Papa tried to teach him a song but he preferred to bang on the keys (and of course he let him). #whattypeofdadareyou #letthembelittle #blackandwhite

"This is all for them. I wake up, breathe, eat sleep for them. There’s nothing that I want for me that comes before them. Everything I do, everything I touch, everything I think about is for them... for their future. I consider myself having no life. They are my life. This is my life... I’m a dad and everything else is secondary to that role." #whattypeofdadareyou #daddy • Robert Barnes | New York • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou

“We home schooled our kids last year because he was doing terribly in school... It was tough. It has its own challenges and we overcame them. He went back to school this September. We had a heart-to-heart and I told him: 'Look I know you can do it. Here’s what I want from you. I want you to come back with an 80 percent average in everything. That’s all I need from you to start. That’s all I ask from you.' Boom. He gets back to school. Dude's getting 90s. Dude's getting 80s. Dude's getting 99, 97. I’m like, 'Wow, this dude got it.' Now his report comes out... He didn’t show me the 50s. He didn’t show me the 40s. Like he couldn’t come to me and say, 'Dad I didn’t do so well in this subject.' I felt like I failed him in that moment where he felt like he couldn’t show me the 50s and the 40s." #whattypeofdadareyou #fathers #blackandwhitephoto #blackfathers • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou

“We’re from that background where kids should be seen but not heard. You know that Caribbean mentality where you’re not really allowed, from an adult kid standpoint, to voice your opinion. The parents know. They say. You follow. I came to understand my dad more when I became a dad. I started to see through his lens and started to understand why he did what he did, why he said what he said, and how he really meant some of the things that came off that I didn’t like when I was younger. But he always showed me love.” #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #blackandwhite • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 1 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

“He doesn’t like working out, period. He'd rather play games and watch tv, to be honest, but we struck a deal. He gives me four days and he does what he wants with the other three days. I'm trying to hold him to his commitment. He's quit before. Twice. But, I know this journey isn't only about what he thinks he wants... but what he must overcome. He must move outside of his comfort zone to do greater things in the future... By doing this he'll be able to do any sport, not just fencing. He'll have the muscle tone and explosiveness to tackle any sport." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #blackandwhite • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 2 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

Robert Barnes | 2 Kids | Long Island, NY • Part 3 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Long Island, NY)

“This is all for them. I wake up, breathe, eat sleep for them. There’s nothing that I want for me that comes before them. Everything I do, everything I touch, everything I think about is for them... for their future. I consider myself having no life. They are my life. This is my life... I’m a dad and everything else is secondary to that role..." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 4 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

Robert Barnes | 2 Kids | Long Island, NY • Part 5 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Long Island, NY)