The Girl Dad

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“My friends say, ‘It takes a real man to make a boy.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, it takes a king to make a princess. Get in line.’” – Kobe Bryant

The Girl Dad

My husband is a girl dad. We have three daughters and though we will soon have a son, he still proudly declares himself as such. Everyone just assumes that he is over the moon about this baby because he is a boy. But that is the thing about girl dads…while people think they must feel they are missing out on something, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Not having a boy doesn’t make parenting all girls any different. True girl dads know gender doesn’t prohibit sharing interests and pastimes with their children. And the birth of a daughter doesn’t automatically equate to yearning for a son. Being a male doesn’t mean you know how to raise a male any better than a female. Like all things parenting related, you learn over time, you adapt, you grow, you change.

Some points to know about the girl dad… well, for one thing, they don’t like it when you tell them “You have your hands full with all those girls.” If they were mixed gender or all boys, would his hands be less full? They also don’t generally know how to respond when you ask them if they are going to try for a boy. Like they should walk around advertising that? Girl dads do hair, learn dance routines, know all the words to Disney Princess songs. They also teach their girls about sports, rough house with them, and encourage weird behaviors that drive mom bananas…

Girl dads don’t treat being a girl as anything but another character trait – like being tall, wearing glasses, or standing on two feet. Words like strong, athletic, tough, independent are not “son-specific” language just like gentle, kind hearted, expressive, dramatic are not “daughter-specific.” That is perhaps the best part about raising a family with a girl dad – our girls won’t naturally feel like they have to think differently about the world because they are a girl and not a boy. And when the outside world challenges that, they have a dad at home who will help bring them back to center.

As life goes for all parents, being a girl dad isn’t always easy. My husband will be the first to admit, he sometimes feels like he is winging it. But then again, I am winging being a girl mom just the same. Even so, you can tangibly feel the pride and love and joy our girls bring him in all that they do. And they look at him, their “boy” as they call him, in the very same way.  

Shout out to all the girl dads out there- for helping to shape the future great females of the world. For never questioning your family dynamic despite the occasional societal call to do so. For challenging yourself and others to think about parenting a little differently. And especially to our very own girl dad, our boy and the greatest partner on this journey, we are so thankful you’re on our team.

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