Men: Getting a kick out of all-star dads

I spent part of yesterday in a slick sports bar beside the Air Canada Centre hearing a few men, a couple of them famous football jocks, expose their soft side. Dove, an official sponsor of the CFL, held a panel discussion led by TSN’s James Duthie that included Michael "Pinball" Clemons and Anthony Calvillo. The idea? To talk about what fatherhood means to them, "or what it means to be an all-star Dad." (The event was also to introduce new Dove Men+Care products.)

Several had young children and were beyond smitten. It was very sweet listening to how they’d been taken under the spell of their little kids and how profoundly fatherhood had changed them. The big message was that just like working women, these guys struggle with work/life balance issues. They talked about the differences between their own father’s style of parenting and theirs. They worry about discipline–how much to dispense.  (Good grief, men are just like us! Except, we know exactly what’s in the fridge at any given time, and they don’t. But I digress…)

Calvillo said, "There’s no training manual when it comes to this whole process."

My current challenge is to get my kids off their computer and more outside and just exercising. One of my boys does pickup basketball and football. My older son is a fierce bike rider–he goes on marathon rides. But weekends can go by when they’re glued to the computer.

"Pinball" gave me some common sense advice–that it’s not how we preach, but how we live.

"You have to create an active lifestyle as a family."
So, if you’re on the Blackberry all the time, why shouldn’t they be on the computer all the time, he noted. "We are modelling what we’re suggesting that they shouldn’t do."

It makes sense that parents who are active are generally going to have more active children. 

And that is one message that has no gender.

Related:
‘ Maximize your exercise
‘ How to make exercise a habit
‘ Fitness ideas for the whole family