school

As a father, few things are more embarrassing than being called to the principal's office because your child was caught cheating on a test. This not only makes your child look bad, but it also makes you look like a bad father. The worst part is that you don't know why your child would do such a thing!

Taking it upon yourself to homeschool your children is a big decision--it has its virtues and drawbacks. By doing so you're taking it upon yourself to educate your child, leaving no possibility that your child may pick up information you don't want him or her to have. However, it's a full-time job and it requires lots of dedication.

Do you remember hearing Arnold on "Diff'rent Strokes" talk about the bully at his school? Remember the name of that bully? If you said, "The Gooch," give yourself a pat on the back and start getting out more. Unfortunately, bullying is still a huge thing that children deal with at school.

Hillary Clinton once said that "it takes a village" to raise a child in today's world. I don't know about an entire village, but enlisting the help of your child's school teachers is certainly an ideal way for your child to become a productive human being with manners and respect for others. The best way to involve the teachers, though, is to become partners with them.

We all face problems of motivation - it's part of the human element. Honestly, who would choose to get up and start painting the garage when there's a 100 percent probability that you'll find a game on one of your ESPN channels? Why bother mowing the lawn when "Assassin's Creed" is calling your name?

Education is the central most important aspect of your child's upbringing, and as such it is one of the most important concerns that you, as a Savvy Daddy, have. You want your child to become not only a productive adult but a successful one, and a proper education is central to meeting those goals.

Going off to college is a big step in the life of a teenager. It's also a once-in-a-lifetime moment of pride - and fear - for a father. A dad watching his son go off to college remembers his own glory days: his first moments of independence, his first college girlfriend, his first party, his first influential teacher, his first intellectual wake-up call.

Getting your teen into a good college can be a rough experience when neither of you are prepared. The first thing you have to assess is your teen's level of commitment. Does he or she even want to go to college?

Making friends isn't easy. As adults, we tend to stick with the friends we've had for years without reaching out to others for friendship. And when we do, we are very conscious of our behaviors so we can appear friend-worthy. Children are different, though. Some of them are extremely shy, hindering their friend-making abilities. Others have behavior problems that simply make others not want to be their friends.