Anthony Onesto is the Chief People Officer at Suzy. He lives in New York where he is raising his two daughters and son! Every Dad of the Week answers the following questions, read on to learn more about Anthony and his family!
- What was your first reaction when you found out that you were going to be a father?
- Fear, anxiety, and joy.
- When you knew you were going to be a father of a daughter, who or where did you turn to for advice?
- My mother was always a great parental role model for me and I thought of my father-in-law as a great advisor, so they were both very helpful.
- How would your kids describe you as a dad?
- A goofball – funny. Helpful and very supportive.
- What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
- Playing the part of friend and parent. Balancing wanting to give them autonomy to make decisions, but also holding them accountable for actions. I have also scaled more as a friend and advisor as they got older. Given the goofball comments above, I sometimes over-index on trying to be a friend more than a parent.
- Looking back on your life as a father, what would you change if you could?
- Time.
- What do you do for fun with your daughter(s)?
- We play board games, joke around (a lot), and play basketball. Basketball is big in our family.
- What advice would you give to other dads with daughters?
- Spend more time, but quality time. Be in the moment and make mental notes on everything because you will forget the times they were little. Don’t spend time thinking about what could be and think about what is.
- How have you come to balance fatherhood and outside life?
- Work/Life balance is fiction. You won’t find it. You decide on what you’d like to focus, so I make intentional efforts to spend time with my family. It’s hard work, but you can do it so that you have a greater focus on your family, but you must be intentional about it.
- What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a father?
- Seeing each of my kids achieve certain things in their lives. I have three kids at different stages of life, so it’s great to see them accomplish great things with help, but also on their own. My proudest moments are when people inside and outside our circle talk about the kids and how nice and caring they all are. You can be the smartest person in the world, but without empathy and caring, those smarts are wasted talent. We always talk about smarts and hearts here in our house!
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