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A Love Letter for
Father’s Day
Newswise — The approach of Father’s Day finds
children shopping for gifts and greeting cards to show their dads
how much they care.
Meanwhile, a dad in Western North Carolina is
searching for the words he hopes will bring him and his son closer
together.
Dale Brotherton’s 18-year-old son lives at
home, but Brotherton is writing him a letter. It’s a love letter of
sorts – a chance to share the feelings and thoughts that often go
unsaid between fathers and sons.
Brotherton, an associate professor who teaches
graduate-level counseling courses at Western Carolina University,
hopes the letter will help open the door to important conversations
– even potentially difficult conversations about events and
decisions in the past. That communication can help a father and son
develop a close, more friend-like adult-to-adult relationship.
“I believe you need to have these conversations
with your children,” Brotherton said. “Parents are just human beings
doing the best they can.”
Brotherton suggests arranging time – asking for
time – to get together to talk. “Say, ‘I want our relationship to be
better. What do you need to hear from me that would be important to
you?’” Brotherton suggests.
Just writing the words down that a father or
son wants to share can be a good start. “Write a letter about how
you feel,” Brotherton said. “Then, you can choose whether to send
it.”
Brotherton has a special interest in the
development of marital relationships and how parents can help their
children connect within and outside family.
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