Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a father who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man and a father. Above all, the Dad of the Month is dedicated to his children. Rich or poor, famous or not, he shines as an example of what fathering is all about.

Our choice for June is Bruce Jenner, Olympic gold medal winner and father of 10.

"I firmly believe that deep in their soul everyone has a champion that can overcome obstacles and do great things," says Bruce Jenner, superstar athlete and father of 10 kids. Jenner grew up terrified of reading due to dyslexia, but he says his struggles with the reading disorder helped him learn to overcome adversity. He transformed his love of sports into a gold decathlon medal at the 1976 Olympic games and earned the title "World's Greatest Athlete."

From the lofty Olympic podium, Jenner vaulted into entrepreneurial fame in aviation, telecommunications, motivational speaking and more. He's also an acclaimed sports commentator, author and has appeared on Oprah and The Tonight Show, but some of his proudest achievements include Father of the Year awards from the U.S. Jaycee's and Southern California Father's Day Committee.

Secrets to Success
Jenner teaches his kids how to meet goals and free their harshest critic and best cheerleader: the champion within. "I don't care what arena kids choose to play in – sports, music, school, figure skating – I encourage my kids to find something in life to get excited about when they wake up in the morning," Jenner says.

One of Jenner's sons is pursuing a professional baseball career. "He's working hard and doing really well," Jenner says. His 5-year-old daughter, Kendall, is already a pint-sized ice-princess. "Watching her skate backwards or on one leg is what life's really about," he says. Although only a preschooler, Kendall insists on taking lessons twice a week. "You have to work hard at things to be good," Jenner says. When preparing for the Olympics, he trained six to eight hours every day for four years.

Jenner's kids benefit from his free advice, but corporations like Coca Cola and IBM pay $10,000 to $20,000 to hear Jenner's motivational speech "Finding the Champion Within." The speech's message taps the universal potential for greatness and applies to everyone. "Most people don't dig deep enough to find out what they can really accomplish," says Jenner. "Everyone has bad days. Sometimes for every good day there's a bad, but if you keep focused on where you're going you'll keep moving forward."

Eight Isn't Enough
Bruce and his wife, Kris, each had four kids prior to their marriage 11 years ago, and they now have two children together. At first blending the kids together was a big challenge. "Now we have an extremely good relationship," says Jenner. His kids range in age from 3 to 22. He offers the following advice for stepparents:

• As a parent there are certain rules you play by. There's another set of rules as a stepparent. You've got to realize there are things you can do and things you can't.
• Take the first few years to define your position and learn how to play the game.
• Figure out how to back off but be there for the kids if they need you.
  
  

Consistency helps keep harmony in the Jenner family. "It's very hard sometimes, but being consistent gives kids boundaries, and they like that. I tell Kendall, 'Crying isn't going to help, so please stop and listen to how it is,'" he says. Jenner leads by example. He wants his kids to take their health seriously, so he eats healthy meals.

Watching the kids conduct themselves in daily life is a great pleasure for Jenner. "Around the house you try to pound things into your kids and you don't always get a favorable reaction," he says. "Sometimes you wonder if they're listening, but then they come home with a great grade and you know they were."

Jenner credits Kris with his entrepreneurial success and happy family life. "Kris is very well organized," he says. "She runs the office and is in charge of running the house, which means I get to spend time with the kids when I'm not working."

A Decathlon of Family Fun
Jenner wanted his older kids to grow up fast so he could do fun things with them, but then he wished they were little again because they'd grown so quickly. He's taking things more slowly with Kendall and 3-year-old Kylie. He enjoys little moments, like watching them discover letters. Every night the girls choose a book and Jenner reads to them. He loves to chat with his little girls as he drives them to school. "I logged 100,000 miles on my car last year carpooling, but we have a great time," he says, laughing.

For Jenner's 50th birthday, Kris surprised Bruce with a golf membership to exclusive Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he spends as much time as possible golfing with his kids. "Kendall and Kylie love to play 'nature golf' with me," he says. "They have their little golf clubs, and we go fishing in the pond on the golf course and catch small fish. We look for turtles, birds and deer."

Recently, Kendall finished her first golf hole. "She teed off and got all the way to other end, a lot of strokes but she made it!" says Jenner. A champion in the making? "If Kendall wants to golf seriously, that's great. It's all about what makes her happy."

So does Jenner ever manage to get all of the kids together? "We lost our minds and brought them all skiing to Deer Valley one year," he says. "We had 28 bags and it took two suburbans just for the bags." Now Jenner flies whichever kids are available on smaller trips to Hawaii or Cabo San Lucas. Yes, he's a crackerjack pilot, too.

Sometimes Jenner and Kris escape for a romantic weekend in Cabo themselves. "Marriage is better when you're a little older and you meet the love of your life," says Jenner. "You know what you want, what you don't."

With a hectic schedule that sometimes includes stops in a dozen cities in a week, Jenner lets off steam and relaxes on the golf course. "When the going gets tough the tough go golfing," he says, laughing. In all seriousness, however, he says, "As a dyslexic kid afraid of reading, I never expected to stand on a platform in front of the world and receive a medal." But then Jenner found out he excelled at athletics and he practiced until he was perfect.

The wings on Jenner's feet keep propelling him to the top, but he believes everyone can fly. Says Jenner, "Help your kids find something they're good at, teach them to work hard and stand back with a smile."