For Brett Young, the Best ‘Dad-ing’ Is About ‘Identifying Mom’s Needs’ Before She Needs It
Father's Day 2021 (June 20) will be Brett Young's second as a dad, and he's just weeks away from experiencing parenthood in stereo: He and his wife Taylor are expecting their second baby girl in July.
In the time he's spent being a dad so far, Young's learned quite a bit, he explained during a recent virtual press event; in fact, a lot of being a good dad doesn't have quite as much as you'd think to do with directly parenting a child.
"The best dad-ing is to be able to identify mom's needs without her having to tell you," the singer says. "Because they're gonna take the brunt of it, especially at this age, where, like, baby needs mom all the time. So [it's about just] trying to figure out where you can insert yourself and help without getting to the point where she's like, 'Ahhh! Help me!'"
When the couple's daughter Presley was an infant, Young says he made a big effort to ensure that Taylor never had to worry about household chores while she was focusing on the baby. "At the beginning, it was like, taking out the trash or doing the dishes — things that I would normally do, but, like, making sure there was never a dish in the sink," he continues.
Now that the couple have had time to get used to parenthood, Young says he's feeling confident about being able to repeat the newborn stage with baby No. 2. "I think I've been able to watch Taylor be a mom long enough to know what she needs before she needs it," he sums up.
"I know that's a weird answer, because it has nothing specifically to do with Presley," Young adds. "But I think the skill set that I've kind of honed in on in the last year and a half is being able to read Taylor and make sure she has what she needs from me before she has to ask me for it."
The newest addition to the Young household will also cement his girl-dad status, as the singer is expecting his second daughter. That's something he's looking forward to, though he admits that back when he and Taylor first decided to have a family, he was hoping for a boy.
"I think all men initially just think they want boys. Not to the extent that I was disappointed at all when I found out [Presley] was a girl — you know, it's your child, so you get excited," he says.
"But this crazy thing happened when she was old enough to walk, around nine months or so," Young continues: The singer and his wife were hanging out with a couple who lives close by and were part of their social "bubble" during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. The family includes three children -- a girl and two boys, the youngest of whom is the same age as Presley.
"We went over for a play date, and we had just found out that Taylor was pregnant again, but we didn't know if it was a boy or girl yet. And their oldest daughter and my nine-month-old daughter just sat on the couch, very chill, hanging out, while the two boys chased each other around the coffee table for two hours straight and never stopped screaming and throwing things at each other," Young remembers. The experience made him think twice about wishing for a son the second time around, he admits.
"In my head — I never said this to my wife — but I'm like, 'Oh, God, I hope the second one is a girl.' So it's such a blessing," he adds, pointing out that having a daughter has been a new, educational and positive experience.
"I have a half-sister, but growing up at my house, my sister had already moved out, so it was, like, me and my dad," Young says. "That's why I was excited to have a boy: I wanted that relationship. But I can't imagine having a better relationship than I do with my daughter.
"It's so sweet, and it's challenging because I've never been a woman. I don't know what her challenges are gonna be in life," Young reflects. "But that's what [my single] "Lady" was all about: She's got her mama for that. So I just get to be the big ol' dad that she runs and jumps in bed and watches cartoons with. And it's been perfect."