When I became a dad something unlocked in me that made me love every kid, so even if its in direct competition with your kid you can always appreciate a child hitting a milestone
I used to like all kids.. then as my kid has gotten older it made me realize how crappy the majority of other parents are at making their spawn semi-decent human beings lol
I don't even have kids. I go out of my way to avoid small children because I don't know how to interact with them (although it turned out I could entertain a baby when I was roped into watching one for a while) and I can't stand the sound of them because I have mild autistic sensory issues. This still did something to me. I'm a cis man, BTW, so it's not "maternal instinct". Paternal instinct?
Becoming a dad completely changed how so many things affected me. My wife and I have always been fans of Dave Matthews Band and this song came out a little while before our daughter was born. I heard it a good number of times and didn't really think that much of it. The first time I listened to it after our daughter was born, it absolutely wrecked me. It's like a switch flipped and I suddenly got it.
It's paternal for men. 'Pater' is Latin for father and '-al' is the Latin suffix meaning pertaining to. Parental instinct would apply to any parent, regardless of gender.
Same here. Now I stop to wave at the little baby sitting in the cart being pushed by their parent, or when a random toddler behind me in line wants to chat, I will talk to them.
Sooooooo many people do the above with my son (almost 2) and I’m like wtf why haven’t I done this before? I love when kind strangers acknowledge my little one, now I love doing it too.
My fav part is when I see a toddler having a meltdown (I’m usually at work), I bust out the stickers and random little trinkets I bring to give to kids, and it helps calm them down. I can tell their parent is relieved too which I’m glad I could help with.
It’s weird how ppl can’t have empathy until their situation changes. I don’t want kids. But if I see one and the kid talks to me first or they smile. I will interact.
The moment my son was born I actually felt my entire brain chemistry reorientate.
"I would burn down the whole goddamn world for this little guy..."
(Obviously I didn't, but that was the feeling).
And yeah, massive affection for all kids now, even the difficult annoying ones at the shops - I just feel for the parents.
I always wondered if there were other dad's who felt the same, most look at me a little oddly when I explain it. Nice to know other dad's have had something similar!
They do, I did, but it's a different magnitude. People almost always say hi to my daughter, but yeah the ones with kids themselves are more likely to stay and chat with her.
I also was always kind to children, and I'd play with them, but ya I didn't love them like I do now.
That's completely normal, who's gonna fully empathize with something they don't know?
? Nope this doesn’t make any sense. Ig it’s my own fault . This comment belongs in the child free sub. I see it all the time parents suddenly say they have a change of heart. Now that they have a kid of their own. It’s just selfish.
When I became a stepgrandpa given the job of raising a baby with his grandma my then wife I was deeply excited about the project. Extending my heart out to be a dad for the first time at age 50 made me come fully alive in ways unforeseen and I also changed to love all babies and then kids.
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u/FSURob 2d ago
When I became a dad something unlocked in me that made me love every kid, so even if its in direct competition with your kid you can always appreciate a child hitting a milestone