Father's Day 2021: 4 Ways You Can Make The Day Extra Meaningful for the Father Figure in Your Life
By Jody Bell
As the world continues to re-open and reconnect amidst the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, each and every holiday feels just a bit more special this year. That includes this coming Father’s Day on June 20th.
While you could go out for a traditional Father’s Day breakfast and family outing, we urge you to include some meaningful conversations and activities into your day of festivities. That's why we’ve connected with some of the fathers of Girls With Impact graduates to narrow down four of the most meaningful ways you could celebrate this Father’s Day — and beyond.
How to Have a Meaningful Father’s Day
1. Ask them the important questions
So often are we used to the stream of “How was your day? How was school? Did you have a good time with your friends? How did that test go?” that we end up forgetting to ask our parents any questions at all.
Take Craig Archibald, Senior Project Manager at a mechanical engineering company, for example. As a proud father of a Girls With Impact graduate, he lived a completely different life than the one his daughter is living ‒ he grew up in the Caribbean while she lives in New York City. The two share an immense bond, but because she has lived such a different lifestyle than her father, she isn’t as in-tune with “her roots ‒ her Caribbean side and culture.”
Treating Father’s Day as an opportunity to hear more about your father’s background, upbringing, family, and roots is a great way to bring you two together and let your dad express himself in a way he doesn’t always have the chance to! So, try asking targeted questions such as:
“What was it like growing up in ____”
“What were my grandparents like when they were raising you?”
“Who were some of your best friends growing up?”
2. Understand they are people, too
As Girls With Impact father, Chris Curtain, Chief Branding Officer at VISA, said, “The playbook as a parent whether you’re a father or a mother is always a little bit unscripted. You’re writing this book as you’re living this book.”
How did you feel on your first day of middle school or high school ‒ Excited? Nervous? Jittery? Unsure of what to expect? Well, it’s honestly an understatement to say your parents probably feel just as unsure when it comes to raising you.
Being a parent raises a lot of questions and puts you in situations where you truly aren’t sure what the best choice is for your child. Your parents are living life and confronting new experiences and situations just like you are ‒ understanding this and giving your parents some empathy is a great way to improve your relationship. So, this Father’s Day, bring this up ‒ and ask your father what some funny and/or meaningful challenges were while raising you.
3. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
Given today’s chaotic landscape, time one of the most crucial things you can give to that special dad or father figure in your life.
David Jimenez, President of Actelion, a Johnson & Johnson Co, spoke about this in how its a struggle, especially within our busy lives. He advises on “quality time over quantity time,” which is a great thing to focus on for Father’s Day — and beyond. Try to give Dad a few hours of your time — sans technology and any other distractions.
4. Make your own path and follow it with passion
When you’re a father, nothing makes you happier than seeing joy, drive, and passion light up your children’s eyes.
Have you ever come home from a great day at school and just immediately tell your parents all about some test, project, or paper that made you passionate or sparked your interest? Well, trust me, just sharing this probably made their day.
Pursuing subjects that are new but interesting to you is not only great for your own development, but sharing these thoughts with your parents truly does lighten up their day and make them feel closer to you.
So, whether you’re a current Girls With Impact student, or a graduate, make sure you are keeping your father in the loop with your project and thoughts. It makes them happier, strengthens your bond, and it motivates you to keep working on your business!
Every family is different and has their own ways of celebrating ‒ so make sure you let your family be their quirky, unique, spectacular selves while planning Father’s Day! These are simply a few easy yet meaningful conversation topics that we guarantee will put a massive smile on your dad’s face.
Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate of Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for girls 12-21, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators. More info at www.girlswithimpact.org