How does one maintain a great relationship with their dad?

Just like any other relationship... that depends on the two of you. My relationship with each of my kids is unique, as is my relationship with my dad.

How old are you? What is it that you are looking for from your dad?

Not to take any of it too seriously. No need to really "work through" every darn thing.

It seems to me that many people, certainly when under 20 yr old or so, do not grasp that their parents are people .... People with lives, interests, outlooks and so forth. Being a parent is a small part of that person; or should be if they are decent parents.

It is important to grasp that one does not have to get one with one's parents and indeed, parents are perfectly at liberty to not get on with their children.

Therefore one cannot demand or indeed engineer to stay close to one's father. One cannot per se 'do' anything ... One gets on as adult people or one does not ...... in my experience of life.

Take an interest in what he enjoys instead of demanding him to do what you want to do. My dad liked to build bird houses so once a month we would build bird houses and paint them. Then the rest of the month we'd talk about what did and what we be doing next time.

I can now use a table saw, a drill press, a sander, hammer nails and make stuff. I also have great memories of my dad.

Just one thing to always keep in mind is to never be angry at him....never ever. That hurts fathers more than anything. Never hurt them always make them happy. When they grow old don't ever abandon them. When you achieve something good in your life always tell him it makes him happier more than anything else. The same logic applies to mothers too. Making them happy and proud is the best way to maintain a great loving relationship.

Some parents are impossible to please. A person could not HELP being mad at my father, most of the time. Telling them something "good"? Not much was good in their eyes. It is why we are all over the country and I did not go to either funeral.

I don't think there is anything wrong with being angry at your parents. Like any other relationship, your parents are human beings... and sometimes human beings do awful things.

As a result, you are free to decide how to relate to your parents. This includes being angry with them.

Hi, When you say "Just curious about how I can stay close to my dad," that sounds strange to me - like how close do you want to be, I'm sorry. If you are writing in this forum, then I'm guessing you are not a minor, so here it goes. People grow up and move on. Most people don't have time for their parents because they are busy figuring out their own lives. Although parents have their own lives too, and whether or not there's a relationship, they are still our backups when things in our lives go wrong, then we go back out into the world again. For some people, this is a repeating pattern.

Just like any other relationship