The One With the Cool Dad

I never know what I am going to get in trouble for saying over here. But I am just going to put it out there today. There is no such thing as a cool parent. I mean, good for you if your kids occasionally say to themselves, “Wow, Mom is cool. Way cooler than other kids’ parents.” But if they say that too often, or out loud, then you are doing something wrong. Your job as a parent is not to be the cool mom or dad. It is to BE the mom or dad. Furthermore, if I have truly embarrassed my child, then I know I have done my job.

I saw this article this morning about a boy named Rain Price of American Fork, Utah, whose dad really, really did his job. I love this. They changed the school bus route so that every morning Rain’s high school bus went by the front of their house. So at the right time every morning, he would go out on the front sidewalk and wave to his son’s bus as it passed by. That would have been a nice little family story later... that Dad waved to you every morning as you drove by, for 170 days of school your sophomore year. But this dad took his job seriously. He supplemented. With costumes.

You can read the full article here, and there is a blog where family members documented the daily costumes. So if you are a mom or a dad, stop trying to be  cool. Just embrace your job. Go forth and embarrass. If you are still bent on being the cool parent, though, that is your prerogative. I will even give you a little help: some pointers from one very cool dad, Phil Dunphy on Modern Family. Enjoy!