Dads are different, let me count the ways

Whether a mom or a dad, each is a parent and in some instances, that’s where the similarity ends.

There are gender specific parenting styles and since it’s Father’s Day this month, let’s focus on dear old dad. In observing the father of my children, the most dramatic difference can be summed up on one word – roughhousing.

I decided that my husband’s fun little wrestling bouts with our two boys were his way of showing physical affection. There were hugs and kisses but rolling around with one giggling little guy in a leg lock and another in hilarity-inducing headlock was a lovefest. Diving on daddy whenever he reclined on the couch registered equally on the love scale. He regretted ever reading them the Dr. Seuss how to guide “Hop on Pop”.

That book was a Father’s Day gift and in this issue, associate editor Christine Davis has brought together some “Dad Stuff” to inspire gift giving this year. In a culinary world where bacon has its own country, the DIY bacon kit is on my GPS. Also in this issue and available for sharing at cityparent.com, is Heidi Smith Luedtke’s take on “what dads do best”.

You might recognize some of the traits she describes in your partner or recall them in your own father. While the article addresses the modern family in which dads are generally more involved in parenting, it reinforces that you can’t take the man out of dad.

Sure it’s a stereotypical dad who allows the kids to get a little closer to the edge than mom would. Letting our little boys “help” shingle the roof was not my idea. They survived, even though I was not able to cover the ground around the house in bubble wrap. The boys learned about ladder safety, how to apply shingles and how mom needed to have faith in dad’s judgment and express his own parenting style.