Follow
The debut of the A&E Show-Modern Dad’s, has set off many discussions about what a stay at home dad is. The conversation in many arenas has turned hateful towards the role of stay at home dads.
A few friends sent me a rant on Twitter by two people bashing stay at home dads calling them an “embarrassment to American society,” it goes on to say “Modern dads is the prime example that I have no hope for society today… A stay at home dad? Man up & support your family”.
Though these are just two small-minded bigots Tweeting, this is the kind of thing that DAD’s face more often than not.
One reviewer of the show said “ why does there need to be a show about something women have been doing for years.” Which is ironic, because there are literally dozens of shows about mothers.
Bringing groups to the forefront in the media is one way to make people become comfortable with “crazy ideas” like a black president, women in the work place and people with handicaps competing in athletic events.
All of these groups have faced isolation, criticism and hate, is the stay at home dad or Dad All Day now included in this group?
Stay at home dad’s do not face violence and the hurdles these other groups have faced, yet, but hate is a crazy little flower that sprouts up quickly and before you know it spreads rapidly.
Lazy, uneducated, unmotivated, selfish, unemployable are all words that are thrown around when talking about stay at home dads. There is a stigma of failure that is attached to the stay at home dad that stems from ignorance and fear of something different.
As in any group, there are stereotypes like, “men who are living off their women.” The majority of the men I have met are men who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to stay at home with their kids and experience something that their female counterparts have had the pleasure of doing for centuries, raising their children.
My DAD friends are smart, educated men who have reached a level of success in their lives and were able to walk away from the work place comfortably. These are men who are supporting their wives dreams and ambitions by staying at home and making sure their children have a parent involved in their upbringing.
A DAD from Kansas City that I know is raising six kids and works from home, getting his job done while they are at school or asleep. He is a DAD and works.
He is one of the most passionate men I know when it comes to making sure he sets an example for his kids while at the same time adding to their quality of life. Yet, there are people who would clump him in as a “lazy, shiftless good for nothing.”
It may seem crazy, but there are “secret” Facebook groups for stay at home dads where the frustration can be heard loud and clear, every day. These men support each other, share advice and talk about the thing that drives them to do what they do: the love of their children.
As any mom will tell you, there is no shame in raising your children, it’s the most important “job” there is. Some would tell you that kids who don’t have a strong parental role in their lives are the kids who grow up to be dysfunctional angry and full of hate.
I wonder if @CourtneyRoan and @JonMcLeod2 parents were around for them when they were kids? Doesn’t seem like it.
