As I follow blogs, things to do with children, activities, etc there seems to be a disconnect. The majority of activities are targeted towards women and their children (notice I said majority NOT all). This is 2013, and men are more in the picture then they ever have been in the past.
Where are the activities geared towards men and their parenting style? Men aren’t only different from women but their parenting is different, and the activities they like to do are different. Rarely do I see activities for men and their children. Most men I know don’t want to do crafts with their kids or art, do music, dance (most men feel awkward in these situations, less so when their with their children, but still strained at best).
Where are the outdoor activities like fishing with fathers, hail to hiking and biking geared to dads and their kids? How about a baby lifting competition, a baby carrier run/walk, how to utilize tools with your children safely workshop. I’m not suggesting burp and jug activities, shooting gallery fun, or even hunting with dad for babies and toddlers; but I think it would be great to have activities focused on children and their dads; activities dads may actually want to participate in because it will be fun for them too while assisting in building strong relationships with their children.
I remember camping, and fishing with my dad with fondness. I have some nostalgia and connection with my dad when I think of these activities together. We went fishing once when I was 4 or 5 and he told me I had to sing: “here fishy, fishy, fishy. Here fishy, fishy fishy”, in order to catch a fish. Of course I believed it and sang as loud as I could in order to catch a fish. Everyone around us were having a good time watching this little girl singing: “here fishy, fishy, fishy” with all her might. Great connection and memories I have because of those times.
Let’s not forget our dads when planning social activities with our children!
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- The Cutest Dad and Baby Photos – Entries from our Best New Dad photo contest (babble.com)
- Dad (medicalaidpoetry.wordpress.com)
