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Scott Beller, Editor and Contributing Writer
Since February 2020, the DADDYING blog has provided weekly commentary, personal narratives, reviews, research, poetry, and other creative expressions from a diverse group of colleagues, guest writers, and experts to promote the benefits of lifelong Dad involvement to kids, families, and communities.
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A Long Year of Reflection and Daddy Blogging
Just as daddying doesn’t take place in a vacuum, but within multiple contexts and social systems, so it has been with our Daddying blog.
Allan Shedlin
Mar 18, 2021
I'm Forever Holding Onto Fond Memories of My Dad
We didn’t know we were poor. We had the richness of the affection of our parents; we basked in their love...
Allan Shedlin
Mar 11, 2021
First and Foremost It’s About the Children
DADvocacy can rightly be viewed as encouraging enhanced partnerships between fathers and mothers.
Allan Shedlin
Mar 4, 2021
It's The Little Things They Will Remember
...engaging my children in making fresh pasta or brewing a cup of espresso, is a lesson in the joy of those simple things.
Allan Shedlin
Feb 18, 2021
It's No Surprise: Crying Can Be A Dad Strength
the birth of one’s first child often provides the chink that breaks through the masculine armor that has formed throughout a boy's life...
Allan Shedlin
Feb 11, 2021
Saying Goodbye to The House Where I Grew Up
When people ask me where I grew up, I usually say “Springfield, Virginia,” but that’s not entirely true.
Allan Shedlin
Jan 28, 2021
The Vital Importance of A President's and Daddy's First 100 Days
The presidency, like daddying, does not take place in a vacuum – both occur within a dynamic social system.
Allan Shedlin
Jan 21, 2021
Lessons From 2020: 192 Dads and Granddads Can’t Be Wrong
The end of each year is traditionally a time for us to reflect on the year just passed and, for many, to make resolutions for the year ahead
Allan Shedlin
Dec 17, 2020
Hammering Out Life's Lessons
I was born in 1951 when my Dad was almost 40. That was the time when fathers were supposed to dispense advice to children based on TV shows.
Allan Shedlin
Dec 2, 2020
A Good "Family Man" Can Be Hard to Define
I have been a dad for 48 years and a Grandpa for 12. My "kids" have thanked me, over and over, for their growing up.
Allan Shedlin
Oct 22, 2020
Be the Role Model You Wanted As A Kid
What I wanted back then was access to an adult with whom I could take refuge & trust to let me vent...Luckily, my dad recognized this too.
Allan Shedlin
Aug 6, 2020
Mommying Helps Me Cope with COVID-19 Isolation and Dad Grief
My own personal grief has been set aside while we mourn so many things before COVID19. The pandemic made me be the mother I dreamed of being
Allan Shedlin
Jul 30, 2020
Rebuilding My Relationship With Dad Now That He's Gone
It was only in the following days, weeks, & years that I realized his passing was just the beginning of a new kind of relationship with him.
Allan Shedlin
Jul 16, 2020
A Eulogy For My Socially-Distant Dad
By the time he died, my father had become adept at social distancing. I didn't know it would take me more than 15 yrs to write his eulogy.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 22, 2020
Soul Searching and Daddy Yearning In COVID-19 Isolation
The men of my family were men of small rooms. I think of this as I begin another week of social distancing.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 15, 2020
Fathering The Sickness (AKA Ministering to the Sick)
Dad wouldn’t have done anything different in a pandemic. He was always stockpiling essentials.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 8, 2020
Processing My Son's Graduation from High School...in Poetic Verse
Poet, author, and Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) Dadvisor Hakim Bellamy commemorates his son's high school graduation in the best way he knows how: in poetic Dad verse.
Allan Shedlin
2 days ago
It's Graduation Day for Daddy Too
Dr. Anthony Fleg faces the next daddying phase as he wishes his daughter well on the occasion of her high school graduation.
Allan Shedlin
May 27
More than Your Ordinary Film Festival Metrics of Success
Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin explains why the six-year-old festival's metrics of success are necessarily different from thousands of other annual festivals worldwide. D3F favors the qualitative over the quantitative, and he believes those are the metrics that best reflect the festival's success in achieving its daddying mission.
Allan Shedlin
May 20
More Thoughts About Entering the Kingdom of Great Granddaddying
Allan has hope and many thoughts to share as he stands on the precipice of becoming a Great Granddaddy.
Allan Shedlin
May 13
What is the Dad Difference?
With her new book The Dad Difference publishing this month, educator and father engagement specialist Dr. Deborah Higdon joins the Daddying blog to discuss the proven benefits of having dads more involved in school classrooms with their children.
Allan Shedlin
May 6
Processing My Greatest Birthday Gift Ever
Daddying Film Festival & Forum founder Allan Shedlin reacts to news he'll soon be a great grandfather.
Allan Shedlin
May 1
Being a Dad-at-School is One of the Many Benefits of Being a Work-At-Home Dad
On Earth Day 2026, Daddying blog editor Scott Beller is reminded that being present in his daughters' classrooms over the years brought him as much joy as being there for them as a work-at-home Dad.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 23
Our Nest is Half Full
Daddying blog editor Scott Beller chooses to look at his imminent empty nest as half full.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 16
Why Not Speak the Truth to Our Kids Through History?
Daddying blog editor Scott Beller suggests letting the truth of history be the guide when talking with our kids about important topics that too often have been politicized and obscured with misinformation.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 9
After 20 Years, We're at the Right Place at the Right Time and Still Having A Ball
On the occasion of his 20th wedding anniversary, Daddying blog editor Scott Beller reflects on how being in the right place at the right time can be life-changing.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 3
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