Commuter Mom: Daddy Day Care
My husband and I went out to dinner a few weeks ago with some friends. We were talking about what our weekend plans were and my husband’s response was, “I’m babysitting.” It was like nails on a chalkboard. Since when is spending the day with your own daughter while your wife is at a wedding shower considered babysitting? Does he expect to get paid? I would never say I was babysitting on the nights he goes out for BBQ with his friends. So, why didn’t he hesitate, and why didn’t anyone at the table question him on it?
I thought maybe it was just a “guy thing” but when I was on a business trip last week a colleague, who happens to be a woman, asked me if my mother was watching my daughter while I was away. This woman knows that I am married, she knows that my husband is at home. Why wouldn’t she assume that my daughter’s father is with her? I doubt anyone will ask my husband on his next business trip if Nana is watching his daughter…they’ll just assume it’s Mommy’s job.
RSS
1 comments:
Ugh. I feel your pain. I can't believe that in this day and age when so many Dads are so much more involved in their children's lives than they were when I was a child, that people would still make these presumptions. The media still freely and regularly use the term "Mr. Mom" when they talk about Stay at Home Dads, or even Dads who are at home for the day when their child is sick. To me it seems unfair to Moms AND Dads.
Post a Comment