Why You Have So Few Friends, And What to Do About It

Plus, How to Stop Arguing About the Same Thing Over and Over Again [Fatherly_Seahorse]( Friends: It’s not just a thing you watch when you’ve run out of Ted Lasso episodes. Few things are as clearly associated with mental and physical well-being as having a good network of friends. Does that worry you? You’re not alone. For a lot of men, friendships are difficult to maintain. This is true for busy dads and less busy not-dads. But why? Getting to the bottom of this question is important — for your health, for your happiness, and for your family. HEALTH [30bromance]( [The Unmistakable Impact of Having a Few Good Dad Friends]( They're difficult to find and even more difficult to maintain during fatherhood. But friendships are an essential part of being a well-rounded dad. [READ THE STORY]( TIPS AND TRICKS A Few of the Friends All Dads Should Have They'll shape you as a husband, father, and human being. The Mentor When you hit a certain age, the idea of being a student seems like something from which younger guys or men venturing out on their own for the first time might benefit. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Hanging around an older guy who’s been through more than a few wars and family struggles helps you gain perspective about whatever situations you’re currently going through. Life happens, and it’s nice to hear from someone to whom a lot of life has already happened. The Single Friend Fathers lead busy lives, which involve juggling the scheduling of other busy lives. Making plans with other dads involves extensive group text chains, last minute cancellations, and putting it all off until the next playground visit. Single male or female friends might not have as much going on, or if they do, can probably squeeze in a couple of hours shooting hoops on the court or just some shit over coffee. The Dad Friend Maybe he’s an old friend who has kids the same age. Maybe he’s a friend of your wife’s friend that has kids, too. Whatever the case, this friend is your wingman for birthday parties, playground trips, random playdates on an uneventful Saturday. He orbits alongside you in the weird world of parenting and also provides someone who can discuss fatherhood without the needed context of “so I’m doing this thing right now called sleep training, which…” That’s important. Okay, so you need to call it quits with that buddy you just don’t connect with anymore. You’ve thought it through, and it needs to happen. So, how do you tell him? You don’t. Here’s [why you should ghost him instead.]( FURTHER READING - [Why Everyone Needs Casual Friends in Their Lives]( - ​​​​​[12 Ways Friendship Changes When You Become a Dad]( - [How to Not Lose Friends to Fatherhood]( PLAY [30unorganized-sports]( [31 Classic Outdoor Games to Teach Your Kids This Summer]( From tag to steal the bacon, [these unorganized sports games are light on rules and heavy on fun.]( [READ THE STORY]( TIPS AND TRICKS Entertain Your Kids With These 3 Classic Road Trip Games 1. “The License Plate Game” Another classic that couldn’t be simpler: You, your kid, and maybe their sibling all try to find license plates from 50 states. Whoever finds the most is the winner. There are varying rules for this game you can improvise — adjacent states are two points instead of one, for example — but kids will love the chance to get competitive while they learn a little geography. 2. “Musical Moments” You’re probably sick of the Frozen 2 soundtrack by now. Well, your kid is not — and they’ll love the chance to prove it. Play some music they love and suddenly stop the song. Your kid has to complete the lyrics in order to win. Bonus points if they sing it out. 3. “Going on a Picnic” An alphabet-based game, this one starts with you saying “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m bringing an apple.” You kid then must name a food that starts with B. Then you do C. It goes back and forth till you get to Z. By then, it’ll probably be time to stop for a snack. For a few more road trip games, [read more.]( PARENTING [30friend-had-to-say-goodbye-to-header]( [The Friend I Said Goodbye to When I Became a Dad]( Some of the first casualties of fatherhood are the friendships that helped get you there. [READ THE STORY]( [bottomquote-psd] Barry never had kids, so it probably goes without saying that we don’t talk to Barry anymore. [bottomquote-psd] TALK TO US Have a question? Comment? Want to tell us a no-good terrible story? Or a helpful parenting tip? We want to hear from you (and yes, we may publish your response in an article or forthcoming newsletter). Send your thoughts to [hello@fatherly.com](mailto:hello@fatherly.com?subject=Fatherly%20Newsletter%20Feedback). [FATHERLY_LOGO]( [FB]( [IG]( [Twitter]( [View this email in your browser]( Some Spider Studios 20 W 22nd St Floor 3 New York, NY 10010-5858 You can [manage your preferences or unsubscribe]( here. Copyright © 2021 Some Spider, All rights reserved. [Link](