With Father’s Day just around the corner, here are some thoughts for dads from my new book, From Broken Boy to Mended Man.

A Healthy Home Is Full of Love, Structure, Roots, and Wings

Parenting is a sacred promise to create a family environment where our children can thrive. To thrive (synonyms: flourish, prosper, succeed, bloom), children need love, structure, roots, and wings. Most of us have heard the question, “Is it nature or nurture?” Love, structure, roots, and wings are the building blocks of nurture.

LOVE: A healthy home overflows with overt and unconditional love. Love is the umbrella over everything. If you grew up in a love-filled home, you felt precious, valuable, and believed in, like you were the gleam in your parent’s or caregiver’s eyes.

STRUCTURE:

A healthy home is filled with clear-cut structure. Not too much, but not too little either. If you grew up in a well-structured home, your parents were predictable. You always knew where you stood, what the rules were, what was out of bounds, and what to expect if you disobeyed.

ROOTS:

A healthy home has roots. Roots build character, perseverance, determination, diligence, and resilience. If you grew up in a home with deep roots, no matter how much you got knocked down at school, you always felt like things would be okay once you got home. Your parents made you feel secure, safe, and stable. They protected you.

WINGS:

A healthy home gives children wings. Your parents helped you experiment until you found a few things you love and do well—whether in academics, sports, or the arts. They also helped you develop social skills, like how to ask good questions. They nurtured your emotional intelligence and situational awareness.

For Reflection and Discussion: How would you rate your childhood home in these four areas? And if you have children, what are you passing on to them?