James Van Der Beek Reveals How Son Joshua, 8, Changed His Life in Sweet Birthday Post
Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek will always be grateful for his five kids. While taking to Instagram on Friday, March 12, the proud dad revealed a great life lesson he learned from his 8-year-old son, Joshua, on his birthday.
“[I] can’t believe he’s turning 8 today. My little guy. We can learn so much from our sons if we just listen. If we throw out whatever dated idea of masculinity we inherited and instead open our hearts. If we dare to show up vulnerable, honest and human. If we give our sons the space to be themselves … they’ll unlock within us the man we’ve always wanted to be,” James, 43, said. “That’s what this little guy has done for me — and then some.”
The Dancing with the Stars alum shares with five kids — Olivia, 9, Joshua, 8, Annabel, 6, Emilia, 3 and Gwendolyn, 1 — with wife, Kimberly. In the lengthy post, he also thanked his son for helping him reach his full potential as a father every day. “I love you, dude,” James gushed. “I love your deep questions, your crazy sense of humor, your profound sensitivity, and literally every single thing about you. You’ve taught me more about what it means to be a man than anyone on this planet, and I am filled with gratitude for the honor of being your dad. Happy Birthday, Bud.”
What a guy! James is always learning something new from his kids. On Wednesday, February 26, he revealed the best parenting advice he’s ever gotten was from his five beautiful children.
“Kids will totally teach you how to raise them. I swear. It’s not about how you think they ‘should’ be raised, or how that book you read says to raise them, or how your parents raised you, or even how you raised their sibling — ‘cause each kid is different,'” the actor noted on Instagram. “That’s why I feel like the best #parenting advice I ever got was: Connect with them every chance you get. Because it’s all an opportunity for connection.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!
