Parenting Blog

Changing The Image Of The Modern Dad

I watched the Dove Men+Care / Dad 2.0 conversation about fatherhood this morning.  Did you?  I hope so, it was all kinds of terrific.

In between wishing so bad that I was there to participate live and in person, I listened intently to Doug French and Doug Flutie lead a lively talk about what it means to be an active-dad in the 21st century, about breaking goofball-dad media stereotypes, and about being the best we can be in this crucial, sometimes maddening, often confusing job called fatherhood.

Through their advertising spots, Dove Men+Care is committed to changing the image of the modern dad as portrayed in the media, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of their efforts.  Check out some of their great commercials featuring superstar athletes sharing stories of their lives off the field, and on the family room carpet and (in John Elway’s case below) the dance floor.

Best moment of the Livestream chat: Flutie said his 24-year-old daughter will still plop herself down on the couch and cuddle up with he and his wife to watch a game or a movie.  Frankly, that makes my big daddy heart melt picturing the Bear & Mouse still loving the comfort of home enough and the closeness of their papa enough to do the same when they’ve grown.  He acknowledged that of course she still loves her life, her social experiences, and group of friends, but those moments of daddy/daughter bonding are still alive, and are an important piece of her puzzle. Queue the tears of joy!

That touching story is a microcosm of everything I want as a daddy, because if you get to that point, I think it means you’ve laid a strong & loving foundation for your child and did more stuff correct than not.  And really, just ending up on the good side of that ledger is a huge accomplishment.  If a hall of fame hitter can fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate, and a legendary QB miss on 4 of every 10 passes, I think being 51% or better in parenting decisions is a pretty alright benchmark!

Hearing these guys talk today makes me think that I have missed an opportunity with OWTK to really push the envelope on this dads-in-the-media issue. I throw complaints and ideas into posts from time to time, sometimes snarky other times productive, but considering how much the stereotypical dad thing pricks me like a poisonous needle, it is something I should’ve been discussing more prominently here over the past 6 1/2 years. I’m a pretty good dad, I’m not afraid to say that, and I think I’m part of a group of bold and brilliant, yet still flawed and trying, fathers breaking and then reshaping the mold. I’m going to try to dive into this more from this point forward.  You’ve been warned.

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