Parenting: What is Dadsplaining? Why are We Dads?
Tags: Fatherhood, Parenting, Parents, Family, Dads

Two guys (Jesse and Brandon) meet and become friends thanks to their girlfriends (and now wives) being friends. So why are we dads and why did we create a podcast about being dads/parents? As in most cases of men doing something good, it stems from the smarts of two wonderful women. We found out we were due to have our first kids around the same time. One day I joked that we should call each other every day and talk about the craziness of being parents. A few months later we took that to the absurd level of starting a podcast. You’re welcome.

Dadsplaining, A Fatherhood Podcast logo

Why and How Did We Become Dads?

My approach to having kids felt simple, but also seems like it was a common process. It comes down to having a plan and thinking about what you want for your life and future. And then you just stick to the plan, right? While there are details to be worked out, for us it was almost incredibly straightforward. Both of us got married relatively young, just around graduating from college, and so our plans involved spending a few years being married, getting our jobs rolling, and then working toward kids.

We really had a sense we wanted to be parents, but we also both had a sense we’d need to get far enough in our marriages and financially settled to where it felt having kids would work within our lives. In a way we were planners and methodical, but we were also young and figured we knew what we wanted and just followed through becoming parents. We both got married right after college and both has kids a few years after that.

Why and How Did Dadsplaining Become A Parenting Podcast?

As with all good ideas it was spontaneous, generally unplanned, and done on a whim just for fun. I thought it would be funny to talk about Dad life and then a few months later we randomly went for it and just started talking. What made it seem possible was we both had just become dads and so it felt natural to use the show as a ride-along vehicle where we could use our own parenting experiences to guide each episode.

I will note we are eternally grateful, and possibly just lucky, that co-host Jesse happens to work in video/audio production as his day job. Recording a podcast became seamless with almost no barriers to getting started as we had equipment and his skillset built in. I just contribute a face for radio and we were off and running.

The name Dadsplaining stems from a couple obvious factors. The main one being “mansplaining” was a popular buzzword of the moment a few years back and it felt funny to riff on that. The other idea was we make terrible puns and any excuse to use puns just felt natural for anything Dad-themed. Our aim is not to do the “splaining” in any condescending way, but we hoped it would evoke our desire to plainly talk about being dads.

Follow Dadsplaining Parenting Podcast and Blog

We hope to use our time with you providing value or at least a sense of comradery. What compels me to get back on the microphone every week to record is the idea someone else might benefit from hearing our experiences. Not because we know the answers as we hopefully cover enough how parenting is a near-impossible task. But what feels satisfying to me as a parent is knowing someone else went through what I did, so I know it’s not just me. Parenting can feel isolating and we want to provide a small light that the experiences are universal amongst us all. Just in different flavors.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7DH9fg7zwaL6BlfcRlzpLU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dadsplaining-a-fatherhood-podcast/id1438155808

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DadsplainingPodcast

Twitter: @dadsplainingpod