One of the first topics we ever tackled at Dad 2.0 was the depiction of dads on TV, and how art has as much power to influence life as to imitate it. The Emmy organizers had the same idea with this opening on Monday night, this time addressing the lack of diversity in Hollywood. And amid a performance of the “One Of Each” Dancers, they solved it!
They didn’t solve it. But we think the incremental progress is encouraging.
The same is true about the many looks of fatherhood, as evidenced over and over on Instagram. A quick search of #dadlife will turn up a vast array of men who, despite wide variations in experience and appearance, exult in the universal principle that fatherhood is the best thing ever.
Fatherhood knows no limits, no borders, no prejudice. Nor is it divided by walls, oceans, or lengths of chain-link fence. Rather, it is a thing we celebrate by acknowledging the different, owning it, and being better because of it. It is our difference that keeps us interesting, and what makes the stories that we find each week worth telling, and listening to.
Given today’s Google Doodle, it seems appropriate to include the video tribute to Fred Rogers here. Because while too much of America is busy talking about how to champion diversity, Mister Rogers just did it. He was an example for everyone, and his stories were, and remain, fantastic.
SUMMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS
IN THE NEWS
Fact: Our suspicions have been confirmed! Fatherhood is good for you!
The benefits for kids participating in intergenerational programs are many, while 97% of adults in such programs said they felt happy, loved and needed. It’s a win-win.
Fathers are incredibly important in supporting daughters’ choices to pursue math and science.
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting and less scary.” – Fred Rogers
“Polling data shows a witheringly small number of people think mum should do most of the parenting. Most folk think it should be shared.”
“Just selfishly, having a child is the best thing anyone can do for their own anxiety, if your anxiety is like mine, which is to say based in fantasy . . . now I get to worry about something that’s visible.” – Jesse Eisenberg
Do you nag your kids?
We read/share a lot of pieces stressing the importance of talking to our kids about news, politics and current events in age-appropriate ways. Here’s a case for not doing it.
Got a dadbod? Own it.
PORCHLIGHT POSTS
- “We can teach these morals to our children without the stained-glass structure, without the ritual and rules. Why those doors? Why this pew? Why that altar?” – Bill Peebles, Church: Family Routine, Rut or Foundation for a Beautiful Future
- “This line of diapers should be scented with cedar, aged meats, and campfires.” – Life of Dad, Diaper-ational, The Inspiring Diapers For Boys
- “Last night was Erev Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and I spent most of it crying.” – Adam Gertsacov, Crying over Kol Nidre: NYPD Blue Edition
- “What we share as men: Few of us like the way we look when the shirts come over the head and the pants drop.” – David Stanley, I’ll Take Body Image Issues for $1000, Please, Alex
- “The care of these most vulnerable among us should be considered a noble profession. A society is judged based on how they treat the neediest of it’s population, and we need to be doing a much better job.” – Jeremy Barnes, A Silent Epidemic of Abuse
‘GRAM OF THE WEEK
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