It wasn’t very long ago when fathers had to be encouraged, or sometimes even forced, to get to know their children a little better. The word “bond” was more often associated with superglue instead of the now more familiar reference of getting to know someone at a deeper level. Nobody ever asked, “have you bonded with your kids?” because it wasn’t really the cool, or right thing to do. Men were either too busy working or simply left it to the mothers.
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| These fathers & daughters are not having recess. Courtesy of Ben Poon. |
These days, dads have gone soft – all for the right reasons. Suddenly fathers are crawling out of the man-dens and pubs, and actually making an effort to spend time with their children. Is this a new movement of the Metrosexual Modern Father? Nurturing. Involved. Around. (Around, not referring to the roundness of their bellies but their physical presence – but sometimes maybe both.)
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| Tile me more! Courtesy of Peter Lye. |
Some fathers have woken up to the fact that parenting is a lot like investing. You must start off with some capital, get knowledgeable on the topic and monitor your investments closely. Where necessary, seek advice from professionals and interact regularly with your broker or financial advisors. I’m not in the finance business, so I bet even if you follow those steps, there is still a significant chance you might become bankrupt, but I hope you get my drift.
We had a Father-Daughter Bonding event over the weekend and as always (we run this every year), the fathers came in droves to sit with their little girls, doing craft work, piecing tiny tiles together on small wooden boards while chatting, taking pictures and proudly sharing their expert knowledge on design and colour theory. This was likely not a typical morning for either, with one typically at tuition and the other either still in bed or on the golf course, but I could be wrong – family time is important and some dads take it seriously.
I'm proud to be a dad in the 21st century, actively trying to be a part of my children's lives as they grow from babies into toddlers, tweens, teens and further. Some people say that a parent's job never ends and it never remains the same - the JD would probably state "dynamic, challenging, many opportunities for on the job training, never-ending". But if you dive into it head-first, give it your 100% and make a point to have fun, you can't go wrong. And along the way, you get to make mosaic and get glue on your fingers.
