The love of a father certainly makes a difference in a child's life

It’s crazy to me to hear men from past generations would not go into the delivery room when their child was born.

It’s crazy to me to hear fathers wouldn’t change their child’s diaper.

It’s crazy to me to hear the lack of parenting a father did, except when it came to disciplinary actions. Then the father became known as “the mean one” and that’s not fair to him.

I understand a lot of these examples are generational and each generation learns something from the past generation and makes changes. I also understand each generation presents new challenges and accomplishments. Regardless, I think everyone can conclude the love from a mother AND father certainly makes a difference in a child’s life.

Brian and I share the responsibilities of our children. We are equals. I’m not the only one changing diapers and he’s not the only one giving baths. We divide and conquer. He’s an active parent and what I mean by that, he sings along to the nursery rhymes the girls love to sing and dance to, he plays pretend, he plays Barbies, and he hugs and kisses his daughters. When I hear him playing with them and getting on their level, it makes my heart burst.

Check out some highlights from this article, Dads now spend 3 times as much time with their kids than previous generations:

Our children are growing up in a world very different from the one we were raised in. Their car seats have them looking backward, but our children are facing the future head-on. People often point to digital devices like the iPhone and Alexa when discussing how childhood has changed over a generation, but there's a huge human element transforming how kids experience the world.

Fatherhood.

Research indicates that today's dads are more involved than ever before (👏👏👏) and it's changing the way kids see the world, and see themselves. Today's dads are going great, but society could make it easier for them to be the dads they want to be.

Dads want to be equal parents

Modern dads take parenting seriously, spending three times as much time with their children as men did two generations ago, and they're doing a lot more during that time.

Back in 1982, a whopping 43% of fathers admitted they'd never changed a diaper. Today, that number is down to about 3%, and that's great, because research indicates that when dads dress, diaper and bathe their babies, the father-child relationship grows stronger as the child grows.

Dads feel #dadguilt, too

Despite how far they've come, today's fathers often feel conflicted and struggle with dad guilt, and, in most households, mom is still doing more. This can result in some differences in perception between partners. Jill Whitney, licensed marriage and family therapist, previously told Motherly a dad today may "compare himself to his own father and see the ways he's much more involved than his dad was—when his partner may see the ways things aren't really even."

Dads are being seen

Yes, there are challenges that this generation of fathers is figuring out, but we have to admit they've come so far. We see it in our families, and in our social media feeds, as celebrity dads like The Rock and John Legend are being very public about the hands-on role they play as parents.

Equal parenting. Enough said.