Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933. Lietuvių: Franklinas Delanas Ruzveltas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Presidents and parenting go together like peanut butter and jelly. Of all the U.S. presidents, only six didn’t father children. Check out the detailed biographies at the White House website. George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Warren Harding, James Polk and James Buchanan didn’t have kids.
John Tyler, our 10th president, fathered fifteen children. To think they didn’t have disposable diapers in 1841.
We all have opinions on politics and history. What was right, what was most definitely wrong, and what we think could be done better. What interests me, is that so many of our presidents were dads too.
Franklin Roosevelt gets the coolness factor here. He put America back to work during the Depression; mobilized the United States to fight in World War II; and was the longest-serving president with four terms. Did I mention he fought a personal battle against Polio?
Having never been president of anything myself, I would suspect parenting and presidential leadership are very similar:
- You can’t please everyone all the time.
- You take the blame for all the bad things in the world.
- Rarely do you get credit for the good.
- Running the country and having kids can take years off your life expectancy.
- The White House or your house, sometimes it’s never big enough.
- Your wife is the boss, she just let’s you think you’re in control.
I have no ambition to ever be president. But, I wouldn’t give up this father gig for anything.
Thanks for reading. Comments and feedback are always welcome and encouraged.
The Dad In Me 