#10

 This week I read an article titled “What It Really Means to Be a Father” on HuffPost. Emily Page Lockamy, the author, talks about how her father was in her childhood, and how her husband is with their children. She brings up many attributes many fathers have, so I wanted to talk about the ones I though stood out in the article.

Protective  

I think an important aspect of fatherhood is being protective. Protective fathers keep their children safe and also make sure their children feel safe. I would say my dad is protective, in a good way. If there was ever any type of threat, he would make sure the kids were safe. He was protective over me when it came to friendships, relationships, driving, going out etc. There is a big and important difference between being protective and being controlling. My dad did not control who I was friends with or who I was dating, nut he protected me from possible bad situations as much as he could.

Playful

Fathers often express their love towards children through fun and playfulness. In my experience when my dad was playful and having fun with me and my siblings, I knew he was in a good mood and I felt love and attention. I think it is important for fathers to be playful because it creates a less stressful environment for children. They know they can have fun and be playful with their dad. For me it lightened the mood and made me feel better after a bad day.

Affectionate

A lot of media these days display fathers as non-affectionate, cold hearted, serious people. I am sure this is the reality for some people, but there are many dads out there who are quite the opposite. I know in my childhood my dad showed me a lot of affection through hugs and words. This was comforting to me as a child, and even still now. It showed me that he loved and cared for me and could be a safe space. I think that all fathers should be affectionate in some kind of way because it can be really beneficial to the child.

“Worrywart”

This one might be a little hard to explain because being worried is not a good thing, but being worried about your child is good in a way. Being worried about your child’s wellbeing and safety show that you care and want them to be doing good and kept safe. I think that sometimes when my dad was worried for me, like my first time driving alone, he gives a lot of advice and checks up on me. If he were not worried and instead carless, I might have not had a good outcome in certain situations because I did not get advice from him.

Responsible  

As a father being responsible is crucial. They are responsible for their children and raising them and their wellbeing, as well as providing for the family. These are usually shared responsibility with the mother, so it is important for both parties to be responsible. If my dad was not responsible like he is, he probably would not have had a job and that would have definitely made life harder on our family. I think in order for fathers to have all the qualities listed above, they have to be responsible. It all starts with responsibility.

There are many more great attributes that fathers can have. I know I could go on forever about the qualities my dad has that I admire. Emily’s article “What It Really Means to Be a Father” definitely brought up some good ones!