Beth Anne Piehl
Special Sections Writer

JEREMY KUHN/NEWS-REVIEW

Matt Jones is a grown man who has been known to play with dolls.

He will do anything for his kids.

“It’s good for young girls to have their dads involved,” said Jones, 29, of Walloon Lake. “That’s what they’re going to look for in their future husband.”

Jones serves as a role model for involved fathers, the half of the parental whole that is important to girls’ and boys’ development and upbringing. His own children are Nicholas, 8, Matthew, 7, Isabella, 5, and Spencer, 3; his fiancé, Meghan, also has a daughter, Jaidan, 6, who is like a daughter to Jones.

As part of his approach to fatherhood, Jones is involved with several community organizations related to supporting fathers and parents in general. He is on the board of the Great Start Collaborative and for the past three years has been heavily involved with Head Start, serving on the board of the Michigan Head Start Association and the Region 5 Head Start covering Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

“I think it’s extremely important for parents to be involved with what’s going on with their children’s education,” said Jones, whose first involvement was on the Head Start Fatherhood Committee several years ago during a fundraising effort to rebuild a park in Levering.

Since then, he’s taken an interest in legislative activities that impact children.

“The bottom line is making sure our kids are healthy and educated and taken care of, and that parents are given the tools they need to be a parent effectively,” said Jones, who is employed by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “We don’t want to tell someone how to be a parent, but I can help if they have a question, or I can say, ‘Let me put you in touch with someone who can help.’”

That comes, of course, in between sledding outings and wrestling matches with his sons and playing catch and dolls with his daughters.

“We all go to Harbor Light church as a family on Sundays,” he added, “and the kids really enjoy that. We spend a lot of time together as a family.”

10 tips for dads with daughters

1. Listen to girls, what they think, believe, feel, dream and do.
2. Encourage her strength and celebrate her savvy by helping her recognize, resist and overcome barriers.
3. Respect her uniqueness and urge her to love her body and who she is. Remember, growing girls need to eat often and healthfully, and teach her that fad dieting doesn’t work.
4. Get her to play sports and to be physically active. Start young by playing catch, tag, jump rope, basketball, soccer, etc.
5. Get involved with her school by volunteering, chaperoning, reading to her class.
6. Get involved with her activities by offering to drive, coach, direct a play, anything.
7. Help make the world better for girls. There are dangers out there for girls; work with other parents to demand an end to violence against females, media sexualization of girls, pornography and “boys are better than girls” attitudes.
8. Take your daughter to work and show her how to pay bills and manage money.
9. Support positive media for girls by watching shows that portray smart, savvy girls. Subscribe to health girl-edited magazines and Web sites.
10. Learn from other fathers and talk about parenting skills, or read about them on sites like www.daughters.com, and find out how to stand up for the girls in your life.

10 tips for dads with sons

1. Run a benevolent dictatorship. Some dads find it hard to assert their authority; sometimes you’ve got to just say no.
2. Be friendly but not a friend. Parenting requires a higher standard of behavior than being a friend. Dads need to be concerned about what is good for their children, not just what they want.
3. Admit when you’re wrong. It will teach your son to say “I’m sorry.”
4. Foster healthy competition. Lessons are learned from aiming high and giving 100 percent in school, sports and other life arenas. A healthy spirit will help him stand up for his values.
5. Stick around, even when your son doesn’t want you to. Be there on the sidelines, at school to pick him up, or to encourage him when he’s having a rough day even if he tries to push you away.
6. Ask questions; it’s enough to get your son thinking even if he won’t answer.
7. Be open in discussing puberty and sex. Yes it can be awkward, but you’re the dad; it’s your responsibility.
8. Get involved in his activities and hobbies. It will offer another opportunity to bond with your son.
9. Keep in mind that who you are is more important than what you buy him.
10. Teach him to respect women by demonstrating it yourself, within your family and in social situations. 

10 tips for all dads

1. Spend time with your children; for kids, love is spelled T-I-M-E.
2. Play with your children. Through play, men teach self-control and perseverance to children.
3. Be a good role model. Lasting values are caught by children more than taught by adults.
4. Respect your child’s mother. A child’s self concept is strongly linked to how their parents interact.
5. Discipline with love, correct with kindness.
6. Be a good teacher and help children develop the love to learn.
7. Eat meals together.
8. Read to your children.
9. Show physical affection. Children feel more secure with regular comfort from their fathers.
10. Stick with it! Be patient with your child — and yourself.