James Van Der Beek Opens Up On Being A 'Girl Dad,' Being Freed From 'Limited Belief Systems'

There's no denying that "Dawson Creek" star James Van Der Beek has a lot of dad experience after welcoming six children in less than a decade.

Following his divorce from Grey's Anatomy's "Heather McComb" in 2010, the actor married business consultant Kimberly Brook in the same year in an intimate ceremony in Israel. The pair are parents to Olivia, 11; Joshua, 10; Annabel, 8; Emilia, 6; Gwendolyn, 3, and Jeremiah, 7 months, and reside in their countryside mansion in Texas.

Having six children has aided Van Der Beek's grasp of parenthood, as he had no options but to adjust to the ups and downs that come with it all. Drawing from his wealth of knowledge, the actor recently shared a crucial lesson he learned by interacting with his daughter, Gwendolyn, saying how it has helped him break free from the grip of "limited belief systems" in his life.

On Friday, the 45-year-old shared moments of himself and his three-year-old daughter on Instagram having a nail painting session. While the adorable post showed that Van Der Beek was having a good time as a father, the message he offered in his caption, articulating the heart of the occasion, was more important.

The actor recalled a moment before the birth of his first kid when a coworker arrived on set with his nails still painted black. The paint appeared "kind of emo" to Van Der Beek and a few others, but the colleague seemed unconcerned, claiming without "an ounce of embarrassment" that his daughter had put the polish on his finger the night before.

Van Der Beek was left perplexed as to why his colleague failed to remove the paint even though he knew he might get judged at work. However, now that he is a girl dad, the actor has a clearer understanding of that moment, which he described in his caption.

He wrote, "The complete ease with which you abandon shit you once thought mattered, (but probably never really did in the first place)… and the simple joy you find in things that baffled you before you became a parent."

Titling the caption "parenting perk: Surprise liberation from limited belief systems," Van Der Beek's post seemed to claim that these moments should be seen for what they are, which is a time to connect with your children. Additionally, it conveyed a more important message of how one should not let other people's opinions dictate their life.

Van Der Beek then claimed that he would be keeping the paint for a while even though he had plans to meet with some of his friends who might not understand the relevance of it all.

"Which is to say… if you think I'll be removing this pink nail polish before pouring concrete with a few friends tomorrow… then you probably don't have kids," he concluded the caption.

Upon sharing the thought-provoking piece plus the cute photos of his beauty regimen with his daughter, fans of the actor trooped into the comment section in their numbers to relay that they supported his message and also praise his parenting skills.

"It's time to loosen those archaic gender "rules" that keep us all from expressing ourselves!" one fan said.

"If you stay true to the kind of father you are now, there will be a group of wonderful adults one day who sit around on holidays and talk about the best father any child could ever hope for," another fan shared.

"I think we all just want to be happy and be ourselves. And enjoy life with our kids! I'm almost 41 with 3 little girls, and I have let go of the weight of other people's opinions," one more follower noted.

Van Der Beek's new post isn't the first time the actor has shared serious insights about his fatherhood. In a 2018 post as per Babyology, the actor advised fathers on the importance of playing a critical part in parenting their children, adding that they must overcome the obstacles they will face to achieve a fantastic relationship with their child and considerable self-growth.

He gave excellent instances such as "Check in with them. Feel their face on yours. Talk to them. Rub their back, sway gently, hum, make the 'swishy' sound in their ear to replicate the sound of Mum's heartbeat in utero," to help fathers handle their new babies and help create cute bonds.

Overall, having six children is a large number of children to train, regardless of financial means. Fortunately for Van Der Beek, he has the necessary funds and the desire to master new skills as he becomes closer to his children.