WILLIAMSTON, Mich. — As Father’s Day approaches it’s a time to celebrate the dads and father figures shaping our lives. There's a father in Williamston who wanted to connect with other fathers and share advice. What he discovered is he wasn’t alone.
Chris Lewis is a father of two daughters.
“Every father father’s in a little bit of a different way but that’s the important part. We all father in a different way."
Several years ago, he began chronicling his journey through fatherhood in a blog Hoping to hear from other dads with wisdom or advice to share.
“I found that men were not the best at connecting together but there was a lot of questions and a lot of a lot of people that were asking very similar questions about, 'What does it take to raise strong independent women'? 'What does it take to be a good dad to a daughter?'"
As time went on, and the kids got older, the blog lost momentum.
Lewis decided to switch platforms and launched a Facebook group called "Dads with Daughters," and it turned out to be just the fresh start he needed.
"That group grew to over 100,000 members because of a commercial that Facebook did, and we turned the entire group into an organization called Fathering Together, which now is a 501 C3 internationally, and we have members from all over the world.”
One of the dads Chris encountered on this journey is Aqeel Ash-Shakoor, from Holt. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, his face just might. Aqeel has graced the screen in numerous national TV series and movies, making him a familiar figure to many.
Aqeel says he sees parenting as a diverse journey without a fixed path. He learns from fellow dads' successes and failures, shaping a few core rules for his kids based on this collective wisdom and his own experiences.
“There are certain statements or phrases that were never allowed. 'I can't', we never allowed that. 'I'm trying'. It's not in the vocabulary. You're doing it or you're not doing it. And find out for yourself. Don't wait to find out from someone else.”
Chris stresses that every dad is different, but he believes fathers can benefit from understanding each other. His top tip? When your kids talk to you, consider if they want advice or just need someone to listen.
We want to say thank you to all dads and dad figures, Happy Father’s Day, you are this week’s Good Neighbors.
If you would like more information on Dads With Daughters and Fathering Together visit our website fox47news.com/goodneighbors.
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