Should there be a dad?

[JideOla123]

Toni is shown enjoying many activities with Mom and his friends. I appreciate that family and friendship are subtly depicted as joyful experiences. But hey, we don't see Dad!

Do you agree with me that a dad would be a wonderful addition to the story? Dads should be shown as interested in their children's everyday lives. Maybe Dad could join as the dishwasher. What a resounding message that would send!

mum and friends can't handle this super power we are talking about.
Probably they all live together but the father source for and maintain the power for Toni.
Or what do you think?

[JMichelle]

Dad's are very beneficial. Children are often better when both parents are around. Dad's are usually not found in their kids lives so it would be better if the story included a farher to give kids hope.

[Alena_Surya]

A dad would be a great addition but i think the absense of a father may relatable by some children.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

Technically, it doesn't mention mom either. We see two women. Either could be an aunt, sister, or babysitter. The dancer and dishwasher look like different people to me. Also, there's a tall man in the pool that could be dad.

Dad is not shown in the book in particular way. And it doesn't effect the flow of a book. However, we can guess that a man in swimming pool will be a dad.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

I agree a dad should be present in the children's book. The precedent will be set up for child for a "normal lifestyle."

I agree with this too. The edition of a dad will make the book more interesting. We may see him advising Toni or playing with him or helping in doing household tasks.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

I completely support father engagement in the family. For many kids, a two-parent family living in the same home is not a reality. I think that many children would not be able to relate to the "traditional nuclear family" idea. Those children may feel that they could be "superheroes" except that they don't have a mom and dad living together. I think that a dad or a male role model should be involved. There are so many single dads out there as well. Perhaps it would be good if Tony's dad was involved in the story but not necessarily depicted with mom. If each were depicted separately, then children could draw their own conclusions about whether they were together or not.

You have rightly pointed out there are many kids who have just dad. So there should be a representation of these children. So idea of both mom and dad is good.

[Adediran Israel]

There is always a place for the participation of a dad in any child's life. If you remove that it might derail the journey of such kid. The kid always see their dad as their small god when growing up especially if the child is a boy. The story would have been more interesting if there is a participation of a father.

[Jesse Nicolas Presgraves]

I find myself torn on this. On one hand, yes, I understand how beneficial it is to children to grow up with both parents, however, I also find myself enjoying books where there is only one parent. I grew up since with a single mother, and it was always hard for me to relate to books where there were both parents involved because that was something I didn't experience. I think that there needs to be some books where there may not be another parent so that all kids can have a book to relate to.

[kfwilson6]

I find myself torn on this. On one hand, yes, I understand how beneficial it is to children to grow up with both parents, however, I also find myself enjoying books where there is only one parent. I grew up since with a single mother, and it was always hard for me to relate to books where there were both parents involved because that was something I didn't experience. I think that there needs to be some books where there may not be another parent so that all kids can have a book to relate to.

I think the ambiguity of Toni's family situation is quite beneficial. There is no assignment of roles to anyone in the images. We assumed that there was a mom, sister, and friends. But we don't know that those designations are accurate. The woman could have been a babysitter. So children can more easily fill in the blanks with what they know or are comfortable with since the scene is set up to be very vague. There have been quite a few assumptions about where dad is. Kids can make whichever one of those assumptions they want and the story will still work, for now anyway.

[kfwilson6]

A dad would be a great addition but i think the absense of a father may relatable by some children.

There are lots of children who can relate to a single parent household, some who can relate to a household where one parent works all the tie, or some who can relate only to a more traditional family structure. I don't think there is enough definition about who is who in the images to deter any child from being able to relate to this book.

[[Valerie Allen]]

That's a good point. I agree. Adding a Dad would make a wonderful, encouraging addition to the story.

[Cristina Chifane]

I'd love to see a dad involved in Toni's activities too. It would reiterate the idea of stability and the importance of family life especially with so many dysfunctional families I am seeing these days.

[Jesse Nicolas Presgraves]

A dad would be a great addition but i think the absense of a father may relatable by some children.

There are lots of children who can relate to a single parent household, some who can relate to a household where one parent works all the tie, or some who can relate only to a more traditional family structure. I don't think there is enough definition about who is who in the images to deter any child from being able to relate to this book.

Ambiguity isn't always a bad thing, as evidenced by this book. It's good to see the change here from breaking down a traditional family to more of a "figure it out on your own" approach.

[Rosemary Khathibe]

Most of the time, dads appear in the picture as family providers, while moms look after kids. In Tony's case, I think it will be reasonable enough to think dad is at work.

[Jude Austin]

Ambiguity isn't always a bad thing, as evidenced by this book. It's good to see the change here from breaking down a traditional family to more of a "figure it out on your own" approach.

Agreed. I'm all in favor of a 'nuclear' family, but I don't want the emphasis on that to overshadow the story.

Some parents are also better off divorced. A Mom and Dad who hate each other but stay together "for the sake of the children" end up doing more harm than good, and that's without getting into the issue of DV. Two parent families are all very well, but there's nothing wrong with coming from a single-parent family either

And I agree that the Mystery Man in the pool could be Dad. At least, that's how I saw it