by Brock Griffin

What’s the deal with dad jokes?

Why are fathers, some of the most vital contributors to healthy families and communities, associated with humor like this …?

I was wondering why the frisbee kept getting bigger and bigger. Then it hit me.

Really? What does that have to do with dads? Or this:

I didn’t realize my grandpa had a false tooth until it came out in conversation.

Come on now. People use puns or one-liners that are somewhat clever, but really deserve more groans and eye rolls than laughter, and somehow that’s a reason to drag dads into the picture. Do we really deserve that? What does everyone have against us?

Are you offended by the idea of dad jokes? Should you be?

Maybe it depends on the joke. For decades, dads have been largely made fun of in sitcoms and in the media for being clueless and almost pathetic. There have been a few exceptions here and there, but for the most part, dads have been portrayed as being caught up in silly hobbies or preoccupied with work, and if you wanted help or answers or someone who can really get something done, you looked for Mom or someone else.

And maybe some dads out there earned that bad reputation for the rest of us. Some dads are clueless, out of touch, preoccupied, and irresponsible. Thankfully, perceptions of fathers may be getting better over time thanks to individual dads who portray something much better, who are reliable, engaged, sometimes even heroic.

But all that is really more about seeing dads as jokes, not the dad jokes that are everywhere now.

So in general, no, there’s usually no reason to be offended when silly sayings are called “dad jokes.” Most of us have pretty thick skin about these things anyway. In fact …

Maybe we should view dad jokes as endearing.

… or at least as awkwardly affectionate tributes to our role. Maybe the “dad joke = bad joke” idea is appropriate because many of us are corny and sometimes awkward. If there’s a category of humor named after us, maybe it’s because we’re fun-loving. We like to bring laughter and levity to our kids’ lives with a witty play on words, a gentle tease, a physical stunt or a knock-knock riddle. And even if a joke is so bad we’re almost ashamed to say it, we can still usually get a reluctant smile from our kids—and smiles are always good.

One more thing: dad jokes can be reminders not to take ourselves too seriously. We can lighten up more, resist getting offended by little things, listen more, and enjoy our families. We do have an important role to play, but it’s most often a lighthearted role—not a heavy drama. We can laugh more at mistakes—ours and others’. We can respond to stressful situations with calmness. We can put some of our desires and aspirations on hold for our kids, because it’s not about us.

Let people make fun of us if they want to. Let’s just own it and keep doing our best for our kids.

What’s your favorite DAD joke? Share one—and leave a comment about this topic—at our Facebook page.

Brock Griffin is a contributing writer and editor at NCF and co-author of the book It’s Great Being a Dad. Brock and his wife Tara have three children and live in the Kansas City area.