Dear Fathers,
Father’s Day is a wonderful occasion to celebrate the incredible role you play in your children’s lives. But let’s not just stop at festivities. Fatherhood holds the potential for personal growth and positive impact, and I want to show you how embracing a feminist approach to parenting can enhance your life and contribute to your children’s well-being and development.
Lead by Example
As you embrace feminist parenting, remember that your actions speak louder than words. Taking responsibility for your mistakes instead of shifting blame onto others teaches your children the importance of accountability, honesty, and integrity. Through your own self-reflection and growth, you inspire them to acknowledge their own missteps and become better individuals.
Embrace emotional openness and freely express love, tenderness, appreciation, and gratitude. Challenging societal pressures for men to be emotionally closed-off creates an environment that nurtures emotional intelligence and connection. By countering narratives of male dominance, expressing love and appreciation fosters a culture of mutual support and respect.
Actively listen and engage in conversations when women share their experiences. Approach these conversations with an open mind and genuine empathy, creating a safe space for women to be heard. This teaches your children the value of respecting diverse perspectives and experiences, contributing to a more inclusive and equitable world.
Reject sexist attitudes and behaviors in your interactions with women and girls. Treat them with respect, dignity, and equality consistently. As primary role models for your young boys, your respectful and equitable behavior dismantles harmful stereotypes and fosters a culture of gender equality.
Believe in Others
Believe in the abilities of other men to be nurturing and loving fathers. Engage in heartfelt conversations with fellow fathers about the joys and challenges of fatherhood. By challenging societal stereotypes, you create a supportive community that encourages diverse approaches to parenting.
Strive for more than just an equal sharing of parenting responsibilities. Actively engage in traditionally assigned tasks, such as doing your children’s hair, cooking, cleaning, or other responsibilities. This not only creates bonding experiences but also challenges traditional gender roles, teaching your children the importance of breaking down barriers and promoting equality.
Connect to Your Children
Enter the world of make-believe with your kids through play. Tea parties, superhero adventures, or building fantastical forts strengthen your bond and nurture their creativity and imagination.
Listen actively to your children and respect their boundaries. Teach them the importance of bodily autonomy and consent by immediately stopping any activity causing them discomfort or distress. Creating a safe and respectful environment where their voices are heard fosters their agency, self-confidence, and respect for others.
Encourage boys to participate in girls’ imaginative play and vice versa. By celebrating diverse perspectives, you teach empathy and cooperation.
Share your skills and knowledge with your children, regardless of their gender. Teach them how to cook, fix things, build, create, and explore. Empower them to develop their unique interests and talents, fostering independence and confidence.
Teach consent as a fundamental principle. Educate your children about seeking permission before touching someone else’s body. Instilling a culture of consent helps create a society that respects personal boundaries and values the autonomy and dignity of every individual. Raise your daughters to be aware of their safety and equipped with a healthy self-esteem. Simultaneously, raise your sons to champion consent culture, empathy, respect, and equality.
Saying, Doing, and Teaching
Have open discussions with your children about the historical treatment of women and the need for change. Share stories of resilience and inspiring figures who have challenged gender norms. By fostering understanding, you equip your children to actively work towards dismantling gender inequalities.
Teach your children about harmful behaviors like mansplaining and male entitlement, explaining how these attitudes undermine equality. Introduce the concept of male privilege and encourage your children to use their privilege to uplift others. Foster a sense of responsibility and understanding to raise a generation that strives to eradicate inequality and injustice.
Teach your children that empathy is a virtue. Nurturing their emotional intelligence equips them with essential tools to create positive change and build relationships based on respect and understanding.
Bottom Line
Embracing a feminist approach to parenting allows you to make a profound impact on your children’s lives and contribute to a more equitable and inclusive world. It is a powerful journey of personal growth that shapes a brighter future for your children and society as a whole.
What are your thoughts and experiences embracing a feminist approach to parenting? We’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me via Twitter or Facebook. At LexION Capital, our priority is to make our clients’ financial goals a reality by providing hands-on wealth management solutions, backed up by science-based insights into the financial industry. We help you maintain well-diversified investment plans. Should you need help in the aspect of financial growth, please visit my company’s website, LexION Capital.
Elle Kaplan is the founder and CEO of LexION Capital, a fiduciary wealth management firm in New York City serving everyone who feels left out by traditional “Wall Street”, including women and the families they love.
