I’m not sure if you caught the recent opinion piece by stay-at-home Dad and journalist Rob Sturrock. It stuck a huge chord with our readers! He argued that the way Dads are portrayed in popular kids’ culture – like TV shows and children’s books – really matters.

He said in part:

All men are capable of providing the physical and emotion support children require to develop into skilled, confident and socially adjusted people. Yet one of the great parenting myths is that men are thoroughly incapable and inattentive and women are instinctively more attuned to the needs of their children. We continue to feed this misconception to our children, on a daily basis since it is strongly embedded in our pop culture and children’s entertainment.

If you haven’t already devoured his words, I recommend you go ahead and read the whole thing. (Linked above.)

This got us thinking, though. Which children’s books and TV programs DO actually in fact show dads sharing the load? Ginger, our Editor here at Broad Agenda went on her Twitter page and asked her  Twitter followers what their opinions were and was inundated with suggestions. Here are our favourite picks.  Can you think of any others? Share it with us on @BroadAgenda5050.

1. Bluey 

We had a few people suggest the ABC TV show, Bluey. Bluey is a children’s TV program about an indestructible six-year-old Blue Heeler Puppy. Bluey loves to play and transform ordinary family life into spectacular adventures, using her imagination as well as her mental, physical and emotional endurance. Bandit is the Dad in the show and he’s been described as “the ultimate guide to fatherhood“. Woah! High praise. The article I’ve just linked to describes him as “…a laid-back but resourceful dad who’s heavily involved in the day-to-day childcare.”

 

2. Guess How Much I Love You  

Our second popular suggestion was is a children’s book by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram called, Guess How Much I Love You. The story begins with two hares, Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare (the Dad). This story isn’t a complex one – it’s about a Dad’s love for his son. But it’s a lovely, reassuring message that this love can be supportive, enduring, and eternal. This one is a bestseller for a reason. The story of the Nutbrown Hares trying to find a way to measure the unmeasurable, and Big Nutbrown Hare’s heart-warming declaration to Little Nutbrown Hare, ‘I love you right up to the moon – AND BACK’, has helped this story become a way of saying ‘I love you’ all over the world.

3. My Dad is a Dragon 

This next one is my personal favourite, a beautifully written children’s book called My Dad is a Dragon by Damon Young who’s a philosopher and writer. The message behind this children’s book is beautiful. The aim of this book was to portray dads in all different ways, and it certainly did just that. The book is visually very engaging with beautifully illustrated pictures by Peter Carnavas with lines that are lyrically very expressive and comic. I highly recommend this for a read for young children. It will delight them by exploring all the ways dads are unique. With lines written with beautiful flow and additional a comic factor, as well as the gorgeous pictures.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

Another suggestion on Twitter from gender expert Dr Blair Williams was the classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, we know this book isn’t strictly for kids. But we wanted to give it a shout out because it does a beautiful job in terms of how the father figure is portrayed.  The book is about Atticus Finch who is a very strong-hearted father, with a happy family. Atticus is a father of two children who lives with his family in the town of Maycomb Country. In the book Atticus teaches his kids a lot of different life lessons, including about white supremacy and racism. Atticus also shows fairness – he treats his children with respect and understanding. He also sets a good example and is a good role model by always being truthful. These three are very important components in being a good father!

5. Finding Nemo 

Another popular suggestion was the Finding Nemo, which is a personal favourite. This film was released in 2003, and I’m sure we’ve all heard of it; I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t seen it!  It’s about two clown fish named Marlin and Nemo. When Nemo is abducted from the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, Nemo’s father enlists the help of Dory, a forgetful fish. They embark on a mission to save Nemo and return him to his family. I adore this film not only because my favourite actress, Ellen Degeneres, plays Dory’s voice, but also because it’s such a beautiful story with such a beautiful message. Showing the great lengths a father will go to, in hopes to bring his son back home. Filled with laughs and amazing animation it’s a 100% a must see and I feel like this film will never get old!

6. My Neighbour Totoro

This one is a superb 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film. The plot centres around a university professor who moves into an old house with his two daughters to be closer to his wife, who is ill recovering in hospital. A few of our readers point to Tatuso, the father, who is warm and loving towards his daughters and despite them not spending a lot of time with, their father he still makes it a priority to encourage them and he never doubts them or their capabilities. He’s a beautiful representation of a father figure. However, at the same time he does in fact leave the kids to play on their own quite a bit…and not all of our readers were fond of that! Tatuso, does a beautiful job however at showing the lengths he goes to in order to still allow his children to see their mother while in hospital. So this brings hope and optimism.

7. The Gruffalo’s Child

Another recommendation by our readers is a wonderful book written by Julia Donaldson called, The Gruffalo’s Child. which is about Gruffalo, the father, and his child. The Gruffalo’s child is disobedient, not listening to the father. The child wanders in the woods in the middle of the night (even though Gruffalo’s father shares his terrifying experience with the animals in the woods. Despite explaining this experience to his daughter, she still sneaks out in the middle of the night. She sneaks out into the woods in hopes to find the big bad mouse. In this television program there is a strong emphasis on the father because it shows how despite Gruffalo explaining to his child the dangers of wandering off in the night, his child still disobeys his wishes. It shows how important Gruffalo’s role as a parent is to his child and the importance of always listening and to what your parent says. The book was made into an animation and I’ve embedded a clip for you above.

8. Round the Twist

This next one is an absolute classic. Although it was first a book by Paul Jennings, the text was later inspired a TV show. All of us kids born in 99’ will remember watching this one all through the 2000s while growing up. This show was by far one of my favourites. It’s about a guy named Tony Twist and his three children, his two 13-year-old twins Pete and Linda along with 7-year-old Bronson. They relocate from a chaotic metropolitan city to an abandoned lighthouse on Australia’s coast. Things turn for the worst when they find the lighthouse is haunted, and life starts becoming unpredictable. Since Tony lost his wife in an accident four years before, the main focus in the show is Tony as the parental figure. I highly recommend this one it’s a good watch, with some good laughs. It’s a refreshing change!

9. Jambari Jumps

This fabulous book was written by Gaia Cornwall and published in 2017. The story is about Jambari, who tries to find the courage to jump off a diving board. According to the book’s publishers, “Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can’t help but root for.” With the lesson on overcoming your fears and showing how your mind can sometimes be your greatest barrier, it’s a sweet and encouraging book and shows just how important Dads are.

 

 

These are just a handful of the suggestions we received on Twitter about items of kids’ culture that show Dads sharing the load. There were so many more! Do you have any you’d love to recommend?  Feel free to r our post and respond to our question on Twitter!

 

 

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