(Dads)

June 24, 2009

by Michael Rohde

When it comes to parenting, it’s the Moms that get all of the attention: daycares, pre-schools, blogs, parenting web sites, parenting magazines; all of them focus on Mom. Mom, Mom, Mom. Where’s the Dad? Well, I’ll tell ya, Dad is right here.

In the past, I’ve never really noticed or cared too much that society focuses on the Mom when it comes to parenting. But then I became a Dad and we got gift subscriptions to some parenting magazines. I very quickly stopped reading them. Why? Because they were all-Mom all the time. I was like, where are the Dad articles? My wife just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. We let the gift subscriptions run out for those magazines.

And so it goes…
Then I started hearing little comments here and there. Like the time my son was in the hospital. Our room door was open and we noticed the same woman kept walking past in the hallway. I was busy changing Max’s diaper, so I didn’t catch on that she was watching me. After the third or so pass, she stops and says, “That’s so nice that you help out.” We assumed she was referring to the fact that I was changing my son’s diaper. I immediately thought to myself, ‘Help out? Lady, I change diapers 10 times a day.’ When my twins were newborns, that’s no exaggeration as to how often I was changing diapers.

And so it goes…

We recently attended a pre-school open house and I was told to my face, “We also have Mommy play time periods (and Dads too).” That’s right, I heard the parentheses while she spoke. In response, I just kind of half-acknowledged her, looked away, and thought to myself, ‘Where’s the Dad-centric pre-school?’

And so it goes…

This situation has occurred more than once. The phone rings and it’s the doctor’s office calling to confirm an appointment for one of the kids. They always ask for Mom. When I tell them she’s not at home, they ask very cautiously, “Is it OK to leave a message?” I tell them that I’m the Dad and that I can confirm the appointment. They always say, OK, but they want to doubly make sure the appointment is OK with Mom…

I have noticed that Father’s Day is currently a Trend on Twitter. Reading through those Tweets, it appears all the focus for Father’s Day is, “What to get as a gift?” To me, it’s kind of sad that gifts are the main concern as to how to celebrate your Dad. While a gift is always nice, I can tell you as a Dad, that probably the best thing you can give your Dad is a hug and tell him you love him.

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