Family & Parenting » Dads

How to pick the right Father’s Day card

Jennifer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:16:41 +0000

How to pick the right Father's Day card

(NC)—Do you ever wonder if the card you’ve chosen is right? With Father’s Day around the corner, here’s an easy way to make the perfect selection.

Before you go card shopping, ask yourself: What kind of dad is he?

He’s the king of silly and you love him for it.

Best choice: Get him a card that reflects his specific type of humour. Is he more Homer Simpson or Scooby-Doo?

Your dad’s never been shy about telling you how much he loves you.

Best choice: Reciprocate his feelings. Choose a card that expresses your feelings for him.

Dad’s your hero. He’s living proof that one person can help make the world a better place.

Best choice: Get a card that makes a difference, like a Hallmark (RED) card – a portion of the sales goes to fight AIDS in Africa.

He memorizes movie credits and quotes his favourite scenes.

Best choice: A card with a movie quote is your best bet. Something like, “I am your father” from Star Wars is perfect.

Frankly, he’s a tad obsessed.

Best choice: From fishing to golf, there’s a card for most sports. There’s even a music card that plays the opening theme of Monday Night Football.

He loves you, but his record collection is his pride and joy.

Best choice: Pick a card that plays a tune. These days, there’s lots to choose from, including Smashmouth, Lynrd Skynrd and Johnny Cash.

You’ll find more inspiration at hallmark.ca.

-News Canada

The story behind Father’s Day

Jennifer — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:59:11 +0000

The story behind Father's Day

(NC)—Hunter, gatherer, man of the family, father figure—however they are perceived, fathers have long played an important role in nurturing and supporting their children. The story behind the first Father’s Day and celebrations that followed are testament to the high regard and appreciation held for fathers around the world.

“For centuries, fathers everywhere have been strong role models,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “These days, as fathers get even more involved in family life, it’s important to put them in the spotlight on Father’s Day and show how much you care.”

The first Father’s Day tribute dates back nearly 4,000 years ago. A Babylonian youth named Elmesu carved the first known Father’s Day card in clay with a special message that wished his father good health and a long life.

Father’s Day as we know it today, was first created by Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. While listening to a Mother’s Day sermon, she was compelled to establish a celebration for fathers as well. Dodd’s father, a widower and Civil War veteran, raised her and five siblings for 21 years after their mother died.

Dodd encouraged local churches to institute a day of observance for fathers and chose June 19, 1910 as the first celebration since her father was born in June. Even though it was widely celebrated for decades, Father’s Day wasn’t officially recognized as a national day of observance until 1972.

From early on, many countries, including Canada, chose to adopt Father’s Day as a national celebration and with few exceptions, most celebrate on the third Sunday in June.

Around the world, families recognize fathers by spending the day together and showering them with cards and gifts as expressions of love and appreciation. Hallmark has been making Father’s Day cards since the 1920s and now offers close to 800 different kinds of cards that not only recognize biological fathers, but other father figures including stepfathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons-in-law and uncles. What’s more, new technology has led to a variety of greeting card innovations, including a song card that lets you record a personal message for your father.

You can find more about Father’s Day online at www.hallmark.ca or toll-free at 1-800-268-3230.

-News Canada

Father’s Day isn’t just for fathers

Jennifer — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:03:17 +0000

Father's Day isn't just for fathers

(NC)—You may not have called him “dad,” but you looked up to him just the same. And without him as a role model, you wouldn’t be who you are today.

“Father figures are the unsung heroes of our lives,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “They deserve to be recognized for their contributions to our well-being. Father’s Day is the ideal time to honour them with gifts and cards.”

You value his kindness and unconditional love almost as much as his stories.

When you were kids he always watched out for you. And he still does.

He’s more than a familiar face at family functions – he really understands you.

He always seems to understand what you need from him.

You just click. He’s always been there rooting for you.

More ways to celebrate the father figures in your life can be found online at hallmark.ca.

-News Canada

Top five Father’s Day surprises

Jennifer — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:10:12 +0000

Top five Father's Day surprises

(NC)—Your father is always there for you, and now’s the time to show him how much you appreciate it. “Father’s Day is your opportunity to say thank you,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “So choose a gift he’ll remember forever.”

1. Anything homemade, from baked goods to woodwork. Get the kids to draw pictures or pick up a kit that allows them to personalize a travel mug.

2. Tickets to see his favourite band or sports team enclosed in a card.

3. An adventure for just the two of you, like canoeing or hiking.

4. Get him a t-shirt that celebrates his achievements, such as “Best Director of a Family Comedy.” More options are available online at hallmark.ca.

5. A photo album created with pictures from his childhood.

-News Canada

Parenting: Fathers and Children

Jennifer — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:09:54 +0000

Few things have changed so radically in the last 100 years as the view of a father’s role in parenting.

Once, it was the Victorian view of ‘rarely-seen law-giver’. Then the Freudian influenced ‘not a terribly important factor’ became dominant. That was gradually replaced with the 1950s ‘wise breadwinner’. Then came the social revolution of the 1960s, which taught that fathers were little more than sperm donors. Now there’s the contemporary, splintered view that encompasses a dozen conflicting outlooks.

Sorting out a better view, therefore, will have to involve getting back to basics and asking: “What are fathers for?”, “What’s the effect of their presence or absence?”, and “What actual influence do they have?” Complex and difficult questions, to be sure.

Many broad-based studies concur on one point: kids raised without fathers have a much higher incidence of bad outcomes – poor scholastic performance, violent activities, drug use and criminal convictions.

What to conclude from that can be problematic.

Some point to the economic facts accompanying those fatherless households. Others point to more psychological or ethical factors. Whatever the root cause, and likely there are many, the conclusion remains: kids need dads in order to get the best chance in life.

Of course, being a father and being a good father are not the same thing. Studies and common experience suggest that merely supplying funds for food and shelter, helpful as those are, is just the beginning of paternal input to a good outcome.

Fathers, whether in single-parent homes or in two-parent, dual gender homes, are still looked to as guidance givers. Female children often look to fathers for a sense of protection, and as an alternative voice in conflicts with the mother. Young males will be influenced by their father when evaluating their own identities.

In two-parent, dual gender homes fathers can benefit children of both sexes by, among other things, demonstrating how decisions are made and how they interact with the mother.

Both male and female children get clues about ‘normal’ parental roles when they observe how the father acts when choices are being considered. Do they typically defer certain categories of choices to the mother? (Diet, bedtime, household chores) Do they discuss differences calmly, or do they loudly proclaim male authority?

These, along with a wide variety of other common experiences, help shape the children’s views of interactions among the sexes.

Even during times other than joint decision-making, fathers influence children’s views of adults and the world. Different fathers can display very different basic approaches to problem solving, for example. One is confident, objective, or displays a sense of the excitement of discovery and success. That’s a very different outlook from the man who shows resentment, fear and self-doubt, or hostility at the need to overcome life’s challenges.

Children observe fathers in these, and numerous other, settings. What they observe influences their views much more than what is explicitly said or preached. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but real experience offers volumes.