Families come in all shapes and sizes. We’ve known that for as long as there have been families, and children and family programming has recognized it for decades, but sometimes cultural norms can run behind realities.
That means that sometimes a call for a specific family member, in this case a father, can be made without much consideration for the possibility that many kids lack anyone in that particular named role. The good news is that sometimes that child has someone else who’s willing to step up.
Not All Families Look Alike
Teachers, childcare providers, and the institutions in which they work are shifting how they address students and their families. There’s a movement to rename programs like “Donuts With Dads” and “Muffins With Moms” to more neutral names, like “Pastries With Parents” or “Cupcakes With Caregivers.”
We Are Teachers has a whole list of suggestions for neutral ways to name such events in order to prevent “putting off” anyone by using exclusive language that would make kids and families feel unwelcome. As they explain:
“And by family we mean the people who are most important in your students’ lives. Whether that’s the traditional definition of mom and dad, or one mom, or two dads, or grandma or grandpa, or a very loving caregiver.”
Still, that doesn’t mean that everyone has gotten the memo. Patrice Thompson, who is raising two kids by herself, shared her experience when her daughter found herself facing a “Daddy-Daughter Dance” with no father figure to show up.
The Family Unit
Thompson shares parenting content on her Instagram platform, and she has shared that her son recently graduated from 8th grade and her daughter just finished kindergarten. One of her frequent topics is her daughter Harper’s dance classes and “dance mom” information, like gentle makeup removers and helping your child correct mistakes in their performance while still being her “biggest fan.”
This time, though, her son, Micah, joined the little dancer at center stage. According to Newsweek, the studio held its annual summer showcase under the theme “Barbie & Ken” and invited fathers to take part alongside their little girls.
Micah Steps Up
Rather than let his sister be left out or stand alone on stage while the other girls reached for their daddies, 14-year-old Micah joined his sister. Patrice acknowledges that he spent his time and energy on this project while he could have been hanging out with friends and credits the studio for being supportive.
On her Instagram, where she also links products, fundraisers, and other influencer and partnership content, the mom of two shared a video clip of her children on stage. Check it out below.
A Family Is A Team
Thompson makes it very clear that her family unit works together through everything. This isn’t the first time she’s shared about her teen son being supportive of his baby sister.
Isn’t that what family is really about — not a specific formula of a certain number of parents in specific roles, but people who love and support each other and want to be part of one another’s lives?
Gender Roles & Dance Bans
By the way, the issue of Daddy-Daughter Dance events and the kids who end up left out by the gender-specific language has come up before, not only as a situation families face individually but as a legal matter.
In 2012, when a child found herself shut out of events organized by her school PTO because it offered “Father-Daughter” dances and “Mother-Son” trips to sporting events, the ACLU stepped in with a complaint about gender discrimination. The school district renamed the events to be inclusive to children and parents regardless of gender, resulting in gripes from political figures who felt that the “tradition” should be kept, with its old limits intact.
The ACLU responded to the furor, lauding the school system for moving forward. They wrote:
“[I]t was resolved for a simple reason: the school district recognized that in the 21st Century, public schools have no business fostering the notion that girls prefer to go to formal dances while boys prefer baseball games. This type of gender stereotyping only perpetuates outdated notions of ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ activities and is contrary to federal law. PTOs remain free to hold family dances and other events, but the time has long since passed for public school resources to encourage stereotyping…We commend the school district for its resolution of the matter, and are sorry to see some people turning it into a political football – a game that they may think only boys should be interested in.”
You can follow Patrice Thompson on Instagram for more wholesome family stories, workouts, and more.
The post Big Brother Steps Up When Sister Is Left Hanging For Daddy-Daughter Dance appeared first at Big Brother Steps Up When Sister Is Left Hanging For Daddy-Daughter Dance