Dawn Loves Buttercups

My apartment building is right next to a family leisure centre and swimming pool and it is such a delight to see parents and children making use of these facilities, both after school and during school holidays. One of the most beautiful things I see is how many Dads are so fully hands on with the little ones.

When my children were tiny, my first husband used to boast “I know how to change a nappy (diaper), I just choose not to.” And largely that is how he viewed a father’s required input into parenting. Now whilst I remember very clearly how sleep deprived I was having two little ones with only 22 months between them (and I still had a part time job to make ends meet) my main reflection here is on how most fathers missed out on bonding with their children during the 1970s, because of the attitude of those times.

By and large here in the UK, the father, the children and the marriage suffered a great deal from this, and I argue that it was almost encouraged as a continuum of values that purveyed in the decades prior to and leading from the Second World War. Children whilst not exactly were to be seen and not heard, they certainly had to keep their place in family life. So imagine my joy on seeing young fathers taking time to not only help with the little ones but watch them enjoy that time. The children thrive in confidence with loving role models and you can see the happiness in their faces as they skip along to or from their swimming lessons, chatting away with Dad, holding his hand and feeling his strength. Dads matter so much in a child’s life and even single Dads have such an important role to play as mentor, role model and joint nurturer. I don’t think Dads get enough praise. Let’s hear it for Fathers who love totally.