Because it doesn’t have to be Father’s Day for me to need a reminder about building up the most popular guy in our house.  Here are three ways to help your man be a father you & your children admire.

1. Let him play the dad way–I tend to be the one chosen by my girls to play Barbies, and my boy loves to snuggle me and read books–but all our people know Daddy is the go-to guy for some good old before bedtime armpit tickles and games of chase around the living room. Refrain from correcting him, telling him to be careful, or reminding him he is riling them up.

Remember what Charles Swindoll wisely said, “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” and let your man make deposits in his own way.

2. Let him discipline the dad way–It is not uncommon for us moms to leap to our children’s defense and knock our husbands legs out from under them.  “As we moms often spend our days immersed in the details of little lives, we make hundreds of mistakes, and as we grow, we trust God to honor our hearts, and as only He can, make our mistakes work for good in our children’s lives.” Can’t we do the same for our husbands?

I have fallen into this trap plenty of times, which is why I have an entire post on the topic, “Let Him be the Dad: Stepping Back when Our Husbands Step up.”

3. Let your concerns be voiced to your Heavenly Dad— many of us have heard the saying, “Have you prayed about it as much as you’ve talked about it?” What if we ask ourselves this question before offering any constructive (or not so constructive) criticism of his dad-ways? What if we shared our concerns with the one who truly knows the hearts & needs of our children? Let us pursue the one who has entrusted them to our care with our heart’s concerns, and include our hubbies in the conversation when and if the Lord tells us to.

Everywhere on Facebook us mommas are told our job is hard; we are told to let go of the little things, to not be so hard on ourselves, to remember that what your children really need from you…is YOU! I don’t see dads getting these same kinds of exhortations or permissions to just be with their kids. Let us decide that regardless of the size of the dad cheerleading team outside of our home, the cheering inside our home will be deafening.

Let’s hear it for those dads!