At The North County Moms, we’re all about supporting and creating community for moms. That said, we have a soft spot for great dads—those who show up as teammates, do the work, and make parenting a priority. Below, as we celebrate the week of Father’s Day, we’re sharing some parenting wisdom from some celebrity dads—all of whom have been featured right here on The North County Moms!
On Raising Resilient Kids
“My wife and I try to couple some of the gentle parenting with the parenting of yesteryear. It’s a delicate dance. Sometimes, I worry that we are raising snowflakes…where’s their resilience? I counter that by telling them stories of my childhood.” – TODAY Show Co-Host Craig Melvin
On Keeping Babies & Toddlers Safe (From Each Other)
“Guard your newborn’s head like a hockey goalie. The toddler can strike at any moment.” –Content Creator & Comedian Trey Kennedy
On Raising Preteens
“The preteen thing is pretty crazy. The best thing about having them this age is that you can talk to them fully about anything and they get grown up humor. That’s the best. But no one tells you that when your kid starts growing up and you’re the primary caregiver, you start mourning the loss of your child. When they fly the coop and are testing out their wings to be their own person, you have to let them do that. It’s really hard. It’s exciting for them to be more independent but also sad.” – Meet a Dad: David Burtka
On Bedtime Rituals
“Between the ages of 4 and 8, at bedtime, as part of our going-to-bed ritual of reading books, we would write a poem or two a week. The kids would suggest and idea, or an opening line, and add to it as we wrote. I would write anything they “pitched” verbatim, then continue the poem with a line, so they could really see their own words written in, and put to use.” – Actor Bob Odenkirk on his children’s book Zilot & Other Important Rhymes
Read Meet a Dad & Daughter: Actor Bob Odenkirk & Daughter Erin
On Being Patient
“I think patience and consistency is my greatest strength [as a dad] and also what I work on the most. It’s what allows kids to feel safe and build trust and it’s also one of the great challenges of being a parent.” – Skier Bode Miller
On Raising Readers
“The best thing a parent can do is recognize their kids’ interests and feed those interests. So if your kids is interested in Pokémon and sharks they’ll devour it, and eventually move on to something else. They’ll have learned that reading = pleasure – it’s the same reason we read as adults.” – Author Jeff Kinney
On Expanding Your Family Through Adoption
“Whenever you get the opportunity to make your life bigger, take it. Adoption means the opportunity to let so much new love and family and joy and pain into your life. On the grand scale of human heart-rending, it’s way up there, in the best possible way.” – Musician Josh Ritter
On Being Present
“People always ask me how crazy it is to get up so early for work, but I’ve been home for bath time and reading time and bed time. Just to be there and have their little brains develop memories of you invested and interested and there for them the whole time. Be there as much as you humanly can be.” – TODAY Show’s Willie Geist
Read Meet a Dad Special Interview: Willie Geist – and his wife Christina
