What’s Dad Mode?
It’s a 25-step process to be a better father that Talmadge Eyre, our Lead Dad of the Father’s Day Week, is advancing in his new book of the same name.
A father to a 12-year-old daughter, and the son of popular parenting writers Linda and Richard Eyre, Tal is looking to help fathers in “creating a new story every generation and raising the waterline a little bit.” That’s particularly important for fathers who didn’t have a great parental model themselves.
He says the most important step is the second one: self-connection – in essence, making sense of yourself. “Being a Dad is so difficult and you run into so many challenges,” he said.
“I have to ask myself, Why did I act that way with my daughter? How do I stay calm with all the emotions that are going around with a 12-year-old?”
One thing he said he’s done with his own family is write out a simple, vision statement: Create good stories. That’s it. But it’s a guide for them. “This isn’t going well right now, but this will be a good story,” he said. “That’s what Dads need to remember in those moments.”
What Tal says he wants most for Dads going into this year’s Father’s Day is to help them find better ways to connect with their children – even when they’re not at their best. The book has plenty of tips.
“I want to lead Dads to their own autonomy,” he said. “I’m not saying this is how you have to be a Dad. I give a lot of wiggle room. Every Dad is going to have to read the room.”
But Tal admits, one of his biggest motivations for writing the book was to figure out his own connection with his daughter.
“I’d say to any Dad out there, write your own book! You can be the protagonist in the story, and it’s different every time.”
Welcome, Tal, to The Company of Dads. And happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!
