On Working Side Hustles with Dad and Buried
Dadditude Newsletter #31
Dadditude interviews dads (and mums) from different backgrounds, professional fields, and ethnicities to get their insights on what it means to be a parent in the current moment.
Please ♡ at the bottom of the newsletter if you enjoyed this release, or share it with a friend. It helps us reach new dads.
Say Hi to Mike,
Mike is a Content Marketer, born and raised in Connecticut, who now lives in Brooklyn, where he’s raising two sons, 11 and 6. When he’s got free time, he spends as much of it as possible listening to music, watching movies/TV, and drinking beer and bourbon.
But, you might know Mike better as ‘Dad and Buried,’ his social media persona where he shares memes and musings, and makes fun of his kids. Find him on IG, FB, and Twitter, or check out his Podcast and Blog.
Let’s get to know the man behind the meme…
How old are your kids? How would you describe each of them?
My 11yo has ADHD and is otherwise a lot like me, both of which make raising him a huge pain in the ass, but we bond a lot over pop culture, which is fun.. My 6yo is as good natured and happy-go-lucky as it gets and actually likes to watch the Dolphins lose with me, unfortunately for his future as a sports fan.
How did you get started with Dad and Buried?
I’d been writing snarky rants for years, in school papers, online, etc., and when my wife (Mom and Buried) got pregnant, starting a blog seemed like the perfect way to both chronicle my journey into parenthood and also to mine that journey for those same rants. I’d also seen a bunch of friends having kids and losing their personalities to parenting, which I did not enjoy, and I was determined to keep mine. The blog helped me do that. When my son was two I got laid off and I became a stay at home dad, and was able to start focusing more on Twitter and Facebook and, eventually, Instagram, where I mostly play now, doing the same thing: ranting about being a dad.
Your parenting insights are so relatable, but not everyone seems to ‘get the joke.’ How do you handle the commentary about your jokes?
Haha, I love when people don’t get the joke because that’s usually their problem and not mine - my wife and kids know I love them and that’s all that matters. Besides, all it takes is a little scroll to understand that I’m essentially doing a character (no matter what my wife tells you!) and a little more scrolling to find something serious I’ve written about being a dad who loves his kids. The best part is when I have a good comeback to someone’s humorless comment, because I can use that to generate more content. And a perk of having been around long enough to have a decent-sized following is that the people who do get me are there to educate the newbies so I often don’t have to do a thing. But engagement is always good, even when it’s from braindead trolls. So keep it coming, jerks!
Have your kids shown signs of your ‘level’ of humor? If so, what’s the best joke they’ve played on you?
My 11yo is sarcastic as hell, and it sucks. He gets a good joke but he doesn’t quite make them yet. He mostly just flails around trying to be funny and one-up the master but he has a long way to go. He did crush me with a well-played “deez nuts!” joke once tho. Not exactly my style, but I had to hand it to him just the same.
How does being a father influence your current job/activities and vice-versa?
Well, it’s more that having kids and a family to support adds pressure, and makes finding a job that understands the whole work/life balance thing very important. I’m lucky that my company does get that, and they are fully aware of my online persona, so it’s all good. Balancing the two is a time juggle but what parent doesn’t have that?
What do you think is your biggest strength as a parent?
I’ll let you know as soon as I find one.
What stresses you out the most as a parent these days?
You mean besides the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and our divided country and toxic social media and and and… I guess my son’s ADHD.
What side of parenthood do you wish you had invested more time and energy into the past?
I’m not sure my kids are old enough for me to judge where I’ve blown it yet. Ask me in five years.
Can you tell us about an especially favorite/special moment with your kids recently?
Sorry, that’s not my brand. :)
Thank you Mike!
We’ve enjoyed reading:
And you can find more articles on fatherhood in the Dadditude app.
Why Are We Still Surprised That Dads Are Parents, Too? Even when both partners are working full time, moms are still the first call. How is this still the case?
To Better Support Working Parents, Talk to Them We’re at a new phase of the working-parent crisis — a widespread breakdown of communication between hardworking mothers and fathers, frontline managers, and senior leaders.
The Male Breadwinners Dilemma “Men can’t bridge their empathy gaps or recognize their partner’s wholeness until they see beyond the masculinity contests at work and believe their manhood to be incontestable; until they think themselves to be whole too.”
Throwback: Dadditude Newsletter #15: On Optimizing the Father-Son Time with Tony Stacey
Have You Checked-In With Your ‘Dad Self’ This Week?
It’s important to check-in with yourself on a regular basis. Take a moment and reflect on the good, the bad, and the blowouts.
Thanks for reading!
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