A year of good things 31/366: Stay at home dads

My husband is a stay at home dad and has been for 2 ½ years...

Being a full time parent has its challenges, I personally think women multi task better :) and are more organised and efficient and therefore being a stay at home mum suits us. However ANY man who is willing to take on what I think is the most important and challenging role deserves alot of respect.. dealing with nappies (it’s surprising how many dads have never changed their own kid’s nappies!), toilet training, cooking dinner, etc and if you have a little girl they bring a whole new set of emotions and challenges. Although I work full time, I do *quietly* check that all is going well during the day, that our precious one is being fed healthy food, that TV is the absolute last resort, that there is some sort of education being taught even when playing.. call me a Tiger Mum (no it’s not that bad - I love everything that my daughter makes me and would never say a home made card she made me is not good enough!) but I think discipline and routine are really important. Sometimes I get frustrated when things don’t always happen smoothly like if dinner isn’t cooked, or if the washing was left in the machine ALL day, or if there is food all over the couches, or the TV was on for a few hours. I know sometimes you just have to do what works.. especially if you’re also running a small business which is what my husband does.

So as women what do we normally do when we just need time out? I’d say beauty treatments would be common, retail therapy works for most of us.. pampering of any kind is a guarantee.

Well, this morning when my precious one was all happy and keen to go to Kinder when I left for work – the entire scene changed within an hour. She wouldn’t put any clothes on, she was crying and upset and only wanted me, time was running out, the car tyre was flat.. and as a result of all of this she ended up being late for kinder and definitely not in the best mood. I told my husband just to go for a coffee in a cafe, read the newspaper and just switch off – he always likes that. But no – he said he was going for a haircut, he needed it. That’s cool.

But when he said that he was going to squeeze in an eyebrow wax.. I wondered to myself, is it possible to turn into a stereo type because of your role? I’m all for men and beauty treatments, don’t get me wrong, I like that my husband takes interest in what he wears even if he is a stay at home dad, but I do wonder, how many other men/husbands have swapped the traditional role and to what extent?

Today’s good thing is definitely stay at home dads.. Thank you to all the dads to are hands on with their children, who are willing to clean poos and wees, who don't frown upon being in the kitchen, who contribute to housework.. all without being paid a cent, but getting the most valuable reward ever - time with your children and a precious lifelong relationship.

Check out this article on the increase of stay at home dads.

ps if you know of any Stay at home dad support groups in Melbourne, let me know, that's one thing that we've found there's not alot of if any!

image from the Herald Sun