Beers and braids? Dads are stepping up to do their daughters' hair.

After weeks of practicing, Strider Patton finally nailed it. He wove double French braids into his toddler's brown hair.

He dressed her up and took her to the park. It didn't take long for a woman to approach his daughter and say, "Your hair looks just wonderful. Did your mommy do those braids?"

"And my daughter, without skipping a beat, just points at me and says, 'Dad braids.' And that woman's jaw hit the ground," Patton said. "Then that lady said something that changed everything. She said, 'You could teach my husband a thing or two.'"

That playground interaction sparked an idea that turned into a movement. Patton, 41, started posting videos of his morning hair-braiding routine with his daughter on social media in 2024. The videos took off immediately, he said. Divorced dads, stay-at-home dads, widowed dads and other dads who want to contribute more at home expressed thanks. "I really tapped into something."

Dads from all over the world have reached out to him for advice, and other dads are now gathering for hairdo tutorials. In one recent video of an event labeled "Pints & Ponytails," more than 30 fathers gathered with beer cans and mannequin heads to learn how to braid hair. The TikTok, which was posted on March 8, got more than 6.6 million views in three days.

"I love this generation of dads," one user commented.

"This is SO important! Thank you dads!" another user wrote. "Your daughters will be so so grateful and will LOVE this."

These days, dads are more involved in raising their kids than ever before.

A 2023 survey from Pew Research Center found 85% of fathers say being a parent is the most or one of the most important aspects of who they are, and another survey from the center found fathers spend triple the amount of time on child care than dads did in 1965.

It might seem like a small thing, but dads learning to do their daughters' hair − and finding avenues to become more emotionally vulnerable in the process − exemplifies that a father's role can be so much more than how previous generations approached fatherhood. It's a sign of the times, Patton said, and what today's homes and families look like.

"It's like, if only one of us was able to change diapers, that wouldn't make any sense at all," he said. "We've got to be able to help out in every way."

Most people view doing a child's hair as a drumbeat morning task, Patton said. But he encourages dads − and other parents and caregivers, too − to reframe it as an opportunity for a moment of connection with their child.

"This is all about presence over perfection. It doesn't matter what the hair looks like," he said. "All they care about is that you're together. And if you're making it fun and playful, then she's going to have fun."

Patton said doing his daughter's hair has taught him a lot about the power of listening and opening up emotionally. When he's doing his daughter's hair in the mornings, they listen to stories together, talk about what she's up to at school or just share a few moments of silence while she eats her breakfast.

"It's really taught me a lot about what it means to be a dad. An engaged dad," he said. "And how to really, kind of, deepen my own emotional intelligence because I want to grow that for her and for my family, because that's something us guys aren't really taught."

Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

Reach Madeline at [email protected] and @maddiemitch_ on X.