World’s Greatest TV Dad Contest – who is your favorite?

With Father’s Day right around the corner, it is time to think about Dads. Father’s are pretty darned special, and my father is no exception. I have so many fond memories of him and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you.

My Dad:
My dad was my hero. He still is, but I’ll get to that later 🙂 When I was little, he worked a lot – he was always busy and didn’t have much free time for me. So when he invited me to do anything with him, I jumped at the chance. I remember he would invite me to go down the hill to 7-11 with him, and that was a big deal. Plus, I knew I would get a slurpee. The dumps? Oh yes, I found that thrilling as well, because I got to be with my dad. I remember shopping with him at Christmas, and I also laugh when I think of the time he let me buy high heels at the shoe store when I was 13. The poor guy didn’t know mom would have never let me get those. He got in trouble when we got home. When he did have some free time, we would do some fun things on the weekend, like go to the beach, then stop at “Romano’s Pizza” on the way home.

My dad worked really hard for us, and I appreciate that. When I was about 10 or 11, my dad had the opportunity to be sales rep for a fairly new company. He took a chance and went for it. It ended up being the best move of his life, and he was very, very successful. The downside was that it required him to be away from home a lot. Most of his business was in Southern California, and he decided to live there and come home on weekends (or every other weekend). I remember when I was 16 and could drive, I couldn’t wait to go and see him. I drove down several times until I was 20 or so, and those are some of my best memories.

My husband:
It is interesting to compare my dad’s parenting style to my husbands. My dad was a big softie and since he was gone so much, he let my mom handle most of the disciplining. When he was home and had to handle something, he was a wreck. He didn’t want to be mean. My mom out of frustration would just handle things herself.

My husband, on the other hand, doesn’t put up with much. Not in a bad way, as he can also be a softie, but he is firm with his discipline and our children respect that. He sits and explains why something is wrong, and why it shouldn’t be done. Parenting these days seems so different from the days past – I don’t know if it is partly because of the guilt we feel with both parents working so often?

I think a great dad is someone who is not afraid to be tough when they need to. I don’t mean physically, but someone who will not let their kids walk all over them, even though they want to keep their kids “happy”. A great dad is firm when he needs to be, but is also there to listen and offer hugs. There is nothing like a father’s love – and nothing compares to the sense of protection a child feels from their father.

The contest:
Speaking of dads…what about TV dads? From the ones back in my childhood to the more current ones, you can see the differences in parenting styles. I had several favorite TV dads. There is a fun contest going on at Man of the House in celebration of Father’s Day!

Cast your vote in The World’s Greatest TV Dad bracket challenge. It works like those other bracket contests you’ve heard of, but unlike the NCAA, you have the power. Scout the match-ups, read the bios and vote for the winner. Check back every week for the next round of match-ups all leading to June 17, when we unveil to the expecting world our champion, your World’s Greatest TV Dad.

Though several of my favorite TV dads have been eliminated already, there are plenty of awesome television dads left to vote for! I am voting for Steven Keaton from Family Ties. This was one of my favorite shoes ever, and I loved his fathering style. He was kind of clueless (of course having a smart kid like Alex didn’t help!), but when needed, he knew how to be firm and stand his ground. He was a real family man, which I admire. Steven Keaton was a very loving dad.

So who is your favorite television dad? Is it Michael Hogan from the Hogan Family? Or perhaps Tim “the tool man” Taylor is your fave? Maybe you like Cliff Huxtable. There are many to choose from! Make sure you head over to vote in the World’s Greatest TV Dad contest – it’s lots of fun and it will be interesting to see who is chosen as the greatest on June 17th! You can vote every day (and as often as you wish, actually!)

*I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received promotional items to thank me for taking the time to participate.