“The Dad Is Not A Person; It’s A Lifestyle”: 50 Pics That Scream Dad Energy, Shared By Facebook Page
Nothing changes a man's life like becoming a father. Being entrusted with the responsibility and care of another person is a huge task.
You need to help your child's development, which includes playing, being a good role model, and being warm, loving, and engaged.
But all of this effort is insanely rewarding. Not only do you see your kid grow into an adult but you also get an automatic pass to make all the dad jokes you want.
But don't just take my word for it. There's an online project called The Dad and it's dedicated to illuminating this joyful journey. One of the ways it does that is by tweeting and retweeting spot-on takes on family life and parenting.
More info: thedad.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
This post may include affiliate links.
We managed to get in touch with Joel Willis, the founder and executive editor for The Dad, and he was kind enough to have a little chat with us about his own parenting journey.
"As a parent, the only thing you can be certain of is that you will be constantly surprised by what happens. What To Expect When Expecting should just say 'Who knows? But you'll figure it out, probably,'" Willis told Bored Panda.
Every kid, family, and the experiences they share are so different, and Willis thinks it's precisely the reason why raising a child is the best challenge you can have. "Every day is a clean slate full of endless possibilities for tragedy and triumph."
"Parents should keep that in mind, and not be too rigid about what they expect to happen or how they think their kid must behave," he said. "Go with the flow and embrace the craziness. If everything went as planned, wouldn't that be boring? I'm seriously asking, wouldn't it? Please let me know. I have no idea because nothing in my life has gone as planned since my first kid was born 12 years ago."
"While every journey is different, all parents are on the same unpredictable rollercoaster. That's why The Dad content resonates with so many, because we get to laugh at the shared absurdity of it all," the man added.
Going through these tweets, the idea that a man can possess parenting instincts and is not just suited to be a provider or a hapless sidekick looks natural, but it is actually relatively new. Just a few generations ago, it was highly controversial. In the '70s, for example, the expectation that men should do more was picking up steam, but they were still considered a poor substitute for moms.
"[The mid-'70s] was the heyday of attachment theory, which, as it was incarnated then, was very much focused on the critical importance of the attachment between an infant and its mother in the first years of life," Michael Lamb, who became a forerunner of fatherhood research at the time and continues to study it at the University of Cambridge in the UK, told Today's Parent. "That went along with the assumption that it was the only [primary] relationship kids could form."
Doesn't matter, it's the center of a cinnamon roll! THE CENTER!
Load More Replies...Hmmm, I think I'm gonna make some tomorrow. You're invited ;)
Load More Replies...Something I got immediately addicted to when I visited the USA. That, and triple thick milkshakes. I wonder how I gained so many pounds during that holiday 🤔
Load More Replies...That’s as bad as eating around the salted caramel in your ice cream!
I saw a man at LAX throw away cash in a garbage bin because it wasn't enough to exchange
Or the center could have been undercooked. I've had that happen before. It was sad.
My mom always fed the last bite...the LAST BITE...of her burger to our dog. I asked her how she does that. "I plan to the second to last to be MY last. The rest is for him." Ah, mothers.
This was painful. Nothing would stop me from enjoying the CENTER OF A CINNAMON ROLL!
Ugh so sorry - you must have a different gene or taste bud or something. Maybe you're able to enjoy something others can't though.
Load More Replies...You know what is worse than seeing a worm in apple?
Load More Replies...I would have a panic attack if I saw someone throw away a cinnamon roll not to mention the center! You start on the outside eating in a circular motion wanting to eat faster to get to the center of the cinnamon roll but you force yourself to slow down to savor then when you get to the center it's absolute bliss eyeballs rolling in the back of your head! This lady needs a slap to the back of the head! It's a CINNAMON ROLL! ALL HAIL THE CINNAMON ROLL!
But at the turn of this century, researchers discovered an incredible detail about men: our bodies transform when we become fathers. Turns out, our hormonal systems alter dramatically when we become parents. And it doesn't matter if we're talking biological dads or adoptive ones, heterosexual or queer, the same applies for everyone.
This amazing revelation basically implies that despite the narrow role fathers have put themselves into for so long, our internal chemistry may have always been nudging us toward more involvement.
We know that oxytocin (the love hormone) plays a role in a mother's initial bonding with her child after birth but researchers have observed that the same spike in oxytocin occurs when fathers hold and play with their newborns too.
I was about 5 - so, 1960 - when I asked my mom what it was like to ride in a covered wagon.
When that love drug floods a new father, his testosterone level typically drops, making him less likely to take risks and more able to nurture his newborn. Furthermore, he registers an increase in prolactin, which is a hormone best known for helping women produce breastmilk.
University of Notre Dame anthropologist Lee Gettler explained that the presence of prolactin goes back hundreds of millions of years to our animal ancestors, even before mammals (and breastfeeding) existed. Over the past decade, Gettler has determined the connection between the hormone and modern-day dads. "Fathers with higher prolactin play with their babies in ways that are beneficial for their babies' learning and exploration, and the fathers also seem to be more responsive and sensitive to infant cries," he said. This ancient hormone increases a dad's desire to be close to their little one!
That should come as a relief to those men who are worried about becoming a father. If you put in the time and effort, you're going to be fine. You're a natural!
The householder described the decision to disconnect his electricity on aesthetic grounds as "blatantly unconstitutional"
"Don't try to be perfect," Joel Willis of The Dad said. "There's no such thing as a perfect parent. We all make mistakes. Our kids will grow into adults, and even if they're happy and successful and independent, they'll certainly resent us for something. I tell my kids this sometimes and you know what? The thing they'll resent me for is probably telling them they're going to resent me for something someday."
Willis divides parenting mistakes into big and small. According to him, if you try to avoid the big ones as best you can and don't worry about the small ones, you should be fine. "They build character," he said.
For more similar content, follow The Dad using the links in the introduction. "I just want to mention that while I am the founder and editor-in-chief, The Dad is made up of a team of talented, creative, hilarious folks who create the best parenting content on the web, day after day," Willis added. "They are the best."
Set him straight or he'll never have a profitable career in insurance fraud
And if there's a world record for fastest time to fully unclothe yourself, a toddler that can barely crawl will shatter it.
Even worse: "This idiot once got so drunk he kissed the maid of honor"
My husband on 1st January: Hey, we have to go for a run, because the previous run we did was last year...(yesterday)
Honestly I quite often feel like a last-century kind of dinosaur, and I'm not even 40
And this is why some people think f***y packs are cool...never mind how old the picture is.
Increasing the costs of our weekly grocery shopping with at least €100 is why I got to stay at home.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a device was in use, not even the mouse. The phones were all hung up with chargers galore, while a 3d printed wreath was displayed on the door.
My FIL used to snap his fingers before sneezing because he sneezed to loud. I jumped so high the first time I heard him sneeze because they forgot to warm me.
.... and then wake up early for work for another 50 years... and then when you are retired and don't need to wake up early any more, you can't sleep any more and still wake up early!
Note: this post originally had 120 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.