I am a stay-at-home dad. My wife works and I take care of the house (very poorly) and our seven children. This article, I have a 6-figure job and my husband stays home with the kids — here are 10 things no one seems to understand, really does a good job at looking at the issues. And it really illustrates a pet-peeve I have – dads do not babysit:
One of the most annoying comments a stay-at-home dad can get out in public is: “So you’re babysitting today?”
My husband has heard this one more than once while out with our three boys. Can you imagine the reverse, someone commenting to a mum out and about with her kids that she was babysitting? No, you can’t. I’ve literally never had anyone say that to me, and yet more than one person has said it to him.
This one is particularly frustrating because of the assumptions behind the statement. People assume that a dad out and about with his kids is a once-in-a-blue-moon type of scenario. His wife, their mother, must be having a rare busy time. So Dad is out with the kids, struggling to manage them, and probably feeding them junk food.
Dads don’t babysit their own children. It’s called parenting.
The article is worth a read!