You may recognize actor, director, and filmmaker Justin Baldoni from the CW show Jane the Virgin. Or you may know him from the time his epic proposal to now-wife Emily Baldoni went super viral.
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Now, Justin is going viral again, this time in his latest role: as a dad.
Justin posted the photo below to Facebook the day after Father’s Day. Justin is standing with his father, and the two of them are watching Justin’s 2-year-old, Maiya, sob on the floor at Whole Foods while Emily snaps a pic.
At first glance, you may think they’re bad parents for allowing this to happen. But Justin explains their actions (or lack thereof) in the caption that follows. Check it out.
Facebook
I tried to stay off social media yesterday to connect with my family without distraction so I’m posting this today. Emily took this in Whole Foods. It’s now one of my favorite photos ever of me and my dad.
Two men, standing together in silence, forever bonded by an unconditional love for both each other and this brand new, raw and pure soul who we would both go to the ends of the earth for. I can only imagine how many times I did this when I was her age.
My dad taught me so much about what it means to be a man, but this post is about one thing and one thing only. Being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Something I grew up watching him do with me over and over again.
There are no perfect parents, but one thing my dad taught me is to not parent based on what anyone else thinks.
My dad always let me feel what I needed to feel, even if it was in public and embarrassing. I don’t remember him ever saying “You’re embarrassing me!” or “Dont cry!” It wasn’t until recently that I realized how paramount that was for my own emotional development.
Our children are learning and processing so much information and they don’t know what to do with all of these new feelings that come up. I try to remember to make sure my daughter knows it’s OK that she feels deeply.
It’s not embarrassing to me when she throw tantrums in the grocery store, or screams on a plane. I’m her dad…not yours. Let’s not be embarrassed for our children. It doesn’t reflect on you.
In fact.. we should probably be a little more kind and patient with ourselves too. If we got out everything we were feeling and allowed ourselves to throw tantrums and cry when we felt the need to then maybe we’d could also let ourselves feel more joy and happiness.
And that is something this world could definitely use a little more of.
You might think that others would be quick to judge Justin’s hands-off approach, but parents in the comments cheered:
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“It means a lot more than some might think, in so many ways.”
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What do you think of this dad’s parenting wisdom?
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