Dad
Top 50 Dad Blogs of 2012
Last year, when we inaugurated our Top 50 Dad Blogs list, we praised dad bloggers for “changing the way we think about fatherhood.” Indeed, a number of our favorite bloggers on this, our second Top 50 list, insist our thinking needs to be changed. They describe themselves as advocates for fathers, taking to their keyboards in order to counter dominant cultural stereotypes of dad-as-incompetent-buffoon. (You don’t believe them? Tune in to most any family sitcom on most any night of the week.) Others on the list aspire simply to entertain us with funny, relatable tales from the trenches. A few write to work through the shattering grief of losing a child or spouse.
This list features straight dads, gay dads, working dads, stay-at-home dads, geek dads, single dads, and more. In a culture where the dominant conversations around fatherhood center simply on whether dads can deign to change their kid's diaper, it's refreshing to see these guys take the public perception of parents into their own hands. We are again struck by the variety of their voices and experiences, which itself puts the lie to the notion of any one “typical dad.” A lot of our favorites from last year are back, while many worthy entrants are making their debuts. We hope you’ll enjoy laughing, crying, nodding, and discovering along with them as much as we have. As dads' online influence grows, this list will only become more and more difficult to curate — and that's a good problem to have. If you think we missed any of your favorite dad bloggers, nominate them here. – Barbara Spindel and the dad blog panel
45 / 50
Simon Smith, ChangingDad
Smith and his wife are raising two sons, Jake and Sam, in Yorkshire, England. He announces up front that while his blog is about how fatherhood has changed his life, things haven’t changed “in any revolutionary way.”
Accordingly, Simon focuses on the small moments in his well-written, ruminative, and eminently relatable posts. He describes the boys’ adjustment when the family moves to a new house. He ponders how best to handle the fact that his younger child keeps coming downstairs after bedtime now that he’s moved into a big-boy bed. He juxtaposes two Mondays (his designated day at home) spent with his little guy, one a blissful adventure spent exploring in the sun, the other a rainy disaster involving traffic and vomit. But even that dreadful experience doesn’t disturb Simon’s equanimity. “Both days were special in their own way, and were certainly memorable,” he concludes. This sweet blog will likely heighten your appreciation of the small but special moments in your own life.
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I am humbled to be included.
Many thanks.
Mitch