Father's Day UK
I read a lovely quote the other day, it said "It is much easier to become a father than to be one". This did make me smile, Obviously I've never been a Dad but I can see how tough my husband has it trying to guide, protect and provide for our boys as well as lots of football, fun and toy fights along the way. When I think back to my own Dad being the only man in the house with my Mum, My Sister and I, he does probably deserve a gold medal for putting up with us all!
Therefore it didn't surprprise me to learn than Father's Day was started by a woman! In 1909 Sonora Dodd listened to a sermon about Mother's Day and she decided that she wanted to honour her father too. Finally in 1972 President Nixon signed the holiday into law. Who would have thought that one ladies kind gesture towards her Dad would turn into a million pound industry. Interestingly though, we still spend, on average, less on our Dads than our Mums?
Being a Daddy has changed a bit over the years. In America, Fathers now spend triple the amount of time with their kids than they did in 1965 and stay at home dads have nearly doubled since 1989. In the UK there were 232,000 stay at home Dads in 2017. Interestingly this is the lowest number since 2014, and a sharp drop against a pattern which has been steadily increasing since 1993. Growing up, I don't remember any of my friends' Dads staying at home with them. Do you?
So just for fun, here are some fun facts about Dads!
Father seahorses are the only male animals to become pregnant. They carry the fertilised eggs for several weeks until they mature. If only this could happen for humans as well, I hear you saying!
The voice of Papa Smurf, Don Messick, was also the voice for Scooby-Doo, Ranger Smith in Yogi Bear and Astro in The Jetsons. What a busy person!
Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Isn't She Lovely" about his newborn daughter, Aisha. If you listen closely to the song, you can hear his baby crying during the song.
The oldest man on record to ever father a child was an Australian man called Les Colley who had his ninth child when he was 92 years and 10 months. However there is an Indian man, Ramajit Raghav, who has claimed to be the oldest man to father a child aged 94.
In a 2014 study it found that fathers who helped with household chores had daughters who aspired for less traditional and higher paying careers - so make sure your other half is helping out around the home.
So whether your Father figure growing up was a stay at home Dad, a weekend Dad, your foster or adoptive Dad or even your Grandad or Uncle, celebrate who they are and what they did and indeed probably still do for you, this Father's Day with a personalised gift to show them how much he means to you.