We all know the stereotypes: moms do everything perfectly and dads are bumbling idiots. Any family sitcom will tell you this. In fact, we expect so little of men and fathers that the mere notion that they could be in charge of their own children has been the premise of countless successful movies and TV shows. But the truth is that men are not only competent parents, they also bring something valuable and unique to parenting that is theirs alone.
For some reason, we love to see dads with their kids.
Whether it's because we have unfairly low expectations of men and fathers, or we are naturally smitten by good fathering, dads doing the simple act of parenting gets our attention. Dad-parenting is often different from mom-parenting.Dads get a bad rap when it comes to knowing what they're doing.
Fair or not, the goofy, clueless father is an archetype. He's the counterpart to the nagging, martyr mother. The truth is that both and neither of these stereotypes are entirely true. But that won't stop us from laughing and rolling our female, all-knowing eyes at this guy dropping his cell phone on his brand-new infant.When dads are caught in the act of simply being dads, it gets a lot of attention.
Who can forget this conference call which was epically interrupted by a strutting toddler and a rollaway baby? The contrast of the serious working man, talking about very serious issues, and his silly children is hilarious. But would this video have received as much positive attention had the working parent been a mom?It's certainly not right, but we still swoon over a dad demonstrating good parenting in a way that we don't when a mom does the same.
This is Antwon Lee, relaxing at home with his first baby, Debias. We can clearly see that Antwon is smitten with his infant son. Their special bond, and Antwon's very dad-like brand of excellent parenting, were recently captured in a now-viral video.Antwon is new to fatherhood, but he seems to be a natural.
This video is a great example of that distinct magic that dads bring to parenting, that's a little different from what moms bring. His overwhelming love is evident as he uses humor, empathy, his voice, and his influence as his son's father to comfort Debias (and himself) through the immunization process.
This sweet video has gone viral in that way that only dad videos seem to be able to. It reminded us of some other epic fathering moments that the internet went gaga for.
How about this dad who faked his own pee accident to help his daughter feel better about hers?
My little sis had an accident today at kindergarten & this is how my dad left to pick her up so she wouldn't feel s… https://t.co/0y1oQP9e43— lucinnamon toast (@lucinnamon toast)1492204635.0
We all fell for this dad's morning affirmations with his daughter.
The only thing we love more than a dad caught doing great parenting is when he's parenting his daughter. The father-daughter relationship is the stuff that tugs at our heartstrings and leaves us in need of a tissue. Seriously though, HOW FREAKING ADORABLE IS THIS GUY WITH HIS DAUGHTER?!