52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. What Fathers Can Do to Make a Lifelong Difference

173 Pages·2011·1.22 MB·English

by  Jay Payleitner

“The stories will inspire you. The lessons will change you. Jay Payleitner shows
twenty-first-century fatherhood for what it is and for what it needs to be.”
—Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, professor and author of more than 50 books,
including Man to Man and The Power of Positive Productivity
“I have been a wife for 37 years, a mom for 31, and a daughter for...well, let’s
just say even longer. With those credentials, I highly recommend this book to all
dads. It is a good read and, more importantly, a great guide for any man desiring
to meet the needs of the children God has entrusted to his care.”
—Kendra Smiley, radio host, conference speaker,
and author of Be the Parent and High-Wire Mom
“Jay Payleitner has given fathers a gift… a wise, delightful, practical, and
profound book. If you’re a father, you will thank him, and if you’re not, you’ll
read this book with joy and give it to a father who will ‘rise up and call you
blessed.’”
—Steve Brown, seminary professor,
author of Welcome to the Family and other books,
and the “voice” of Key Life Network
“Moms of all ages, grab this book for your husbands! It’s inspiring, encouraging,
and easy to read.”
—Ellen Banks Elwell, author of The Christian Mom’s Idea Book
and When There’s Not Enough of Me to Go Around
“52 Things Kids Need from a Dad reminds all of us of the humbling privilege
and exhilarating joy of fatherhood. You won’t find any lectures or guilt trips
here. Instead, it’s more like 52 inspiring halftime talks. As your personal
fathering coach, Jay will provoke you to think deep, laugh hard, and love more,
leaving you with 52 unexpected fathering insights.”
—Carey Casey, CEO of The National Center for Fathering,
speaker, radio host, and author of Championship Fathering
“This is great stuff, worth any dad’s time. If you can’t benefit from this, you’re
not listening. Ignore it only if you don’t want to be a better dad. The first three
copies are going to my grown sons.”
—Jerry B. Jenkins, coauthor of the megaselling LEFT BEHIND series
and author of over 150 other published works “Jay’s chapter ‘Kids Need Their
Dad to Stop and Catch the Fireflies’ is worth the price of the book. As my friend
Philip the Firefly might say, ‘Payleitner hits pay-dirt on lighting up a dad’s
heart!’”
—Dr. Emmett Cooper, author of The HoneyWord Bible for kids of all ages;
founder and president of HoneyWord Foundation
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International
® ®
Version , NIV . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All
rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.
®
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,
1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Cover by e210 Design, Eagan, MN
Cover photo © Fancy Photography / Veer
Jay Payleitner is represented by MacGregor Literary.
52 THINGS KIDS NEED FROM A DAD
Copyright © 2010 by Jay K. Payleitner
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Payleitner, Jay K.
52 things kids need from a dad / Jay K. Payleitner.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7369-2723-9 (pbk.)
1. Father and child—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. II. Title: Fifty-two things kids need from
a dad.
BV4529.17.P39 2010
248.8’421—dc22
2009031514
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any
other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 ##-SK 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my bride, Rita,
who makes me a better dad.
And to all wives
who do the same
for their husbands.
Contents
Foreword by Josh McDowell
A Lesson from Hollywood
Kids Need Their Dad…
1. To Help Them Beat the Odds
2. To Stop and Catch the Fireflies
3. To Carry the Calf Every Day
4. To Count the Train Cars
5. To Start a File Folder with Their Name on It
6. To Kneel or Stand by Their Bed As They Sleep, Watching, Praying,
Appreciating the Gift of Our Children, and Thinking About the Meaning of
Love
7. To Catch Them in a Lie
8. To Tell Them the Hamster Died As Soon As the Hamster Dies
9. To—Sometimes—Make an Illegal U-Turn on the Expressway and Drive 30
Miles Back to the Restaurant Where Your Son Left His Dodgers Cap
10. To Spy on Them
11. Two Words: Wallet Photos
12. To Answer Their Questions with Questions
13. To Buy Peeps the First Day They Hit the Shelves
14. To Understand the Ebb and Flow of Traditions
15. To Ignore (or Even Applaud) the Dents on the Garage Door
16. To Avoid the Clichés
17. To Get Right with His Dad
18. To Rent a Dolphin for an Hour
19. To Acknowledge the Absurdity of Participation Trophies
20. To Understand All Three Perspectives in the Story of the Prodigal Son
21. To Teach Them the Word Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
22. To Conquer the Car Seat
23. To Affirm Their Existence Intellectually
24. To Be Waiting at the Next Bridge
25. To Buy Them a Unicycle
26. To Be Their Greatest Cheerleader
27. To Throw Out His Porn
28. To Respond with Something Besides “Read a Book” When Kids Say,
“There’s Nothing to Do”
29. To See Who They Really Are
30. To Run Through a Vacation Checklist in the Driveway
31. To Make Sure His Brain Is Engaged Before Putting His Mouth in Gear
32. To Not Yell About Spilled Milk
33. To Freak Out a Little When They Lose His Socket Wrench Set
34. To Teach Them the World’s Greatest Knock-Knock Joke
35. To Apply the Brakes on Slippery Slopes
36. To Make a Pair of Homemade Stilts
37. To Read Between the Lines of Psalm 127
38. Daughters Need Their Dad…To Willingly Do the Hokey-Pokey, the
Macarena, and Even the Chicken Dance
39. Sons Need Their Dad…To Be Their Sparring Partner
Kids Need Their Dad…
40. To Establish and Enforce Some Ironclad Family Rules
41. To Multitask
42. To Take the Lead on Halloween
43. To Anticipate Their Every Need
44. To Spin a Bucket Overhead
45. To Be Ichthyusiastic
46. To Quit Golf
47. To Kiss His Wife in the Kitchen
48. To Respect Their Mom
49. To Set the Bar Pretty High
50. To Wake Them Up for a Lunar Eclipse
51. To Equip Them for Life Without You
52. To Not Confuse Heritage with Legacy
Blogs and More
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author
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