--- description: This Father's Day, take a look back at the dads that have gone viral around the web title: 10 Lessons We Learned From the Internet's Favorite Dads image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 10 Lessons We Learned From the Internet's Favorite Dads by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2014 12:00 PM CUT by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2014 12:00 PM CUT A good father shares advice and life lessons with his kids — and a _great_ father shares advice and life lessons with the whole Internet. So, let’s take a moment to appreciate the important lessons imparted to us by great dads who’ve really made their digital mark. ### **_Lesson 1: You can be a single lady, even if you’re a toddler and male._** Back in 2010, one dad made his son cry by telling him, “You’re not a single lady, buddy” when the boy began to dance to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” The father soon realized his misstep and changed his tune, telling his young son that he CAN be a single lady, if he wants to be. ### **_Lesson 2: Be thrilled about your accomplishments, even if they are remarkably average._** This dad wept with tears of unbridled joy when he learned that his son earned a C in math. So what if that’s, by definition, average? Stand up and be proud! ### **_Lesson 3: Dads will always, always embarrass their kids when they dance._** Sometimes famous dads go viral for, well, just being really dad-like. ### _Lesson 4: There are plenty of songs to enjoy that are not “Let It Go.”_ This father-daughter duo captured our collective heart for their spirited lip sync of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” ### _Lesson 5: Laptops are not bulletproof._ Remember this dad who went on an eight-minute rant directed toward his daughter for her incessant whining on social media? One of the lessons here is don’t be a brat, but the _real_ takeaway is that laptops don’t stand a chance in a firefight. ### _Lesson 6: You done goofed._ The [now-deceased](http://gawker.com/5831589/jessi-slaughters-dad-of-you-done-goofed-fame-dies "undefined") Gene Leonhardt became an Internet sensation for angrily defending his daughter from her haters — and for telling them, “You done goofed.” Let’s all try and apply that as a lesson every day, because we’ve probably all done goofed. ### **_Lesson 7: Start planning NOW so you can become a viral sensation later._** This dad taped his kids coming downstairs on Christmas morning for more than two decades. It probably annoyed them — especially during their surly teen years — but look how much it paid off. They got millions of views on YouTube! Redemption. ### **_Lesson 8: If you want to be a great dad, just get deployed to Afghanistan and then plan an elaborate surprise homecoming._** Sounds easy enough. ### **_Lesson 9: America is number one!_** In honor of the Sochi Olympics, this dad built a backyard snow luge for his kids and totally decked it out in red white and blue/woohoo America/USA is #1 type decor. ### _Lesson 10: You can’t hit people because you want pancakes._ The most important lesson of them all. Jury’s still out on whether or not you can hit people because you [want waffles](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr%5Flfr8vv23GD1qb963jo1%5F400.gif "undefined"). _Read next:_ [_10 Things My Father Was Right About_](http://time.com/3919811/my-father-wisdom/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2859809/10-lessons-we-learned-from-the-internets-favorite-dads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2859809/10-lessons-we-learned-from-the-internets-favorite-dads/"},"headline":"10 Lessons We Learned From the Internet's Favorite Dads","datePublished":"2014-06-15T12:00:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:10:40.368Z","description":"This Father's Day, take a look back at the dads that have gone viral around the web","url":"https://time.com/2859809/10-lessons-we-learned-from-the-internets-favorite-dads/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","viral","Appreciation","YouTube","dads","fathers","Father's Day"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2859809/10-lessons-we-learned-from-the-internets-favorite-dads/","name":"10 Lessons We Learned From the Internet's Favorite Dads"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Best Father And Son Duos In Sports","description":"We all want to follow in dad’s footsteps. 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