It’s easy and funny to think of dads as all but inept. Think of your favorite “family” sitcom. How many times does the dad on that show make a terrible parenting decision (usually with humorous consequences instead of, y’know, killing the children)? How many times does the dad on the show act lost when confronted by a problem in parenting? How many times does the mother have to bail him out of the mess he’s made as a parent?
Granted, these things are funny—very funny to mothers especially, because we get to look like the ones who know what’s up. But really, when you put it in generic terms instead of describing incidents from a show, it starts to sound less like “oh, there goes Dad again” and more like “yep, dads are supposed to fail.” And that’s not really funny . . . that’s kind of closer to what I call cruel. (But you don’t have to feel guilty for laughing; that’s what sitcoms are for, after all.)
When it comes to the real life dads around us, though, I certainly don’t see the same standard of behavior. My sample is probably biased, since maybe I do know more good dads personally.
But the vast majority of the men I know can change a diaper without any help. They can take care of the kids solo—and not call it “babysitting,” and not lose a child (literally or metaphorically). They can even bathe them and put them to bed all by themselves.
What can the dads in your life do that TV dads can’t?
We’re making Father’s Day fabulous this week!
7 replies on “Dads are capable”
My husband is a fabulous father who does plenty. We’re on very equal footing when it comes to discipline and other issues. We’ve made it a point for him never to be the “wait till your father gets home” kind of dad which I think is important. He’s willing to change diapers, clean up puke, comfort the kids and he cooks dinner every night. It’s his hobby and I am SO thankful for it.
Wow, lucky duck Summer. Ya, you know I had a hard time adjusting to the fact that my husband is not as “domestic” as my own father is. My dad did all the cooking growing up and the grocery shopping and worked full time. He is really a wonderful couselor and funny friend as well.
My husband is really wonderful and does so much to support me and take care of our family. He did all of Weston’s baths for the first 4 months because I was too freaked out to do it. 🙂 He also keeps our yard looking nice and takes care of all the grilling. I know those sound like cliche hubby things, but they actually make my life so much easier.
Yay for Dads! Let’s give them lots of love and kisses this weekend and remember how important they are all the time.
My husband is a gourmet cook who is more anal about cleaning than I am so I kinda lucked out…:-)
I am sure my husband is capable. He lacks the motivation to see what needs to be done and actually step away from his computer to do it.
(Says the woman who just mowed the yard, hauled debris, and managed to get The Boy down for dinner… all while hubby sat on the couch and watched TV.)
And that should have said put the boy down for bedtime. I’m losing my mind… anyone see it running away?
Y’know, motivating husbands to step up can still be a challenge. Knowing that they can be doing more makes watching them not do it that much more frustrating.
I think most marriages have to endure periodic “setting of expectations” talks. (It’s way better than the “you never pull your weight!” fight!)