Call Me Dad: 5 Steps to Becoming the Parent You Never Had

By Ed Babcock

Parenting…no experience necessary, no success guaranteed.

Today you have to be licensed and trained to do carpentry work, to install plumbing, to practice nursing and to drive a car. Yet it is assumed that if and when someone becomes a parent, they will vicariously have the tools necessary to raise children.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Sep 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781640884809

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Call Me Dad

Five Steps to Becoming the Parent You Never Had

Ed Babcock

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2019 by Ed Babcock

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

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Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-64088-479-3 (Print Book)

ISBN 978-1-64088-480-9 (ebook)

To Lana Babcock, my wife of forty seven years who taught me how to stand in faith for my children and always had my back when I tried to go offtrack in the parenting department.

To each of my kids—Jeremiah Babcock, Sarah Sonnleitner, Adam Babcock, and Abigail Babcock—who have all turned out to be great parents in their own right.

To our grandkids—Julia, Belle, Maya, Malachi, Izzy, Will, Brooke and Max—who all make being a Paw-Paw a great experience.

To my mom, Jeanne Babcock, who was a fantastic single mom and life coach long before there was such a thing. She taught me how to laugh, love, and cry.

And lastly, to those men who (whether they realized it or not) over the years provided me with solid role models of how to be a dad.

Earl Passmore, Uncle Bob Miller, Howard Parker, Del Williams, Jack Corbett; and Reuben Parlier, my father-in-law. Also, to the men who had great influence on me: Rev. Larry Titus, Pastor Dave Hendershott, Pastor Art Snow, Dr. Tom Johnston, and Pastor Ron Satrape.

Introduction

Growing up in a home without a dad makes a difference. Whether you are male or female and regardless of your age, the impact of a fatherless home is a great one. The feeling of betrayal abandonment and the effects on your self-worth are felt by children almost immediately. Whether it is missing out on the father-daughter dance or the father-son campout, it leaves us with great feelings of insecurity that, unless dealt with, will follow us into adulthood. Many of us will spend a great deal of our adulthood trying to live up to the expectations of a parent who isn’t there and who, unfortunately, may not even care.

For some, growing up without a dad is really felt when you become a parent. For girls who are raised by their moms, they do have a role model in the home to show them how to be good mommies. What is missing is a sense of masculine perspective on how to raise their own children as part of a male-female team. It is difficult for women as they try to relate to their male children to know what that boy might be going through. For both men and women, parenting without the history of a dad in your home growing up can leave you with a sense of wonder and frustration as you walk on eggshells trying not too mess this up.

Please don’t misunderstand. This is in no way an indictment of single moms. I was raised by a single mom who I consider to be one of the greatest heroes on the planet. She worked full-time, raised my sister and I, and was responsible for everything—from getting the oil changed in the car, to preparing meals, to balancing the budget, and to working long hours. I feel like she did a great job. But I often wonder how life might have been for her if she had had the support of a husband at home.

Parenting is a hard-enough job when it involves two people. It’s even more difficult when either Mom or Dad have to do it alone. At some time in your life, you may have been asked to consider