In London, men are clinking beer mugs over hair-braiding lessons. Imagine, just a few dudes with their pints and face mannequins in front of them. The beverage is for fun, but the hairstyle session is more of a parenting class.
Cute, right? That’s millennial dads stepping up. But can you ever imagine something like that in India?
Ummm… still buffering. Blame it on gender roles?
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As a kid, after watching Hannah Montana, I wanted long hair just like hers. My mom, who is a teacher, had one rule – “The day you can tie your own ponytail, you can keep it. I might not always have the time to do it.”
Sounded reasonable. School mornings are chaos, and even five minutes of hair time matters.
Even though my father was always pretty hands-on, packing our tiffin and helping my brother and me get dressed for school, the hair department was either my mother’s or my grandmother’s domain.
Unsaid norms. No one explains why, but everyone follows.
That’s why such events have a novel, lowkey-cutsey appeal to them. But in a way, these are like food for thought for a broader parenting shift.
It’s layered. It’s needed.
Tying ponytails — a lesson in parenting
Parenting classes and workshops today cover everything – diet, habits, screen-time battles, even the “which preschool is best” spiral. But what about the smaller growing-up moments?
For instance, braiding. There’s no training for that, yet it is important.
Remember this iconic scene when Dr Shephard learns to tie his daughter’s hair? (Screengrab from Grey’s Anatomy)
Wondering why make a big deal out of something so small? Because sometimes, the smallest acts say the most.
Kids are always watching
For a long time, fatherhood in India was—and mostly still is—coded around provision and authority. So, in 2026, when a father learns to braid his daughter’s hair, he is entering a caregiving space traditionally seen as the mother’s domain.
Ketika Kapoor, co-founder of ProEves, early childhood care and education platform, considers grooming intimate, repetitive, and patient. “It’s not a ‘once-in-a-while’ heroic act, it’s everyday care—and that is gender-neutral.”
Children observe and mimic what they see at home.
“When such caregiving and emotional labour are not limited to mothers, children begin to see these as life skills. Girls grow up feeling that responsibility for relationships and caregiving does not automatically fall on them, while boys learn that empathy, patience, and emotional expression are strengths, not weaknesses,” Dr Pallavi Chaturvedi, parenting coach and founder, Get Set Parent, tells India Today.
Kapoor emphasises that it can be equally powerful for sons.
“It quietly rewires masculinity away from emotional restraint and toward participation. It makes them more comfortable with realities like menstruation, which are often treated as ‘not for men to engage with’. The impact compounds when this behaviour is mundane, not exceptional.”
Emotional access
The “mard ko dard nahi hota” mentality has trickled down for generations. The result? Men, even if they want to, don’t always know how to show emotions.
And that’s why, from a parenting pov these small everyday acts are deeply significant. “When fathers participate in daily caregiving rituals, children experience them as emotionally available and dependable figures,” says Dr Chaturvedi.
Teen years aren’t exactly a walk in the park, and with Gen Alpha, the ride only gets wilder. So, this kind of involvement builds trust, opens up communication, and helps kids feel safe enough to grow emotionally.
So, ponytails are just the beginning. These tiny moments build a bond that feels safe enough for the big questions later like menstruation, puberty and more.
The micromoments of bonding pave the way for the future connect as well (Photo: Getty)
What’s the Indian parenting scene like
It’s in transition.
“I believe parenting is becoming harder for both mothers and fathers. But today, both are willing to step back and question the way parenting was done earlier,” says Harpreet Singh Grover, a parenting researcher and the founder of The Curious Parent.
For some fathers, involvement isn’t about grand gestures but everyday routines.
“One routine I really love is dropping my daughter to school on a scooter with my wife. We could have chosen the bus or carpooling with other parents, but this just works for us. I also make sure I’m there when she gets back—those moments after a gap feel important. That’s one of the reasons I chose to be a house husband,” says Grover, a 42-year-old girl dad.
Millennial dads, especially, are in their unlearning era, ditching rigid ideas of masculinity and trying to show up with a little more emotional range. The intent is there. The follow-through? A work in progress.
In expert opinion, these changes are more visible in urban pockets so far. And Kapoor brings forth two major catalysts here: social media and dual-income households.
Social media has made engaged fatherhood more visible and aspirational. Surely you have seen those videos where pookie dads try on makeup sitting through tea parties in tiaras, fully committed.
And with dual-income households becoming the norm, shared caregiving isn’t progressive anymore, it’s practical.
In short, Indian fatherhood is evolving. Slowly, unevenly, but definitely.
Millennial and Gen Z dads are in their pookie era, and everyone’s loving it (Photo: Getty)
The shift is on. What’s next?
“Being tough is not about not showing emotions, doing things alone, or being macho. For children to grow up to be loving and capable, the more involved the father is, the better. So any workshop that helps fathers understand the basic concepts behind why childhood is important, help them learn ‘how to play’ with children, is very welcome,” Grover adds.
But can such workshops really take off in a country like India, where many parenting norms are still rooted in tradition?
Dr Himani Narula Khanna, developmental behavioural paediatrician and co-founder of Continua Kids, believes that just as mothers are shown how to hold, dress, and care for the baby, fathers can be equally involved.
“Emotional communication workshops can be planned for fathers, where understanding a child’s behaviour, co-regulation, and responsive parenting are discussed. Gender-sensitive parenting sessions can help break stereotypes and focus on raising confident girls, along with teaching fathers how to engage meaningfully and playfully with their children. As kids grow older, fathers can also be prepared to navigate adolescence—learning how to communicate, set boundaries, and support their teens.”
Kapoor also agrees. But she cautions that what matters is how these interactive sessions are positioned. No one enjoys a run-of-the-mill, boring lecture.
“Indian men are more likely to engage when it doesn’t feel awkward or preachy. Keep it community-led, a bit aspirational—like becoming a more involved, modern dad—and hands-on rather than lecture-heavy. Make it something couples can do together, and it instantly feels easier to sign up for.”
Kapoor suggests more thoughtful interventions—like activity-based labs where cooking, storytelling, and basic life skills are woven in naturally. She also points to the need for social media coaching, creating space for conversations around body image, peer pressure, and the digital world so they feel a little less intimidating, and far more doable for fathers.
Final word
Credit to millennial and Gen Z dads for taking that first step—recognising that showing up emotionally matters just as much as providing financially.
But the idea is to make it normal—not exceptional all the time. Given how often we are influenced by the West, not everything fits our context. But this “pints and ponytails” idea does, and we can always improvise.
So maybe it’s worth asking again – why doesn’t India teach dads to tie ponytails? And this time, you might have a better answer than when you started.
– Ends
Published By:
Jigyasa Sahay
Published On:
Mar 28, 2026 08:00 IST
