The 25 Most Important Fatherhood Moments In the Past 25 Years

Emma Chao/Fatherly; Getty The 21st century has been the century of dads. Never before has the idea of being a father become part of the national conversation, and never before have dads faced an onslaught of shifting mores and expectations. Regardless of the chaos we’ve experience in the last twenty-five years, it’s been a decent time to be a father. Scratch that — it’s probably the best point in human history to be a dad. Sure, you might have spent more time with the family on the farm in the 18th century, but that was primarily as a manager for your child laborers. If you were parenting during the industrial revolution, let’s just say the whole child labor thing got a lot worse — and off your watch. And what of the booming ’40 and ’50s, those supposed halcyon days that are so often held on high? Don’t let false nostalgia fool you — the infant mortality rate alone tells a different story: It has dropped 85% since the Baby Boom. It’s truly never been easier to raise a healthy and maybe even happy kid — and the past 25 years bear the fruits of this fact. From public policy shifts to pop culture moments, to an evolving conversation about the nature of masculinity, the past twenty-five years have been full of great moments for fatherhood.Here are twenty-five of our favorite moments so far this century, all of which highlight how the culture of being a dad has grown, changed, and been celebrated 25. Jerry Seinfeld’s Alligator Joke (2020) NBC/NBCUniversal/Getty Images If you’re no…