Single dad taught himself to braid his daughter's hair. Now he helps other dads do the same.
The Daddy Daughter Hair Factory helps dads everywhere learn how to braid hair.

Dad gets the high-five for being a Dad, and it's great.
Philippe Morgese is a single dad with a daughter named Emma. She, like many children, happens to have hair.
Like most parents, Morgese is really hoping to do his part to make sure Emma becomes a fully-functioning and responsible member of society. He wants to make sure she grows up confident and well-adjusted. He also wants her to have a good male role model in her life. Ya know, like most of us dads do.
And he wants to make sure her hair looks nice. He didn't have any people in his life who knew how to braid hair, so he taught himself.
SCIENCE FACT: Actively involved fathers can have a huge impact on their kids' school performance.
Morgese got so good at hair braiding that he decided to start a class to help other dads.
SCIENCE FACT: The more a dad is involved in their kid's life, the more the dad's self-esteem increases.
The class got pretty popular over time. So much so that he ended up starting a Facebook page called the Daddy Daughter Hair Factory to help dads everywhere learn how to braid hair. He got a kid's haircare company, SoCozy, to sponsor the class. He even built an incredibly handy website where dads like me, who get horrifically dirty looks from their daughters every time they try to do hair, can learn how to do it correctly.
The class is about more than braiding hair though.
The classes are really about dads and daughters bonding and connecting.
They turn off their screens. They focus on being together. And they just hang out.
SCIENCE FACT: Dads who play with their kids can have a positive impact in their kids ability to have stable relationships later in life.
It's a win for everyone. Dads and daughters get to spend time with each other and they both get something out of it: new skills for dad and awesome hairstyles for their daughters.
I seriously can't wait to learn how to do the three-strand braid and the braided elastic coverup.
NON-SCIENCE FACT: I'm looking forward to the day I can make my daughter's hair look this good while not getting a raging death stare from her.
Watch Morgese and Emma show other dads how to braid hair in this Upworthy Original Video:
And feel free to share this with a dad in need.
This article originally appeared on 04.18.16
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."