Sock Food

Think of the biggest, toughest man you know. Now, imagine him on his hands and knees making little kitty noises. What could bring such a strong, confident man to this point of vulnerability? His children, of course!

Boys are taught from early childhood to act tough and to not appear weak. No dad wants his boy to be a Sally. So, we condition them to be men from very early on. We do the same thing with girls in some cases. If they fall down, we tell them to shake it off. If someone hurts their feelings, we tell them it's not worth crying about and that feelings will get hurt a lot growing up.That's part of the job of a dad.

Give us the chance, though, and we'll drop to the floor and start meowing like a cat just to make our kids laugh. No tough guy act. A momentary lapse of being "a man."

Dad's who play with their kids regularly and who step out of the typical fatherly tough guy role can help instill a greater sense of confidence in their kids lives. Kids are taught constantly to be and act a certain way. It's hard, though, to always act like that. Being silly with your dad shows that it's ok to step out of those typical guidelines from time to time.

As children grow older these experiences give them confidence to not only be silly but to know that it's ok to make mistakes. If we're taught to be and act a certain way, then surely we'll make a mistake and step out of bounds.

Our main jobs as fathers is to help our children grow into strong, capable, confident, and well-balanced grown-ups. We have to show, by example, how to do this. Being silly with our children is one way to show that it's ok to have fun and step out of the constraints of our typical day.

I never miss the chance to be silly with my kids and I hope you don't either. Take a few minutes today and meow like a kitten for your kids!