We have often called our growing community of active, engaged, and involved fathers a dad-ternity: a fraternity for dads. Our social and supportive group makes being a dad fun, a learning experience, and the cool thing to do. That is why we were excited about the launch of the new film due out on May 18: What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
The film named after the best-selling motherhood manual that is in almost every household in the nation where there are children. While we can shoot holes at the lack of resources, books, parenting classes, and the like for fathers – we won’t today.
Instead, we would like to poke fun at What to Expect When You’re Expecting. which surely shows incompetent and crappy parenting from both sides — dads and moms.
Consequently, strictly based on the trailer, they make fatherhood look cool! Sure, sign me up to hang out in a daddy “dudes” group with Chris Rock! In fact, the picture above is what our group of dads (that meet up all over the New York metro area) look like everyday – a pack of dads armed with strollers, baby carriers, diaper bags, and gear.
Better yet, maybe Chris Rock and friends can learn something from some of the wonderful and nurturing dads within our NYC Dads Group and crash the party!
We stand behind the message of the film trailer for What to Expect When You’re Expecting (even in it’s extreme slapstick way) that new dads should seek out other new dads for camaraderie, socialization and support! New fathers should band together and have fun with each other. It beats doing it alone!
One of the most common questions that we get about our NYC Dads Group is “what do you dads talk about when you get together?” Well, we talk a lot about our kids…and our poor parenting decisions, sharing best practices, venting frustrations, sports, politics, how to be a better partner, etc. We don’t have stated rules or norms when we meet up together, but one of them might align well with the Dudes Group in the film – Rule #2: NO JUDGING!
i suppose i would find it humorous if men (and especially fathers) were ever portrayed as something other than the bumbling idiotic trope that is present in every commercial and film. at this point its just more sexism, and i want no part in perpetuating it.