Why are dads more likely to see the value in a business conference than they are in a parenting conference?
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One of the greatest benefits today’s modern dads has received from technology is the internet. Thanks to new age venues like blogs, podcasts and Meetups dads have the ability to virtually connect, engage and network with each other.
The thought of something as unconventional as what Shawn and I proposed incited an anxiety this dad and most dads carry with them everyday – the fear of people, especially our male peers, questioning his masculinity.
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In April of 2015 Jesse Foster of the podcast Father Nation, introduced us to each other via email. After a brief email conversation Shawn, Owner of Bear & Boo Children’s Boutique and I discovered we lived near each other. What followed was a meeting at a local restaurant to discuss the image and state of today’s modern fatherhood and how we could make it better.
During our conversation, we dreamed up the idea of an event for dads to connect and network with other dads in their local neighborhoods instead of behind their computer monitors. The event would welcome dads of every family dynamic, income level, religion and ethnic background; generate a positive image of dads as responsible, active and competent parents; and help a dad raise his parenting game. After months of brainstorming and discussions with other passionate dads, as well as moms, in our network, Shawn and I made a commitment to introduce the DADLY Rally to the world.
After we launched the DADLY Rally, we were surprised to hear that most of the dads questioned the reason and value of attending it. The following dad’s reply reflects the reason for the resistance and also explains the fears most dads have about attending a fatherhood class, workshop, conference, convention or event like the DADLY Rally.
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“Why should I attend an event like the DADLY Rally? My dad didn’t so why should I? I also don’t see the need or value of hanging out with a bunch of sensitive touchy feely guys. I also don’t need a lecture on how to be a dad. I think I’m doing a pretty good job.”
As a nationally recognized author of eight published books about dads, I understood this dad’s explanation about his hesitations to attend a DADLY Rally. The thought of something as unconventional as what Shawn and I proposed incited an anxiety this dad and most dads carry with them everyday – the fear of people, especially our male peers, questioning his masculinity.
Due to the many similar responses we received from other dads, it became evident to Shawn and I that we needed to provide a good explanation as well as a value proposition for dads to attend an event like a DADLY Rally. Thanks to another dad’s suggestion, we conducted a survey and asked the dads in our network two questions. The first was “What is your greatest challenge as a dad? The second was “What is your greatest need as a dad?
Dads attend business workshops, conferences and conventions with other people to learn how to maximize their time at work with their fellow employees and be more efficient, productive workers.
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The two greatest challenges were to make time for their kids and to find the right balance between family and work to allow a dad to maximize time with his kids.
The two greatest needs were to spend more time with their kids and to leave a better parenting legacy for the kids. A legacy that cultivates a different definition of masculinity and fatherhood than they and their forefathers had to fulfill.
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While there is a long list of traditional cultural reasons to cite as to why most dads feel uncomfortable to engage in face-to-face conversations with other dads about personal, emotional, relationship and parenting issues, there is one reason to attend a DADLY Rally that expunges all the reasons not to attend it. And that reason is for the KIDS!
There is no dispute that today’s modern dads are more active and involved in their kid’s lives. But dads can still strive to do better as parents, just as they do in their professional careers.
Dads attend business workshops, conferences and conventions with other people to learn how to maximize their time at work with their fellow employees and be more efficient, productive workers. One of the main reasons dads strive for perfection in the work place is to provide financial stability for the kids. So why not apply the same mindset to a dad’s role as a parent and learn how to provide emotional stability for the kids.
For those dads who feel they are doing a great job as a dad, how about attending the DADLY Rally to also pay it forward and become a mentor for another dad who may be struggling to be the best dad he can be for his kids.
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What will a dad learn at the DADLY Rally?
How to:
- Maximize time with his KIDS
- Find the right work and home balance for his family dynamics
- Unconventional solutions to conventional dad challenges
- Strategies to strengthen relationship with his KIDS
- Enjoy and have FUN being a dad!
Just like their dads, the number one need a kid desires from his or her dad is his time. As one dad stated to me “Love for my kid is spelled T-I-M- E.”
If the greatest common need of dads and kids is spending time with each other, then the time a dad spends to learn how to maximize his time with his kids is a win-win.
The best way we can serve the needs of our KIDS is to Keep On Daddying!
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Children deserve the best in a dad. That is why Shawn and I invite you to attend the DADLY Rally and also promise to provide you with a trusting, safe and nonjudgmental environment.
Together let’s rally with each other to be the best dads we can be and also leave a better parenting legacy for the KIDS!
The DADLY Rally will debut on Saturday, July 16th in Los Angeles, California at the beautiful Kellogg Center on the Cal Poly Pomona campus. This DADLY Rally will be the first of many DADLY Rallies, Bear & Boo Children’s Boutique will host in other major cities across the USA.
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The DADLY Rally also welcomes and encourages moms to attend.
For dads and moms who will travel by plane the airport of choice is Ontario International Airport (ONT), which is 15-minute drive to the Kellogg Center. Hotel accommodations are also available at the Kellogg Center at a discount. To receive the hotel discount contact us through the DADLY Rally website’s contact page or email us at [email protected].
DADLY Registration is now open with an early bird special of $99 before May 15th, 2016. If you decide to attend, feel free to invite another dad(s) to accompany you.
Please help the DADLY Rally reach its attendance goal of 250 dads.
For more information about the DADLY Rally and the awesome line up of speakers and two Los Angeles comedians who will entertain us at this FUN event visit www.dadlyrally.com.
The best way we can serve the needs of our KIDS is to Keep On Daddying!
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About the Authors & DADLY Rally Founders
Hogan Hilling is a parent of three children and nationally recognized author of eight published parenting books and the DADLY book series. Hilling has appeared on Oprah, ABC’s The Story of Fathers and Sons Documentary, NBC’s The Other Half and also featured in major national newspapers like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register. Hilling resides in southern California.
Shawn Fludd is a parent of four children and Owner of Bear & Boo Children’s Boutique. Fludd is also a youth mentor, and has been a contributor to The Good Men Project and Care Academy.
Doing it wrong. This would be great for women. They’d flock to it because they enjoy sitting around and talking, and talking, and talking… Most guys would rather roll down a hill of broken glass, in their underwear, then sit in a circle discussing their feelings and exchanging recipes, or anything of the sort.. It’s like watching paint dry to most of us. That’s not sexism, and its not man-boxing. It is genetic memory. We work differently. This is just my opinion, but I’ve been listening to guys complaints, what they really want for a very long time now and… Read more »