Dads Finally Get Fair Shake in the Media

glennsacks.com ^ | 1/2/2007 | Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks

[FReepaholic]

The media image of fathers--long portrayed as bumbling, inept and irresponsible--is changing. This has been a good year for dads in the media. One example is Sony Pictures’ new movie The Pursuit of Happyness.

Happyness stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a homeless, hard-luck single father with a five year-old son. Through sheer force of will, Gardner raises his boy and pulls them out of poverty, eventually becoming a multi-millionaire. The movie is based on a true story and co-stars Smith’s eight year-old son as Gardner’s son Christopher.

As Gardner, Will Smith strives to create a ''normal'' environment for Christopher, even when the two were spending their nights on the floor of a public bathroom in Oakland. Gardner explains:

"We may not have known where we were going, where we were going to eat, or where we were going to sleep, but we were together every day. There are probably a lot of folks whose children live in million-dollar houses who can't say that."

Appearing recently on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Christopher, now 25, paid his father the greatest compliment any parent could receive:

"I didn't know we were homeless. I just remember that we were doing a whole lot of moving. I just know that when I looked up, he was there. I looked around, he was there."

[FReepaholic]

..."I didn't know we were homeless. I just remember that we were doing a whole lot of moving. I just know that when I looked up, he was there. I looked around, he was there."...

Great quote.

Children need quantity time, not quality time.

[nmh]

I've used something similar - it's not "quality" it's all about "quantity" of time. Kids don't schedule their needs and feelings for when it is convenient for YOU!

[Fierce Allegiance]

My kids like the quantity of our quality time, and quality of the quantity of time I spend with them. Of course it's not enough for any of us due to the divorce, but I do my damn best.

I like Will Smith. decent guy from everything I know of him.

[Herford Turley]

Good stuff. Thanks for the post, FReepaholic.

[FReepaholic]

...My kids like the quantity of our quality time, and quality of the quantity of time I spend with them....

I like that.

[TChad]

Good piece. Sacks is always good.

[Turbopilot]

Ford Motor Company‘s controversial ''Bold Moves'' divorced dad ad was another step forward for fathers. The ad begins with a stereotypically happy family taking a trip to the beach in a Ford Freestyle SUV. At the end of the commercial comes an unexpected twist--the car pulls into a housing complex, and dad gets out. He hugs his kids, tells them he’ll see them next week, tells his ex-wife, "Thanks for inviting me this weekend," and waves goodbye.

That's what that ad was?? I always thought the premise was that the car was so "cool" that the "dad" turned out to be a random stranger who just wanted to go on the family trip to ride in the new Ford.