gifts | DADvocacy Consulting

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.

A wall of banned books with cover artwork to read to and with your kids.

Getting the Banned Back Together

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller kicks off the holiday season by presenting the 6th annual Books to Read with Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide & FREE Book Giveaway!

Allan Shedlin

Nov 26, 2025

What Would You Keep in Your Pregnant Father Kit?

Allan sorts through the contents of a vintage "Pregnant Father Kit" and considers how much dad roles and societal perceptions have changed.

Allan Shedlin

Feb 29, 2024

All This Dad Wants For Christmas

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller submits his Christmas gift wish list for his teen daughters' consideration.

Allan Shedlin

Dec 7, 2023

Read With Your Kids to Open Their Minds...and Yours

DADDYING celebrates reading, discovery, and diversity with our 2nd Annual Books To Read With Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide & Book Giveaway!

Allan Shedlin

Nov 18, 2021

Give and Receive the Gift Of Reading Together This Holiday Season

I remember my mom reading to me almost every day as a kid. I remember hearing her voice, warm, energetic, and song-like...

Allan Shedlin

Dec 10, 2020

Celebrate the Holiday Season By Reading With Your Kids

I remember that awesome feeling that awaited me beyond the cover of a good book because my mom, grandmother, and teachers read to me often.

Allan Shedlin

Nov 19, 2020

Distant Water Cannot Quench A Thirst

Nicholas Banura Aine writes about his struggles with long-distance parenting, which created deep emotional gaps with his children, one with autism, who needed his presence.

Allan Shedlin

4 days ago

Glad You're Here: A Love Note to My Youngest Daughter on Her 17th Birthday

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller writes a special note to his youngest daughter for her birthday, which coincides with back-to-school and the beginning of her high school senior year.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 28

Modern Childhood: Is The Next Generation of Kids Really The Loneliest One?

Guest writer Tessa Dodson highlights the complexity of modern childhood and offers parents practical guidance for supporting kids in building social connections through open communication, managed screentime, and unstructured play.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 19

The Dads and Sons of Summer

Poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller debuts an original poem about baseball, Dads, and sons in this week's Daddying blog.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 12

I Left San Francisco for Colorado Springs. It Changed How I See Democracy

Youth Documentary Academy founder Tom Shepard writes about how he's been inspired by the diverse stories of his filmmaking students and other young people and what our country's leaders could and should learn from them.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 30

Savoring the Privilege of Lifelong Daddying

Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin shares the joy of being a lifelong Dad, Granddad, and soon, a Great Granddad.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 30

With Our World in Metamorphosis, Those End-Of-Summer Butterflies Remain the Same

Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin welcomes back-to-school season and those end-of-summer butterflies with an open mind and open arms.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 23

What Happened to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?

Daddying editor Scott Beller laments the continued human rights abuses by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including murders this past week of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 16

A Dad Still Going Along for the Ride

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller embraces his evolving role as a Dad, which will always include being his daughters' safe, reliable ride home.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 10

Something to Celebrate For America's Conflicted 250th: Principles of Our Founding Daddies

Daddying Film Fest founder Allan Shedlin longs for an America that not only celebrates landmark birthdays but also adheres to the inclusive and promising ideals its "founding fathers" clearly expressed in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 1