Father's Day is crap

I'm not a big fan of Father's Day at all. There I said it. And while we're at it, I can't stand Mother's Day either.

They're both contrived, consumer nonsense. I don't need a special day on the calendar to tell my dad I love him, I tell him all the time. Likewise, I'm uncomfortable with the idea that my boys need a specific day to show their love and appreciation for their dad. I'd like to hope I've brought them up a bit better than that.

Then there's the cards. I cannot stand them. Both my boys made cards at school and playgroup this year and both are works of art. I love them. But the cards in the shops - big thumbs down. My dad is not a beer monster or a golf fanatic. He doesn't wear slippers and believes a shed is somewhere to store your bike, not a 'man cave'. He doesn't have a greenhouse or a love of BBQ's. Football is something he watches on TV only when he can't find any tennis or documentaries to watch. He probably does fancy owning a yacht one day, but would find a card with a picture of one rather odd. Sadly there are no cards for healthy, active tennis playing Dad's that don't own a beer fridge.

It's just all a bit sexist and outdated really, this Mother and Father's Day nonsense. We should teach our children to appreciate the little things other people do for them on a daily basis. Not just on one 'special day'. We should thank our own parents whenever the opportunity presents itself, not save it up to be expressed in a gender stereotypical card.

No, I don't like Mother and Father's Day at all. Sorry, but I just don't.