We’ve come a long way since the days of fathers being the breadwinners and mothers being the milk makers. Nowadays, dads are more hands on than ever before. Research shows a father spent an average of 16 minutes a day caring for his kids in 1965. By 2012, it had risen to 59 minutes a day. According to a 2023 study, American dads spend about 7.8 hours a week looking after their children at home. But juggling work, life and parenting can get painful. That’s why it pays to have a solid support structure to see you through the sucky situations.
Enter Facebook page Dadsnet: a place for fathers to share funny videos, expert advice, original content and discuss the highs and lows of parenting. We’ve collected some of their funniest fatherhood memes for when feel like a good laugh. And don’t miss the chat Bored Panda had with award-winning comedian Stuart Taylor, about how to inject some humor into the daily struggles of being a dad.
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Image credits: TheDadsnet
As the Dadsnet Facebook page reads, “The journey of fatherhood has its ups and downs and once you begin, life will never be the same.” That journey is bound to be filled with a lot of emotion, and very little rest. Sometimes you won’t know whether to laugh or cry. But when in doubt, we suggest you laugh. It’s good for you after all.
To help you out, Bored Panda has collected these hilarious memes from Dadsnet. We also enlisted the help of renowned comedian Stuart Taylor. He has over two decades of experience in the comedy industry. And almost the same amount of experience being a dad. But as he revealed, sometimes even the most skilled comedian can struggle to impress their own kids with a good dad joke.
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A quick scroll through Taylor’s Instagram page shows that he dedicates a great deal of time coming up with daily dad jokes to entertain his audiences, and annoy his sons. He’s performed to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Berlin International Comedy Festival, New Zealand International Comedy Festival and the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. So we trust he knows what he’s doing when he concocts a cracking joke.
We began by asking Taylor to define a dad joke. “A dad joke is a finely crafted piece of comedy where you mix the subtle art of cringe with a dash of eye rolling,” he said. “It’s the kind of joke that elicits groans from teenagers and secret chuckles from everyone else. You know it’s a dad joke when it’s so bad it’s good.”
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Image credits: TheDadsnet
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Okay, so what makes it really good? “A good dad joke has to be punny, groan worthy, and most important, you’ve gotta catch your kids off guard,” he revealed. “The best ones are the ones that you slip into a conversation, and make them cringe but hold back their laughter at the same time.”
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Taylor lives in Cape Town with his wife and two sons. We can only imagine what life is like with a comedian. We were curious to know whether funny bones run in the family. “I’m not sure that they share my sense of humor, but they certainly do have their own very quirky sense of humor," he told us. "With all sincerity, though, the very best thing about being a father, are the moments when they laugh.”
Funny enough, the comedian says he can’t make his kids laugh as much as he can the people who pay to see him perform. We asked if the family appreciates his sense of humor. “‘Appreciate’ might be a bit of a strong word. They acknowledge my jokes,” he said, seemingly deflated.
“I once asked Andy: ‘Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts!’ He sighed so deeply I thought he might just pass out. But then he secretly went and told his friends that joke. So maybe they appreciate it more than they let on.”
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Having children has added a different dimension to Taylor’s comedy. “Becoming a dad certainly gave me a massive treasure trove of material. I mean, there’s nothing funnier than real life parenting mishaps,” he told Bored Panda. “I think my stories also became a little bit more relatable because I’m just talking about what the ‘Everyman’ experiences. On top of that, this is definitely a much bigger audience because there’s lots of parents that love to commiserate when you’re telling them about your pain.”
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On the topic of pain, Taylor has done his days of dirty diapers, and sleepless nights. His sons are both teenagers now. But that comes with a whole different set of daily struggles. “One is 13 and one is 16. So you know, there’s an overkill of testosterone in my house at the moment. It’s an interesting period in our relationship because there’s lots of jostling for alpha positions from time to time.”
As expected, Taylor often diffuses drama by dropping a daring joke. “Humor is like the gaffer tape of parenting - it fixes almost everything. When you can laugh at the chaos of school runs and the angst your teenager experiences when there is ‘nothing to eat’ in the packed pantry cupboard, it will make the tough times bearable and it will make the good times even better,” he told us. “I definitely think injecting some humor into your home will keep you sane. And let’s face it, kids are hilarious. Just not when they’re slamming doors or when his hormones are raging!”
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Taylor says his jokes don’t always land well at home. And that his kids are his toughest audience. “I once asked Andy ‘Why did the math book look sad? Because there are too many problems’ He replied with: ‘Your jokes are the real problem.’ OMG!!! Even worse though was telling him a dad joke and him giving me the correct answer. Followed up by ‘I’ve heard that before.’ That’s even worse than being heckled in a comedy club.”
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We asked Taylor what he loves about fatherhood. “Best part of being a dad is the endless supply of comedy material and laughs we have. Actually, no. It’s having these two guys in my house who teach me the most incredible lessons every single day," he replied.
Then we asked what he hates… “Worst part of being a dad - stepping on a rogue Lego piece. Seriously, stepping on a Lego block hurts worse than gout.” And for those who don’t know what gout is, it’s probably for the best.
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So what advice does Taylor have for amateurs who want to try their hand at being a comical dad? “Even when your audience, i.e. your kids, are groaning, deep down I’m sure they actually love it. Of course, they say in comedy timing is everything, so I would suggest trying it out first thing in the morning! Because they are too sleepy to roll their eyes.”
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Taylor says dad jokes can land well no matter where you live. “A great pun is a great pun in Cape Town or in New York. For example: ‘Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything.’ See!! Universally groan worthy,” laughed Taylor. And we could almost hear his sons sighing in angst somewhere in the distance.
It just goes to show, no matter how experienced a comedian you are. Whether you perform to sold out audiences. Win awards. Travel the world making people laugh… You might never be funny enough for your own kids. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t try.
Here's a long list of good bad dad jokes for when you need some help. Let us know in the comments how they landed with your kids!
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