Much of effective fathering can be boiled down to two principles: making time to be with children and seeking resources — such as older fathers to use as mentors — to be a better dad.

Michael Boulton admits that being a father to his five children — ages 5 to 15 — often means he’s not doing what he wants to do. “To put it as simply as I can, it’s about denying yourself almost constantly,” the Lawrence resident says. “I used to play a lot of golf. I used to go skiing. I used to play recreational basketball — do things for myself. As my family grew, things just fell off. My golf clubs are just accumulating dust.”

And he wouldn’t have it any other way. The 41-year-old will be looking to further his fathering skills more when he attends the Savvy Dads Conference Feb. 26-27 at Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 3312 Calvin Drive.

Rick Pratte, director of congregational life at Grace Evangelical says though Savvy Dads is a Christian-based organization, anyone can benefit from the event’s teachings. “We believe that the issue of fathering is a real-core issue in our society and the church, no matter what brand or label you hold,” Pratte says.

The featured speaker at the event is Ken Canfield, an author, founder of the National Center for Fathering and former Kansas gubernatorial candidate. He is director of the Boone Center for the Family at Pepperdine University.

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