Accordingto a recent article on the parenting community Babble.com, there hasbeen a 62% rise in single father households from 1990 to 2003; thenumber of stay-at-home dads in the U.S. last year had risen to159,000; and there's a sharp decline in the category. The statistics sure do indicate that dads are replacingmoms at a fast rate.
So,what does this new dad look like? And, is he really taking on thetraditional "mommy" role and becoming a full-time !?
Aproud stay at home dad, Dana Glazer, says that they are just a tinyfraction and sub-culture representing what is a much more radicalchange in the way families are operating these days and handlingtheir approach to child care and childrearing.
"Stayat home dads, at least from my perspective, are a total novelty andsomething that's been going on since the early 90s," Danasaid. "Typically the stories are fluffy: they claim that[stay-at-home dads] are growing in numbers; and then there's acitation from the Census Bureau; and then there's always thereferences to the movies Mr. Mom or Daddy Day Care. My perspective on[this trend] is that on the surface, it's progressive, but underneaththat, it's the status quo?just a flip in the traditional genderrole. You get traditional dads who glance at it and go "ICK!"
Butthe larger issues at hand, like gender equity and work-familybalance, are largely ignored. In the best possible world, kids needto interact with bothparentsas much as possible. What the kids get from the mother is verydifferent from what they get from the father, and kids are sostimulated by that different kind of interaction. The more thetypical gender roles blend, the better. The ??or nanny Denver? positions are fast filling, proving that parentsstill look out for babysitters without giving thought to theirchild's overall development.
Whatare the challenges you face being a stay-at-home dad? Do you reallythink dads can replace moms?
We'dlove to hear from you!
Shareyour experiences with the Care.com community by posting a commentbelow.
