Dads can be corny, annoying, and sound lame at times, but is that all they're good at? According to the way the media depicts them, yes. Sure, it brings laughs to millions of homes and screens around the world but this, in part, has an effect on fatherhood roles in today's society. Not only are we having a fatherless  crisis in the United States, but any and all efforts to close the fatherless gap is countered by the endless stream of shows, movies and skits. Being a dad isn't an easy task and sometimes we struggle with certain things. Shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, make most, if not all, dads look like they don't know what they're doing or don't care about fatherhood. 

While watching a movie with my daughter, I began to doze off into deep thought and thought about the huge disproportion between good dad role models and the families without a father. I snapped out of thought and got to writing. This is more of a wake up call to the fathers in our society and all across the world. According to the Fatherhood Factor, 23.6% of US children (17.4 Million) lived in father absent homes in 2014. That's nearly 1 in every 4 kids! This is a problem that has become a norm for some and no matter how much dirt you throw on top of the problem, it's always going to be there. Fathers that aren't involved with their children or household create a home near to that of one without a father.




This can all change by being involved and caring. There is nothing wrong with playing with your kids when you come home from work, or playing make believe with your daughter. Over time, what we see is what we begin to think what's right. In other words, the media has made dads appear insensitive and careless over the course of the years. This, however, is untrue. As a man, playing with kids doesn't make you look any less "manlier", if anything, it's healthy for the kids and the family as a whole. You don't really see the "good dads" because they are doing what they're supposed to and don't act like being a dad is a babysitting job.




It could be that caring dads don't portray society's image of being manly or being a hero. Who knows, but the truth is that being a loving, caring and responsible dad is all kinds of manly. Ask a girlfriend or wife, chances are that they will agree. There's no right or wrong way to being a dad but it all starts by being involved. Let's close and end the fatherless gap and show the world what being a dad is really about. You don't have to think you're dumb if you can't do something right, it really doesn't matter because you are there for the kids. Children see us as the larger than life superheroes but what would they see if we weren't there for them? Rejection, unworthiness, tough love? It's important that we break that cycle and as a father, now is the time to stand up for fatherhood, encourage others, and be supportive to those that need it. 

When we were younger, we were always told that it was ok to be different, and the case couldn't be any different here. Every dad is different, not only because we all have different personalities, but every child is different as well. So don't worry if what you do with your children doesn't come out on shows or movies, it's because the good dads are the ones that you don't really see on TV. 







As a dad or a parent, how do you feel about the dad stereotype portrayed by the media?