Ask your parents who you called for after scraping a knee on a playground. Chances are it was Mom you called to for a bandage. As humans, we naturally flock to our mothers for the immediate care that we need. That’s how most infants are in the animal kingdom. It’s instinct. Mothers shelter us until we’re mentally, physically and emotionally strong enough to go out on our own. Any Animal Planet documentary will show you the same thing.
After thinking about this, it seems like there isn’t a lot of room for Dad in the child development process.
There comes a time where you don’t need Mom as much as you used to. A lot of the care she provided we can do on our own now. I’m a big boy at age 22. I know where to find toilet paper at Walmart and I know how to put on a bandage so I don’t rip the scab off and cry like I’m 5 again. We have different problems now that need a different kind of help.
At this point in our lives instead of telling Mom,”Help me now,” we seek Dad for guidance and ask, “What do I do now?”
Dad can help because he always knows.
Dad knows the right mechanic to go to so you don’t get ripped off. Dad knows how bad of a job you did mowing the yard and will tell you how to fix it. Dad knows you’ll like beer someday and he’ll be ready to drink you under the table when you get there. Dad knows he didn’t make it to the NFL and that you probably won’t either so he has fun instead of worrying about being good. Dad knows when your face is too scruffy or when the skirt is too short. Dad knows he gets the final seal of approval on girlfriends and that he can scare the boyfriend into having his little girl home by midnight. Mom knows we’ll always be her little baby, but Dad knows when his boy becomes a man, and his daughter becomes a woman.
We may have instinctively known how to call for Mom as a little kid, but now we call for Dad because we know he has the answers.
We need dads more than we think we do because they give us the kind of help and guidance that has usually gone unnoticed. Take Father’s Day to thank a father or father figure for being there.
To my dad who always knows what to do, thank you. Have an awesome Father’s Day.
Sucks to be Sam 