10 Times James Van Der Beek Crushed the Whole Parenthood Thing

Updated on 9/14/2018 at 7:45 AM

If you're anything like us, then your first glimpse of James Van Der Beek was probably during an episode of Dawson's Creek way back when. But now, the 41-year-old actor has stepped into a new demanding role after having five kiddos with his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek — and by the looks of things, it suits him well.

Whether he's letting his kiddo pick his nose or soaking up every single second of bonding with his new bundle of joy, we seriously can't get over how open and honest he is on social media. Scroll through to get a peek at some of his sweetest parenting moments to date.

When he said there needs to be another word for "miscarriage."

After admitting that his wife had experienced three miscarriages, James suggested that we find a new word for the phenomenon in an Instagram post. He wrote that: "'Mis-carriage' in an insidious way, suggests fault for the mother — as if she dropped something, or failed to 'carry.' From what I've learned, in all but the most obvious, extreme cases, it has nothing to do with anything the mother did or didn't do. So let's wipe all blame off the table before we even start." Well said.

When he acknowledged the importance of self-expression.

The Dawson's Creek alum shared a photo of his four older kiddos with the caption "Creative expression is the best child care" after they performed their own version of a musical number from The Greatest Showman.

When he knew how to show his kids a good time.

The father of five posted a hilarious throwback pic of him with his son on Aug. 9. And we're loving the cheeky caption: "A few summers ago when I decided to thrill my son by taking him on a super-exciting #kayak ride."

When he introduced the world to his daughter Emilia on her first birthday.

Although James gives fans a frequent glimpse into his kids' lives now, that wasn't always the case. The actor introduced his daughter Emilia to the world for the first time on her first birthday. How sweet!

When he gave destigmatizing breastfeeding his all.

Having five kids probably means that James has seen his wife do her fair share of breastfeeding. So when breastfeeding in public was finally deemed legal in all 50 states, he gave a shout-out to all the mamas out there.

"#Breastfeeding moms everywhere... we salute you ✌️," he captioned a selfie of his wife nursing. "Non-breastfeeding moms. . . we salute you, too ❤️. Just trying to do our part to normalize a natural, beautiful human behavior that has been, at times, absurdly stigmatized."

When he got very candid about his wife's home birth — placenta and all.

After his wife Kimberly gave birth to Gwendolyn at home, James shared some details about the home-birth process on social media — including a photo of the placenta in a mixing bowl. You really can't get any more real than that.

When he totally showed off his daughters on the red carpet.

James doesn't cherish only the time he spends at home with his family! Last year he took Kimberly and his daughters, Emilia and Olivia, to an event complete with a red carpet.

When he tackled baby-wearing like a boss.

This dad has no problem toting around his new baby girl, Gwendolyn. All he needs to figure out now is how he can hold two more kiddos at the same time. "Just need to figure how to carry two more at the same time & I'm set," he wrote.

When he let his kiddo pick his nose.

Because that's obviously what dads are for, right?

When he was totally OK with being an “adequate pillow.”

In a sweet Instagram post, this doting dad admitted that "whatever his shortcomings as a father" are, he's more than happy to assume the roll as an "adequate pillow."