06/19/2022
Posted • Fathers play a critical role in their kids' lives. Research shows us, over and over, that children with an involved father develop better emotional security, self-confidence, and better social skills. Having an engaged father is meaningful in the short-term and impactful in the long-term.
In my private practice and my experience in my own life, I notice that fathers want to be involved when it comes to parenting. The days of fathers popping into their kids' lives for a quick pat on the back are way over, and men are embracing this shift as much as anyone. I watch fathers in my practice dive deeply into parenting the way they do in other areas of their lives: they read and learn, try new ways of interacting, stick with the hard stuff, and feel empowered as they put more into their relationships with their kids.
And yet, here's something interesting: my followers are 95% women. How can this be? I refuse to believe it's because fathers aren't invested in the parenting process... I know that they are! Is there a stigma to following a parenting-related Instagram account? How can we make it as normalized as following a meme account or ?
I just received this DM yesterday, "Father here... just found out about your page. Amazing! We need to get more fathers in here!" I couldn't agree more.
You are the most thoughtful, engaged, inquisitive group of followers... I am blown away by your willingness to consider new ideas, reframe challenging situations, and experiment with new ways of interacting. I have a feeling that the fathers of your children would be willing to do the same. They may just need a little push.
TAG YOUR HUSBAND/A FATHER as a way of saying you’d love him to be a part of this community.
I'm thinking it might just be enough to inspire him to click "follow." How cool if I could get closer to 50% - 50% on the gender breakdown of followers; how amazing it would be to have the input of more fathers, sharing their perspectives and ideas.
And for the (currently) 5% of my followers who are male: Happy Father’s Day. Thank you for engaging and allowing me to be a part of your parenting journey.