An amazing YouTube channel has taken the world by storm over the last few months. The channel "Dad, How Do I?", was set up by Rob Kennedy to teach basic life skills to those without a father.
The wonderful instructional videos giving 'Dadvice' show everything from how to change a tire, to how to properly iron a shirt, to how to unblock sinks. All those things that many of us know but will not actually remember learning from a parent.
Talking about his inspiration for setting up the channel, he said:
"I want it to be about everyday tasks, but I also would like to pass along some of the wisdom I've learned along the way to encourage people. I thought I was just going to be showing people how to do stuff, but it's kind of resonating on a whole different level."
If this doesn’t make you feel good about humanity, you are a shithead
— Chance Kelch (@ChanceKelch) May 18, 2020
Also—Rob Kenney (not on Twitter?) probably needs to clear his ‘Father’s Day’ for a ton of Zoom interviews... https://t.co/kF27iujQkZ
Since launching the channel, it has gained 1.55 million subscribers on YouTube, with much of the initial publicity coming from people who shared the videos on Twitter and Reddit during the CoVid-19 lockdown.
The lovely short videos serve as a soothing and fun distraction, even for those that already knew how to complete these tasks. Perhaps, surprisingly, the biggest audience of his videos are young women aged 25 to 40, who make up as much as 85% of his viewers.
Rob Kenney's videos are the sweetest thing ever 😍https://t.co/qzeM42KtTd
— Heart (@thisisheart) May 21, 2020
Rob's own personal history mirrors that of those he seeks to help. When he was 14, his father left him in the care of his brothers and he was left with many gaps in his knowledge of everyday things, much of which he has had to learn himself over the last 40 or so years.
The married father of two, was assisted in setting up the channel by his 27 year-old daughter who works with youngsters professionally. He said:
"I suggested the idea [of my channel] two years ago to my daughter and she said, 'You need to do that! That would be great! And I was just thinking that I'm going to be showing people how to do stuff, but it's resonated on such a different level. And I think it might even be because of the quarantine because people are looking for something to feel good about."
Rob continues to add videos to his channel all the time, and they have no doubt so far taught thousands of people how to carry out skills they would have struggled with alone. We think the channel and the whole idea are just brilliant!
You can view all of Rob's videos on his channel here
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