3 Dad Stereotypes to Embrace This Summer

By David Soofian

When it comes to being a dad, unfortunately, society often tells men to "lean in" at work and "lean out" at home. "Traditional," gender-based parent roles ask fathers to focus on their careers (e.g., $$$) and to put their kids on the back burner. But not all stereotypes are bad. Even old-school "traditional" parenting carved out some special bonding time for Dad. So here are three traditional dad stereotypes that I am embracing this Summer.

1. Dad the Grill Master

Nothing says Summer more than the smell of barbecue. So this Summer I decided to finally learn how to use it so I can grill dinner for the kids as often as possible, and so far my twin toddlers love the experience.

If you have no experience with a grill, here are the basics I have learned so far:

  • When grilling chicken, salmon, or/and steak, all you need to do is grind some fresh salt and pepper on it and put it on the grill. Flip it every five minutes or so and eventually put a knife in it to check if its cooked enough in the center to eat.
  • When grilling hot dogs, just make a slice down the middle length-wise and let it cook. No seasoning required.
  • When grilling corn on the cob, wet a piece of paper towel until it's damp and roll the corn cob in it and then wrap that in tinfoil. If you then put it on the grill, it's nearly impossible to screw up grilling it. The moist paper towel will keep it from getting burnt or dried out.
  • When grilling sweet minipeppers, just coat them with a little olive oil and salt, and throw them on the grill until they're soft.

2. Dad the Gardener

This is my second Summer teaching my kids how to garden and grow food. We are having so much fun and it's so educational at the same time.

I get the kids involved from day one. We all go to our local garden store and go through the store picking out the fruit and vegetables we want to grow. This year, it's tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, edamame, and strawberries. Then we pick up planters, soil, and bamboo sticks. Once we get home, I let them get their hands dirty (and what kid doesn't love that?). We open the soil and just dig in with our hands to fill the planters and get our plants firmly situated. Pro tip: crisscross two bamboo sticks in each planter to help the plants grow upward around the bamboo. Now, every day we water our garden in the morning and monitor the progress of each vegetable. We do a little hunt for new growth and then a Q&A regarding what color each vegetable turns when it ripens and is ready to eat.

3. Dad the Coach

I'm not a sports guy. I don't follow my favorite team and its stats or watch any of the games. But I know how important playing sports are for children. Playing any sport helps with motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and rule following and is just some good, fun exercise. Plus, team sports help kids understand how to (you guessed it) work as a team, which is super important. So I have fully taken on the role of sports dad this Summer. Admittedly, my kids are 3 years old, so I'm just teaching them the basics — how to dribble a basketball and throw it into a (low) basket, how to kick a soccer ball, and generally how to catch a ball. But with time, I expect to fully embrace coach dad, cheerleader on the stands dad, and fighting with the referee dad.

Suffice to say, not everything old is bad. So let's treasure some of the good stereotypes of the past while moving into a more egalitarian future where both parents share responsibilities.

#RealMenParent