looking for patterns of family life among those parents who triumphed with their children. What did these successful men and women have in common? What did they manage to do right? Most important: what could other parents learn from their experience? This wisdom of fatherhood is what this book is all about. It explains the main obstacles in today's society that undercut a father's teaching role, and tells men what they could do to overcome them. Then within this framework, James Stenson spells out how successful fathers deal with their children in the more crucial areas: family rules, discipline, schooling, sports, recreation, the media, and ongoing teamwork with one's wife. In short, this book provides the guidance that will help any father to carry out a serious responsibility - that of protector of his family. Listen to author James Stenson speak about "Successful Fathers".

A prosperous venture capitalist asserts that the skills required for success in the office apply equally to effective parenting.