Showing Dad Love

Father’s Day is approaching, and with it comes an opportunity for your children to honor their dad. Honoring fathers is a command that every child of every age (even those who are grown up enough to have children of their own) should take seriously every day, and Father’s Day is a good day to remind your children of that responsibility. It’s also a good day to encourage your children to show their dad how much they love him.

Tokens of love don’t have to be expensive. When I was a child, I had very little earning power, so when family birthdays and holidays rolled around, I usually had to be creative. My parents got a lot of homemade gifts over the years—cards, potholders, wreaths, homemade books, and more. I used to feel bad that I couldn’t give them more expensive presents, but now that I’m a mom myself, I don’t feel that way anymore. Homemade gifts are the best gifts.

Here are a few ways your children can show love to their dad this Father’s Day.

1. An “I Like You” Book

Sandol Stoddard Warburg wrote a book titled I Like You. In the book, the narrator presents numerous reasons for liking a particular friend, reasons such as:

I like you because
You know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
except
Just a little tiny bit
sometimes¹

This Father’s Day, encourage your children to put together a book of reasons why they like their dad. Be sure they illustrate it!

2. Coupons

Another low-cost way your children could show Dad their appreciation is by serving him. Even small children can help him with home-related chores (for example, picking up sticks in the yard) or perform some other special service (such as giving him a shoulder rub after a long day at work). Print out this coupon template, and have your children fill in several and present them to him for Father’s Day.

3. Recordings

Toddlers and preschoolers might not be able to create a Father’s Day card or any other gift, but they can still encourage Dad. Technology has made it easy to make audio and video recordings. So why not record your small children singing a simple song, reciting a Bible verse, or just saying, “I love you, Daddy!”?

What are some other ways your children have shown love to their dad on Father’s Day?

1. Sandol Warburg, I Like You (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965), 10.