Innovation. That’s a word that truly describes Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian’s personal and professional life. Take his Papa Pancakes tradition, for instance. Ohanian and his daughter Olympia have been engaging in weekly pancake art, which brings creativity and education together. “I’d make alphabet letters in the pancakes for every letter in her name,” the father once stated. “I can’t take all the credit for her learning to read, but pancakes definitely played a part.” Does Serena agree?

She does! “Papa pancakes feeds and teaches you how to read,” she once revealed. But hey, to be creative, you need a break once in a while. Even if you are Alexis Ohanian. A new social media update by the father confirmed just this.

In a new tweet, he wrote, “I’ve never gotten more unsolicited hugs from the girls than on this vacation, so I’m doing something right… but I may need a vacation from this “vacation” 😮‍💨.”

Not much is known about where the family went for their vacation, but Ohanian’s update tells us the family is enjoying their time together. Now, the father of two talks about parenting and fatherhood quite often. This brings up a question. What is his parenting style?

On his podcast ‘Business Dad’, he stated earlier in July, “I generally think about gentle-ish parenting the way I like to parent. I do generally like the idea of talking to my kids instead of talking down to them.” He explained fatherhood was one of the “strongest parts” of his identity, which marked a significant “shift in things” in his life. He also expressed his desire to be a guiding light for his daughters, helping them chase their dreams while motivating them to work hard.

In the same podcast conversation, he candidly described how fatherhood has its “ebb and flow.” He reflected on how raising two young girls has helped him grow as a person. “The relationship has layers to it, which has been really fun. But for a six-year-old, I’m just starting to unpeel the human and really learn all the different feelings and desires and hopes and fears. And it’s awesome,” Ohanian shared.

As a prominent sports investor, his words resonated with fathers who struggle to balance work and family life. Serena Williams‘ husband has also championed the importance of paternity leave. Following Olympia’s birth in 2017, he recognized the unique challenges faced by new fathers and advocated for policies that allow them to care for their newborns without the added stress of losing their jobs.

Serena Williams’ husband encouraged paternity leaves for fathers

In 2020, Ohanian wrote an article for the New York Times that delved deeply into the challenges of new fathers and how they deserve a break from their jobs to take care of their families. Reflecting on how most fathers do not get this opportunity to be able to be closer to their newborns, Ohanian wrote:

“Serena and I were lucky enough to have help at home and many other advantages working in our favor. But even with all of that privilege, including my ability to focus solely on my family and not worry about keeping my job, it was still incredibly difficult. Nothing could have dragged me away from my wife and daughter in those hours, days and weeks — and I’m grateful that I was never forced to choose between my family and my job.”

He then raised some important questions through a confession. “I don’t blame my dad, or anybody else’s dad, for not taking time off after a child’s birth. Our culture makes it difficult. The United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t mandate some form of paid family leave… So why aren’t they taking the leave they’re entitled to? Why aren’t expectant fathers demanding time off to care for their families?”

Alexis Ohanian is a person who broke many conventional norms such as investing in female athletes and making his baby girls co-owners of an NWSL soccer team, Angel City FC, and the Los Angeles Golf Club. That being said, he aims to help his daughters excel in sports, and business, and life. He seems to be on the right path. Don’t you think?