Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.

The quip frames fatherhood as a practice rather than a one-time achievement. Like shaving, it is repetitive, ordinary, and easy to neglect, yet it requires steady attention to maintain the desired result. The comparison also undercuts heroic notions of parenting: being “great” is less about grand gestures than about showing up daily—patiently, consistently, and with care—even when yesterday went well. Implicitly, it suggests that parental identity is renewed through ongoing actions, and that complacency is the enemy of good parenting. The humor softens a serious point: reliability over time is what children experience as love and safety.