Posted on 25. Apr, 2003 by Brian Reid in General
I’ll be brief today (family in town), but wanted to point out a couple of links. The Contra Costa Times has a nice piece on the economics of going from two incomes to one. For obvious reasons (numbers), they focus on moms, but they do throw in this line: “While there are fewer statistics on stay-at-home dads, more men are making choices too. Better pay for women has resulted in more two-parent families where the mom is the sole breadwinner.” It’s always nice when those sorts of social trends are noted …
Let’s see … Michael Douglas says he wants to be an at-home dad and let Catherine bring home the bucks. And I need to note this quote from a take-your-kids-to-work-day story: “I have a good friend who works in a law firm and whose husband is a stay-at-home dad,” added the CEO. [Cinda Hallman of Spherion Corp.] “That’s less an anomaly than it used to be.” The story, on the whole, is a happy one: the idea that sons as well as daughters should be introduced to the idea of work/family balance.
dici perigo
30. Oct, 2005
Well, I am trying to help my hubby research a project for English and came across your site.
He’s been a stay at home dad for almost 2 years now and we have noticed the same lack of focus by magazines and media. Everything is geared toward women with very little being said to acknowledge that, yes, more dads are staying home to become “Domesticated House-Husbands” while their wives become the sole breadwinners. Talk about your enforced gender role confusion!
My husband is writing an English paper centering on this very issue. May we use your site as a reference??? Also, do you have any ideas for links where we can find some current statistical data?
By the way: I have to say that I agree with you. Parenting is a serious issue and Dads who have a more involved role help their kids become healthier adults. He’s worked all his life and this is the first time he’s had the opportunity to stay at home. While I still raise my eyebrows at some of the ways he does things, I can honestly say he’s made the household run twice as efficiently and my daughter is even more wellbehaved.
However, I get extremely frustrated by people who think our reversed roles are somehow wrong, scandalous or that there is something wrong with *HIM* because he’s not working. I spend a lot of time putting wellmeaning friends and family members in thier places and I just wish there was a way to get them to see this was a great choice for our family and there’s nothing *wrong* about it.
How do you cope????
Sincerely;
Dici Perigo