There has been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about Dad Bloggers and what they bring to the blogosphere. For example, Caleb Gardner wrote an excellent post entitled Dad Bloggers Deserve Respect. A few others that have been written in similar veins include:

1. March 25, 2010 – Resisting fatherhood
2. March 30, 2010 – Penis-free Parenting: A Rhetorical Analysis
3. April 4, 2010 – Dad Bloggers Can Suck It!
4. April 7, 2010 – Dad Bloggers Deserve Respect
5. April 9, 2010 – Mommybloggers Rule
6. April 12, 2010 – Who’s Your Daddy (Blogger)?

(List taken from The Dadvocate Newsletter dated April 15, 2010)

If you haven’t read these, I highly recommend you do so, especially if you blog from a fatherly perspective.

Dads on the InternetWhen thinking about this topic myself I have to say that since I have been a blogger I have met some very amazing people, both who are mom and dad bloggers. I have utmost respect for mom bloggers and they have been taking the internet by storm for a number of years and truly making a difference in how they are changing what the world thinks of mothers in today’s society.

In being a Daddy blogger myself, I have to say that daddy bloggers are doing something similar, but it has been slow in coming. In the past two years I have seen an explosion of daddy bloggers joining the blogosphere. They come from all walks of life and while I have noticed an exponential expansion of SAHD’s on the internet lately (as well as books about SAHD’s) there are many of us, like myself, who are full time working dads who enjoy writing about fatherhood and our opinions about items and life out there.

I have learned so much from the many other engaged fathers that are on the web making a difference in the lives of their children as well as making a difference in their own community (both virtually and physically).

There has been some criticism of the daddy bloggers for encroaching on the territory and topics that mommy bloggers have dominated for years, but I have to say that I believe that having the differences in approaches and opinions is beneficial and actually quite healthy and to be honest, why wouldn’t you want to hear from both mothers and fathers?

Some of the issue, I believe, is that as fathers we sometimes have taken a backseat in parenting. We have allowed mothers to be seen as the primary caregiver in the family, and society has in fact responded in kind. I mean, there is a feeling, at times from society, that our kids will take more out of the time that they spend with their mothers, than with their fathers.

I say this last statement cautiously though, as the more that I read says that a child actually needs both mom and dad to be actively involved in their lives as they approach parenting in different ways and can teach their children so many different things. As the father of two girls, I hope that I can be a role model to them of what kind of partner that should expect for themselves as they grow older. I also hope that they will see me as a joint partner in the parenting process with their mom.

Dads as Involved Parents
From what I have been reading from fathers across the blogosphere is the amazing interconnected and engaged nature of these dads. I have been completely floored at the lengths that many of these fathers go through to make their families the center of their lives.

I started Dad of Divas as a tribute to fatherhood. While it has changed some over the years and I have been doing some more reviews on this blog lately, I still remain committed to trying to leave a legacy and a testament to fatherhood with my readers and more importantly with my girls.

I take writing in strides, and sometimes I have to keep my blogging in check so that I do not get so engrossed in blogging that I lose focus on my family (as this was the reason I started blogging, right?).

I know that daily, though I am working 8-10 hours a day, when I come home, my kids don’t care if I am tired, they simply want to see me, and want dad to play and be just that, their dad. So I do what I can to be an involved parent. From taking Diva-J to karate, or being a co-leader of her girl scout troop. To working on projects for her school or sitting and reading stories and playing games with both girls… I do what I can to make a difference every day.

Dads Forming a Community
Dad bloggers are a rapidly growing community, and thanks to many great sites like DadWagon, Dab-Blogs, DadLabs, and DadCentric, our voice is being heard. There is even a new group of fathers that will be starting a new blog on April 19 as a sort of revolution, a Dad Revolution. I believe that the Dad Blogger time is coming, but a many before me have said, before our time is here we have to catch up and allow our voices to be heard. This past weekend I was reading USA Today’s USA Weekend Magazine in our paper and there was article about Bruce Feiler and his Council of Dads. If you have not read this, I encourage you to do so, as these are the types of fathers out there that are great examples of what fatherhood should be to our children today. After reading this if you want to read more, go over to the Council of Dads website and you might even want to consider starting your own council today.

I also have been amazed at the fathers I have been featuring on my Dads in the Limelight series. I am already at the point where I have interviewed 16 dads and I have many more to come. Their stories inspire me and from what I hear from dads who have read these interviews, they do the same for others as well, so I plan to continue this process and sharing these dads because they are doing their bit working through balance issues in their own ways, but are still committed to their families and to being great dads.

One final project that I want to highlight is a great project that Kevin Metzger is working on called The Dadvocate Project. He just started a website for the project itself, but has been collecting responses of fathers from across the world on a survey about fatherhood that I believe will bring forward some very interesting results. If you are a father or know ones, please encourage them to fill out the survey today.

In Closing
Dads in the blogosphere are not going anywhere and to be honest, we actually are just getting started. We have many ideas and have a voice that needs to be heard. So welcome us with open arms and allow us to have our say. We definitely don’t bite and we may just surprise you with our insights!

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