When it comes to irresistibly clickable links, daddies doing hair rank right up there with grumpy cats and s’more-stuffed brownies recipes. People love watching dads comb and wrangle their daughter’s dos at 5:30 a.m.; twirl them like human spaghetti to create the perfect bun; and use vacuums to fashion a fast-and-easy ponytail. These stories tend to make our hearts smile and our uteruses squeal.
So it wasn’t really a shock when last week’s story about single dad Greg Wickherst, who enrolled in beauty school for guidance in doing his daughter Izzy's hair, went viraI. Now Izzy is rocking Heidi braids, criss cross designs and more. And everyone, from Good Morning America to Ellen D., has taken notice.
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Look, moms have been functioning as freelance hairstylists for centuries. So the snarky part of me wants to roll my eyes a bit and ask, “Does this guy really deserve a medal of honor for learning how to do pigtails?” But the truth is, many day-to-day parenting chores, like doing hair, planning outfits and packing lunch, still typically fall to the mother, so to see guys stepping up to the plate like this is refreshing. And that got me thinking: What other awesome dads are out there, brightening their kids’ days with their own special blend of paternal creativity and skill?
Geek Dad
Engineer Ken Denmead of wired.com’s popular GeekDad blog keeps his kids entertained with MacGuyver-esque projects like nighttime kite flying, homemade slip ‘n slides and ethernet cuff links. Looks like I need to step up my home arts and crafts activities, which currently include “Watch this popsicle melt on a bowl in the kitchen table” and “Take this pepper grinder and see how long it takes you to fill this mixing bowl.” (PS Denmead has a book: “Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share.”)
Image via PRI.org
Lunchbox Note Dad
When Jacob Palmisano opens his lunchbox everyday, he’s greeted with a tasty sandwich, a juice box … and a hand-illustrated napkin decorated with SpongeBob, Angry Birds, The Hulk, Pokemon characters et al. Dad Jonathan uses a Sharpie and his wild, young-at-heart imagination to sketch characters from Disney, Nintendo, Cartoon Network and more, officially rendering Jacob the coolest kid in the lunchroom.
Image via Lunchboxdoodles
Creative Photo Dad
Dave Engledow garners chuckles with his inspired photography featuring himself alongside daughter Alice in absurd situations, like forcing her to shovel snow as he directs from a warm entryway, coffee mug in hand, or pretending to drive away with her car seat on top of the car. The omnipresent tagline in his pics? “World's Best Dad.”
Image via inrumor.com
Chef Dad
When his kids were babies, celebrity chef Tyler Florence liked to roast turkey, sweet potato, cranberries, onion and sage, then hand shred the turkey, scoop the sweet potato flesh from the skin and blend it all in a food processor with some brown rice and EVOO. Ummm … our daughter is 8 months old and yesterday I gave her an empty edamame pod to gnaw on and called it dinner.
Image via People/Cavan Clark
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The Dad Who Wears a Skirt
When Nils Pickert’s son was five, he liked wearing skirts and dresses. Rather than force him into pants, Nils decided to rock a skirt right along with his. “I will confess that I don't particularly like wearing skirts or dresses,” he said. “I'm like a soccer mom who doesn't love the sport—but does love her kids. I couldn't care more about my boy being a happy, self-assured, compassionate person. I couldn't care less about the choices he makes on the way to becoming that person—as long as they cause no harm to himself or others.”
