I believe that the small things in life, the moments, actions, words, routines, and details that may not seem like a big deal at the time, are what truly shapes us and the world around us. So this question posed to the Life of Dad Facebook community recently was an interesting experiment to see just what small details matter most to dads: “As a dad, what’s a small detail that you really care about?”
Here’s a bit of what you told us about the tiniest of fatherhood details:
Ryan Hayes: This might not be small, but more than anything in the world, I want my son to be an open-minded critical thinker. I want him to be observant, tolerant, scrutinizing, and open to new ideas, people, and possibilities.
G.M. McFly: Hand holding. That little hand will only be little for so long.
Ryan Mcphillips: Whenever I tell my 3 year old daughter that I love her, she says “I love you more”, there is nothing in the world that makes me feel the way that I do when she says those words. Makes all life’s problems disappear.
Steve Williams: Every night before bed I tell my daughter shes strong, brave and beautiful and no matter what she’s doing to never give up…..so in short my answer is giving her confidence.
Rich Hatchetman: When I was younger I never brushed my teeth. I’ve totally ruined them over the years so I try to make sure my son brushes his teeth atleast twice a day so he don’t end up like me when he’s older.
Matthew Brown: Saturday mornings with my youngest son Enzo who is sick we get up really early and have crisps and smooties for breakfast and snuggle up and watch a film. This is priceless to me as I leave home everyday at 6:45am for work.
Matt Morse: My son is going through the “terrible twos” but I’m concerned about the anger. I don’t know if that’s a small detail. I just hope I can help him understand the difference between the big stuff and the little stuff.
Andrew Biswell: Me and my son have a special routine we do in the mornings while we are getting ready for school. And once he is on the bus we have a special way to wave goodbye as the bus pulls away. We have done this since he started school 3-4 years ago.
Charlie Thunder McDonald: Small but important — nice shoes, matching socks, clothes that match and her hair up and outta her face.
Michael Cobb: That they know I’ll be harder on them than anyone but I’ll also be their biggest fan, their best friend, and will support any decision as long after it’s theirs and they own it.
Chad Oaks: That my kids understand that answering with sir/ma’am is not an indication of the person they’re speaking to. It’s an indication of their own character.
What small detail of parenting, childhood or life in general matters the most to you? Share it with us on Facebook.
*Flickr photo by Mateus Lunardi Dutra, used under Creative Commons license.