There was a time when babies, and toddlers, made even the most strong-hearted new or experienced celebrity or local father wince. Ten or 15 years ago you would have found a bunch of loving and caring men - with a definite hands-off approach.

It wasn’t that these men didn’t want to get involved, but children, made them squeamish, and their work life always seemed to come first.

But now-a-days celebrity fathers, and local dads, are rolling up their sleeves and getting more and more involved. In fact, today’s Hollywood fathers are quick to report that they are changing diapers, bathing toddlers, reading bedtime stories, rushing home from TV and movie projects to be with their families, imparting their values, and much more.

Experts, including Kyle Pruett, M.D., say that these modern day “nurturing fathers” are giving their children priceless gifts of time, attention, and love that will serve their sons and daughters well throughout their lives. They also see themselves as partners with their wives in bringing up their precious children.

“My one piece of advice for dads is to stick to your intuition about what you believe is good for your children,” Pruett recently said. “When you positively engage fathers you can improve problem solving, improve school grades and stem the growth of depression, anxiety, and aggression in the family.”

The issue of fathers becoming more and more involved as caregivers, and their contribution to their children is being taken more and more seriously, said Pruett, a noted author, Yale professor, and an internationally known child psychiatrist and expert on children, family relationships, and fathers.

Dr. Pruett and his wife, Marsha Kline Pruett, have a new book for families called Partnership Parenting, which reveals how men and women naturally parent differently – and what couples can gain from both approaches. While mothers tend to protect, offer help and pull their children close, fathers often tend to push their children toward exploration and independence. “Both of these approaches can actually strength the entire family. You need to be on the same chapter as your spouse, but not necessarily on the same page,” he said. “It is important to remember that the kinds of things fathers bring to the family will strengthen their child’s development and their own depth as a person.”

Many of these dads agree that while they love their work—family comes first. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at nurturing fatherhood and the trials and joys of fatherhood through the hearts and minds of several celebrity and local dads.

Bruce Willis – Live Free or Die Hard, Cop Out, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable

Bruce Willis most often plays the tough guy with a hard edge. He can shoot ‘em up, roll with the punches, drive fast cars and make a quick get-a-way.

So it was reassuring in a way, and a bit ironic, to discover that he is a bit of a softy, too. Especially, when it comes to his three daughters (with ex-wife Demi Moore), Rumor, 21, Scout, 19, and Tallulah, 15.

The self-described homebody, was most recently seen in the buddy-cop flick Cop Out, with funny man Tracy Morgan, from “30 Rock.” In the recent movie Willis’ character plays a dad, who will do anything to please his daughter, even sell his rare baseball card to pay for her wedding. As a dad of three daughters he could relate to that intense plight.

“It’s directly relatable. It’s easy to understand the intense love I have for my daughters and they are great kids, and so I just transferred that to Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays my daughter in the movie,” Willis said.

It appears that like many show business families, Willis’ daughters are acting and singing, something that their proud father adores. “It’s really fantastic. It makes me cry. You know, the older now I get I think I am more sentimental. When I see them perform, I lose it. Rumor sings once in a while. Rumor and Scout both sang Christmas songs at my nightclub in Sun Valley this holiday and I was like sighing. I get a little emotional. I love working and worked until five in the morning doing fight stunts the other day and then came to New York. But when I don’t work I’m sort of lazy, I just want to kick around the house and spend time with my wife, and the rest of my family. I have great, great kids.”

Al Park – owner of the Springfield Dairy Queen

Al Park and his wife, Rosemary, reared five children, and are now happily involved in the lives of their three young grandsons. Their four daughters and one son, who range in age from 27 to 43, were a true blessing for Park, owner of the Springfield Dairy Queen.

When he reminisces about his family he remembers many recitals, class plays, summer camp events and summer vacations. Obviously, not every day was smooth sailing, but Park says his advice is simple, “hang in there, that’s all you can do. Sometimes, it seems daunting, but if you hang in there, things will usually work out.”

Spending time with Park’s three grandsons, ages one and a half to six, is a bit different from the day-to-day pressures of fatherhood. “It’s nice to spend time with them, pat them on the head, give them back to their parents, and walk out the door,” he joked. “I’m not meaning to be disrespectful and I love having time with them. But before the responsibility was on us. My wife says she did it all and she did much of it, of course But I wouldn’t trade one moment of it.”

Jerry Seinfeld – Seinfeld, Bee Movie, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Funny man Jerry Seinfeld is best known for his stand up comedy, his mega-hit TV show Seinfeld, and more recently the animated feature, The Bee Movie. For the first half of his adulthood he was the happy, carefree, bachelor, hanging out with his pals in L.A. and New York.

But when he married and subsequently had three children, his world completely changed. When he is not making movies or working, Seinfeld says he prefers to be home in Manhattan or on Long Island with his wife, Jessica, and their three children, Sascha, 9, Julian, 7, and Shepherd, 5.

“I’m really kind of a home person now. I love to be at home with the kids and my wife. I don’t like to do much -- I just like coming up with games. I love to come up with games involving pillows and bedspreads. I have a million different games that I play with them and try and make them laugh. Making [my children] laugh is like my favorite thing now to do.”

While Seinfeld made his mark from having a peculiar take on the world around him, that up-side-down perspective persists in his parenting. “My daughter recently learned to hold her breath and go underwater. And it’s really fun to see your kid underwater because they can’t talk to you on the way and they can’t ask you for anything. And they just look so cute,” he teased.

“You know how parents love to look at their kids sleeping? Because they look so perfect and they’re not bothering you and they’re not whining about anything, they seem so perfect when they’re sleeping and I found that they also are very nice to look at underwater,” Seinfeld said. “And you can’t hear them.”

Jim Hayes, co-owner of Kitchen Concepts, Havertown

Jim Hayes, co-owner of Kitchen Concepts in Havertown, has two daughters, Lauren,19, and Christen, 16, and they have extremely active lives at school and in sports.

In fact, Lauren was in the US Olympics for the Luge, the difficult sledding sport, and Christen pitches for the Academy of Notre Dame where she is a sophomore, and plays with the Delco Diamonds 16 and under travel team. “The best thing about being a dad is getting to spend time with my children, and hopefully having a positive influence on their lives,” says Hayes.

An extremely proud father, he is thrilled to share their accomplishments and not dwell on any stumbles along the way. His older daughter is heading to France this summer to become proficient in French so she can come back and study Chinese, and the younger one will be putting his best foot forward at a softball camp in Georgetown and then work as a US Congressional page on Capitol Hill.

His advice to dads: “Don’t be too critical of you children and enjoy the ride because it’s just too short. Let them be children as long as they can be children because they will be grown up for a long time. I see a lot of people pushing their kids to be adults. So celebrate their successes and don’t make too much of their failures. It’s not easy being a kid.”

Hayes said that sometimes that’s not easy, but it’s worth the effort. “I’ve been going around the country watching my older one on a sled and catching a glimpse of her for four seconds. But it’s worth it..” The biggest challenge, he said, is trying to consistently present a positive image to your child. “There are just so many negative ways to interact – with language, bad temper, and acting like a child instead of an adult. So the key is to let them know you are always there for them, and be a positive role model for them. Just support them in what ever direction they take.”

Ben Stiller – Madagascar, Greenberg, Meet the Fockers, Zoolander

When it comes to family values Ben Stiller says the simpler the pleasures in life, the better he likes them. He and his wife, actress Christine Taylor, are the parents of two young children, Quinlin, 5, and Ella, 8, and they like to hang out as a family. He is also extremely close to his parents, legendary actors and comics, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and hopes to be as good a parent to his own children as they were to him and his sister.

So how does movie actor/writer/director Stiller like to hang out with his wife and kids?

“A perfect day, it would just be to get up in the morning maybe like the kids decide to sleep in, so that we’re happy so we actually get some sleep. And hang out and play maybe jump in the pool together, kids love to swim in the pool and take a walk or a little mini-hike somewhere. The kids are 5 and 8 so it’s probably not a long hike, but it’s always fun to take like a sort of a little family adventure. Maybe go out for lunch somewhere, with kids that age when everybody can sort of like get through a lunch without having some sort of meltdown is always exciting,” he said. “I love to see the kids when they can also play on their own and that’s always a good thing to just watch their imaginations work. My son really loves trains and that sort of thing and my daughter is really into arts and crafts, so it’s fun to see them generate their own play ideas.”

What is the best piece of advice Stiller’s children have given him? “It’s mainly they’re always giving you the advice to stay in the moment. Kids can really pick up if you’re distracted or if you’re stressed out from work. So when you’re playing with them, and you get into their onto their level, which is really a really healthy level, that’s the best thing that I get out of them, just being with them in the moment.”

Michael J. Fox – Spin City, Stuart Little, Doc Hollywood, Back to the Future

Involved dad Michael J. Fox would not go “Back to the Future,” to erase Parkinson’s disease from his life. The doting husband and father of four – known for his impeccable comic timing—says that he has not stopped laughing despite adversity and pain from Parkinson’s disease.

In fact, his philosophy is to embrace life, thorns and all, and especially make sure to put his family first. He and his wife, actress Tracy Pollen, are parents to their son, Sam, 20, twin girls, Aquinnah and Schuyler, 15, and daughter Esme, 8.

“My family is the reason I live, not the work,” says Fox. “One day I was talking to my son, he was looking me in the eye, and we were really engaged in this conversation. At the same time, my hand was vigorously shaking. And instead of breaking the conversation, he just reached out, put his hand on my hand, and we just kept talking.” Fox loves whipping up French toast for breakfast and making forts out of sofa cushions when he played with the twins when they were younger. When he is not working, Fox says his favourite Sunday activity is spending time in the country hanging out near the pond, riding horses and having dinner with his in-laws.

“There’s only a finite amount of energy,” he says. “I chose to use every bit of my time to be with my family. In this way, I’m different than I was 10 or 15 years ago. I don’t have gigantic ambition. I don’t need to be some major movie star. I love being a dad. I want what all parents want for their children, for them to be happy and to find a path that they like and not be knocked off of it.”

Chris Carabello – director of communications, marketing and PR for LaSalle College High School in Wyndmoor

For Chris Carabello fatherhood means bringing out the best in his eight-year-old son, A.J., as well as the 1100 boys he works closely with at LaSalle College High School. In fact, he took the job shortly before his son was born.

“The best thing about being a dad is having a little friend, a little buddy,” says Carabello. “We do a lot of things together from playing golf to making trips to Home Depot. I have a lot of friends, but a little buddy is different. It’s a chance to mentor someone. It’s an opportunity to teach my child, to have a hope or aspiration and pray to God he can grow into that.”

Carabello said that working at an all boy’s school he gets to spend time with intelligent and creative teenage boys, and he sees older versions of his own son in them. During one service project to Bolivia he was able to mentor 19 of the LaSalle students, an opportunity that he relished. “I see boys I would like my son to grow up to be like. That’s the greatest part of being a Dad; I get to see what my son will grow up to be. Being a dad gives a man a unique perspective on the world. I feel that you get to see the future through them. Teenage years can be difficult instead of being afraid of them, I get to look forward to them.”

For this dad sharing with his son his love for the high school where he has put his heart and soul is also exciting. “My son his a mini-passion for the school. It’s nice to share it with him, too. He likes to be the water-boy at basketball or football games. He goes to a lot of championship games,” he said.

What has Carabello learned being a father for eight years? “I have learned not to be disappointed. Many parents I meet see their son is the next Michael Jordan. I believe that grooming a child for anything is a mistake. Often the child and the parent don’t overcome the disappointment, if the goals aren’t reached. I have learned to accept the fact there is greatness at all levels, and the key is just to be a good boy and a great kid, not the greatest athlete or the greatest musician. I’ve learned to accept. He’s the best son, and I’m fine with that. We count the blessings every day.”

The most difficult thing about being a dad is some of the fears that come with it. “I only have one son, and it took my wife and I a while to have him. You pray that he’s healthy and happy. That’s all you can do. Providing happiness for someone and having them give it back in return is the miracle of being a father.”

Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Inglorious Bastards

Brad Pitt was best known for his body of A-list films. But after he and Angelina Jolie became parents to six children, fatherhood became on his priorities.

“Parenthood is the greatest and most important endeavor of my life,” he said. Pitt often travels with the children taking them to film festivals and the like, so how does that work with his busy schedule. “It’s easier to handle them one at a time. I love my time with each of them and I have to stay that they are the funniest people I know.”

Charlie DeMarco – owner of DeMarco's Restaurant in Drexel Hill Charlie DeMarco, owner of DeMarco’s Restaurant in Drexel Hill, has the ability to easily combine work and family since all of his children are working in the local business.

His children, Charles Jr. Lauren, Frankie and Stephen range in age from 27 to 13, and DeMarco answers quickly when asked about the best part of being a father. “Your kids are only yours – you have that special relationship with those four people that no one else can have.” He is proud of Charles Jr.’s accomplishments as stand-out high school football player, Lauren becoming the first DeMarco to graduate college and working as the restaurant’s accountant, and the excellent business sense and customer relations all of them show at the shop. “It is nice having them close by. This is our 24th year in business and my customers remember them in T-Ball and the year my daughter won an essay contest in grade school. They watched them grow up. There’s always a DeMarco in the restaurant now and it makes people feel comfortable.”

The biggest challenge he said is, “keeping everybody happy. Someone is always a little mad at someone else in a family. My advice is say what’s on your mind and have a short memory – don’t stay mad for long.”

Matt Damon – Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone, Ocean’s Eleven

Matt Damon is living a big life – on screen. But his personal life is quieter and intimate –just the way he likes it with his wife and children in Miami.

He is a hands-on dad to his three young daughters; most often taking the entire family on location, while he still has time to make movies, stay politically and environmentally active. He and wife of four years Luciana have three children: daughters, Isabella Damon, born June 11, 2006 and Gia Zavala, born August 20, 2008. They also are the parents of Luciana’s daughter, Alexia

“Being a dad is great. It's been just amazing. I mean, these stages just go by incredibly fast, you know? The little discoveries every day; so much is happening, so much changes, in the first year that it's just amazing,” Damon revealed. “It happens at warp speed. I see why people, when parents see little babies, they get that thing, they go, "I want another one," Because the stages all just fly past. And if you're with her every day, which I'm lucky enough to be, it's only if you're taking pictures or it's only if people you haven't seen for a couple months, that you even realize, it's happening in front of you, and you don't even see it.”

He said that as he has gotten older he has become more socially conscious and one of his causes is keeping water clean around the globe. This is a cause he is sharing with his children, even though they are young. So is he teaching the kids or are they teaching him?

”It’s funny; they get it. The kids definitely get it. They turn out the lights when they leave a room. It’s all about people being engaged. It does feel like this next generation actually will make a difference in the planet.”

John Travolta – Saturday Night Fever, Hairspray, Paris With Love

John Travolta first captured movie-goers hearts in Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, and Hairspray, and has kept the love affair going through dozens of movies, including his most recent film, From Paris With Love, in which he plays a secret agent.

He is also known for being the devoted father of daughter, Ella, and learning how to cope with last year’s death of his beloved teenage-son, Jett, a parents’ worst nightmare.

“It’s been a rough year. I'm not going to say it's not been. But we've been working very hard every day, at healing. And we still are. But it's working, you know? And we've worked with our church, and we've worked with each other. And our friends, and our family. It's been a tough one, and it's going to be. But at least we have help, and it's working.”

He fondly recalls making his recent movie with his wife, Kelly Preston, and their two children nearby. “I came home from work around midnight one night, and I said to my daughter and my son who had a couple of friends with them, how would you like to go to downtown Paris for pizza on the Champs Elysees, and then hot cocoa. And they were like, at this time of night? And I said yes, believe it or not. So we went downtown and had pizza. And at 2 a.m., we're sitting and having hot cocoa. And for them, it was like a whole universe of lifestyle, you know? So that was one of my highlights, with the kids in the middle of the night, in Paris.”

Matthew Broderick – Wonderful World, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Inspector Gadget

TV, film and Broadway actor Matthew Broderick, being a father is at the top of his list of priorities.

Although he has carved out a stellar career in numerous films, on Broadway and on TV, and he and his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, already had a chaotic schedule, his life became much more complicated last summer.

Twin daughters, Marion and Tabitha, were born via surrogate on June 22, 2009, and now the Brodericks’ are a happy family of five. In fact, Matthew and Sarah are often photographed walking their son to school with one or both of the twins tagging along in a baby carrier or the baby carriage.

Broderick also said that while his seven-year-old son, James, is pleased to be a big brother, like one would expect from any young boy, he is not hands-on with the twins.

What is a highlight of being a dad? “It’s very nice how happy at the moment, they seem to be when I get home. To have your little boy run at you with such joy is pretty nice.”

How do Broderick and his son spend their spare time? “I like biking with him. I figure that you have about two years where you will do stuff with him and then he will disappear in front of a computer and you will never see him again,” he joked.

Tom Cruise – Knight and Day, Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Risky Business, Jerry Maguire

Tom Cruise is best known for his leading man roles and producing box office blockbusters like Mission Impossible and its sequels. But he also admits to becoming smitten with fatherhood all over again with the birth of his daughter, Suri, now 4.

Cruise, who has two teenage children (Conner and Isabella) from his first marriage to Nicole Kidman, is also looking forward to adding to his family with wife, actress Katie Holmes in the near future. He admits that marriage and family are filled with bumpy roads, but he is in it for the long haul.

“I have an incredible relationship with my children, and we’re able to discuss anything and everything,” Cruise said, adding that his wants to impart his home spun values to all of his children. “The way that I was raised, was to be encouraged to think for yourself. And that no matter what people are saying or what images are coming at you. I’ve always looked for, and been encouraged to think for myself as an individual. And not just to go with the crowd.”

So what is it like to have his daughter on the set while he is working? “Well, I always like having family and friends around when I’m making a film. They’re always around, not just when I’m making a film. And, what are kids going to do? You know, run around and play. Or be in the makeup room. And other people working on the movies had their kids around too. But that’s the way it is. You wake up in the morning, and everyone kind of goes to the set. All of my kids, my teenagers too, I’ve always had them there with me, when I’m working on a character. And they enjoy it, sitting in the makeup room. Or when I’m rehearsing certain scenes, they like to watch me develop a character.

I just like having them around.”

It is somehow comforting to know that no matter if you are tossing pizzas, designing kitchens, making ice cream, or starring in blockbuster films, fatherhood comes with a great deal of patience, hard work and pure heartfelt joy.