Posted on 13. Apr, 2003 by Brian Reid in General
Another Wild Saturday Night at Rebel Dad Central, lest you doubt my credentials. We have a nice stab at the usual at-home dad profile in the Denver Post. Nice bits on dads getting the cold shoulder from moms (a phenomenon I initially doubted — I’m lucky enough not to get that myself. It’s a bit like tornado victims saying the funnel cloud sounded like a train — it pops up so often it’s hard to dismiss). As far as the Rebel Dad statwatch goes, the article says that the 2000 Census found 2 million at-home dads. I have absolutely zero idea where that number comes from (mid-1990s census publications suggest similar numbers, but I’ve never seen a formal 2000 census number). I may have to ask the author … and the expertwatch sees one at-home dad “expert” cited: Julie Shields, who wrote “How to Avoid the Mommy Trap.
The U.S. continues to lag behind Canada in figuring out the whole at-home dad thing, with the Ottawa Citizen profiling Andrea Doucet, who has been researching mothering fathers for a book called “Do Men Matter.” None of the conclusions mentioned in the article are earth-shaking, but there’s something nice about knowing that someone is interested in the question of what dadcare is like for dads and kids alike (especially given Canada’s glorious experiment with paid paternity leave). Doucet is probably running a bit behind Kyle Pruitt (who did a nice job with Fatherneed), but the more the merrier for this conversation …