Monday, May 09, 2011 1

Father Plays Best

They say that becoming a dad means your days of big trips and serious adventure are over. They are so wrong.

By:
Laird Hamilton and Daughter

Essays: Lessons from Dad

Outside's best writers share their thoughts on fatherhood and nature-bonding with Dad.

Starting this Father's Day, be your hard-charging self again. It's what your kids need most.

You hear guys say it all the time: "I used to bike/ski/paddle/travel; then I had kids." The notion that becoming a father means giving up sports and adventure may sound reasonable—There's just not enough time!—but it actually removes the factor most likely to spur your children to grow into active, healthy adults: your example. A study last year by the nonprofit Outdoor Foundation found that 75 percent of kids aged 6 to 12 who participate in adventure sports are simply copying their parents. Which means your first act as an awesome outside dad is to walk out the front door. Then what? Follow these six steps.

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Comments

1
Mellie

Childhood hikes, canoeing, and camping trips with my dad are still what inspire me to get outside today. I'm so grateful to my dad for not being daunted by idea of packing up two rowdy boys and their baby sister and taking them all to the woods - we're all better people, and more connected to the natural world, because of it.

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