Summer is still stretching across parts of the country, but for many American children it came to an abrupt end this week. Eddie Cochran never saw it coming. It was the first day of school splattered across your Facebook feed: freshly pressed children dressed in bright, new clothes, and all wearing a smile filled with more wonder than teeth. Or it may have looked like this:
If your kids raised a fuss and a holler this week as they grabbed their backpacks and trudged out the door, Whit Honea‘s boys are right there with you.
On the brighter side, today’s date is August 12. And that means our Call for Speakers and Ideas for Dad 2.017 will open exactly one month from today! The CSI will run from September 12-19 and officially launch the prep season for San Diego. The idea of basking in the southern California sun might not cure the summertime blues, it might just chase them away temporarily.
IN THE NEWS
There’s been a bit of a brouhaha around Ron Biles, the maternal grandfather of U.S. gymnast Simone Biles who adopted her when she was six. He hopes it leads to more adoptions among the 415,000 American children in foster care.
Would you be brave enough to let your 7-year-old son hit a golf ball to put out a lit candle hanging out of your mouth?
Results are mixed, but overall, men are “paying more attention to their health and acting to maintain good health.” But . . .
… the New Zealand Herald reports on post-natal depression affecting new dads, and why it’s important to recognize the signs.
The percentage of Dutch dads who take paternity leave has doubled in 10 years, but it’s still low.
The Camera That’s Flipping Stereotypes of Fatherhood Upside Down – Narratively https://t.co/gpAauMbN4W via @narratively
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) August 8, 2016
Dads, reading to our kids helps them understand the world’s problems and shows them how to be part of the solutions.
Romper shares that regardless of method, sleep training is much easier when dads take an active role.
In Australia, indigenous fathers and their families were the subject of an “offensive and racist” cartoon by Bill Leak. They responded with real photos of a father’s love.
Stories of late-life parenthood still make headlines, but their enhanced frequency is making them the New Normal.
Dads are an important part of normalizing breastfeeding, and this new photo essay shows it.
CBS News reports that “A father’s stress levels influence their young children‘s language and cognitive development.”
In his NFL Hall of Fame speech, Brett Favre tearfully thanked his dad, who always believed in his son’s potential.
“What a greater honor could a person have than walking the daughter of the man who’s given his heart to him?” https://t.co/EVBZVfQPMI
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) August 7, 2016
PORCHLIGHT POSTS
- Mike Reynolds of Puzzling Posts balances the percentages of perception in “I’m Much too Jealous of that One Percent of Your Life.”
- Daddy Files’ Aaron Gouveia waxes cursing and falling in “Working Parents Squeeze in Their Moments.“
- C.C. Chapman on “Remaining Positive in a Less than Happy World” and the good that comes of it.
- “Not Saying Every Thing” by Jeff Bogle of Out With the Kids looks at what we do and what we lose.
- Doug Zeigler writes at Scotchfully Yours about a “Ritual as Love” and the moments of a morning.
Do you and your kids have any unique shared traditions? Canadian swimmer Santo Condorelli and his father do, and it has reached Olympic levels:
By design, Canadian #Olympic swimmer Santo Condorelli and his dad flip each other off before every race. https://t.co/l7rVFJAPPi
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) August 8, 2016
Calm down, World. It’s just a dad thing.
Share your traditions of fatherhood news or stories that you would like to share you can find us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Snapchat using the #FatherhoodOnFri hashtag!