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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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'Tis The Season(s) of Being There
As we enter the 2021 spring soccer season – my 15th as a coach – it's begun to dawn on me how much I've benefitted from staying involved...
Allan Shedlin
Apr 8, 2021
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
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
How To Cope With A Race That Never Ends
We avoid the runner’s pitfall of incessantly asking “How much more is left?” Instead, we focus on our journey toward the finish...
Allan Shedlin
Feb 4, 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
Was 2020 Real or Just Virtual?
I’m trying mightily to embrace the optimism that usually marks a new year and the traditional hopefulness it entails
Allan Shedlin
Jan 6, 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
Have A Thankful Thoughtsgiving 2020: Through the River and Over the Woods
Despite the sadness and disappointment being magnified as our holiday plans are rethought, I battle to have my positive nature prevail.
Allan Shedlin
Nov 23, 2020
Our COVIDious Crescendo
My basically-optimistic nature continues to prevail and believe that we are fitfully inching toward a decrescendo, a COVID convalescence...
Allan Shedlin
Oct 15, 2020
The Superpower of Being Present
Think of the children in your life. Their superpower is living in the moment. COVID-19 implores us to be more like our children.
Allan Shedlin
Oct 1, 2020
She Made Me A Dad and Gave Me Confidence
I was 38 when my daughter Morgan was born. Even though I had decades of preparation, nothing had quite prepared me for the responsibility.
Allan Shedlin
Sep 17, 2020
Creating A Special Daddy-Daughter Bond With Number Two
After much trial and even more error caring for our first child, I figured I was prepared for anything a second daughter could throw at me.
Allan Shedlin
Aug 27, 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 Different Perspective: Four Fathers' Days Plus One
I’ll be celebrated this Sunday like millions of other dads on our official Father’s Day, but prefer to celebrate my four OTHER father's days
Allan Shedlin
Jun 18, 2020
Your Helping Hand Is the Antidote to COVID-19 Fear
With COVID-19, we're all scared & want to know how to overcome fear it's caused. Reaching out to hold someone’s hand is the best antidote.
Allan Shedlin
May 28, 2020
Mindfulness Helps Honor What's Important On Memorial Day
Armor Down founder and DADvisor Ben King teaches us a new way to give honor and observe Memorial Day with our families through mindfulness.
Allan Shedlin
May 21, 2020
Sometimes the Heart Will Not Be Bullied
This was not at all what I imagined becoming a dad would be like...being a dad is more than just who you are, it's something you do.
Allan Shedlin
May 14, 2020
Lessons From Mom On The First Mother's Day Without Her
This is the first year DCG's Scott Beller won't be wishing his mom a happy Mother's Day.
Allan Shedlin
May 10, 2020
This Is What I Learned From My Lovely Emma On A Windy Day
Emma’s my 9-year-old granddaughter, the first offspring of my first offspring. To say Emma is a delight begs more descriptive adjectives.
Allan Shedlin
Apr 29, 2020
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
17 hours ago
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
Many Aspects of Daddying Offer Positive Outcomes for Involved Fathers and their Kids
Senior Research Scholar for Child Trends, Dr. Mindy Scott, presents data evidence of the many positive outcomes related to Dads remaining involved with their children.
Allan Shedlin
Jun 25
Revisiting Our Unique Daddying Perspective: Four Fathers' Days Plus One
Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) director and founder Allan Shedlin celebrates Fathers' Day in a way different from many other Dads.
Allan Shedlin
Jun 17
A Daughter's Ode To Her Father and A Father Figure
Poet Kani Manoharan Veeramarthini honors her father and an influential father figure through her poetry.
Allan Shedlin
Jun 11
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
Jun 3
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
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