I took a class to braid my daughter's hair. It changed how I think about fatherhood.

Jul 29, 2026 12:58 AM - 3 hours ago 3

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Elliot Marsh. It has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

When I recovered retired my woman and I were having a small woman following IVF, I was perfectly delighted. We had spent years hoping to person a baby, and would yet beryllium welcoming 1 into our family.

While complete the satellite to beryllium expecting a girl, I besides felt I was entering the unknown. Growing up, it was conscionable my relative and me. My relative went connected to person boys, truthful each I knew were boys.

Raising a girl was a enigma to me, but besides an escapade I couldn't hold for.

I emotion being a woman dad

She's 3 now, and I'm loving being a woman dad, but I don't person a hint what I'm doing a batch of the time.

Without immoderate unit aliases pushing from us, she has grown to emotion ballet, Peppa Pig, fairies, princesses, dresses that twirl, and tiny hairstyles. I cognize it's conscionable the commencement of her interests diverging from mine.

I don't cognize overmuch astir her existent aliases early interests, but I want to beryllium capable to afloat stock successful her excitement for them. I want her to consciousness she tin talk to maine astir thing — for her to cognize I attraction astir what she cares about.

More seriously, arsenic she ages, gets her period, has a boyfriend, and deals pinch immoderate number of issues that will travel her way, I want to already person a statement of connection unfastened betwixt the 2 of us. I don't want her to consciousness astatine each embarrassed to talk to me.

But it isn't only for her that I want this relationship; it's for me, too. I want to person a beardown relationship pinch my daughter, and I cognize that starts now.

I joined a group of dads to study really to do my daughter's hair

In April, I saw an advertisement connected societal media for "Pints and Ponytails." At look value, it's astir dads learning really to do their daughters' hairsbreadth — ponytails and braids. It looked for illustration nosy and would beryllium a valuable accomplishment for maine to learn. If I could do my daughter's hair, I'd return an liking successful what was important to her and get a chance to person a chat pinch her successful the process.

I showed up astatine a backstage room successful a pub, and location were 20 mannequins connected the tables. Each dada had a portion arsenic we sat down, and the guys hosting it showed really to do various braids.

While learning to braid was valuable, it wasn't the champion portion of the evening. What I appreciated astir was having a abstraction to talk astir being a dada pinch different dads.

I sewage to chat pinch different dads astir parenting

There were a fewer guided questions to get conversations started. I retrieve 1 mobility being: What's the astir difficult point astir being a parent? Most of america said we felt we were dispersed excessively thin. We person to beryllium everything to everybody each the clip — to beryllium a bully husband, son, parent, employer, employee, provider, and truthful on. Amid those roles, we commencement to consciousness mislaid arsenic individuals.

We discussed aspects of parenting we loved most, and the taste activity we are seeing — that dads desperately want to beryllium progressive and progressive arsenic parents. Dads are showing up for their kids — for their daughters — and we request spaces to speak astir the joys and the challenges, and astir our feelings arsenic we parent.

I had ne'er had a discourse for illustration this to talk truthful freely pinch different dads. It was an intentional, lighthearted, fun, constructive nighttime — that's why it useful truthful good for dads. It's the cleanable format to link pinch guys.

Since that night, I've been doing my daughter's hairsbreadth astir each day. She's jumping each complete the spot erstwhile I do it — the instrumentality is to support her still — but I tin do the double ponytail and the braid now.

It's a beautiful bonding infinitesimal we stock each day, and 1 I dream continues for years, building a instauration that will thief our narration past forever.