Sometimes we forget to give dads their due. Luckily, Father’s Day reminds us to thank our dads, step-dads, and grandfathers for everything they do. And, according to recent reports, today’s father is doing more and more.
Per week, dads today perform about seven hours of primary child care, which is twice as much as 1965. And that may increase. Since the recession began, more men are being laid off than women. This has given some men the chance to assume a larger caregiver role in the household. Will the way mass culture views dads reflect the shift?
We talk about fathers like puppies tripping over their big paws, a portrait long mirrored in a culture in which Father Knows Least, from Fred Flintstone to Homer Simpson. We diminish with faint praise; dads still get points for returning children at the end of the day with all their limbs in place. But the more engaged fathers become, the more women have to reckon with what a true parenting partnership would look like.
So, it wouldn’t hurt to show dads some love and respect every day.
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