What Dad 2.0 Means to Me

In a few hours I will be on a plane headed to my second Dad 2.0 Summit.  This year the beards, jeans and "dad bods" will descend on Washington, D.C. with the hopes of shaking things up in our Capital.  For some reason the purpose of this conference is lost on many people I talk to, or they just don't care, which is a tragedy.  While I can understand not wanting to blog or read about other peoples' personal stories the fact remains that most adults will have children at some point in their life, whether adopted, by marriage or the old fashioned way.  Even if you don't have children everyone should care about the current state of parenting because those kids will be the next generation of tax payers, politicians, doctors, etc. that you will deal with later in life.  This fact makes me want to be a part of Dad 2.0!


We are a community who cares deeply about the future.  You hear this sentiment a lot out there, mostly on the campaign trail followed by some hollow promise or vague statement about our country going in the toilet.  But for normal people out there, we actually worry about the future we are making for our children.  The Dad 2.0 Summit is full of men (increasingly women attend too) who want to actually make a difference in the world.  Being at a conference with 400+ energized, talented, intelligent and genuinely fun people with such an important common goal is motivating beyond words. 


Now, how does Dad 2.0 expect to make a difference?  By getting the word out (and changing negative stereotypes) that not only do Fathers matter a great deal in the life of a child, but there are already so many amazing examples of involved, caring, confident and active fathers to show the way for new fathers who want to be the best for their children.  And if that wasn't enough, it is actually fulfilling and cool to want to be the best father you can be.  What other mission out there is more impactful to our future?


By bringing together researchers, authors, businesses, bloggers, and (hopefully) politicians, we can influence the conversation and counter the image of dead-beat, lazy, detached or clumsy fathers who would rather leave that "parenting" thing to the women while we bring home the bacon.  You can already see the message making a difference.  Were you one of the 110 million people who watched the Super Bowl?  Remember some of the commercials from companies like Dove Men+ Care?  Why do you think their message centered around Dads and their kids?  Not only does this message resonate across generations but it reaches a major formerly untapped group of customers -  fathers!  Over the last decade or so changing demographic, employment and parenting trends have resulted in a more involved set of men making decisions about household product purchases and being more involved in decisions previously left to mom.  Dad 2.0 is about unleashing that purchasing power and showing businesses that Dads matter more than ever when they market a product.


Get ready for more from Washington, D.C. and I hope you join me in energizing the conversation about Dads.  It is an important discussion we must have for the future of some of the most important people in our lives, our kids!

Visit the website at: www.dad2summit.com