Father’s Day is a great time for everyone to celebrate the important men in their lives. For sons and daughters, it is a day to show gratitude and recognition for their fathers, grandfathers or father figures in their life. For adults, it is a day to show their love and appreciation for all the hard work of the fathers and husbands in their lives.
Last week, one of our founders Dr. David Kuhl was invited to have a conversation on the Don’t Change Much Podcast with Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and former NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey and host Dan Murphy. The Don’t Change Much Podcast provides simple lifestyle tips to help men and their families take action for better well-being, improving men’s mental and physical health, and generating conversations that raise awareness and educate.
Here are 3 Ways that Dr. David Kuhl, Dan Murphy and Kelly Hrudey Show up to Be Good Dads:
Be present
Be with your kids. Spend quality time with them whenever you can. Ask them what they would like to do with you or how they want to spend time with you. Dan’s dad travelled a lot while he was growing up, but when he was home, he was present. Dan felt his support, his love, and his care.
Let their kids be who they are
Understand that their values may not be your values and that’s okay. They may have different skill sets and abilities – allow them to be who they are and encourage them to become the best version of themselves they can be. Make them feel loved by
Create a safe space for their kids
Let them know that being with you will always be a safe space for them to come to. Be patient and understanding. Tell them that you love them and that you are proud of them. Kelly practices being a good dad by being kind, gentle, and a good listener.
Dan Murphy
“I find that when I’m home, I’ll take my daughter to all activities. I’ll walk to school and pick her up when I can. I will hold her hand to school if she wants to. She’s getting to the age where I think she’s not gonna want to do that for much longer, and walk with her father to school, but as long as she wants to hold my hand on the way to school – I’m holding her hand. And I’m picking her up and it’s literally a four minute walk to the school, and she could walk with her friends easily. But she still wants to do it, so I will always do it.”
Kelly Hrudey
“In my broadcasting days, I was on the road for close to 200 days of the year and sometimes over that. That is an important conversation to have – that you prioritize the relationship with your daughters to make sure that as often as humanly possible, you get together and we try as a family to do that a lot. We also make sure that during the summer we spend as much time together as possible. Vacations are important, there is no question about that, but just spending time together around the house and having barbecues as a family brings us together.”
If you or have had a positive relationship with your father, we encourage you to share that experience with a UBC researcher. A research team at the University of British Columbia, led by principal investigator, Dr. David Kuhl, is discovering what constitutes a past or present positive relationship with your father.
If you are interested in learning more about this study, please contact Mr. Paul Nakhla by phone 604 773-7325 or by email
Help us create a Blueprint for Fathers by participating! Sign up or find out more about this study at: https://www.blueprint.ngo/fatherhood-study/.