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A new wave of Dads

The rise of “the mommy blog” co- thing from a father’s perspective. two sequels for a reason. The plot,
incided with the pregnancy of my It was all moms this! and moms though formulaic, was pure comedic
first child. that! But look for a father’s perspec- gold: Two fathers who started a child
There I was, back in the summer tive and…crickets. day care out of their home after they
of 2011: Hot, swollen, and semi-ter- But that’s not surprising, right? were laid off from their corporate
rified of impending motherhood. But Isn’t that typical? jobs. 4 (also known as those especially
there was another part of me that When one thinks of the rigors of Yes, that’s it! Let’s all have a good tough years) and helps tired parents
was equally ecstatic for what was to parenthood, especially those early laugh about how the kiddies are run- rationalize their child's behaviour, re-
come. years—cleaning the sippy cups, mak- ning circles around the inept dads! duce power struggles, and move
So, I did what came naturally: I ing sure the pantry is stocked with But not anymore. from compliance to cooperation.
chronicalled it all by launching a Goldfish crackers, the regulation of The times, they are a-changin'. Fa- Piccirilli’s blog serves as a much-
blog. naptimes, and all the emotional therhood isn't what it used to be. needed salve to the veritable “Worst
Unbeknownst to me, there was a heavy lifting that is part and parcel The dads have arrived and are Hits List of Parenting.” He offers
burgeoning online community of with raising little humans—let’s face making quite the splash in the online proven methods of maneuvering the
women who had been doing the it: Dads usually aren’t the first to parenting advice arena—and even us following condundrums: Crying,
exact same thing. come to mind. And, for the most moms have taken notice. Frankly, it's Feelings, Frustration, Hitting, Melt-
There were moms writing about part, people don’t bat an eye if dads been hard not to. downs, Punishment, Tantrums, and
how motherhood was glorious. are conspicuously absent from the Social media has been a tremen- more.
There were moms writing about how landscape of playdates, school drop- dous asset to parents by allowing us “As amazing as parenting is, it
motherhood sucked. There were offs and pick-ups, and anywhere else to share every step of our child’s can be damn hard,” says Piccirilli.
moms writing about the challenges deemed a Mom Zone. journey. But perhaps the greatest “So give yourself the freedom to feel
of raising a child with special needs. For generations the conventional boon of interacting with others on- all the feelings and emotions. Its im-
There were moms writing about bal- wisdom has been that a dad’s terrain line is the opportunity to exchange portant parents can feel comfortable
ancing motherhood with fitness, DIY was in the boardroom. Or on the as- tricks and tips that make parenting vocalising their feelings guilt-free, if
projects, and homeschooling. sembly line. Or, somewhere where more enjoyable for parent and kid we don’t, then we may begin to doubt
You name the topic, and there the kids weren’t. alike. ourselves and our abilities as a par-
was a “mommy blog” to cover it. After all, the 2003 hit Daddy Day- And a young dad named Tom Pic- ent.”
But I’ll tell you what you would care, starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff cirilli is standing out from the pack. Many find Piccirilli’s tutorials and
have been hard-pressed to find: Any- Garlin, and Steve Zahn, spawned Piccirilli, who has been has been teachings to be uncomfortable at
pegged as one of the top parenting in- times, but also extremely necessary.
fluencers to follow in 2022 by Net In- I suspect that’s why his legion of
fluencer, created his Instagram followers is growing.
account in May 2020 as a saving In the game of parenting, there
grace for all parents who were strug- are times when all parents—moms
gling during lockdown. and dads—are fumbling around in
Go ahead and google him. He the dark looking for the lightswitch,
goes by the.dad.vibes on Instagram times when losing our cool feels scar-
and you can find him online at ily inevitable, and times when we
https://www.thedadvibes.com/blog. know this role we all signed up for
His fresh, unfiltered, and gentle calls for us to step up in ways we’ve
approach to parenting has kind of never had to before.
made him a big deal. Help will always be welcomed.
You see, Piccirilli has gone where In this day and age, we parents
few dads—and even some moms— need all hands on deck.
just won’t: He talks about the impor- And, yes, even dads need apply.
tance of understanding how
emotions—both a child’s and a par- Courtney Conover is wife and
ent’s—impact parenting. mom of two who has called Wayne
He’s even designed a complete home since 1995. She also writes for
course called The Calm Parent. The courtneyconover.com. But, alas, dia-
video series was specifically de- pers and sippy cups are no longer
signed for parents of toddlers ages 1- subject matter.

The Wayne Dispatch · June 2022 · 13