Are Stay At Home Dads Manly?
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There’s a rec center near my home, and every Monday morning a group of moms meets there to let our toddlers charge around and burn off winter energy. It’s also the meeting place of the local stay-at-home dad group who show up to the morning session every week. While our mom group mostly fits the stereotype of the at-home mom, interestingly, the dads are the most diverse group of men. There’s young dads, old dads, tattooed dads, and clean shaven guys but they all change diapers and know the difference between the various varieties of pacifier and why it matters.
Stay-at-home dads have increased in number gradually over the past few years, and in the last year, with rough financial times, increasing unemployment rates, and pressure on families from daycare costs, and the gradual acceptance of the role in our society, the number of stay-at-home dads has increased exponentially.
There’s an annual conference for stay-at-home dads every November, this year it’s being held in Omaha, Nebraska.
Even readers of the tongue-in-cheek website The Art of Manliness agree that being a stay-at-home dad is manly, with three out of five manly readers considering being a stay-at-home dad manly. And this is from a website packed with extremely manly information like how to start a fire without matches, so the voting readers must be the manliest of men!
I had this video forwarded to me today. A stay-at-home dad musician, Jon Lajoie, rapping about diaper changes and strapping his infant into the carseat. It’s sweet and very funny. I salute you, Jon, and all the other stay-at-home dads around the world. I think being a stay-at-home dad is as rewarding and worthy as being a stay-at-home mom and I have nothing but respect for all the dads who decide to choose to stay at home with their kids. Rock on!
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