Here we are, on the cusp of the eve of the end of the year. And while much has been debated and analyzed and lamented about 2016, perhaps more than any other year since Y2K, not all of it has been a bed of thorns. We found some roses in the mix, too. The Year In Review is a staple among media outlets and assorted websites, and, frankly, we don’t see any reason to change that. A lot happened among us fathers this year, and that’s worth a moment or two of reflection.
Below are just a few of the many stories that captured our attention, the ripe and the rotten of 2016, as seen through the dad lens. We’re grateful to all of you who read this column every week, and who have appeared in it. Your willingness to share your stories and help promulgate others is the life-blood of our community, and we look forward to celebrating with you in San Diego, in six short weeks.
Also: It’s kind of jarring to see Y2K in print again, since everyone born in that year is now old enough to drive a car.
IN THE NEWS, 2016 EDITION
A California teenager has invented an app called “Sit With Us,” which helps lonely and/or shy kids sit together at lunch. The future is bright, people.
The secret is out: A new report says stay-at-home dads whose wives earn more money are happier and healthier than their bread-winning peers.
Who needs “tiger parenting” when you can teach kids to think for themselves and make their own success?
“A lot of our kids don’t see their dads in school unless they’re in trouble.” Principal Marvin Moore wants to change that by inviting dads to school.
Prince passed away at the age of 57. He was a singular artist, unmatched in talent and showmanship, providing a soundtrack to our lives that has been playing for decades.
One of the oldest and most popular complaints by fathers of young children is the lack of changing tables in men’s rooms. But things are changing (diaper pun!), thanks to a new law. Thanks, Obama!
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) October 10, 2016
Youth football coaches who confuse “fear mongering” with parental concern over safety issues won’t get more kids in their programs. Perhaps a better approach would be to address the problems.
Carter Gaddis attended the White House Council on Women and Girls event, where he interviewed one of the event speakers, Charlie Capen of How To Be A Dad. He also wrote a piece titled “Gender Stereotypes Limit Boys as Well as Girls.”
Dad 2.0 co-founder Doug French accompanied several bloggers on a storytelling trip to Thailand, to see how The Exodus Road is fighting human trafficking.
Christopher Persley is featured in Alexandra Zuccaro’s Pavement Pieces article: “More Dads Want to Stay At Home” (and deservedly so).
Kevin Smith‘s favorite actor is his daughter, but not for reasons you might think. There is cursing and hugging.
When Chrissy Teigen’s parenting choices were criticized, her husband John Legend said he should be held to the same standard. And he’s right.
Chances are you’ve seen these wonderful illustrations on fatherhood from Ukrainian artist Snezhana Soosh making their way around social media. And if you haven’t, you should.
LUNCHTIME STORES: FATHERHOOD’s FOUR SEASONS.. https://t.co/gSTiYpPOJF pic.twitter.com/lMqiqqTaL7
— Johnathan Soul (@johnathansoul) September 1, 2016
The music world lost another major star in the death of Eagles founder Glenn Frey. Our condolences to the Frey family and Eagles fans (like us) everywhere.
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.
If you’re co-founder John Pacini, you’re still coming down from an intimate evening with your new best friend, Tom.
Honored as one of 2016’s “Fathers of the Year,” Vice President Joe Biden offers his five rules for successful fatherhood.
Who ages out first, the children or the parents? At City Dads Group, Whit Honea ponders the age-old question of aging.
Buzz Bishop writes on the evolving definition of masculinity and asks “Are Dads Men?”
A 2013 study cited by the Jackson Free Press shows that black dads engage with their kids at statistically similar rates as do white and Latino dads, stereotypes be damned.
Tom Burns of Building a Library contributes a piece to Babble titled “I’ve Almost Been a Dad Longer Than My Own Father.”
Teaming with our great friends at Dove Men+Care, Josh Levs looks at the stats and stories of male friendship in “The Madness is Over, But the bonds We Don’t Always Acknowledge Keep the Game Alive.”
PORCHLIGHT POSTS, SUPERSIZED EDITION
- Simon at Man Vs. Pink implores us all to “Be like Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back.”
- Designer Daddy, aka Brent Almond, thanks an icon in “Remembering George Michael, Celebrating Freedom.”
- On Pancakes & Cider, Isom Kuade articulates an unspoken parental worry in a letter to his son: “Please Don’t Grow Up to be a Shitty Person.”
- “We Must Raise Our Boys to Defy Rape Culture” by Dad and Buried’s Mike Julianelle is as important as it sounds.
- Thom Hofman of Daddy, Medium-Well has become a staple of the Porchlight Posts series, and writing like this is why: “Not New Very Often.”
- Mike Adamick is garnering all kinds of national attention for his terrific piece (with plenty of spoilers) that as far as The Force Awakens is concerned, Rey is not a role model for little girls.
- “Where Have all the Good Men Gone: The Loss of Our Icons” by Sean McKenzie at Nerd Incognito looks at the recent deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, respectively, and how they affect all of us.
- Canadian Dad Chris Read remembers his own father in conversations with his son in “You’re Already a Good Dad.”
- Some moments can only be defined as full Kanye, and Bertram from How We Became Us tells us about his.
- Doug Zeigler at Scotchfully Yours takes on the little things in “A Mantra Amongst the Dishes.”
- Jeff Bogle drops some tough love in his latest Out With the Kids post “Dear Kids, You Cannot Be Anything You Want.” The truth hurts.
- Idaho Dad Phil Corless shares “5 Surprising Changes That Come With Fatherhood.”
- “Hello. Everythingisokay.” weighs the endurance of gratitude by Joe Medler at developing dad.
- Mike Cruse from Papa Does Preach on the loss of his grandmother in “This is Where I Leave You: Gone, but Never Forgotten.”
- Roberto Santiago of An Interdisciplinary Life shares a personal story of “Suicide and Survivor’s Guilt.”
- Lorne Jaffe of Raising Sienna shares his brave piece “5 Reasons This Depressive Has Never Attempted Suicide.”
- At OneGoodDad, Jason Greene describes his personal crossroads in “Staying Home and Feeling the Need to Run: Depression and Parenting Collide.”
- At Munky Mind, J. Parrish Lewis reminds us that “When Our Words and Acts Are Full of Love, We Win.”
- There are a lot of mixed messages being sent by policy makers, media, and anyone with an instant platform. Mike Reynolds of Puzzling Posts clears the air in “To Two Young Girls: I Believe You Already.”
We know, @RyanGosling. We know. pic.twitter.com/Kxgt615VDb
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) May 10, 2016
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