What's the point of Dads?

[I like Skol]

Despite some of the negativety above I think we all need a dad, both boys and girls.
My dad was never very affectionate as far as I remember, but as a role model he was invaluable and irreplaceable.
He set the tone for the rest of my life. Do the right thing, do your best, don't lose control. Funnily enough, I was just thinking today that my cycling obsession is partly his fault. He bought a Puch road bike for riding to work when I was about 5. Don't think he used it much but it sowed a seed. I also always had bikes (secondhand obviously) provided for me, and was left to repair and maintain them myself. Dad was a keen DIY'r (not brilliant but capable enough) and his home and car repairs taught me that you don't have to pay other folk to do stuff for you.
With hindsight, he was brilliant, gave me the right nudges then stood back and let me fly.
I'm trying my best to do the same with my kids. I just want them to surpass me the way I surpassed my dad. It's going ok so far
My dad's 82 on Monday and I am popping in to see him. I must tell him some of this

 

[I like Skol]

We never used the words " I love you " in our house and I still feel a bit uneasy today when I hear them said, bu

This^^^
You didn't need to be told. We just knew mum and dad would always be together and home was a safe and dependable place where we were always welcome. A different generation to today, but my kids have the old fashioned home that I grew up in.

 

[winjim]

Despite some of the negativety above I think we all need a dad, both boys and girls.

It's probably not your intention, but that phrase can be quite upsetting for those of us who never had one, and for our families.

 

[Landsurfer]

My dad died when i was 5 ...... lightweight ........


He was a top dad for the very, very few years i can remember him .... and left me in a good place .... if not my mum ....

 

[Bazzer]

My Dad had a harsh upbringing from his father. Whilst I didn't experience from him what he went through, it was only when I left home we got on better. It seemed a generational thing; I got on better with his Dad, than he did and with him and he probably had as much, if not more fun, with my eldest daughter in the 9 years he had with her before he died, as he had with me for the preceding 28 before she was born.
But I still miss him and once Mrs B had pointed out life was repeating itself, have tried to make sure that my own girls don't experience the same.

 

[Smokin Joe]

We never used the words " I love you " in our house and I still feel a bit uneasy today when I hear them said, but I know he loved us all.

Same for me. Mrs SJ comes from a "Huggy" family and could not understand why I was never like that with my mum, but that is the way we were and we would have felt uncomfortable any other way. If any bloke had tried to hug the old man they'd have been missing a few teeth, and I'm of the same mindset. It worked for us and I never felt that I lost out, hearing Mrs SJ's brother in law call his boys "Darling" when they were younger always made me cringe.

Whatever works for you, I suppose.

 

[cyberknight]

Taught me that my younger brother was was thought more of than me .

 

[Reynard]

One of the issues I also had to contend with, was that dad was a scion of an Eastern European aristocracy and political elite that still operated on almost feudal principles, even in the early decades of the 20th century. If you weren't of the same social class, and if you weren't male, you were seen as inferior. It was how he treated everyone, not just mum and me.

He was pushing 60 when I was born, and I'm not sure he ever quite got his head around the fact that I wasn't the compliant girly girl that he was hoping for.

I'm still not very girly, although I do have a penchant for pink socks.

 

[I like Skol]

I'm still not very girly, although I do have a penchant for pink socks.

So does @dan_bo

 

[Reynard]

So does @dan_bo

I'll have to take your word for that.

Although the pair I'm currently wearing only have pink heels and toes. But they are nice and fluffy. My feet like to be kept toasty warm.

 

[Nibor]

My dad was brilliant I miss him

 

[dan_bo]

So does @dan_bo

Real men wear pink socks and ride pink bikes.

 

[Drago]

Real men wear pink socks and ride pink bikes.

And they don't eat quiche!

 

[MichaelW2]

My dad taught me all manner of high risk farmyard practices by the time I was 12. He taught me to see danger coming long before he recognised it.

 

[Reynard]

And they don't eat quiche!

Good, more for me

Lob me your share, then.