Men might not get a lot of ‘loving’ in those early days but they will get ALL THE PRAISE.
When you’re a woman, people will watch you turn yourself inside out for your child, then nod their heads, smile and mutter something about the joys of motherhood.
But if the father of your child looks sideways at a nappy, people will swoon in delight. He’s such a natural! What a bloke! Fancy changing the nappies and everything! #dadgoals
People have such low expectations of fathers that if they show even a passing interest in their own child, they’ll be rewarded with adoration and confetti cannons.
Women never get confetti cannons, just in case you were wondering. Please don’t expect it.
But men? OH MY GOD, he puts the baby to bed? HOW WONDERFUL HE IS!
Oh, what? You’re going out to dinner with your girlfriends? Who will watch the baby? Is Daddy going to BABYSIT?
Babysit his own child? No, mate. He’s not being paid. He’s being a parent.
Dads are great. We love all the dads! They’re so important for our kids and they work so hard to be everything for them. But they don’t deserve a Father of the Year nomination for looking after their own kids—no more than mums deserve a prize for doing the same.
Can we stop fawning over them when they calm a crying baby? Can we stop hyperventilating when they give a kid a bath?
Have you ever heard a person say to a bloke who’s leaving for a two-week business trip, ‘But who will look after the baby?’ or ‘Gosh, you’re lucky you have a wife at home to babysit your child!’
Nope.
When we squeal because a dad has been A DAD, it’s a bit like someone gasping in shock and telling a woman they’re so impressed she can reverse park. Like OH MY GOD, that’s SUPER impressive! Well done you for having spatial awareness skills, you clever clogs!
Well, thanks a bunch, but I’m not a moron, Gary.
Most dads are pretty awesome. They’re perfectly capable of looking after their own children ON THEIR OWN. Can we stop acting like they’ve recently recovered from a head injury and have finally relearnt how to put on socks?
Or, alternatively, if we really can’t stop celebrating men who parent their children, can we—at the very least—THROW WOMEN A MOTHER-LOVING PARADE FOR DOING THE SAME THING?