The dad of the 21st century is there for his kids emotionally as well as physically, knows their schedules, gets involved in their activities and communicates with them on a daily basis. Not only do his kids benefit, but his life is also enriched because of the quality of his relationship with them. Let's look at the contrast from the kids' viewpoints:
Yesterday's dads
"My father worked many hours. When he came home, he was exhausted. He just wanted to read his paper and watch TV. My sister and I knew we shouldn't bother him. And so, we didn't. As a result, we never really got to know who he was.""I wanted so much for my father to speak to me about things other than sports. I wanted to be able to turn to him when I was upset or needed direction. I think that if I were more sports-oriented, our relationship would have been closer. But I wasn't a jock. And he wasn't able to move outside of that one arena in which he felt comfortable. What a loss for both of us!""I did not look forward to whatever conversations I had with my father. I can't even really call them conversations. I would say something. He would put me down for my opinion, lecturing me like I was hopelessly stupid or naive. He never respected my position if it differed from his. I finally got tired of listening to his. So we rarely spoke."
