Overhearing the Sweetest Exchange at the Park from Another Dad

I was with the kids at the park the other evening watching as they slid down slides and climbed the monkey bars, when I couldn’t help but overhear an exchange from a fellow father. His response to his daughter stopped me in my tracks.

I was getting ready to tell the kids they had five more minutes, as it was almost their bedtime and we still had to walk home, brush teeth, etc. when I suddenly heard this little girl hysterically crying. She was with her family and they were all walking together seemingly leaving the park. She clearly didn’t want to go just yet.

But instead of yelling at her, like I hear (sadly) way too many parents do at the park, her dad brought her to the side and had a talk with her. I was extremely intrigued and very invested at this point, but I did my best not to show it. Thank goodness for sunglasses.

He got down on her level (always a good idea) and calmly asked why she was crying. She answered him very matter of factly, and very appropriately, saying “I feel sad that we’re leaving.”

This melted my heart. I am so big on sharing feelings in our house, because my mom was big on all of us sharing our feelings growing up, so we always like to lead with, “I feel XYZ when XYZ happens.” It’s such an honest, straightforward way to let someone know how you feel, and I feel so much joy every time our kids express their feelings like that.

The dad listened and took in her words, still very calm. He responded exactly the way that I would have to one of our children:

“It's okay to be sad. It’s not okay to pitch a fit like this, okay?”

He acknowledged her feelings and that they were valid. He didn’t yell or raise his voice. He assured her, in so many words, that it everything was going to be okay, which is exactly what she needed in that moment.

It feels like things are changing for the better when it comes to fathers and their role in the family. According to pewresearch.org, dads today are more involved with caring for their children and are spending three times as much time with their kids as men did 50 years ago.

Of course, in same-sex families like ours, dads have no choice but to be involved in the care of their family since that’s the only option, but it’s so refreshing to see it in heterosexual families, too, don’t you think?